Tips for leaving out of Norfolk?

[agc291]

We have taken two Carnival cruises, both of which we flew out to. This October we will be getting on the Glory and driving to port as it is about 3.5 hrs from us!

 

Are there any tips or tricks for this port... It says we leave at 5 pm so we are hoping to get there around 1-2 avoiding 95 traffic as we leave on a Monday:eek:.

 

I see on the site for the port they recommend a off site parking area with 24 hr security that shuttles you and your luggage to the port... are there other parking alternatives that are safe as well as have such security?

 

Since there is just one ship I am assuming embarking & debarking is super easy and fast?

 

Anyones experience is great! Thanks in advance!:)

[Sea Raven]

I have done 4 cruises out of Norfolk, and I would recommend arriving a little earlier if at all possible. Yes, embarkation is usually a very smooth process...but the lines can be unpredictable. Also, huge groups and buses tend to all arrive at the same time from around noon to 1. This puts a whole bunch of people all trying to get to the same set of doors at the exact same time and can be stressful. Also, the road and circle drive to access the terminal can get backed up and pretty congested at this time.

 

With that being said, there are plenty of things to look at and do close by the terminal area - so being a little early is not a bad thing. Unfortunately, I can't help with the parking issue as I always have been dropped off at the terminal.

[sealovers]

We just returned from a 6 day Carnival Glory cruise that departed Norfolk on 15 May. We were dropped off at the port at 10:30 a.m. and were in our cabin at 11 a.m.! Since this was the first cruise out of Norfolk for 2012, the ship arrived empty, so boarding was simple. Unfortunately, anxious cruisers were trying to arrive as we were departing. When we were allowed to leave the ship at 10:30 this morning, there were hundreds of passengers remaining by observing all the luggage that needed to be picked up prior to walking through customs. Our driver arrived to pick us up this morning and was lucky enough to park on the street (there at 8 a.m) and unlucky enough to get a parking ticket because he was unable to get back to the car in time to feed the meter. No one was allowed to drive in and pick up passengers, many who were waiting at the curbside by the 'circle'. This area of downtown norfolk is very congested, but city parking garages are not far, but may seem quite a distance if dragging luggage. There is no dedicated cruise passenger parking at this port. I've sailed out of the Florida ports dozens of times and have never seen access to the cruise terminal so difficult as the one in Norfolk. They really need to work on that somehow. Should I ever sail out of Norfolk again, I will just drive, park in the Carnival suggested garage at $15 per day and take the shuttle to and from the terminal at an the normal Carnival transfer rate ($40-50 R/T, PP).

[Potstech]

"... I will just drive, park in the Carnival suggested garage at $15 per day and take the shuttle to and from the terminal at an the normal Carnival transfer rate ($40-50 R/T, PP)."

 

You are saying that they charge a fee of $15 to park then a fee of $40-50 to take a shuttle to the pier??? I do hope I read that wrong as that would be a very big rip off and not worth the money. Please tell me I am wrong.

[Gorilla579]

If you are arriving between 1-2 really consider using the offsite parking. That is the busiest time at the actual port and the port is tiny. The area used for luggage drop off, passenger pick up, and bus drop off is the same space and it's poorly designed. When you arrive for the cruise it's not too bad. You just have to wait in line for a space at the curb to open up by the porters and the Police will direct you in to drop off your luggage. The problem comes when people arrive to pick up the departing passengers. People arrange a time for their ride to meet them and don't take into account the fact that over 2000 of your closest friends are getting off the ship at the same time, trying to use the same small space. So you can have hundreds of cars waiting to get into a space that can accommodate about 10. Add to that the busses, who get priority to get in, coming and going and it's a madhouse between about 11-2.

 

As far as closer parking, there are several parking garages within a few blocks that charge the same as the cruise parking lot. They are patrolled by the Norfolk Police 24 hours, but the officers that are patrolling them are assigned several garages/lots so it's not dedicated 24 hour security.

[agc291]

"... I will just drive, park in the Carnival suggested garage at $15 per day and take the shuttle to and from the terminal at an the normal Carnival transfer rate ($40-50 R/T, PP)."

 

You are saying that they charge a fee of $15 to park then a fee of $40-50 to take a shuttle to the pier??? I do hope I read that wrong as that would be a very big rip off and not worth the money. Please tell me I am wrong.

 

The shuttle from the suggested parking area to the port is free, at other ports (miami, ft lauderdale, etc) they offer transfers that cost a pretty penny pp round trip usually these are to and from the airport.

[agc291]

If you are arriving between 1-2 really consider using the offsite parking. That is the busiest time at the actual port and the port is tiny. The area used for luggage drop off, passenger pick up, and bus drop off is the same space and it's poorly designed. When you arrive for the cruise it's not too bad. You just have to wait in line for a space at the curb to open up by the porters and the Police will direct you in to drop off your luggage. The problem comes when people arrive to pick up the departing passengers. People arrange a time for their ride to meet them and don't take into account the fact that over 2000 of your closest friends are getting off the ship at the same time, trying to use the same small space. So you can have hundreds of cars waiting to get into a space that can accommodate about 10. Add to that the busses, who get priority to get in, coming and going and it's a madhouse between about 11-2.

 

As far as closer parking, there are several parking garages within a few blocks that charge the same as the cruise parking lot. They are patrolled by the Norfolk Police 24 hours, but the officers that are patrolling them are assigned several garages/lots so it's not dedicated 24 hour security.

 

 

Great info! Thanks!

