Cruising from Norfolk, VA

[H8mundays]

Saw this article today and thought it was interesting. If Norfolk was voted number 1, why are there so few cruises from there? It is centrally located on the east coast so it would make sense to have more cruises and it takes less time to get to the Atlantic then from Baltimore. (cruises from Baltimore almost go right by it). Anyway thought I would pass this on.

 

Norfolk's Cruise Passenger Service Voted Best in the United States

June 23, 2009 Norfolk's Half Moone Cruise & Celebration Center has gotten a solid thumbs-up from the world's second-largest cruise line, Royal Caribbean International. In a recent ranking, Norfolk's passenger approval ratings are the highest in the country and second in the world, trailing Venice, Italy by only one point. Worldwide port rankings are based on customer satisfaction and the overall experience of Royal Caribbean guests. Frequently ranked in the top five throughout the season, Norfolk jumped to #2 in the world this past week, beating out other top ten ports such as Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle and Barcelona, Spain.

[albertiger]

I wish there were more choices from Norfolk also. I was aboard an Empress OTS sailing that was the first ship to call at the new terminal. It was beautiful and well planned. Stayed in Norfolk for 2 days and found it to be a lovely small city with a beautiful airport. Cruise lines, listen up!;)

[cb at sea]

Me, too...it's totally drivable for us! But, they usually only go to Bermuda....I'd love something that goes further south!

[dixieva]

I would also like to know why so few choices from Norfolk. I live less than 2 hours from the port and have cruised out of there twice. The new terminal is really nice. And Norfolk can have a larger ship than Baltimore since when cruising from there the ship has to fit under the Key Bridge. Don't have that problem from Norfolk!

[Cruisatary]

I live 40 minutes from Norfolk. I sailed on the Grandeur of the Seas in May. It was wonderful. The cruise pier is beautiful, and the personnel were friendly and helpful. It was the best to cruise and not have to fly to get to a cruise pier. To keep this fabulous rating, Norfolk needs more ships, varied itineraries, and year-round cruises or as close as possible to year-round cruises.

[montekat]

Here's another vote for Norfolk. We have sailed out of there 4 times and would love to have more cruises from there. Sailing out of Baltimore is OK, but it takes 8-9 hrs. to get to the ocean. We also would like more choices in destinations.

[buckanear]

That pier is absolutely stunning. I had the pleasure of working there this past season.

[camofwilliamsburg]

I would love to cruise out of Norfolk since we live in Williamsburg, Va.

The only choices are Cruises to Nowhere on CCL, and Bermuda cruises. They are very expensive too. I can fly to FL and get a cheaper cruise.

[libertylover]

I've always thought that the reason there aren't more cruises from Norfolk is because it's too cold in the winter for loads of people who would want to sail from there. So it probably wouldn't be a big money maker for the cruise lines.

 

They do have RCCL that goes to Caribbean, not just Bermuda, from there but they all seem to be in spring or summer.

 

My vote is for more variety out of Norfolk, too. :)

[djquog]

We would love to cruise from there, but the ship choices and cruises are so very limited. Can this port handle a ship as large as the Explorer? Our first cruise was on the newly stretched Enchantment and the 2nd on the Grandeur. I didn't care for the ship and didn't want to cruise on this size ship again

[ToddinVA]

I wish they had more cruise out of Norfolk too, especially since I live 20 minutes from the port! :) A bigger, newer RCL ship would be nice too...

[Cruise-Nut]

I live next door in Virginia Beach and would love to have RCCL cruise out of Norfolk. Wouldn't a Voyager or Freedom class be nice during the summer?

[SingingPixie]

I would imagine the answer to "why more out of Balitmore than out of Norfolk" comes down to the fact that the DC/Baltimore metro area is a larger population center, and that BWI is convenient to the port in Baltimore and has a large number of reasonable flights. Flying into the Hampton Roads area isn't as easy or cheap.

[Annieeee]

Baltimore had that distinction last year I think, or maybe the year before. I will look for that article.

 

Congratulations to the Norfolk folks.

