NORFOLK, Va. — The Mermaid City has a new "Spirit of Norfolk."
The new river cruise vessel made its inaugural voyage Thursday, two years after the original Spirit of Norfolk was destroyed in a fire on the Elizabeth River.
To celebrate, some military families and active duty service members were given the chance to take a free cruise.
"The USO has invited all the families that are new to the area out on the cruise," said Damion Madison, City Cruises Norfolk's general manager.
They traveled from Towne Point Park downtown to Naval Station Norfolk and back, a journey that took about two hours, with sunny and mild weather.
It took firefighters four days to put out the original Spirit of Norfolk's fire in June of 2022, and the vessel was declared a $5 million total loss.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the fire was likely caused by the ignition of combustible materials stored near an exhaust pipe of the operating port generator.