Carnival Cruise Line Sails First Cruise Out of Norfolk in Over Two Years

Carnival Cruise Line today celebrated its return to guest operations in Norfolk, Virginia, as Carnival Magic became the first ship to set sail from the city’s Half Moone Cruise Center since 2019. At the same time, it also became the largest ship to ever depart from the port.

In celebration, Carnival welcomed guests aboard the first cruise of the season departing Norfolk with a “Back to Fun” event, complete with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony that also debuted the terminal’s new gangway, which has recently been expanded to accommodate larger ships.

“Norfolk is a key seasonal homeport for us and we are excited to have Carnival Magic based in Norfolk for our guests to enjoy and to support the local economy,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “I want to thank the City of Norfolk for its ongoing commitment to Carnival and the enhancements it made to the beautiful Half Moone Cruise Center, so that we could bring the larger Carnival Magic here for our restart.”

Today’s sailing is a six-day itinerary bound for The Bahamas, which is scheduled to call at Nassau, Half Moon Cay (a 65-acre private island leased by Carnival subsidiary Holland America Line) and Freeport. Carnival will sail a total of 11 voyages out of Norfolk over the course of summer and autumn. Itineraries will vary according to departure date, but some of the destinations visited will be Bermuda, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In a statement today, the cruise line expressed pride in its 20-year partnership with the City of Norfolk, and the Nauticus waterfront maritime museum and science center, which operates Half Moone Cruise Center. Thanks to the port’s newly increased capacity, more guests than ever will be able to enjoy a cruise vacation from Norfolk this summer and fall.

“We are especially excited to welcome Carnival Magic to Norfolk,” said Nauticus executive director Stephen E. Kirkland. “This is the largest cruise ship to embark passengers in our history and marks the return of our long-time partners at Carnival.”

With the easing of pandemic restrictions, Carnival became the first major cruise line to have returned its entire fleet (23 ships in all) to service with Carnival Splendor’s May 2 sailing out of Seattle.

Now that Carnival’s seasonal operations in Norfolk have restarted, as will sailings from New York City in mid-June, all 14 of the cruise line’s homeports will once again be active. That, in turn, will wrap up a successful overall restart of guest operations for Carnival, one which has set the pace for the entire U.S. cruise industry.