 

Annieeee

[grneyes]

Love cruising out of Norfolk so much doing it again

this spring.

[Florida_cruisers]

I don't know, I am just speculating, but could it be the reason why is so pleasant to leave from there is because it is not as crowded as the rest of the ports like Miami?

[H8mundays]

We would love to cruise from there, but the ship choices and cruises are so very limited. Can this port handle a ship as large as the Explorer? Our first cruise was on the newly stretched Enchantment and the 2nd on the Grandeur. I didn't care for the ship and didn't want to cruise on this size ship again

 

Norfolk is home to several Navy Air Craft Carriers so I would imagin it could handle almost any size ship.

 

I agree that it would be nice to have a larger ship and a better choice of cruises.

 

I've always thought that the reason there aren't more cruises from Norfolk is because it's too cold in the winter for loads of people who would want to sail from there. So it probably wouldn't be a big money maker for the cruise lines

 

They have cruises out of NY/NJ which is colder so I don't think the weather is an issue.

 

Lets hope RCI sees the potential and starts doing more cruises to better places and for a little better price than currently. We can only hope.

[pjlee3333]

Enchantment will also be crusing year round out of Baltimore next year as well as Carnival Pride so they both go right by Norfolk. The weather issue doesn't make sense either.

[beddibi]

It is much colder in Baltimore than here in Norfolk. We rarely get snow in this area. The ships leaving here are always leaving full. As far as Baltimore being a "metro area" Look at the Baltimore sailings, they are having problems filling the ships thats why you always see them having last minute deals. Last month there was a deal for $499.00 for balconies out of Baltimore :confused:

It is a beautiful port here and it is beyond me why we dont get bigger ships and more sailings :confused:

If they had more sailings out of Norfolk I would be cruising 2 times a year rather than once :mad:

[dixieva]

I would imagine the answer to "why more out of Balitmore than out of Norfolk" comes down to the fact that the DC/Baltimore metro area is a larger population center, and that BWI is convenient to the port in Baltimore and has a large number of reasonable flights. Flying into the Hampton Roads area isn't as easy or cheap.

 

Actually in most cases it's cheaper to fly into one of the 2 area airports than it is to fly into or out of the airport in Richmond.

 

RCI and Celebrity are you listening to us?

[SingingPixie]

Actually in most cases it's cheaper to fly into one of the 2 area airports than it is to fly into or out of the airport in Richmond.

 

RCI and Celebrity are you listening to us?

 

Lol, I don't consider Richmond cheap either, normally.

[dixieva]

You're right, Richmond is very expensive to fly in or out.

[mrlddst]

I love cruising out of Norfolk...I wish we could get a bigger ship even if it stops by twice a year. Regarding the reason why less ships...I remember reading something in the local paper a while back about the fee that the "guy that jumps on to steer ship in/out of port" (can't think of the name right now), was enormous and had increased.

[H8mundays]

If the city would reinvent Waterside back into a market place I think it would do great business with cruisers. Sort of like the Bayside market place in Miami. There is so much to see and do here that people could come early and have a lot to do. I would love to see a Voyger Class or higher here at least a few times a year with better ports of call the the current ships.

[Capt_BJ]

A couple of Norfolk comments - my last office was just down the street from the new terminal.

 

1. There are no bridges 'tween the terminal and the ocean and the channel is deep enuf to handle the deep draft Navy traffic that goes right by to get to the Norfolk Naval Ship Yard and BAE dry docks....at high tide anyway. So they should be able to handle just about any ship. I'd note that many cruises out of Norfolk when I was living there were actually scheduled in conjunction with a yard period, aka dry dock period, at BAE or one of the other shipyards in the area. Sort of a way to get a shakedown cruise b4 they departed the area.

 

2. BUT there is only one terminal, only one ship can be accom'dated at any time and there's really NO overflow option.

 

3. I'm actually surprised they could win #1 given the parking situation....but I guess the majority didin't see that the problem I do.

 

4. Concur that getting flights in/out of Norfolk area can be challenging....low cost ones anyway.