Carnival Cruise Lines will position the 2,124-passenger Carnival Pride year round in the port of Baltimore with seven-day cruises departing Sundays.  Effective September 13, 2009, the ship will sail on alternating one week cruises to the Caribbean, Florida and the Bahamas.

The ship’s Eastern Caribbean cruises visit Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Freeport.   The alternating itinerary visits Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport.

According to Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill, “Today’s consumers are more value-conscious than ever and considering that Baltimore is within a day’s drive for millions of Northeastern U.S. residents, these voyages provide a convenient and affordable vacation option.”

In other words, cruise lines must think more creatively now that the airline industry is in chaos and it is quickly becoming unaffordable to fly to Florida to take a cruise.