All Things Charleston 411

[waterbug123]

On 1/18/2019 at 8:23 AM, teknoge3k said:

 

A lot of Ubers do have car seats. You can request a car seat when making your Uber call.

 

Thanks, I wasn't aware that option existed.  Still, as Ubers are all individual "businesses," you'll likely find that relatively few have car seat options; I doubt that a very high % of Uber drivers maintain an inventory of car seats, especially considering that there are multiple sizes/styles for different sized/aged children.    In a relatively small market like Charleston, I still think your best bet, to insure car seat availability, would be a professional car service, in which a single business manages a larger fleet.

[hapE2cruise]

21 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

Thanks, I wasn't aware that option existed.  Still, as Ubers are all individual "businesses," you'll likely find that relatively few have car seat options; I doubt that a very high % of Uber drivers maintain an inventory of car seats, especially considering that there are multiple sizes/styles for different sized/aged children.    In a relatively small market like Charleston, I still think your best bet, to insure car seat availability, would be a professional car service, in which a single business manages a larger fleet.

Thank you!  Can you recommend any reputable car services that you know of in Charleston? 

[waterbug123]

9 minutes ago, hapE2cruise said:

Thank you!  Can you recommend any reputable car services that you know of in Charleston? 

 

As car seats aren't an issue for us, we usually just Uber when we want/need to avoid driving ourselves.  But Charleston Black Cabs has a pretty good reputation from what I recall.   And a few times, when we've had a large group visiting or done a large group outing for a birthday or something we've used Ride It Out, which I believe also has regular cars in addition to the party limos that we've gotten.  You should be able to find either via Google search, so you can contact for rates and car seat availability.

[BroadwayGirl]

We'll be in Charleston on a Saturday as a port stop for our RCCL cruise.  I've been to Charleston a few times for day trips a number of years ago when my dad lived in SC.   My husband wants seafood for lunch post carriage ride and most of the restaurants mentioned in this thread (like Coast) do dinner only.    Any thoughts for seafood lunch?  I don't want to end up at Bubba Gump or Hymans.   Last time I was there as a poor college student, local CoC kids sent me to AW Shucks and I had a great meal but it has since closed. 

[Lois R]

3 hours ago, BroadwayGirl said:

We'll be in Charleston on a Saturday as a port stop for our RCCL cruise.  I've been to Charleston a few times for day trips a number of years ago when my dad lived in SC.   My husband wants seafood for lunch post carriage ride and most of the restaurants mentioned in this thread (like Coast) do dinner only.    Any thoughts for seafood lunch?  I don't want to end up at Bubba Gump or Hymans.   Last time I was there as a poor college student, local CoC kids sent me to AW Shucks and I had a great meal but it has since closed. 

Hi, I was looking at restaurants in Charleston and used my friend GOOGLE...then I went to Trip Advisor.

Check out this link:....shows multiple seafood restaurants...…...fun to read about them.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g54171-c33-Charleston_South_Carolina.html

[BroadwayGirl]

Thanks for sarcasticly telling me to use Google but I’ve already been on Trip Advisor and their Charleston forum as well. Sadly most of the top rated places and those the forum mentioned do not serve lunch (or don’t serve lunch on the weekend and do brunch) after doing research. Sometimes the best local places and hidden gems don’t make those lists and asking for recommendations from the few locals on this thread made sense to me. 

[ChucktownSteve]

20 minutes ago, BroadwayGirl said:

Thanks for sarcasticly telling me to use Google but I’ve already been on Trip Advisor and their Charleston forum as well. Sadly most of the top rated places and those the forum mentioned do not serve lunch (or don’t serve lunch on the weekend and do brunch) after doing research. Sometimes the best local places and hidden gems don’t make those lists and asking for recommendations from the few locals on this thread made sense to me. 

