Carnival and Norfolk ink 5-year deal

The Carnival-Norfolk press conference at the Half Moone Cruise Center.

Carnival Cruise Line has signed a five-year agreement with the city of Norfolk, Va., to operate cruises from the Half Moone Cruise Center.

Norfolk has agreed to upgrade the port so it can accommodate larger ships. Improvements will include a new boarding bridge to streamline the embarkation and debarkation process.

The 130,000-gross-ton Carnival Magic will sail a series of 12 cruises from the port in 2021. It will be the largest cruise ship to sail from Norfolk, which has been welcoming Carnival cruises for almost 20 years. 

The long-term commitment will elevate Carnival’s presence in the city and will give travellers in the Mid-Atlantic more cruising options to the Caribbean.

“Our cruises from Norfolk have been very well received by our guests, and this agreement speaks volumes about our confidence in growing the market,” said Carnival Cruise Lines president Christine Duffy.

“This commitment strengthens that partnership and solidifies Norfolk’s position as a true Mid-Atlantic cruise port,” Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander said.

The Carnival Magic’s 2021 schedule will have four- to eight-day cruises to the Caribbean. Reservations are open.

The Carnival Magic offers hundreds of balcony staterooms and suites. It also has a complimentary kids program in three age groups, the Cloud 9 spa, a WaterWorks aqua park, a variety of indoor and outdoor dining, and an entertainment promenade.

Before repositioning to Norfolk, the Carnival Magic will sail a series of voyages in the Mediterranean. It will then take a two-week drydock in Cadiz, Spain.

Carnival will return to Norfolk

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines will resume sailing from Norfolk, Va., in 2015, after pulling out of the port this year.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe made the announcement to the state assembly Monday evening. In an e-mail, Carnival confirmed that it would offer a series of spring and fall sailings next year.

"Specific ship, date and itinerary information is still being finalized, and more specific details are expected to be announced this spring,” the statement said.

Carnival Glory had been the only cruise ship offering roundtrip voyages from Norfolk. Carnival redeployed the Glory to Florida, citing the costs associated with the North American Emissions Control Area on sailings from Norfolk and several other East Coast ports.

Carnival has since said it expects to install emissions-scrubbing technology on many of its ships, easing the financial impact of compliance.

This year will be the first since 2001 that Carnival has not had a ship based in Norfolk. 

Carnival to leave Norfolk in 2014

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines is shuffling several of its ships in 2014, and one result is that Norfolk, Va., will no longer serve as a cruise ship homeport.

The Carnival Glory will stay in Miami year-round after November. It had been originating cruises in Norfolk in the spring and fall seasons out of a $36 million terminal opened in 2007.

The switch would leave the terminal largely unused by the cruise industry. Glory became the only ship homeported in Norfolk after Royal Caribbean International relocated a ship from Norfolk to Baltimore three years ago.

Carnival's decision to keep the Glory in Miami also means it will not return to Boston, where it is currently offering a series of voyages through July.

In other deployments, the newly refurbished Carnival Sunshine will only stay in New Orleans for the upcoming winter, rather than year-round. It will move to year-round sailing from Cape Canaveral in April 2014, bumping the Carnival Dream to do seven-day cruises from New Orleans full time.

The Carnival Liberty, currently based in Miami, will shift in April to do year-round five- and eight-day Caribbean cruises from Cape Canaveral, as well.

The Carnival Pride moves from Baltimore to Tampa for seven-day cruises from December 2014 to April 2015, replacing the Carnival Legend, which departs from Tampa for Australia next August.