Half Moone Cruise Terminal Guide

All-suite with a separate bedroom and a full kitchen, on West Brambleton Avenue

Why we picked it: The only all-suite hotel in walking distance of the terminal, which is the whole argument for it with children: a separate sleeping area and a kitchen, so the night before does not have to include a restaurant. Its on-site parking is $18.00 a day, per its own page, the joint-cheapest downtown.

Pro tip: Two warnings from its own page, both practical. Its garage has a height limit of 7 feet 2 inches, which rules out a lot of SUVs with a roof box — read that before you drive down from Richmond with the bikes on top. And its own address block asks GPS users to aim at the York Street address to find the hotel. It states the hotel does not provide shuttle service, so the eleven minutes to the ship is a walk.

Parking: On-site parking at $18.00 per day, per the hotel's own page, with a published garage height limit of 7 feet 2 inches. No cruise-length rate is published.

Per marriott.com, checked 2026-08-18

On the water at 777 Waterside Drive, and the only Norfolk hotel publishing a cruise package

Why we picked it: It is the only hotel in the city selling a package built for this trip. Its own offer page runs an Experiences-Cruise Package from 22 July 2026 to 22 July 2027 with a minimum one-night stay, breakfast for two adults, and valet parking discounted by 15 dollars a day for the length of the cruise — so the car sits at the hotel while you sail rather than at Cedar Grove. Breakfast for two before an embarkation morning is worth more than it sounds.

Pro tip: Its own overview page states the hotel does not provide shuttle service, so plan the nine-minute walk or a rideshare. Valet is $35.00 a day before the package discount, and the hotel says it cannot valet oversized vehicles. If you are a family of five in a big SUV, call before you count on the package.

Parking: Valet parking, $35.00 daily per the hotel's own page, discounted by $15 a day for the length of the cruise under its cruise package. Oversized vehicles cannot be valeted.

Per marriott.com, checked 2026-08-18

The closest hotel to the ship, with three restaurants downstairs including the only kids' menu we found downtown

Why we picked it: Its own location page lists "Half Moone Cruise Center - 0.1 Miles", the only Norfolk hotel publishing a terminal distance, and with children that five-minute walk is the whole game. It also solves dinner and breakfast in the building: Grain on the roof publishes a kids' menu, and Varia opens at 6:30am every day, which is earlier than anywhere else within walking distance.

Pro tip: Self-parking is $18.00 a day against $33.00 valet, with in/out privileges — the flexible option if you are running to Target for forgotten sunscreen. Ignore the "Park, Stay & Cruise" link in its sitemap: the URL redirects to the offers index and no live offer mentions a cruise.

Parking: Self-parking $18.00 per day, valet $33.00 per day, with in/out privileges available, per the hotel's own page. No cruise-length parking rate is published.

Per themainnorfolk.com, checked 2026-08-18

The big full-service hotel on East Main Street, six minutes from the terminal

Why we picked it: The largest hotel downtown, which means connecting rooms and availability when the smaller places are booked out around a sailing. Six minutes to the terminal is short enough to do twice if somebody forgets something.

Pro tip: Its own page states twice that the hotel does not provide shuttle service, and names a paid alternative — Orange Peel Transportation at 30.00 USD one way — which is worth knowing if the weather turns on embarkation morning. Its valet is $33.00 daily, and the page notes all parking is owned and operated by the City of Norfolk with an additional 6 percent tax on top of the listed price.

Parking: Valet parking $33.00 daily, per the hotel's own page, which adds that all parking is owned and operated by the City of Norfolk and that listed prices exclude an additional 6 percent tax.

Per marriott.com, checked 2026-08-18

On Plume Street, with the only weekly parking rate published by any downtown hotel

Why we picked it: If you are leaving the car for the week and want it at the hotel rather than at Cedar Grove, this is the only place putting a number on it: $25.00 daily or $150.00 weekly on its own page, with long-term parking listed as an amenity. For a family that has driven in, knowing the parking cost before you arrive is worth the ten-minute walk.

Pro tip: Compare it honestly: $150 for a week here against $105 for the same week at Cedar Grove, where your luggage also gets checked in at the lot. The hotel is the better answer only if you value the car staying put. Its own page states it does not provide shuttle service.

Parking: On-site parking at $25.00 daily and $150.00 weekly, with long-term parking listed as an amenity, per the hotel's own page.

