Carnival Cruisers return to Norfolk to find cars broken into at designated parking lot

[pasodancer]

Cruisers return to Norfolk to find cars broken into | WAVY.com

 

Not a good way to end their cruise.  

[mz-s]

That's one thing I've always liked about Charleston - the parking is fenced (with barbed wire) and patrolled property. The worst I've heard of is a dead battery.

 

This article also talks about the security guards hitting the gas instead of the brakes and damaging cars.

 

Norfolk certainly has to tighten up their operations, they can be in high cotton in 2024 when the Charleston port closes but they've got to get these fundamentals battened down.

[navybankerteacher]

23 hours ago, mz-s said:

That's one thing I've always liked about Charleston - the parking is fenced (with barbed wire) and patrolled property. The worst I've heard of is a dead battery.

 

This article also talks about the security guards hitting the gas instead of the brakes and damaging cars.

 

Norfolk certainly has to tighten up their operations, they can be in high cotton in 2024 when the Charleston port closes but they've got to get these fundamentals battened down.

Norfolk is beautifully positioned - within an easy day of New York, New Jersey,  Pennsylvania and DC population areas - with a bit of care and intelligent marketing they could be a prime embarkation port.

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Norfolk is beautifully positioned - within an easy day of New York, New Jersey,  Pennsylvania and DC population areas - with a bit of care and intelligent marketing they could be a prime embarkation port.

 

Add Ohio to your list.  Norfolk's issue, I think, is convenient and safe parking.  

[navybankerteacher]

8 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Add Ohio to your list.  Norfolk's issue, I think, is convenient and safe parking.  

That should be a fairly logical approach for Norfolk’s port authority, or chamber of commerce, to take - and not insurmountably difficult.

[mz-s]

On 6/23/2022 at 3:50 PM, navybankerteacher said:

That should be a fairly logical approach for Norfolk’s port authority, or chamber of commerce, to take - and not insurmountably difficult.

 

They could easily have a secured parking deck built in time for the closure of the Charleston port in 2024, and could homeport at least one Carnival vessel year-round if they wish.

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

They could easily have a secured parking deck built in time for the closure of the Charleston port in 2024, and could homeport at least one Carnival vessel year-round if they wish.

 

If they wished to do so, the devil will be in the details.  As I recall, there is little undeveloped area near the terminal.  (I recall a park like area near the terminal, but, would the city officials want to destroy that?)  Property would need to be bought and destruction of whatever is on that land in order to begin building a parking garage.  

[mz-s]

34 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

If they wished to do so, the devil will be in the details.  As I recall, there is little undeveloped area near the terminal.  (I recall a park like area near the terminal, but, would the city officials want to destroy that?)  Property would need to be bought and destruction of whatever is on that land in order to begin building a parking garage.  

 

Norfolk is a big city. The parking doesn't necessarily have to be directly adjacent to the cruise terminal, but it does need to be secure and have enough capacity to safely and efficiently handle thousands of guests on turnaround days.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Norfolk is a big city. The parking doesn't necessarily have to be directly adjacent to the cruise terminal, but it does need to be secure and have enough capacity to safely and efficiently handle thousands of guests on turnaround days.

The last thing needed if a port seriously wants to grow its cruise business is to have remote parking -- essentially requiring a couple of taxi rides or the hassle of shuttle busses to/from pier.  It sure as hell DOES  have to be adjacent to the cruise terminal-- if other cities :  Boston, New York, Hoboken, etc.  can do it, a second tier city like Norfolk should be able to (if they gave a damn about developing the business).

[markeb]

I'm not sure the city wants to grow the cruise business. And I don't know how they would in that location. I just pulled up the satellite view on Google Maps to refresh my memory, and it's pretty built up around there. You could go vertical, but that would be a pretty major change.

 

In the current market, I can't see taking a "If you build it, they will come" approach. The current location isn't bad for a cruise stop, but it's certainly not great for a home port. Norfolk itself obviously has the infrastructure to home port one or more cruise ships (they're supporting Fleet Forces Command!). I think they'd have to shift operations down river, but clear of the Navy piers, to really create the kind of facility I think you're talking about. 

[rkacruiser]

10 minutes ago, markeb said:

. I think they'd have to shift operations down river, but clear of the Navy piers, to really create the kind of facility I think you're talking about. 

 

I agree with your post.  The area around the current cruise terminal is too congested.  Shifting the port down river, but, to where down river?  The Naval Base, as I remember it, extends to the junction of the Elizabeth River (I think that's the name of the waterway along the cruise terminal and the Western border of the Naval Base) and the James River that flows into Hampton Roads.  

[svmodi]

Just wondering whether there are any recent cruisers that used the Cedar Grove parking lot without any issues.