New Moon for Norfolk cruises

[Jason]

New Moon for Norfolk cruisesTerminal's designed to make a lasting impression

BY KATHERINE CALOS, TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Norfolk's shiny new cruise facility is poised to open in two months, with high hopes and no guarantees.

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The first year will be a bit slow, as cruise lines and passengers get the feel of the $36 million Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, which the city built for use as a cruise terminal and rental facility. The second year, 2008, is the first real test. If you build it, will they come?

The public gets its first peek inside Half Moone's 80,000 square feet at a community day April 7. For the grand-opening ceremonies April 28, the premier of Bermuda and officials from Royal Caribbean International are expected to participate. Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas will board the first passengers through the new terminal April 28. The ship will offer 13 voyages from Norfolk to Bermuda over 13 weeks, then move to Philadelphia for the rest of the season.

Carnival's Victory will arrive in June and October for two cruises to nowhere and two cruises to the Bahamas.

That's it for this year.

To some, it doesn't seem like much. Two years ago, a record 105,000 passengers used temporary facilities at Nauticus maritime museum to board ships from four cruise lines: Celebrity, Radisson Seven Seas, Holland America and Carnival. Passengers for 2007 are expected to total about 92,000 on two cruise lines: Royal Caribbean and Carnival.

To others, it's a great beginning, especially when you compare it with the 1990s. Between 1996 and 2000, a total of 8,000 passengers took cruises out of Norfolk.

"What would make it a success? Norfolk cruises in general are a success," said Victoria Cash, spokeswoman for CI Travel in Norfolk.

"Royal Caribbean sailings are projected to go out completely full. They are almost 90 percent sold," she said. "The response has been so overwhelmingly positive, we are hoping for an expanded schedule for 2008. We are also hopeful that, with the new cruise terminal and Royal Caribbean's success, there may be an ability in the future to romance other cruise lines to come out of here."

Brooks Bowen at Travel Agents International in Richmond sees local interest but not a lot of product. "It's as if somebody threw a party and nobody came . . . when we sit here knowing that the only cruises are Royal Caribbean on their old ship and a couple of Carnival dates."

Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas entered service in 1990. One of the early megaships, it has a rock-climbing wall that was revolutionary at the time. The biggest modern amenity that's missing is a high percentage of balcony staterooms. Only 69 of the 801 staterooms have balconies.

Stephen Kirkland, Norfolk's cruise marketing manager, sees full steam ahead. The year 2008 "is going to shape up to be a great year for us," he said. The only deal he can announce at this point is that Carnival will add another Bahamas cruise in 2008, which gives a total of 33,000 passengers on Carnival, compared to 26,400 this year. "We anticipate a very full schedule in 2008 and should have some other news this spring."

From Carnival's perspective, Norfolk is doing the right thing. In past years, the city used a heated tent outside Nauticus to process passengers. It was "a little on the small side for the ships we bring in," said Terry Thornton, vice president of marketing planning for Carnival.

He's seen a recent photo of the progress on the new building, and it looks spectacular, he said. "It's going to be a state-of-the-art program. It looks awesome."

Carnival operates ships out of 19 home ports. When considering a new port, Thornton said, the cruise line looks at the docking facilities, the number of people within driving distance and the amount of air service, especially from low-cost carriers.

"That combination of a good population base and reasonable air service and a safe, secure berth is what we look for primarily. Norfolk really fits that bill," he said.

The primary objective at a port such as Norfolk is to attract first-time cruisers, he said. They're the target audience for two-day cruises to nowhere. "They get the lay of the land without a huge financial or time commitment.

"Cruising probably does enjoy the highest satisfaction levels of any type of vacation," he said. "Once we get them to try it, we've got them for a long time. . . . It opens up the possibility to try other ships, other home ports. It's a great feeder for people to be interested in cruising."

Carnival's current schedule in Norfolk isn't likely to change greatly. The Victory is based in New York City during the summer and based in the Caribbean during the winter. Norfolk's cruise dates are a stopover as the ship travels from one region to the other.

"Honestly, we're a little bit ship-challenged," Thornton said. "This ship that goes out of Norfolk ends up in New York and does a pretty long season out of New York. You have to make a tradeoff. We found that New York, given the huge size of that market, has the best opportunity for us for a long season."

Norfolk's new cruise center will make a difference in customer satisfaction, he said.

Its 80,000 square feet offer more than 13 times the passenger space available in the 6,000-square-foot heated tent previously in use. The facility will have room to process passengers arriving for cruises at the same time that it's processing passengers departing from cruises. When the tent was the only facility available, boarding passengers sometimes had to wait outside in line if there was a delay. Now they'll be inside, with a massive wall of windows giving them a full view of the ship.

An exhibit will draw from the Herbert Beazley Ocean Liner Collection of documents, passenger manifests, onboard menus, artwork and models.

"We'll utilize the collection to interpret the 'romance of cruising' and focus on pieces from the 1920s, '30s and '40s," Kirkland said.

"This makes the Half Moone the only cruise facility in the country to have such a collection. I think it will truly be a unique experience -- prior to boarding a modern-day cruise ship, passengers will have the chance to learn more about its predecessors and the history of the industry."

Thornton expects passengers to be pleased.

"Their first impression of cruising and Norfolk is what they experience when they check in. That's why it's so important to make the embarkation facilities pleasant," Thornton said.

"Debarkation is their last impression of what their vacation was like, so it's important for that to go smoothly and to be in a nice environment.

"It's important when they get home to remember that it was a great experience from start to finish."

[SMB]

Has anyone ever sailed from an east coast port outside Florida?

[Mebert]

SMB,

I've sailed out of New York City on the Carnival Legend. We visted Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Tortola on an 8 day cruise. I really appreaciated the convenience of not having to fly and dealing with weight limits for the luggage and sailing from home and taking a taxi home after the cruise.

The New York terminal is crowded and it helps to be in a special program like Concierge Class to beat the long lines.

[JohnG]

I live in Virginia Beach, next to Norfolk, 9.5 miles from the port. I sailed out of Norfolk on Carnival 2 night cruises to nowhere, and more recently on a 10 day HAL Maasdam cruise in 2005. The Carnival 6 night cruises to the Bahamas have not had the same demand as the RCCL Empress of the Seas coming week long sailings to Bermuda.

I also sailed from Baltimore on the Galaxy several years ago. Baltimore was only a 3 hr drive for us. We have people who will drive from here to Charleston or Florida to cruise. Not as many interested in going north to New York to sail, though.

[Mebert]

JohnG,

I live in New York and would sail out of New York only because I live here. I really wouldn't come to New York to take a cruise if I lived somewhere else. It's a real pain to get to the pier for the airport unless the cruise lines have those shuttles like they have in other towns. But traffic in New York is so bad I be afraid that I would land at the airport in time but miss the ship because of traffic jams.

I love New York but I understand the hassles of getting to that pier when you don't live in New York. I'm not knocking her. New York has a lot going for it if you have time to spend a night or two before your cruise.

On the other hand, there are some itineraries that are worth the trip and you can only get them in New York or few other east coast piers, like the New England and Canada cruises.