NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Carnival Cruise Line will temporarily move its Baltimore operations to Norfolk as cleanup continues at the Francis Scott Key Bridge following its collapse Tuesday.
And rather than having months to prepare for a cruise season, as is normal, Nauticus Executive Director Stephen Kirkland notes it will have just five days.
Kirkland got the call to put the Half Moone Cruise terminal back into commission less than five hours after a container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Last October, it was announced that the Half Moone Cruise Terminal in downtown Norfolk would close for a year to Carnival cruise ships while crews prepare to welcome the Carnival Sunshine in 2025. The city approved $12 million for it in the budget in June 2023.
The Carnival Legend is scheduled to return from its current voyage Sunday, March 31 with 2,600 passengers and will head to Norfolk’s Half Moone Cruise terminal, rather than Baltimore. People on the ship will be given complementary bus service back to Baltimore. Those buses will depart from Nauticus. Then, another 2,600 passengers will depart on the cruise line Sunday afternoon.
“There are about 70 buses that will take those guests back up to Baltimore,” Kirkland said. “We’re going to line those buses up here in front of Nauticus. We’re going to accommodate these guests as best we can — 2,600 guests will get off on Sunday morning [and] 2,600 guests will arrive here either by bus or private vehicle to begin their seven-day journey.”
People who are this and upcoming cruises are being notified of this change.
“Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, in a statement. “We appreciate the pledge made by President Biden today to dedicate all available resources to reopen Baltimore Harbor to marine traffic as soon as possible. As those plans are finalized, we will update our future cruise guests on when we will return home to Baltimore, but in the meantime, we appreciate the quick response and support from officials in Norfolk.”
Kirkland told 10 On Your Side that Norfolk has the tools and talent to get the job done.
“We’re working with all of our great partners, all of our internal stakeholders of the city Customs and Border Protection, the United States Coast Guard, our stevedore team, you know, dozens and dozens and dozens of contractor staff that need to take tickets. and they need to do all of those things,” Kirkland said.
Kirkland said they’ve also received calls from Royal Caribbean.
“Certainly we’ve gotten calls from Royal and they’re making some decisions,” Kirkland said. “They have a lot of ports to choose from as well. We’ve said to them, look, if we can possibly accommodate you, we will. But that’s their choice. And they’re making their own decisions right now.”
This move by Carnival comes as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that the Port of Virginia, which issued a statement offering its services, is already handling cargo that had been destined for the Port of Baltimore.