Norfolk cruise terminal: where Half Moone is and how to get there

Every cruise on our schedule leaves from one building, the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center on the downtown Norfolk waterfront. Carnival's own Norfolk page lists its ships here but does not name the terminal. The Cruise Norfolk pages on Visit Norfolk's site do, and their parking, wheelchair and coach instructions are written for Carnival passengers.

• Terminal. Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center. Nauticus lists it as the Half Moone Decker Cruise Terminal.
• Address. 1 Waterside Drive, Norfolk, VA 23510.
• Operator. Cruise Norfolk, run by Nauticus. The City of Norfolk owns the building.
• Drop-off. Waterside Drive, just past the terminal, in front of Town Point Park.
• Parking. The city's Cedar Grove lot at 1000 Monticello Avenue, with a free shuttle. See Norfolk cruise parking.
• From the airport. Norfolk International is 10.8 miles away, Visit Norfolk says. See Norfolk Airport to the cruise port.

This site is independent. It is not Nauticus, the City of Norfolk or Carnival.

Where is the Norfolk cruise terminal?

The Norfolk cruise terminal is the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center at 1 Waterside Drive, Norfolk, VA 23510, on the downtown waterfront. Visit Norfolk, the city's visitors bureau, gives that address and says the terminal is within walking distance of downtown hotels. It shares the Nauticus campus with the Battleship Wisconsin.

The building goes by more than one name. The City of Norfolk's news release of 17 September 2025 calls it the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center. Visit Norfolk's cruise FAQ calls it the Half Moone Cruise Terminal, and Nauticus calls it the Half Moone Decker Cruise Terminal. All three mean the same place, and Nauticus gives its museum the same street address, One Waterside Drive.

The same city release says Cruise Norfolk, which Nauticus operates, manages the terminal. Nauticus's own page adds that the City of Norfolk owns and maintains the campus buildings, the cruise terminal among them. Visit Norfolk describes an 80,000 sq. ft. building that shares its space with the Nauticus Maritime Discovery Center, its sailing center and the battleship.

Where do cruises from Virginia leave from?

From this terminal in Norfolk. Visit Norfolk, the city's visitors bureau, calls the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center home to "Virginia's only cruise ship program". All 89 sailings on our schedule board here, and every one is a Carnival cruise. Ships of other lines call at Norfolk partway through their voyages, but you cannot start a cruise on them here.

Which cruise line sails from the Norfolk cruise terminal?

Carnival. All 89 sailings on our schedule are Carnival departures from Half Moone, on 2 ships. Carnival Sunshine sails from Norfolk until 15 May 2027, and Carnival Freedom takes over from 23 May 2027, a change the City of Norfolk announced in September 2025. Your Carnival boarding pass is the final word on where and when to report.

Ship	Sailings on our schedule	First departure	Last departure
Carnival Sunshine	25	14 November 2026	15 May 2027
Carnival Freedom	64	23 May 2027	28 October 2028

Ships from other lines also call at Norfolk partway through their voyages. Visit Norfolk says Norwegian Pearl is scheduled to call each week from April to August 2027, 20 visits in all. Those are port calls on cruises that start somewhere else, so they are not on our schedule. The Carnival guide covers what Carnival sells from Norfolk.

How do you drive to the Norfolk cruise terminal?

Drive to Waterside Drive downtown if someone is dropping you off, or to the Cedar Grove lot at 1000 Monticello Avenue if you are parking. Visit Norfolk's directions bring you into downtown on I-264. From I-64 East, take Exit 284A onto I-264 West toward Norfolk, then follow Exit 9 to Waterside Drive.

1. From the north, Visit Norfolk's route is I-95 South toward Richmond, then I-295 South toward Norfolk and Virginia Beach, then I-64 East.
2. From I-64 East, take Exit 284A to I-264 West, toward Norfolk.
3. Leave I-264 at Exit 9 and follow Waterside Drive into downtown.

From the south, Visit Norfolk's route is I-95 North to Route 58 East, then I-264 East and the Waterside Drive exit.

The directions page carries no date, so check the route on a live map on the day. Visit Norfolk's cruise FAQ also links a map from Cedar Grove to the terminal.

Where do you get dropped off at the Norfolk cruise terminal?

On Waterside Drive, just past the terminal, in front of Town Point Park. Visit Norfolk says taxis, Uber, Lyft and private cars drop off and pick up there, at the signed drop-off area. Personal vehicles and vans may not use the bus and shuttle lane in front of the terminal. Porters at the terminal check your bags.

• Disabled passengers. Visit Norfolk says disabled passengers can enter the loop with handicap plates, a hanging handicap tag or a personal ID card. Nauticus also has a limited ADA drop-off for loading and unloading of five minutes or less. To use it, show your placard, ID card or plate to the officers directing traffic.
• Dropped at the parking lot instead. The city says passengers may be dropped at Cedar Grove, check their bags there and ride the free shuttle to the terminal.
• Coaches and charter buses. Every motorcoach needs a reservation for drop-off and pickup. Visit Norfolk's Carnival Sunshine flyer says to book at least two weeks ahead and to unload luggage at Cedar Grove first, with guests staying on board.