Per marriott.com, checked 2026-08-18

The city's long-running fine-dining room on West Main Street, and the closest restaurant to the terminal

Closed Sun

What to order: Whatever is seasonal and local — the kitchen describes its menu as the very best of the Chesapeake Bay region, and that is the part worth ordering rather than the imported end.

Pro tip: Closed Sunday, and dinner only every other day from 5PM. That makes it the night-before restaurant rather than the boarding-day one, and it rules it out entirely for a Sunday sailing. Three minutes from the terminal means you can eat here and still walk back to a downtown hotel afterwards.

Parking: Garage and street parking around West Main Street; the restaurant publishes no lot of its own.

A steak and chophouse on Brooke Avenue, open seven nights

What to order: A chop. It is a steakhouse in the traditional sense and the menu is built around the grill rather than around anything else.

Pro tip: Read the house rules before you book. Its own site requests no children under the age of 12, and requires business casual dress in the dining room, listing hats, sweatpants, athletic attire and t-shirts among what it does not allow. That makes it a good adults-only night out and a bad idea with the family in tow.

Parking: Street and garage parking around Brooke Avenue and Granby Street; the restaurant publishes no lot of its own.

Wagyu burgers on Granby Street, open from 11am seven days a week

What to order: A plain cheeseburger at $9.49 and crinkle cut fries at $3.99, both from its own published menu. The kitchen asks you not to request lettuce and tomato — the burgers are made simple and basic on purpose.

Pro tip: The cheapest sit-down meal within walking distance of the ship, and open every single day from 11am, which in downtown Norfolk is genuinely rare. Four minutes on foot means you can feed everyone and still be back at the terminal inside quarter of an hour.

Parking: Metered street parking on Granby Street; the restaurant publishes no lot of its own.

The breakfast answer — a diner and juice bar on East Main Street, open from 7:30 AM daily

What to order: Breakfast, and plenty of it. The diner runs a juice bar alongside the griddle, which is the easiest way to get something green into a child before a week at sea.

Pro tip: Downtown Norfolk barely does breakfast — Waterside District does not open until 11 AM seven days a week — so this is the one to plan around on boarding morning. It serves daily from 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM, and it is a five-minute walk from the ship.

Parking: Metered street parking along East Main Street; the diner publishes no lot of its own.

A rooftop beer garden above the Hilton with a river view and a kids' menu

What to order: Order off the kids' menu for the children and let the adults work through the tap wall — this is the only restaurant in our Norfolk set that publishes a kids' menu of its own.

Pro tip: Weekend brunch runs 9am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, which is the family-friendly window; live music runs Wednesday to Sunday and the room gets louder as the evening goes on. Go early with children, and enjoy the fact that the view over the Elizabeth River includes the ship you are about to board.

Parking: The Hilton's garage below — self-parking $18.00 a day, valet $33.00, per the hotel's own page.

Korean fried chicken on Granby Street, open every day of the week

What to order: The double-fried chicken, which is what the chain is built on. The restaurant describes itself as a family-friendly establishment offering an affordable casual dining experience.

Pro tip: Open seven days from 11:00 AM, which makes it one of the safest bets on a Monday — the day that closes several of the better rooms downtown. Later on Thursday, Friday and Saturday if your sailing is the next morning and you want a proper evening first.

Parking: Metered street parking on Granby Street; the restaurant publishes no lot of its own.

Exactly what the name says, on Granby Street — and the whole menu is a children's menu

Closed Mon & Tue

What to order: The Gooey at $10.75, which is the house grilled cheese and the one the kitchen says most children order. Tomato bisque to dip it in is $4 for a dipper and $7 for a bowl.

Pro tip: Its own FAQ answers the two questions you were going to ask: asked whether it has a kids' menu it says the whole menu is kid friendly, and asked about gluten-free bread it says yes. It takes no reservations and puts the average wait at 15 to 20 minutes. The catch is the calendar — closed Monday and Tuesday, and it shuts at 4PM on Wednesday and Thursday.

Parking: Metered street parking on Granby Street; the restaurant publishes no lot of its own.

Seafood and steaks inside an 1873 church — the building alone is worth the walk with children

What to order: She-crab soup at $10.00 a cup, which is the local dish, and the broiled seafood platter at $35.00 if you are splitting.

