Things to Do Near Half Moone Cruise Terminal

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.

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.

A serious art collection in Ghent that charges nothing to walk into.

Best for: An hour indoors that costs nothing, especially if the weather turns

Pro tip: Closed Monday, which is the trap — check your sailing day before you plan around it. There is a free guided tour at 11 a.m. daily meeting in Huber Court, which is the fastest way to see the good things if you only have an hour. Sunday opening is noon rather than 10 a.m. meeting in Huber Court, which is the right way in if you have never been. Sunday it does not open until noon, while the Glass Studio round the corner opens at 10.

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

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.