 

Hi BroadwayGirl,  Have you considered Fleet Landing?  They're pretty good and actually overlook the port and your ship. The address is 186 Concord Street at the foot of the City Market in Historic Downtown Charleston.  http://fleetlanding.net/

 

Another option would be Charleston Crab House downtown. It's about three blocks from the port. It's next to where AW Shucks was. It also appears that John Keener who owns the Charleston Crab House (James Island & Downtown) now occupies the AW Shucks location with the seafood restaurant called Oyster House.

Edited January 22, 2019 by ChucktownSteve

[Lois R]

3 hours ago, BroadwayGirl said:

Thanks for sarcasticly telling me to use Google but I’ve already been on Trip Advisor and their Charleston forum as well. Sadly most of the top rated places and those the forum mentioned do not serve lunch (or don’t serve lunch on the weekend and do brunch) after doing research. Sometimes the best local places and hidden gems don’t make those lists and asking for recommendations from the few locals on this thread made sense to me. 

I was not being sarcastic...…..I was just trying to help in a fun way, that is why I posted the big smile.  I use google all the time for many things and I thought the link might help you.  Guess I was wrong.

[waterbug123]

17 hours ago, BroadwayGirl said:

We'll be in Charleston on a Saturday as a port stop for our RCCL cruise.  I've been to Charleston a few times for day trips a number of years ago when my dad lived in SC.   My husband wants seafood for lunch post carriage ride and most of the restaurants mentioned in this thread (like Coast) do dinner only.    Any thoughts for seafood lunch?  I don't want to end up at Bubba Gump or Hymans.   Last time I was there as a poor college student, local CoC kids sent me to AW Shucks and I had a great meal but it has since closed. 

 

Try Fleet Landing, which is right by the cruise port, or Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar, which is only a 5 min or so walk from the port.  I believe they are both open for lunch.

[TrinaLC]

Agree, Fleet Landing. 

[TrinaLC]

On 1/9/2019 at 3:03 PM, villauk said:

 

 

Thank you for replying 😉. We’re still undecided but are definitely looking forward to our Charleston visit.

Definitely Middleton for a true plantation experience. 

[villauk]

16 minutes ago, TrinaLC said:

Definitely Middleton for a true plantation experience. 

 

 

Why? Any information would be great 😉. TIA.

[ChucktownSteve]

Middleton is the oldest landscaped gardens in America. The current remaining house is part of the original mansion burned by union soldiers in February before the war ended in April 1865. It has many of the original pieces inside the house.  The formal gardens and butterfly lake overlooking the Ashley River are beautiful. You can see more about Middleton at their web site  by clicking Here

 

Conversely, Magnolia Plantation's house was not original but was moved there.

[mom2oneXY]

Hey all!   We've got a cruise booked on the Sunshine this summer and we're trying to make some decisions about embarking.  I thought I'd put our options out there and have you all help me decide 🙂  Background info:  We're a family of 3 living about 6 hours from Charleston.

 

Option 1:  Leave home at 6:00am, drive to port, park, get on the ship.  Parking is $20/day so for a 5 night it's $100.  

Option 2:  Stay in a hotel somewhere nearby that has a free shuttle to the port.  Is there such a place?

Option 3:  Stay in a hotel somewhere nearby that will let us leave our car there and Uber to the port.  Is there such a place?

Option 4:  Stay in a hotel somewhere nearby and take our car to the port the next day.  Any suggestions?

 

My husband's perferred option is 1 because it doesn't add to the cost of the vacation that much.  I'm trying to get him to see that a hotel with a shuttle or grabbing and Uber would be in the same ball park.  So I'm thinking Option 4 won't really fly since it would be the cost of a room and cost of parking.  

 

Also, if we do drive down the day before are there any suggestions for things to do for a family of 3, including an 8 year old boy?

 

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

[teknoge3k]

1 minute ago, mom2oneXY said:

Hey all!   We've got a cruise booked on the Sunshine this summer and we're trying to make some decisions about embarking.  I thought I'd put our options out there and have you all help me decide 🙂  Background info:  We're a family of 3 living about 6 hours from Charleston.

 

Option 1:  Leave home at 6:00am, drive to port, park, get on the ship.  Parking is $20/day so for a 5 night it's $100.  