Pro tip: Open seven days, with lunch served from 11am to 4pm, so it works before an afternoon check-in as well as the night before. Its own page says reservations are recommended at all times — with a family, make one, because the converted church has fixed seating and no room to squeeze an extra table in.

Parking: Street parking along West Freemason Street; the restaurant publishes no lot of its own.

General Douglas MacArthur's tomb and museum in Norfolk's former city hall.

Closed Sun & Mon

Best for: An hour of twentieth-century history a few blocks from the ship, at no cost

Pro tip: Closed Sunday and Monday, which rules it out for a lot of sailings — check your date first. The memorial publishes downloadable scavenger hunts and a museum backpack program, which turn it from a plaque-reading exercise into something a teenager will actually engage with. Closed Sunday and Monday, which between them are two of the commonest cruise turnaround days here — check your sail date first. Note also that from July 1, 2026 the Jean MacArthur Research Center library and archives is temporarily closed while the museum, visitors center and everything else stays open.

An interactive maritime museum with an aquarium, and a real battleship you can walk the deck of — at the terminal itself.

Best for: The whole morning before an afternoon check-in, without ever moving the car

Pro tip: This is the single best pre-cruise setup on the site: the museum is next door to the terminal, cruise passengers get buy-one-get-one-free admission per VisitNorfolk, and Nauticus will store your bags at $10 each from 10 a.m. Monday to Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday, so hotel checkout does not have to mean dragging cases around. So you check out of the hotel, leave the cases, and let the children run off a morning on a battleship. If you want to go inside the ship, book Battleship 101 — 45 minutes at $12 per person on top of admission, at 10AM and 1PM, and the only one of the three tours Nauticus describes as wheelchair or stroller accessible. The two tours worth the extra here are Command & Control, which climbs four levels into tight spaces, and Life in the Engine Room, which descends seven decks — $20 per person each, an hour each, both recommended for ages 8 and up, and both requiring a general admission ticket for the same date. It is open daily 9am-5pm; the battleship alone closes September 8-11, 2026. Command & Control runs 11AM and 2PM, the Engine Room 12PM and 3PM, and both shift later from September 8, 2026. Wear real shoes. Two things make this the obvious pre-cruise stop rather than just a nearby museum. on Sunday — so the gap between hotel checkout and your check-in appointment has an answer. Going below decks costs extra and is booked separately: Battleship 101 is 45 minutes at $12 per person, Command & Control and Life in the Engine Room are an hour each at $20, and the Saturday VIP experience is $100 — each requiring a general admission ticket as well, for the same date. Note the battleship closes September 8-11, 2026 while Nauticus stays open.

A little passenger ferry across the river and back, boarding a few minutes' walk from the terminal.

Best for: Half an hour of boat that costs almost nothing, with your own ship in view the whole way

Pro tip: The cheapest fun in Norfolk with children, and it doubles as a preview — you can point at the cruise ship from the water. Ferries run every 30 minutes, tightening to 15 at summer weekend peaks. Bring coins or small notes: HRT says its fare boxes and operators cannot make change. Free for anyone 17 and under, so with teenagers this costs whatever the adults' tickets come to and nothing more. You can also walk bicycles aboard. Two dollars buys the best photograph you will take before boarding, because the crossing puts the ship, the battleship and the Norfolk skyline in one frame.

Molten glass being blown in front of you at the Chrysler's studio, free of charge.

Closed Mon

Best for: Children old enough to sit still for forty minutes, who will not have seen anything like it

Pro tip: It starts at noon, daily, and that is not flexible — build the morning around it or skip it. Noon sharp, every day the studio opens, which is Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. and closed Monday. The Chrysler Museum of Art two minutes away is also free, so the two together are a whole free morning. The whole thing hangs on one fixed start: noon, daily. If your check-in appointment is early afternoon this does not fit, and if it is late it fits perfectly. Tuesday to Sunday and closes Monday, and it sits a two-minute walk from the main museum so the two are one trip.

Norfolk's zoo on Granby Street, about ten minutes north of the terminal by car.

Best for: A morning that will genuinely tire small children out before a week aboard

Pro tip: Watch the gate, not the closing time. The zoo is open daily 9:30 am to 4 pm but last admission is 3 pm, so a late lunch kills the plan. Parking is free, and the zoo notes children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. It is the one item on this list worth driving to.