Virginia is for cruise lovers: Carnival to add more trips from Norfolk, bring year-round operations in 2025
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Virginia is about to be for cruise lovers all year long.
Carnival Cruise Line announced plans to more than double the amount of cruises departing from Norfolk starting next year and set a goal of year-round cruise operations beginning in 2025.
The cruise line will expand to around 26 cruises in 2023 and weekly departures beginning in 2025, said Stephen Kirkland, executive director of Nauticus and the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center.
“This is a celebration for us,” Kirkland said. “This is a celebration of a 21-year partnership.”
The new 2023 cruise program will run from May to October, and officials say 100,000 guests are expected to pass through Norfolk. Itineraries include the Eastern Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and New England. Cruises will last from four to 10 days.
On a chilly Monday morning, Kirkland and other city leaders announced the cruise schedule expansion at the Half Moone center, which overlooks the harbor. Kirkland noted that the weather had him thinking of warmer temperatures and sunnier locales provided by the cruise line.
To achieve the proposed year-round cruise schedule, Carnival and Norfolk leaders are discussing needed terminal and port improvement. Kirkland said needed upgrades include elevator improvements and a new escalator system. He said a total cost for the upgrades has not been determined yet.
Kirkland said cruise ship passengers stay at Hampton Roads hotels and eat at restaurants, among other travel spending.
Carnival President Christine Duffy said company leaders had been working on expansion plans with Norfolk since restarting services earlier this year.
“We look forward to building on our 20-year commitment to this community and continuing the momentum toward further expansion in the future while increasing our positive economic impact in Norfolk,” Duffy said in a news release.
The announcement is part of a larger Carnival expansion of services in the mid-Atlantic. Next spring, the cruise line will begin year-round service from New York City to destinations like the Caribbean, Bermuda and Canada.
Norfolk cruises in 2023 start from $509 per person for a six-day cruise, plus additional fees, according carnival.com.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
