Norfolk cruise terminal to host new attraction

Norfolk's cruise terminal, which has struggled to gain passengers, will be home this summer to a new attraction called "Atlantis! A Labyrinth Adventure," an interactive nautical-themed maze.

The maze, aimed at all ages, will take visitors through beds of seaweed and on a virtual trip swimming with jellyfish, and will puzzle them with riddles as they explore the mythical lost underwater city.

"It's going to draw a lot of people to downtown Norfolk," said Stephen Kirkland, assistant executive director of Nauticus, which runs the cruise terminal. "We want this to really be the talk of the town this summer."

News of the attraction came last week as Kirkland outlined to the Downtown Norfolk Council plans for securing Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center's future. The facility, which opened in 2007 and cost $36 million, has seen a decline in the number of cruises offered there.

Kirkland said the drop is partly due to an industry-wide repositioning of ships to Europe but that the big problem is Norfolk customers tend not to pay full price for their trips.

The amount of money a ship can make off each passenger is the primary factor in cruise lines determining where to base ships, and customers in Baltimore and Charleston, S.C., tend to spend more, he said.

Both of those cities have seen the number of cruises increase in recent years.

Half Moone, meanwhile, is the departure point for five cruises this year, all in either May or October. Last year, 11 cruises departed from the terminal. Half Moone also is a stopping port of call for five other ships, ranging from two Princess cruises to a Semester at Sea sailing.

In October, officials from the cruise terminal told the City Council to expect a 25 percent drop in the number of people cruising out of Norfolk in 2011. Last year, 64,000 people departed from Half Moone.

Kirkland said Norfolk cruise officials had been meeting with state leaders - including Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling - and tourism officials about securing more marketing and lobbying help from the state. Kirkland said it was too early to divulge details of the conversations but that he hoped to have more to announce within a few months.

He told Downtown Norfolk Council members that city officials hoped to involve state leaders more in discussions with cruise lines and marketing efforts.

In the meantime, between the spring and fall cruise seasons, the terminal will be home to the 14,000-square-foot labyrinth, which Norfolk resident Grant Cothran said he thought up after visiting a similar attraction in Montreal.

He and downtown civic group re:Vision Norfolk brought the idea to the Nauticus board several months ago.

Visitors will wander through dark, twisty corridors and into about a dozen rooms where they'll be faced with riddles, puzzles, videos and challenges.

"It's like a board game that you walk through - a live-action board game you actually experience with all of your senses," said Cothran, who works in marketing at Norfolk Southern. "It's just kind of good clean fun."

The attraction is scheduled to open July 2 and will be aimed primarily at families but will be home to nighttime events for adults and college students, he said.

Kirkland said Nauticus pledged $100,000 toward the construction of the attraction and is looking for corporate sponsors to increase that amount.

The beauty of the labyrinth is that it can be reused, with different themes, anytime the cruise terminal is empty, Cothran said.

"If this is going to be half as successful as we think it's going to be, we're thinking it'll be back," he said.

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com