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Getting There · Baltimore

Nearest Airport to the Baltimore Cruise Port

One airport, ten miles south. Cruise Maryland puts BWI 10.5 miles from the terminal. BWI’s cabs run on the meter, and the $30 flat fare the state sets is for the ride from the terminal back to the airport. Here’s what every way costs, and how early to land.

10.5 miBWI to the terminal, per Cruise Maryland
$30flat cab from the terminal to BWI, per the PSC
$2the Light RailLink to downtown, per the MTA
8 a.m.the terminal opens, or two hours after the ship arrives, per Cruise Maryland

See the airport guide for every cruise port →

Landing on sail day?

Tell us when you land and when the ship leaves, and we’ll check it against the port’s check-in rule.

Airport
Scheduled landing
Ship departs
The short answer

Fly into BWI. Cruise Maryland puts it 10.5 miles from the Cruise Maryland Terminal, and the Maryland Port Administration says 10.

With cruise luggage, most people take a cab or a rideshare. The cab in runs on the meter; the $30 flat fare is for the ride from the terminal back to BWI. Whichever you pick, land the day before if you can — it’s a short drive, and one late flight is all it takes.

Take a cab or rideshare if

  • You have cruise luggage and want the door
  • There are several of you, since the fare is per car
  • You’re landing close to sail time

Take the train if

  • You travel light and don’t mind a change
  • You’re staying downtown the night before
  • You want the cheap ride: the Light RailLink is $2, MARC to Penn Station $6
Airport taxis
Need a ride from the airport?

Booking.com lists airport taxis you can book ahead. Check the pickup point, the price and the cancellation terms before you book.

See airport taxis on Booking.com

Booking.com links are affiliate links: Seabound Journeys may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change what we recommend. Affiliate disclosure.

The Map

One terminal, ten miles north of BWI

BWI is south of the city. The Cruise Maryland Terminal is at 2001 East McComas Street in South Locust Point, off I-95 at Exit 55, Key Highway, run by the Maryland Port Administration; the entrance is about 350 feet along McComas Street on the right. The MPA puts the Inner Harbor about 2.5 miles away.

Cruise Maryland Terminal BWI DCA IAD 20 km · 12.4 mi N
Cruise terminalAirportStraight line, not the driving routeReal geography: neighbourhood boundaries from Baltimore City and NOAA’s GSHHG shoreline. Pins from the hotel’s own map data, the hotel’s or a map listing’s pin, the US Census Bureau’s address geocoder and Wikipedia; address-geocoded pins can sit up to a block off.
The Airports

BWI, and the long way round

The airport
BWI
Baltimore/Washington International
To the terminal
10 to 10.5 miles
Cruise Maryland says 10.5 miles, the Maryland Port Administration 10. Neither publishes a drive time.
By cab
On the meter in, $30 flat home
BWI Airport Taxi lists $2.90 for the first 1/10 mile, then $2.50 a mile, and BWI says its cabs can’t charge flat rates. The PSC’s $30 flat fare runs from the terminal to BWI; Cruise Maryland says four people a cab at most.
By rideshare
About $30, per The Points Guy
Its September 2024 estimate, with an Uber XL at about $40. Pick-up is on the outer curb of the Departures level, Doors 5 to 12, per BWI.
Flying home
BWI
Lounges and bags
Lounges
No LoungePair passes
LoungePair shows The Club BWI, airside in Concourse D, at $50 for 3 hours, but only as a third-party offer.
Bags on the last day
From $4.95 a day
Bounce lists 12 spots in Baltimore, none at the terminal or at BWI. Cruise Maryland lists no luggage storage at the terminal.
Pick-up
Gates open 8:30 a.m.
Per Cruise Maryland: friends and family use the “Pick Up” lot, and taxis and car services go to the passenger building.
The long way
DCA · IAD
Reagan National and Dulles
Distance
48 and 60 miles
Cruise Maryland puts Reagan National 48 miles from the terminal and Dulles 60.
By shuttle
By quote
GO The Airport Shuttle runs door-to-door vans to the terminal from the airports and rail stations in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia, eight people a van at most, fare by quote on 410-381-2772.
Flights
Still need flights?

Fares and dates are on Booking.com. Land the day before, not the morning you sail.

Search flights on Booking.com

Booking.com links are affiliate links: Seabound Journeys may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change what we recommend. Affiliate disclosure.

The Ride

What the ride costs

Set how many of you are riding. Each of these is priced per car, so the more of you there are, the less each pays; Cruise Maryland says a cab takes four at most on the flat fare.

Travelers
Uber from BWI, The Points Guy’s Sept 2024 estimate—
Uber XL from BWI, The Points Guy’s Sept 2024 estimate—
Taxi from the terminal back to BWI, the PSC flat fare—

One way, in US dollars, before tip. The Uber rows are The Points Guy’s September 2024 estimates, not published fares. The taxi row is the Public Service Commission’s flat fare from the terminal back to BWI; the ride in from BWI runs on the meter, $2.90 for the first 1/10 mile and $2.50 a mile after, per BWI Airport Taxi, and we don’t turn that into a total.

