Carnival is coming back to Norfolk!

[golfadj]

Hopefuly the ports will be other than nassau or freeport or not interested.

[Carnival_Brides]

Virginia is not a bad ride from Pennsylvania. Can someone tell me what ports Carnival use to call on?

 

Since the line pulled out of Bermuda--they only call on the exotic ports of Nassau and Freeport.:D We looked into a five day on the Glory, but for a couple extra $$$ we could add 2 or 3 days going out of Baltimore and NYC.

[phyzzva]

Does it say what ship?

 

The purpose of the Spirit class ships was to cover greater distances in shorter time, making the exotic ports availabel from New York, Baltimore, and Norfolk.

 

Now pulling those ships, sending half to Australia, and Carnival being taboo to Bermuda, it leaves the glub glub ships heading to Florida and the Bahamas.

 

Yawn. Did it once. Never again.

 

why is Carnival taboo to Bermuda ? we cruised there from Norfolk on the Glory .

[momof3cruisers]

We're in Va Beach, and am glad to see Carnival coming back. I just wish they'd do a couple of cruises when schools are out in VA - we were never able to take the October/May cruises because we can't pull kiddo out of school for that long. Ah, well, at least there's hope now... I'll keep my fingers crossed!!

 

Me too! My daughter will be going to college in Va Beach and I'm hoping this will be a spring break option for us.

[KPfromCT]

For anyone that has cruised from Norfolk before, does this have to be a Spirit class ship? Are there bridges involved? Sorry. Just not familiar with that area....:o:o:o

[dixieva]

No bridges to worry about when sailing from Norfolk. Unlike Baltimore which does have restrictions as to ship height due to the Key Bridge.

[Beacher123]

YAY!! Live in Va. Beach and love sailing out of Norfolk. Nice not to have to fly or drive 16 hours!! 20 minutes!! Liked Baltimore also.

[Eng23]

See my post #13.

 

Again, that's the "problem" with east coast ports. The ship can only sail so fast. There are only so many ports within their range.

 

Yes, Carnival has a few sailings that are >7 days, but not regularly (other than a couple ships in S FL).

 

Young families and/or new budget-concious cruisers (their target demographic whether we want it to be or not) simply cannot afford the vacation time and the cost of longer cruises. Why do you think those long HAL cruises are full of octogenarians? Because they aren't working and have money!!

 

It's not a problem. Ships sailing out of NY regularly sail 10-12 day itineraries to the Bahamas and Caribbean. Norfolk is a lot closer than NY to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. 7-10 day itineraries from Norfolk would be easy.

 

 

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[Eng23]

For anyone that has cruised from Norfolk before, does this have to be a Spirit class ship? Are there bridges involved? Sorry. Just not familiar with that area....:o:o:o

 

Norfolk can handle any class of ship Carnival has. No bridges to worry about and it is one of the deepest ports on the east coast.

 

 

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[golfadj]

why is Carnival taboo to Bermuda ? we cruised there from Norfolk on the Glory .

 

They couldnt come to an agreement with the powers to be in Bermuda on dock space.

[bm6pm5]

I'm glad that we will have them back again here in Norfolk. So nice to just get dropped off at the port rather than fly which costs more than the cruise in some cases.

Carnival is currently doing a 7 day out of Baltimore to Grand Turk; Half Moon Cay, The Bahamas; and Freeport. So they could very easily do the same itinerary out of here also. With the time that it takes to get from Baltimore to here they could be sailing along to a farther port than just Nassau and Freeport in 7 days.

Edited January 14, 2014 by bm6pm5

[StingrayBob]

This is great news. Look forward to sailing out of Norfolk again. I did a CTN from there last year and loved it. I am only about 90 minutes away and this makes for a nice weekend getaway and cruise addiction fix.:D Can't wait to hear what ship they bring and where it will sail.

[Lizard13]

Can't wait!!! Anybody have any idea what ship it will be?

[Eng23]

You are not the first to post this. There is another thread on this further down the board. It's already 3 pages long.

It was posted yesterday.

 

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Edited January 14, 2014 by Eng23

[callolin]

As a Richmond resident (two hours from the Norfolk port), I'm really glad to see they will be returning. But it will come down to the destinations they offer. We were on the Glory in October and enjoyed the quick 5 day cruise to the Bahamas and back.

 

That's the first time I've been on a cruise less than a week, and it reinforced my believe that I want at least a week and I'd be fine with destinations that are about 10 days or so.

 

 

I agree with you. Carnival is one of my favorite lines. This year I wanted to go on a western carribean cruise. Carnival did not have one in Baltimore so I had to book it with Royal. I would have rather booked with carnival if they had been in Norfolk. Next year I will book with carnival.

[agc291]

See my post #13.

 

Again, that's the "problem" with east coast ports. The ship can only sail so fast. There are only so many ports within their range.

 

Yes, Carnival has a few sailings that are >7 days, but not regularly (other than a couple ships in S FL).

 

Young families and/or new budget-concious cruisers (their target demographic whether we want it to be or not) simply cannot afford the vacation time and the cost of longer cruises. Why do you think those long HAL cruises are full of octogenarians? Because they aren't working and have money!!

 

They do 8 day from NY that goes to the Caribbean (GT, PR, St T) so why dont you think a good 7 day itin is an option from Norfolk?

[Carnival_Brides]

Nvm

Edited January 16, 2014 by Carnival_Brides

[GRANNYOFSIX]

This is fantastic news for us too. We live in VA Beach - the convenience of leaving from Norfolk is amazing!

 

Having Carnival back gives us another cruising option!!! Our last two cruises out of Norfolk both in October (2012 and 2013) on the Glory were great!

 

Now........longer cruises and year round would make it PERFECT!!!! Come on Carnival......your passengers really want and deserve this:):)

 

 

[slmwo]

Anxiously awaiting these cruises coming available to book. Anyone heard any updates?

[mpcaruth]

We sailed our first few cruises out of Norfolk (6-day Carnival Victory and 9-day RCL Grandeur of the Seas). Had it not been for the quick drive and hop on the ship, we may have never tried cruising. Would love to sail out of Norfolk again, especially a 8+day cruise to get further than the Bahamas. Or better yet... BERMUDA!!! Norfolk is perfect for Bermuda - the ship can sail slowly through the often, extremely choppy Atlantic.

 

As far as the comments about 8-day cruises being too lengthy and expensive for families... A 7-day cruise out of FL requires at least 8-days due to extra time for traveling. What the biggest hurdle for families is Carnival limiting the cruises to May and October while kids are in school. I think alternating 6-day Bahamas/Bermuda and 8-day Eastern Caribbean in the Summer months out of Norfolk would meet everyone's needs.

Edited February 15, 2014 by mpcaruth

[Aoumd]

Great news!

 

I'm thrilled. I hope they have some cruises to other places than Nassau and Freeport then we'll be on one!

 

TOTALLY agree and wish they'd do this more out of Baltimore and Charleston! Frankly I'm surprised Carnival doesn't try and increase the ratio of HMC and GT cruises vs. Nassau/Freeport...much better use of a shore day than Nassau or Freeport and Carnival keeps more of the onshore revenue.