Option 2:  Stay in a hotel somewhere nearby that has a free shuttle to the port.  Is there such a place?

Option 3:  Stay in a hotel somewhere nearby that will let us leave our car there and Uber to the port.  Is there such a place?

Option 4:  Stay in a hotel somewhere nearby and take our car to the port the next day.  Any suggestions?

 

My husband's perferred option is 1 because it doesn't add to the cost of the vacation that much.  I'm trying to get him to see that a hotel with a shuttle or grabbing and Uber would be in the same ball park.  So I'm thinking Option 4 won't really fly since it would be the cost of a room and cost of parking.  

 

Also, if we do drive down the day before are there any suggestions for things to do for a family of 3, including an 8 year old boy?

 

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

 

 

We do option 3. A few years ago we had a hotel that offered free parking but they stopped so we found a better hotel. It's the Springhill Suites in Mt. Pleasant. They have free parking I believe and Uber is less than $20 for an UberXL. 

 

I don't like hotel shuttles because with priority boarding we like getting there early. With Uber you go when YOU want to and it's only you in your vehicle. Shuttles go on a schedule and usually fill up. 

[waterbug123]

8 hours ago, mom2oneXY said:

Option 1:  Leave home at 6:00am, drive to port, park, get on the ship.  Parking is $20/day so for a 5 night it's $100.  

Option 2:  Stay in a hotel somewhere nearby that has a free shuttle to the port.  Is there such a place?

Option 3:  Stay in a hotel somewhere nearby that will let us leave our car there and Uber to the port.  Is there such a place?

Option 4:  Stay in a hotel somewhere nearby and take our car to the port the next day.  Any suggestions?

 

My husband's perferred option is 1 because it doesn't add to the cost of the vacation that much.  I'm trying to get him to see that a hotel with a shuttle or grabbing and Uber would be in the same ball park. 

 

Option 2 or 3 means a night in a hotel, probably dinner out the night before the cruise (either in Charleston or while you're on the road to Charleston), and possibly and Uber to the port and another Uber back to get your car after the cruise.  You could easily be talking about double (or more) the price of option 1 by the time you check hotel rates and add in the possible extras.

Edited February 3, 2019 by waterbug123

[CruisinCons]

Thanks for all the great information locals!  We've got a one day stop on April 30, visiting on Grandeur of the Seas.  We're great with just wandering on our own, but want to make sure we wander where it's safe to wander so I was hoping for some guidance on which direction we should Uber to and which direction it's safe to walk. 

 

Looking on Google Maps there are a lot of places within a 2-3 mile walk but I did see a post earlier about visitors staying out of the area where Leon's is.  We were thinking of walking to Palmetto Brewing as the 2 mile walk is easy for us, but it seems to be close to the area Leon's is in.

 

Thanks! 

[ChucktownSteve]

4 hours ago, CruisinCons said:

Thanks for all the great information locals!  We've got a one day stop on April 30, visiting on Grandeur of the Seas.  We're great with just wandering on our own, but want to make sure we wander where it's safe to wander so I was hoping for some guidance on which direction we should Uber to and which direction it's safe to walk. 

 

Looking on Google Maps there are a lot of places within a 2-3 mile walk but I did see a post earlier about visitors staying out of the area where Leon's is.  We were thinking of walking to Palmetto Brewing as the 2 mile walk is easy for us, but it seems to be close to the area Leon's is in.

 

Thanks! 

 

I hope you have a great Charleston Visit.  I'd stay away from Meeting Street and King Street above Cannon Street at dusk. Huger street is probably fine in the daylight walking but definitely not in the evening. You may enjoy the bars/restaurants on NOMO. North Morrison Ave.

[CruisinCons]

5 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

I hope you have a great Charleston Visit.  I'd stay away from Meeting Street and King Street above Cannon Street at dusk. Huger street is probably fine in the daylight walking but definitely not in the evening. You may enjoy the bars/restaurants on NOMO. North Morrison Ave.

 

Thank you!! 