[DevCruise]

This is the cruise parking "garage" for Norfolk:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=norfolk,+va&hl=en&ll=36.859032,-76.285943&spn=0.002607,0.003321&sll=35.817813,-95.712891&sspn=59.667322,108.808594&hnear=Norfolk,+Virginia&t=h&z=19

[rockabutzer]

This is the cruise parking "garage" for Norfolk:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=norfolk,+va&hl=en&ll=36.859032,-76.285943&spn=0.002607,0.003321&sll=35.817813,-95.712891&sspn=59.667322,108.808594&hnear=Norfolk,+Virginia&t=h&z=19

 

 

If the cruise port is located next to the USS Wisconson, then it is about a mile away.

[TreeLuvr87]

The port website tells you to park in their garage about a mile away and use the shuttle to the port. However, there is a parking garage directly across the street from the port - Town Point Garage. They do cruise parking here. We parked during our cruise (May 15th) and had no security issues.

 

Here's a tip, though - the attendant will tell you that it's $15/day for cruise parking and let you pay up front. HOWEVER - if you just pull a ticket, you can get the daily rate of $12/day and just pay when you leave. We didn't know this so ended up paying an extra $21 lol.

 

We used self-assist from the ship and just rolled our luggage right across the street to the garage - previous poster is correct; getting out of the port can be a major pain. We thought it easiest to just carry our own things (though my shoulders are still feeling it!).

[agc291]

If the cruise port is located next to the USS Wisconson, then it is about a mile away.

 

It is, Carnival offers a free shuttle to and from.

[agc291]

The port website tells you to park in their garage about a mile away and use the shuttle to the port. However, there is a parking garage directly across the street from the port - Town Point Garage. They do cruise parking here. We parked during our cruise (May 15th) and had no security issues.

 

Here's a tip, though - the attendant will tell you that it's $15/day for cruise parking and let you pay up front. HOWEVER - if you just pull a ticket, you can get the daily rate of $12/day and just pay when you leave. We didn't know this so ended up paying an extra $21 lol.

 

We used self-assist from the ship and just rolled our luggage right across the street to the garage - previous poster is correct; getting out of the port can be a major pain. We thought it easiest to just carry our own things (though my shoulders are still feeling it!).

 

 

I have a tendency to buy too many souvenirs and pack too many DOD cups:cool: but I dont think the walk will kill us. Although the people we are cruising with may kill me after we are done walking :rolleyes:

 

Thanks for the tip about the cost so we just wait until we leave to pay and it is $12/day?

 

Is there a site on more info on this parking garage?

[Gorilla579]

The garage is a municipal garage. Here is the web site. There are also several others within a few blocks in case the Towne Pointe one is full.

 

http://www.norfolk.gov/Parking/

[Eng23]

I have a tendency to buy too many souvenirs and pack too many DOD cups:cool: but I dont think the walk will kill us. Although the people we are cruising with may kill me after we are done walking :rolleyes:

 

Thanks for the tip about the cost so we just wait until we leave to pay and it is $12/day?

 

Is there a site on more info on this parking garage?

There are multiple parking garage's in the downtown area with in 1 to 5 blocks of the cruise terminal. The open surface lot (the one the signs direct you to and the cruiseline runs a shuttle from) is on the far side of downtown and is not walkable. The daily rate is $12 in the downtown city garage's.

[RNTOCRUISN]

So.........when using the parking carnival recommends, do you drop your luggage at the port first or take it on the shuttle after you park?

[agc291]

I have read that you can do both, the shuttles have an underneath area like large buses where you can put your luggage and I guess you bring your carry on onto the shuttle with you.

[RNTOCRUISN]

I have read that you can do both, the shuttles have an underneath area like large buses where you can put your luggage and I guess you bring your carry on onto the shuttle with you.

I've also read that the port area is very small and congested. I would prefer to drop my bags first but was looking for some input of someone who maybe has parked/cruised from norfolk recently

[Eng23]

So.........when using the parking carnival recommends, do you drop your luggage at the port first or take it on the shuttle after you park?

They use large buses (think Greyhound type bus) to shuttle from the parking lot to the ship. Large luggage goes under the bus and you carryon smaller bags if you want.

[Eng23]

I've also read that the port area is very small and congested. I would prefer to drop my bags first but was looking for some input of someone who maybe has parked/cruised from norfolk recently

Yes the port drop off area is very small and does get congested. Your best bet is to either use one of the city parking garage's closest to the ship and walk across the street to the terminal or use the surface lot on the other side of downtown and use the cruiseline's shuttle bus.

[kathew]

We've always used stay123.com, but they don't have deals out of Norfolk. Does anyone know if any of the hotels do anything like it? (Where you can stay the night before and then leave your car)

[northern_hiker]

Just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Glory leaving from Norfolk. Everywhere I read recommended that we drop off our bags first and then park in the designated cruise parking area... what a mistake!!!

 

We were stuck in traffic for 45 minutes around the Norfolk port trying to drop passengers off because of congestion. After that we tried to navigate blindly to the cruise parking because there were absolutely no signs. Things got worse from there - we took the shuttle bus back to the terminal and they made us sit idly on the bus for another 45 minutes while buses in front of us were being unloaded. We finally had to threaten the driver to let us off. It was starting to get ugly.

 

The Norfolk terminal website bills itself as America's best cruising port - what a joke. It is ill equipped to handle a large amount of passengers.

[kathew]

We're leaving out of Norfolk as well. What time did you get there?

[Host Faith]

We sailed the Glory and arrived in Norfolk around 11 AM. Parked in the Cedar Grove lot and too the shuttle (bus) to the port. We paid cash ($15 per day) in full before parking. I think we were some of the first people in the lot so we were able to park really close to the buses. Very simple and easy process. I have photos and a description in my Glory review, in my signature below.