Where do you park for the Norfolk cruise terminal?

At the City of Norfolk's Cedar Grove lot, 1000 Monticello Avenue, 1.5 miles from the terminal. It cost $15 a day for cars and vans up to 15 passengers when we checked on 3 November 2026, paid by cash or card on entry or online ahead. Bags are checked at the lot, and a free shuttle runs to the terminal.

The parking guide covers the lot's hours, prepaying, accessible parking and larger vehicles.

What time should you arrive at the Norfolk cruise terminal?

At your Carnival arrival appointment, and not before it. Visit Norfolk advises passengers not to arrive before their scheduled check-in time, and the city says to follow your cruise line's guidelines. Carnival's embarkation-day article says you pick an Arrival Appointment at online check-in, set earlier than sailing time so you can check bags and show documents.

That article was first published in February 2018 and last updated in August 2019. It also tells first-time cruisers to allow extra time for an unfamiliar city and for traffic.

Carnival Sunshine's Eastern Caribbean sailing of 14 November 2026, for example, leaves Norfolk at 4:00 pm and is due back at 8:00 am, according to Carnival's itinerary page. Check the page for your own sailing. If you are parking, plan around the shuttle hours. Visit Norfolk says Cedar Grove opens at 9:30 am and the last shuttle leaves at 2:30 pm.

What should you bring to the Norfolk cruise terminal?

Your boarding pass, photo ID and citizenship documents, in your hand rather than a checked bag. Carnival's embarkation-day article, last updated in 2019, lists a boarding pass, printed or on your phone, photo ID, a passport with any visas or other citizenship documents, and a completed health questionnaire. Visit Norfolk refers document questions to the cruise line.

The same article says to print your luggage tags at online check-in and to keep medication and valuables in a small carry-on, since checked bags reach your cabin later.

The documents guide covers which documents work for which sailing, and the first-time cruiser FAQ covers the rest of the day.

What help is there for wheelchair users at the Norfolk cruise terminal?

Carnival offers wheelchair assistance at embarkation and debarkation. You ask a Carnival representative once you reach the terminal, and the help runs as far as the ship's lobby. It is first come, first served, with no curbside help and a 325-pound limit. To request it before you sail, Carnival has a Wheelchair Assistance Form.

Visit Norfolk adds what happens at Half Moone:

• If you rented a wheelchair or scooter from Scootaround, Carnival's provider, ask the parking crew to bring it to your car in the ADA drop-off lane. Carnival says Scootaround delivers rentals on board in all its U.S. homeports.
• If you can walk as far as the check-in area, you can get a wheelchair there for the rest of the way in.
• If you cannot, a family member can fetch a wheelchair from check-in and bring it to you.
• Cedar Grove has ADA parking and an ADA shuttle with a lift. City of Norfolk Parking takes questions through Norfolk Cares at 757-664-6510.

Can you store luggage at the Norfolk cruise terminal?

Yes, at Nauticus, on the same campus. Visit Norfolk says bags can be stored there from 10 am to 5 pm Monday to Saturday and from noon to 5 pm on Sunday, at $10 a bag when we read its page on 3 November 2026. That is useful if you leave Norfolk late on the day you get off.

For lost luggage, Visit Norfolk says to call a Carnival representative on 954-319-7745 to book a pickup time. Pickups happen only on days when Carnival's ship is in port.

What happens when you get off the ship in Norfolk?

You collect your bags in the baggage hall, where porters arrange them, and then clear customs. The city says staff then direct you to coaches, taxis, limousines or the parking shuttle. Visit Norfolk adds that rideshares, taxis and private pickups use Waterside Drive, and that Cedar Grove parkers take the shuttle back to the lot.

If someone is collecting you, Visit Norfolk's cell phone lot flyer sends them to wait in the MacArthur Center Parking Garage, where the first 2 hours are free. Call them once you have cleared customs. The flyer's route back is right out of the garage onto City Hall Avenue, left on Granby Street, right on Main Street and straight into the terminal. It warns that drivers may be asked to circle the block if the pickup zone is full.

What is near the Norfolk cruise terminal?

Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin share the terminal's campus, and Town Point Park faces the drop-off on Waterside Drive. Visit Norfolk says cruise passengers get buy-one-get-one-free admission to Nauticus, bought online or on site, and that downtown hotels are within walking distance of the terminal.

Visit Norfolk also runs a show-your-boarding-pass program with discounts from attractions, restaurants and performing arts venues for cruise passengers. If you are staying in Norfolk the night before, see the hotels guide.