Hearing bad experiences about leaving from Charleston SC?

[molly5673]

Why is this port so bad? March 2015 will be our 1st carnival and 1st time leaving from Charleston. Why the nightmare stories?

 

 

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[molly5673]

Why is this port so bad? March 2015 will be our 1st carnival and 1st time leaving from Charleston. Why the nightmare stories?

 

 

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[Gypsywych]

Basically, Charleston is a small port within a small historical area of a stuffy southern town. Because it's in a historical area, traffic patterns are still in 1800's mode.

Not much to be done about it.

[molly5673]

So are there any tricks to getting to the port from the Charlotte area? Any tips about once we get there?

 

 

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[LTFRFD]

I went out of charleston twice last year. Never had any problems and always breezed right through. I would recommend self debarkation as there is a lot of congestion when you try to find your bags. Have fun on your trip !

 

 

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[justcake]

We sailed out of Charleston in March and had no problems. The only small issue was having to stay in line to pay to park. It wasn't the quickest but it sure beats Boston where it takes an hour or more to leave because you pay to park after the cruise. In Charleston at the end of the cruise you basically just hope on a shuttle get your car and go. It is really not that bad at all.

[hunter14]

We sailed out of Charleston in March and had no problems. The only small issue was having to stay in line to pay to park. It wasn't the quickest but it sure beats Boston where it takes an hour or more to leave because you pay to park after the cruise. In Charleston at the end of the cruise you basically just hope on a shuttle get your car and go. It is really not that bad at all.

 

Good to hear, sailing soon!

[pgharea]

The only issue as stated is the method of parking. You arrive and begin the process by having your luggage unloaded. Then you snake around to a tent to pay to park. Then into the garage....one or two cars at a time. The real, and longest delay that I had was over two hours sitting in the car in those lines. We later learned that the ship was late to port so the garage was still full of returning passengers. The lot workers said that it happens every few cruises.

 

 

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