Page 25 - Port of Baltimore Magazine May/June 2011

May/June 2011 ■ The Port of Baltimore [25]
BY BLAISE WILLIG
Photography By Bill McAllen
During the recent unveiling of a state-of-
the-art passenger boarding bridge at
the Port of Baltimore’s cruise terminal,
Maryland Transportation Secretary
Beverley K. Swaim-Staley was invited
to be among the first in line to climb the new
ramp. It would be only fitting, since she had
just been surprised with having the $2.9 million
walkway named in her honor.
Instead, Swaim-Staley stepped aside to let
a steady stream of eager vacationers amble by
on their way to a five-day Bermuda cruise on
Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas.
After all, it was for these passengers – as well
as more than 200,000 others cruising out of the
Port of Baltimore this year – that the State of
Maryland authorized TEAM of Barcelona, Spain,
to custom-build the mobile boarding bridge.
As Swaim-Staley noted, a cruise from
Baltimore is “the trip of a lifetime” for many
passengers. “Our goal is to provide customers
with a first-class cruise experience from
departure to return,” she added. “By investing
in our cruise facilities, we are delivering on that
commitment.”
The official debut of a passenger boarding bridge occurred in
April as Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas prepared
for a five-day Bermuda sailing. In attendance were, right photo
from left to right, Maryland Port Commissioner Peta Richkus,
MPA Deputy Executive Director M. Kathleen Broadwater,
Maryland Transportation Secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley,
MPA Executive Director James J. White and former U.S. Rep.
Helen Delich Bentley. Swaim-Staley was surprised by White's
announcement that the bridge had been named in her honor.