A month after a cruise line decided to relocate its ship from Baltimore next year, a competitor is considering deepening its foothold in the region.

Carnival Cruise Line is exploring the possibility of adding a larger ship to the Port of Baltimore, which would likely mean thousands more spots on Carnival cruises departing from the city each year. The possibility is a win for mid-Atlantic cruisers and comes one month after Royal Caribbean decided to relocate its Baltimore-based cruise liner to Fort Lauderdale beginning in late 2026.

Baltimore — the largest cruise port between Florida and New York — currently has two full-time cruise ships: Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas and Carnival’s Carnival Pride. Each is scheduled to take at least 45 cruises from Baltimore this year. Next year, though, Vision of the Seas will move to Florida, meaning fewer options for cruise-seekers in the area.

Carnival is “exploring moving a larger Conquest class ship to Baltimore in 2027,” the cruise line said in a news release Sunday.

There are six Conquest class ships, each of which is roughly the same length (950 feet) and age (20-25 years) as the Carnival ship currently based in Baltimore. However, the Conquest class ships each have 25% more tonnage than the Carnival Pride and, at double occupancy, hold nearly 3,000 passengers — about 850 more than the Carnival Pride.

A higher-capacity ship would be welcomed by the Port of Baltimore.

“Our goals are to continue to look at ways to bring in as diverse a cruise portfolio as possible and maximize the use of our cruise terminal,” Richard Scher, a spokesperson for the port, said in a statement Monday.

Carnival has long stationed a ship in Baltimore and has a contract to continue operating at the port through 2029. The Carnival Pride, one of the company’s smaller ships, has been based in Baltimore for much of the past 16 years and sails primarily to the Caribbean, but occasionally north to Greenland and Canada.

Baltimore has been a cruise port since the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when shipping traffic was diverted from New York City. Maryland later converted a warehouse at South Locust Point into a cruise terminal.

More than 444,000 passengers boarded cruises in Baltimore in 2023, the third-most in the port’s history and the most since 2012. Cruise operations in 2023 resulted in 223 direct jobs and $3.8 million in state and local taxes, according to an economic impact report.

Cruises paused, though, for two months in 2024 after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, which blocked the shipping channel.

The Port of Baltimore is expected to have only one ship beginning in October 2026, after the Vision of the Seas departs. Royal Caribbean did not reply to a request for comment Monday. Last month, the cruise line said it looked forward to “reviewing opportunities to sail from Baltimore in the future.”

Scher said the port is continuing to talk with Royal Caribbean about future cruises.

“They understand the tremendous cruise market that we have in this region,” he said.

Representatives from the Port of Baltimore are attending the Seatrade Cruise Global conference — an annual meeting that began Monday in Miami and lasts until Thursday — and meeting with various cruise companies. In addition to bringing in another year-round ship, the port is also considering seasonal lines and port call visits. Vessels from other cruise lines — including Azamara, AIDA and Crystal — will call on Baltimore this year or next.

Cynthia Burman, the Maryland Port Administration’s director of cruise marketing, pitched the Port of Baltimore in a recent social media video, characterizing the Baltimore-Washington region as large and affluent.

“Do you know what that means? They have disposable income and they are ready to cruise,” she said.

The Port of Baltimore is somewhat limited in which cruise ships can call upon it. Many cruise ships, which are often even taller than cargo ships, cannot fit under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge’s 185 feet of vertical clearance.

The new Key Bridge is expected to allow at least 230 feet of vertical clearance. A taller Bay Bridge replacement — which would still be many years away — could then pave the way for larger ships.