[Raxter54]

Glad I found this thread, it was beginning to look like ther were only threads about sailing out of NYC 😝  DW and I, along with our 11 year old nephew, will be sailing on the Sunshine on August 24. Have never sailed out of Charleston before, hopefully you all can answer a few questions from this Illinois Yankee 🙂

 

1) We're stopping overnight in Columbia, expect to get to the port around 10:30. When does the terminal open to allow passengers to enter? We can adjust our arrival time to accommodate the opening time.

 

2) How quickly does the indoor parking at the port fill up? Outdoor parking is not a problem, but if we can get indoor parking that would be nice.

 

Going to spend some time this evening going thru this thread to get some information, any additional you could give us would be greatly appreciated...

[thrillfan]

Can someone tell me if I have a handicap tag do I pay the full amount to park at the port. Thanks in advance.

[ChucktownSteve]

6 hours ago, thrillfan said:

Can someone tell me if I have a handicap tag do I pay the full amount to park at the port. Thanks in advance.

 

Cruise parking is free with valid handicap tags or hangers. The person who it's issued to must be in the vehicle. They also work in all city parking garages and parking meters for free.

Edited March 31, 2019 by ChucktownSteve

[thrillfan]

18 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

Cruise parking is free with valid handicap tags or hangers. The person who it's issued to must be in the vehicle. They also work in all city parking garages and parking meters for free.

Thank you for the info

 

[thrillfan]

 

18 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

Cruise parking is free with valid handicap tags or hangers. The person who it's issued to must be in the vehicle. They also work in all city parking garages and parking meters for free.

Thank You for the info we are going out of Charleston in September

[Cyber Kat]

Hello all!

 

We have a 2.5 day port stop in Charleston on a rather unusual Azamara Journey cruise this week.  We arrive on a Friday at 1pm and don't leave until Sunday at 11pm.  It's a Perry Golf thing and while all the golfers are off on the courses, we will have 2 and half days to explore lovely Charleston.  This will be my first visit.  DH was there in the Navy - but it was so long ago we aren't going to count that 😄

So what to do?  He wants to visit Fort Sumter.  Fine with me, I get a boat ride and some photo ops.  I think we will do that from Liberty Sq because if I'm reading correctly, it's not far from the Cruise Port.  We won't have a car.

I want to do a horse and carriage tour.  I'm looking at Old South and Palmetto - any preferences?  I would also like to do some sort of architecture tour - maybe tour a house.  Is there such a thing.  I saw a High Society Walking Tour that might fit the bill.

I thought about a plantation tour, but I don't think we want to invest the time.  I think I'd rather spend more time walking around the old historic parts of town.  I'm more of a Town Girl than a Country Girl.

I'd also like to have a lunch somewhere not too fancy.  We don't do fancy for lunch.  My husband will have a burger and I want some seafood - I might try Shrimp and Grits.  Grits never appealed to me, but I hear I've been eating them prepared incorrectly 🙂   Kind of interested in She Crab soup, and/or maybe crab cakes.  I'm thinking Fleet Landing.  Would that be a good choice? My other interest is in Charleston Crab House - sounds like my kind of place, but I think we would both like that Fleet Landing is on the water.

Last but not least, I'm wondering about the Hunley.  I think my husband would really enjoy that, but it would require some sort of plan and transportation.  Any suggestions - besides Uber - on how to get there.  I understand they do the tours on the Weekend, so Saturday would probably be best for that.  We would have to choose between the Hunley and Patriot's Point and Azamara is taking us to a USO show on the Yorktown Sunday night.  It's one of their Azamazing Evenings.

So for those who like a list instead of chat:
1) Fort Sumter from Liberty Sq
2) Horse & Carriage Tour
3) Some sort of architecture tour - with possibly a house tour
4) Yummy lunch
5) Hunley, or maybe Patriots Point or maybe just a leisurely walk around

So am I trying to fit too much into 2.5 days.  It seems like a lot of time considering most cruise only stop for a few hours, but I have a feeling that the time will go quickly.  Keeping my fingers crossed for good weather, or we will be visiting museums and the Aquarium.