imported post
I don't know the rules or laws, but from a practical standpoint, it depends on how far into the terminal you wish to go. There is a security check point, and since all cruise lines that I know of forbid passengers from bringing firearms on board, you will certainly be stopped there at the metal detector and X-Ray machines.
Half Moon has the security set up just inside the front doors, before you do your "check-in" process with the cruise line. Depending on what kind of "help" you're talking about, it is unlikely that you would be able to stay with your person beyond just barely entering the building. Assuming you are talking about someone who is going on a cruise...
While on the cruise, there is a security check-point as you return to the ship (just inside the hatch as you walk in from the gangplank), but in Norfolk, since it's embarkation, they push the secure zone back to the front of the terminal building. There are no additional checks of your person or bags after that first point.
Now... back to your original issue, the cruise lines themselves are usually very helpful when they need to be. I cruised out of Half Moon last May, with a friend who needed to carry 5 large, heavy cases of medical supplies with him during the check-in process. We approached the pier check-in coordinator, who scratched his head for a couple minutes, then called a porter down with a wheel-chair. We loaded the chair up with all the boxes, and he was our "shadow" for the entire rest of the process all the way to the cabin.
TFred
P.S. And by the way, back when film was still king, it was my experience that the TSA folks didn't give one whim of a care about what the rules were, if you didn't do what they said, you weren't getting through their check-point. I got real angry several years ago when they insisted on x-raying my film, despite my protestations that their own rules required them to do a hand-inspection upon request.
