Norfolk Cruise Terminal

[Glassoul]

It's very big. I must admit to being taken aback by how large it was on the inside because the outside sure doesn't make it seem like that.

Yes, but the real question we are dieing to know is, how was the food??!!!??

[vdogg]

Yes, but the real question we are dieing to know is, how was the food??!!!??

Processed hamburgers and hotdogs wrapped in foil just like any run of the mill high school cafeteria, I was hoping they'd have a little more than that. But, hey, it was free. I can't really complain.

[tombarnes]

It is certainly larger inside than it would appear! I hope it will be a great success for Norfolk!

[cpeakesqr]

I heard today that some people have already held events (a birthday bash) in the cruise terminal...

[vdogg]

Cruise terminal to cash in on hosting parties

For the International Azalea Festival's organizers, it was easy picking a venue for this month's ball. The 800-person gala wasn't going back to the Norfolk Marriott Waterside hotel, where it had been for about a decade. Instead, it would be at the city's $36 million cruise terminal, the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, which opened Saturday.

Why? "Three words - what a view," said Jack Kanakaris, a festival committee spokesman. The downtown facility has enormous windows overlooking the Elizabeth River. He went on about the facility's two-story layout, which the group will maximize by placing a band and dance floor upstairs and a casino and British pub serving fish and chips downstairs. "It's just a great place to have a party, man," he said.

That's what Norfolk had hoped.

[Merrittk92]

Cruise terminal awaits 108-ton gangway due to arrive Sunday

From the Virginian Pilot

"The final big piece of the city's new $36 million cruise terminal is scheduled to arrive Sunday evening aboard the freighter BBC Rosario, weather permitting."

[LordChesterfield]

This is awesome having a cruise ship terminal so close to home! Does any one know if most size cruise ships can dock there or is there a limit?

I saw their schedule and it looked like most could.

[burt]

This is awesome having a cruise ship terminal so close to home! Does any one know if most size cruise ships can dock there or is there a limit?

I saw their schedule and it looked like most could.

According to gosscj, there is a 60 foot deep channel from the dock to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean -- deep enough to accommodate the largest tankers afloat.

Maybe the new Queen Mary II will pay a courtesy call to Half Moon Terminal.

Edited April 15, 2007 by burt

[okinawatyphoon]

According to the Half Moone website, it is designed to accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world. Not bad, Norfolk.

[okinawatyphoon]

Cruise terminal awaits 108-ton gangway due to arrive Sunday

From the Virginian Pilot

"The final big piece of the city's new $36 million cruise terminal is scheduled to arrive Sunday evening aboard the freighter BBC Rosario, weather permitting."

There it is.

[Telmnstr]

Was it from China? Like the cargo container cranes?

[okinawatyphoon]

Was it from China? Like the cargo container cranes?

It was from Mexico, actually.

[tombarnes]

It's not unthinkable that the Queen Mary 2 might make a call in Norfolk. She sails from Fort Lauderdale to New York at the conclusion of her world tour each spring. That's already done for this year, but who knows what next year will bring?

[okinawatyphoon]

It's not unthinkable that the Queen Mary 2 might make a call in Norfolk. She sails from Fort Lauderdale to New York at the conclusion of her world tour each spring. That's already done for this year, but who knows what next year will bring?

Just wait until a few cruises pass through and the passengers get to use the new terminal for the first time. That's when the real attention should begin. If they liked Norfolk before, they will definitely love it even more now.

[4307]

Royal Caribbean bolstered Norfolk's cruise business this week when it announced it would return in 2008 with expanded itineraries and a newer, bigger ship, the 1,950-passenger Grandeur of the Seas. Carnival previously said it would be back next year.

That decision, based on what Royal Caribbean said were strong ticket sales, came at the expense of Baltimore, which opened a $13 million terminal last May. It reduces Royal Caribbean's Baltimore sailings from 29 this year to 12 in 2008.

...

The ports played down the competition, saying there's room for all of them. Richard Scher, spokesman for the Maryland Port Administration, said Royal Caribbean's decision "creates a very nice opportunity for other cruise lines at Baltimore."

[Sky06]

Good news. The new hotel should help a great deal as well. P.S. utility work on Granby near Main is pretty much done.

[okinawatyphoon]

Half Moone cruise terminal to welcome first passenger liner

Edited April 28, 2007 by okinawatyphoon

[urbanvb]

Very cool pic.

[okinawatyphoon]

Cruise Terminal's man-in-charge welcomes first ship to new facility

Good story.

[Sky06]

Some pics before my battery died.

[okinawatyphoon]

That last shot is great, Sky! I stil think the glass of the terminal's rotunda looks fake, but nice still.

[Merrittk92]

Cruise terminal

[Sky06]

Can the public browse around inside when ships aren't in?

[vdogg]

Can the public browse around inside when ships aren't in?

No. I think the publics only chance to do that was the open house. Now due to security, I don't think you can do that unless you have a ticket or an event booked. I think you may still be able to go into the front lobby though.

[vdogg]

A reason to celebrate