Other ways in: no cruise line publishes a Baltimore transfer price that we found. Cruise Maryland lists The Airport Shuttle, Cruise Shuttle Express, KD Elite Transportation, Lenzner Transportation and SuperShuttle, without prices. Viator’s Baltimore port-transfer listings include a private transfer from the city to the cruise port from $91.

A rental for the ride to the ship? BWI’s rental cars sit in a separate facility reached by shuttle, and from BWI you leave I-95 before the harbor tunnel, so there’s no toll to pay. BWI, Dulles or Reagan to the ship, by car or not · Baltimore rental cars
Sail-Day Landing

Landing on sail day? Check your timing

No line publishes a Baltimore landing cut-off that we found, so the yardstick is Cruise Maryland’s check-in rule, with our allowance for the ride. Enter your landing time and the departure time from your cruise documents.

  • Cruise Maryland’s check-in rule, any lineCruise Maryland asks everyone to be at the pier at least 90 minutes to 2 hours before the ship leaves. Allow about an hour from BWI with bags, and that means landing at least 3 hours before departure; the arithmetic is ours.—

Your cruise line’s check-in window, in your boarding documents, is the real deadline. Cruise Maryland says the terminal opens at 8:00 a.m., or two hours after the ship arrives, and asks you not to arrive before the time on your ticket.

Take the clock off sail day

Land the day before. Wake up ready.

Twenty hotels for a Baltimore cruise, eleven of them by BWI or at Arundel Mills. Tell us your sail date and we’ll book the night before.

Find my best three
Coming Home

The morning you’re back

Cruise Maryland puts BWI 10.5 miles from the terminal. Put in your flight and this works out the ride, the wait and what to do with the bags.

Partner links (transfers, rental cars, luggage storage, lounges) may earn Seabound Journeys a commission at no extra cost to you. They don't change the plan, which is built only from what each company publishes.

After the ship, weekend city desks close early and Enterprise Fells Point is shut on Sundays, so the day you dock decides where the car comes from. Renting a car after the cruise · Annapolis, Gettysburg and Lancaster
Transit and Bags

Can you get to the ship without a car?

Most of the way. The Light RailLink leaves from just outside BWI’s lower level by Concourse E, $2.00 one way per the MTA, and runs downtown, with stops at Camden Yards and the Convention Center. MARC’s Penn Line runs from BWI Rail Station, reached by a free shuttle every 10 to 15 minutes, to Penn Station for $6.00.

The last leg is a cab. Cruise Maryland lists no bus or light rail to the terminal, and no official page names a stop near it. Going home, the PSC’s flat fares from the terminal are $12.50 to Penn Station and $9.50 to the World Trade Center downtown.

Bags: Cruise Maryland lists no luggage storage at the terminal. Bounce lists 12 storage spots in Baltimore from $4.95 a day, none at the terminal or at BWI.

Fly In Early

Flying in the day before

The day-before flight is the one move that takes a delay off sail day. It costs a hotel night. It buys you the morning.

Eleven of our top twenty run a free BWI shuttle, all of them by the airport or at Arundel Mills. Only one runs a ride to the ship: the Best Western on O’Donnell Street, whose Park ’n’ Cruise Package includes a KD Elite shuttle to and from the terminal. From the Inner Harbor hotels, it’s a short cab in the morning.

Pre-cruise hotels

The top six for the night before

Twenty hotels for a cruise from Baltimore, ranked on the walk or ride to the ship, cruise parking, breakfast and distance. Here are the top six.

See all twenty →
170/100
Best Western Plus O'Donnell St
The only hotel we scored that puts a ride to the ship on its own page — a KD Elite shuttle to and from the terminal, inside a Park 'n' Cruise Package with parking while you sail and a hot breakfast.
Hold a room →
246/100
Holiday Inn Express Stadiums
IHG puts Cruise Maryland 2.1 miles away, with a free hot breakfast, $18 gated self-parking and a seasonal outdoor pool, by the stadiums.
Hold a room →
345/100
Embassy Suites BWI
Hilton's Park, Stay & Go on its own offers page, a free made-to-order breakfast and an evening reception, by BWI.
Hold a room →
443/100
Hampton Inn Convention Center
A free hot breakfast and an indoor pool, 0.10 miles from Camden Yards, with $60 valet.
Hold a room →
542/100
SpringHill Suites BWI
A Park & Fly package that leaves the car up to 7 days, with a free hot breakfast and a heated indoor pool, by BWI.
Hold a room →
642/100
Homewood Suites BWI
Hilton's Park, Stay & Go on its offers page, a free hot breakfast and a full kitchen in every suite, 2 miles from BWI.
Hold a room →

Airport to hotel, from BWI

These are the rides our twenty list from the airport.

