The city lot, and the other ways to leave the car
There’s one official lot and one price. Two things are left to settle. The official pages disagree on when the lot opens, and a hotel deal might beat it — that mostly takes a phone call.
Cedar Grove lot
- 1000 Monticello Avenue, about 1.5 miles from the terminal, per the City of Norfolk
- Free shuttle; bags checked at the lot
- Cash or most cards on entry; no reservations
A hotel that holds the car
- No hotel in our twenty prints a rate to leave the car while you sail
- Park, Stay & Go, Park and Fly and one Park and Cruise package are worth a call
- We checked them one by one: see the ranking
Get dropped off
- Taxis and rideshares drop on Waterside Drive, just past the terminal
- Porters take the bags from the cab
- From ORF, CruiseHive puts a cab at about $25
What the pages say
| Where you read it | What it says | Status |
|---|---|---|
| City of Norfolk cruise page | $15.00 per day, Cedar Grove, 1000 Monticello Avenue; lot opens 10 AM, shuttle from about 10:30 | Current |
| Visit Norfolk CruiseNorfolk FAQ | Pay on entry, cash and most major credit cards; no reserved parking; lot opens 9:30 AM, shuttle from about 9:45, last shuttle 2:30 PM | Current — the opening time conflicts |
| Visit Norfolk FAQ | Hotel “Stay and Park” packages downtown | No hotels named or priced |
| Visit Norfolk’s April 2024 cruise-deals page | Downtown hotel nights with up to seven days’ parking | Dated; we couldn’t find these on the hotels’ own sites |
Parking at Cedar Grove
- Rate: $15.00 per day for passenger vehicles, including vans up to 15 passengers, per the City of Norfolk. Neither official page mentions tax or an RV rate. Review periodically
- Where: Cedar Grove, 1000 Monticello Avenue, 1.5 miles from the terminal by the city’s count — our routing makes it about 1.1 road miles.
- Payment: “Parking fees must be paid upon entry,” in “Cash and most major credit cards,” per Visit Norfolk.
- Reservations: none — Visit Norfolk says there’s no reserved parking.
- Security and access: fully fenced and monitored 24/7 by local law enforcement, with ADA parking and a lift-equipped shuttle, per Visit Norfolk.
- Getting to the door: a free shuttle between the lot and the terminal’s curb, and your bags are checked at the lot and taken to the ship, per the City of Norfolk. Taxi and Uber drop-offs can use the Cedar Grove shuttle too.
- Opening time: 9:30 AM with shuttles from about 9:45 and the last at 2:30 PM, per Visit Norfolk; 10 AM with shuttles from about 10:30, per norfolk.gov.
Sources: the City of Norfolk’s cruise page and Visit Norfolk’s CruiseNorfolk page and FAQ — rechecked October 3, 2026.
Sail morning, in order
Drive to Cedar Grove and pay at the gate. Hand over the bags — they go to the ship without you. Then ride the free shuttle to the terminal.
Don’t race the gate. Visit Norfolk asks passengers not to arrive before their scheduled check-in time. With the opening time in dispute, idling at a closed lot gains you nothing.
Coming home, you collect your bags in the baggage hall, not at the lot, then clear customs and take the shuttle back to the lot, per the City of Norfolk.
Hotels and other options
We didn’t find a private off-site cruise lot with published rates we’d stand behind — so $15 a day, with a free shuttle and a bag check, is the number to beat.
Visit Norfolk’s FAQ says downtown hotels offer “Stay and Park” packages. It doesn’t name one. The names you’ll see quoted elsewhere, like the Residence Inn’s seven free nights or Glass Light’s $20 cruise valet, trace back to Visit Norfolk’s April 2024 page. We couldn’t find any of them on the hotels’ own sites in October 2026.
Hotels that hold the car
We went through the hotels’ own sites one at a time, the ORF hotels too, looking for a price to leave the car while you sail. None prints one for a cruise. Seven name a parking package, though, and that’s worth a phone call — park-and-fly at most, park-and-cruise at the Holiday Inn on Greenwich Road. Our twenty-hotel ranking scores every one on parking and distance.
The top six, by our ranking
Distance, cruise parking, free breakfast and the evening decide the order. Tap one for the full review, or hold a room for the night before.
Who should pick what
| Traveler | Likely best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Driving in on sail day | Cedar Grove | $15 a day, no reservation, and the bags go to the ship from the lot. Arrive at the later of the two published opening times. |
| Flying into ORF | No car: a cab or rideshare | A rental would sit at $15 a day while you cruise — on top of the rental. CruiseHive puts the cab at about $25; rideshares pick up outside Arrivals near Door 3. |
| Staying downtown the night before | Ask the hotel, then Cedar Grove | The 2024 seven-night deals aren’t on the hotels’ sites, so ask. If they’re gone, the lot is under a mile and a half from every downtown hotel in our twenty, by our routing. |
| Staying by the airport | A hotel with Park, Stay & Go or Park and Fly | Four of our airport hotels list one. Only the Comfort Inn shows a price, and that’s a room rate with 14 nights’ parking. See the twenty. |
| A van of up to 15 | Cedar Grove | Vans up to 15 passengers pay the same $15 a day, per the City of Norfolk. |
| Needs accessible parking | Cedar Grove | ADA parking and a lift-equipped shuttle, per Visit Norfolk. |
Still deciding how to get to the ship?
Tell us how you're arriving and what matters most.
Driving in the same day or flying into ORF, a van full of family, a hotel deal you want checked — tell us the actual situation and we'll tell you straight which option fits.
Answers checked against current pricing and itineraries before you book.
Parking FAQ
How much is the Cedar Grove cruise lot in Norfolk?
$15.00 a day for passenger vehicles, vans up to 15 passengers included, per the City of Norfolk. You pay on entry, in cash or by most major credit cards, per Visit Norfolk. The pages we read don't mention tax or an RV rate.
Where is cruise parking in Norfolk?
At the Cedar Grove lot, 1000 Monticello Avenue, about 1.5 miles from the terminal by the city's count. A free shuttle runs between the lot and the terminal's curb, and your bags are checked at the lot and taken to the ship.
What time does the Norfolk cruise parking lot open?
The two official pages disagree. Visit Norfolk says the lot opens at 9:30 AM, with the shuttle starting around 9:45 and the last one at 2:30 PM. The City of Norfolk says 10 AM, with shuttles from about 10:30. Plan on the later time — and don't arrive before your check-in time.
Do I need to reserve cruise parking in Norfolk?
No — and you can't. Visit Norfolk says there's no reserved parking at Cedar Grove. You pay when you drive in, not ahead.
Is Norfolk cruise parking secure?
Visit Norfolk says so. The lot is fully fenced and monitored 24/7 by local law enforcement — with ADA parking and a lift-equipped shuttle.
Which Norfolk hotels let you park while you cruise?
None of the twenty in our ranking prints a cruise rate. Seven put an offer on their own pages that's worth a call: Hilton's Park, Stay & Go at The Main, the DoubleTree and the Hampton Inn & Suites by ORF, Park and Fly at the Holiday Inn Express, Park Then Fly at Wyndham Garden, a Park and Cruise package at the Holiday Inn on Greenwich Road, and a 14-night Park and Fly Package at the Comfort Inn & Suites. The downtown seven-night deals quoted around the web come from Visit Norfolk's April 2024 list, and we couldn't find them on the hotels' own sites.