VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Cruise season has kicked off in Norfolk, and city officials say they have taken steps to better secure the parking lot where cruise ship passengers leave their vehicles after a rash of car break-ins last summer.
New fencing, improved lighting and perimeter security cameras are among upgrades made to the Cedar Grove Parking Lot, said Ray Stoner, director of the Norfolk parking division, in a video the city produced to advertise the changes. The lot is also now patrolled 24/7 by sheriff’s deputies instead of the security company Allied Universal the city contracted with last year, according to a city spokesperson.
“We spent a significant amount of money to improve the fencing around here to make it more of a perimeter security fencing,” Stoner said in the video, also highlighting additional accessible parking spaces and new paint.
Stoner was unavailable for an interview to elaborate on the changes.
Passengers can leave cars in Cedar Grove lot on Monticello Avenue between Princess Anne Road and Virginia Beach Boulevard, check in their luggage for the cruise and get a shuttle to the Nauticus terminal, from which Carnival Cruise Lines departs during the season.
The changes come after several cruise passengers last year returned to find windows broken and cars ransacked. Police received six reports of theft and larceny from the lot in the first month of the cruise season from May to June, prompting the complaints to the city and petitions for reimbursement for losses and expenses.
The city refused to compensate passengers for property damage, saying the thefts weren’t an act of negligence on the part of the city. At the time, City Manager Chip Filer cited the security firm not patrolling enough and a hole in the chain link fence surrounding the lot as issues likely leading to the break-ins.
In addition to now relying on the sheriff’s department to patrol the lots rather than a private security company, the city also replaced the lot’s chain-link fence with a new fence with vertical iron bars.
“We are confident in the measures the city of Norfolk has taken,” said Catherine Boyle, a spokesperson for Nauticus cruise terminal.
A spokesperson for Carnival echoed Boyle’s statement.
“We conveyed to our partners at the city and the port that improving the parking situation is a top priority and we are grateful they have worked to make improvements,” said Matt Lupoli.
The cruise season will continue through October with the 4,000-passenger ship Carnival Magic departing for the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and New England. It is the longest season in the city’s history, and Nauticus expects 200,000 visits to Norfolk from cruise passengers.
“The city has made a considerable investment with our business partner Carnival to bring additional cruise dates here,” Stoner said. “This is part of the product that we offer as part of the cruise experience.”
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