BWIBaltimore/Washington International
Hotels with a ride from here
Airport ride and a ride to the ship
  • None of the twenty does both from here.

Every hotel, side by side: the Getting There table.

Where to stay
The 20 best hotels for the night before
Ranked on the ride, cruise parking, breakfast and distance, from what each hotel publishes.
Driving instead?
Baltimore cruise parking
The terminal lot at $25 a day, and the other options, compared.
FAQ

Baltimore cruise airport FAQ

What is the closest airport to the Baltimore cruise terminal?

BWI, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Cruise Maryland puts it 10.5 miles from the Cruise Maryland Terminal, and the Maryland Port Administration says 10. Cruise Maryland puts Reagan National (DCA) 48 miles away and Dulles (IAD) 60, so they're the long way round.

How do I get from BWI to the cruise terminal?

Most people take a cab or a rideshare. BWI's taxis run on the meter, and Uber and Lyft pick up on the outer curb of the Departures level, Doors 5 to 12. Cheaper, with a change: the Light RailLink is $2 to downtown, or MARC is $6 to Penn Station, and then a cab to the terminal; Cruise Maryland lists no bus or light rail to the terminal itself. Cruise Maryland also lists shuttle companies, without prices.

How much is a taxi from BWI to the cruise port?

It's on the meter: BWI Airport Taxi, the airport's exclusive operator, lists $2.90 for the first 1/10 mile and then $2.50 a mile, and BWI says its cabs are prohibited from charging flat rates. The $30 flat fare you may have read about runs the other way: the Public Service Commission sets it from the Cruise Ship Terminal to BWI, four passengers a cab at most, per Cruise Maryland. The Points Guy says the ride from BWI is a flat $30; BWI's rules say otherwise.

How much is an Uber from BWI to the Baltimore cruise terminal?

The Points Guy put an Uber at about $30 and an Uber XL at about $40 in September 2024; those are its estimates, not a published fare. At BWI, Uber and Lyft use the outer curb of the Departures/Upper Level, between Doors 5 and 12.

Does my cruise line run a transfer from BWI?

Not one with a Baltimore price that we found. Carnival's airport-transfer page lists 14 ports, and Baltimore isn't one of them; The Points Guy says Carnival doesn't run BWI transfers, while Cruzely claims a $25.99-a-person shuttle, which Carnival's own pages don't show. Royal Caribbean sells transfers from the arrival airport to the pier on sailing day, with no Baltimore price on the page we read.

Can I take the light rail from BWI to the cruise ship?

Part of the way. The Light RailLink leaves from just outside BWI's lower level by Concourse E, for $2.00 one way, per the MTA, and runs to downtown stops including Camden Yards and the Convention Center. No official page names a stop near the terminal, and Cruise Maryland lists no light rail or bus to it, so take a cab from downtown for the last leg.

Can I fly into Reagan National or Dulles instead?

You can, and it's a much longer ride: Cruise Maryland puts Reagan National 48 miles from the terminal and Dulles 60. GO The Airport Shuttle runs door-to-door vans to the Cruise Maryland Terminal from the airports and rail stations in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia, eight people a van at most, priced by quote on 410-381-2772.

Is there a lounge at BWI?

LoungePair sells no passes at BWI. Its page shows The Club BWI, airside in Concourse D, at $50 for 3 hours, open 4:15 to 22:30, but only as a third-party offer.

Can I store my bags on the last day?

Cruise Maryland lists no luggage storage at the terminal. Bounce lists 12 storage spots in Baltimore from $4.95 a day, none of them at the terminal or at BWI.

Can I fly home the same morning I get off the ship?

No line publishes an earliest-flight rule for Baltimore that we found. Royal Caribbean's 5-night Bermuda itinerary shows the ship arriving at 7:00 AM, a Carnival 12-day Caribbean itinerary shows 8:00 AM, and Cruise Maryland opens the gates for pick-up at 8:30 a.m. The Coming Home tool on this page works out the gap for your flight.

Sources, read September 27, 2026: cruise.maryland.gov — the terminalcruise.maryland.gov — passenger informationcruise.maryland.gov — FAQscruise.maryland.gov — transportationcruise.maryland.gov — shuttle companiesmpa.maryland.gov — second Carnival ship releasepsc.maryland.gov — Baltimore City taxicab ratesbwiairport.com — taxisbwiairporttaxi.com — ratesbwiairport.com — ridesharebwiairport.com — light railbwiairport.com — MARCmta.maryland.gov — faresMTA — Penn Line fare chartthepointsguy.com — Baltimore cruise portcruzely.com — Baltimore without a carcarnival.com — airport transfersroyalcaribbean.com — arrival travel optionsroyalcaribbean.com — 5-night Bermudacarnival.com — 12-day Southern Caribbeantheairportshuttle.com — cruise terminalloungepair.com — BWIbounce.com — Baltimoreviator.com — Baltimore port transfers

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