Charleston Port ?

[2xsin12mths]

My daughters and I are cruising Ecstasy Sept. 3-8. (Can't wait....4th time on Ecstasy!) I never left from Charleston. My one daughter lives in NC so she can drive and pick us up at the airport and drive us to the cruise port. I have been reading horror stories on here about getting off the ship....it takes forever...custom lines are long....the shuttle to the parking lot is a zoo...etc.

My daughter can drive us back to the airport so that's good but here's the issue. I can book a 10:50am or a 7:25pm. Of course I want the 10:50 as my other daughter and I need to go back to work Friday. I have been on many cruises where my TA says don't book a flight before noon and we are at the airport at 9:00 (or earlier).

I'm torn.......what would you do? Is Charleston really that bad? (And we def will be going with self assist getting off).

[TruckerDave]

Relax, it is not that bad. From the port (which is downtown) to the airport (in North Charleston) it will only take you about 15-20min or so at that time of the day. I don't know where you are seeing these "horror stories" from, but it is not worse than any other port. They have it pretty much figured out down there. Just don't try to arrive before they tell you and you should be fine.

Edited May 10, 2016 by TruckerDave

[dulcimergirl]

If you make sure to carry off your own luggage, it shouldn't be a problem. (hopefully). The problem might be, say you get off the ship at 9, and out of the terminal by 9:15, a conservative estimate, then the airport by 9:45, on a good day, will that leave the required amount of time at the airport before your flight? Getting off before 9, might be very iffy. I've cruised from the Charleston port 9 times, and my 10th will be my upcoming cruise on Ecstasy on Sept 3.. yep, we will be with you!!

I hope it all works out for you!

[slyman17]

You should definitely try to get FTTF if you don't already have it. We were on Ecstasy in early April and it was a great help getting on and off. We did self assist and got off right behind platinum and diamond. It was very fast. Charleston was a great embark/debark port for us (with FTTF), the only problem with the port is, it is a silent port. They are not aloud to use the announcing system while in port, except very minimally, so it's harder for them to tell everybody where and when to go. Have fun!!!

[cruzeluver]

I think some of the problem comes from folks who are used to sailing out of other, larger ports with multiple ships embarking on any given day like Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Charleston's port is quite different. First of all, it is locate din downtown right in the middle of the historic district so you have to contend much more with those that live in work in this small, very busy area. The port authority does not permit cruise passengers to just enter the terminal, hence the need for the shuttles. The process for us has always worked just fine. If you are parking or being dropped off, just follow the signage and the directions of the police/security/port staff and you will be fine. We have cruise three times from Charleston with the fourth coming up in just under three weeks and never had a serious issue.

[2xsin12mths]

I'm platinum which means my girls can leave with me since we are rooming together. So I have that going for me:D

[kimmimom]

I have sailed PC, Tampa, Jax, and Charleston and it was my least favorite. It involves walking LONG, twisted ramps/gangway on and off of the ship so be mindful if you are carrying luggage on/off. Also you can't get into the parking lot/deck/warehouse until a certain time so they line you up outside in the lot and snake people around. We had to sit and wait for quite a while. We got on and off relatively quickly, but it took a bit longer than other ports and the gangway was a long twisted walk that was a line of people so you inched along. Other ports have been literally just walking on the gangway and out with no lines. I have been platinum in Charleston, as well as PC and Jax. If you do the earlier one (we did a 11:20 flight out of Tampa), make sure you have insurance or alternate plans. Sometimes ships dock late or customs has issues or they are there to arrest someone.

[TrqoisWtrs]

I've never been to the Charleston airport so not sure how large/small it is, but something to keep in mind is long lines at security. Its been in the news lately that TSA does not have enough staff to handle the large amount of passengers that are now flying and a lot of people are missing flights. They are recommending you get to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/business/airport-security-lines.html?_r=0

[2xsin12mths]

Carnival does have a "check in" terminal at Miami airport. It's awesome!

[TruckerDave]

Carnival should follow Disney's example and open a "terminal" like at Orlando airport. Cruisers could check their luggage, get their boarding pass and photos then board a shuttle bus to take them straight to the ramps for boarding.

 

CHS is not that big and with only 1 cruise line (Carnival) doing short cruises from here is would not be even remotely practical for this. Comparing CHS and Carnival with Disney,MCO and PC or Carnival with MIA is like comparing apples to watermelons. There is just not the volume of pax flying into CHS for this.

[ChucktownSteve]

CHS is not that big and with only 1 cruise line (Carnival) doing short cruises from here is would not be even remotely practical for this. Comparing CHS and Carnival with Disney,MCO and PC or Carnival with MIA is like comparing apples to watermelons. There is just not the volume of pax flying into CHS for this.

 

It's just a case of people never having flown or cruised from Charleston throwing in their two cents.

[TruckerDave]

It's just a case of people never having flown or cruised from Charleston throwing in their two cents.

 

Valid point. :D

I can say this...after living in Houston for 18 years and using IAH.....flying in/out of CHS now, is a dream. I came back from my Med cruise last month...from the time I grabbed my suitcase, drove home and walked into my apartment was 17 minutes. Yes I timed if for laughs. I do live in West Ashley, but, still pretty good I think. (sorry for those that don't know the Charleston area, the West Ashley part means nothing to you). It would have taken my longer than that just to get to my car in Houston.

[l2f]

We have never sailed from CHS, nor on a Fantasy class ship, but recently moved close enough to drive to this port and want to give it a try.

 

For the cruisers that have sailed from Charleston.

 

We have never done the 3, 4, 5 day cruises from Florida as many say the shorter sailings have a larger party (rowdy) crowd.

 

Can we expect CHS to be the same? Some reviews we have read say things like a different clientale about CHS.

 

Can you tell us your experience. We are considering trying the Ecstasy, 4 or 5 day.

 

Thanks

[ChucktownSteve]

 

I have sailed out of Charleston three times and the lines and parking situation are horrible. Was only throwing out an idea/suggestion to address those issues. Thanks for your two cents too.

 

The Charleston port has been trying for years to get a new terminal plan approved further up the river that would fix all of the current problems of parking and passenger check in. The local elites and extreme environmentalists are opposing it saying they don't want any cruise ships.

 

In 2010 when the Celebrity Mercury was disembarking Charleston and they suffered several consecutive cruises of noro virus, they did try something as you suggested in reference to Orlando. Because embarkation was delayed several hours while the CDC checked the ship while it was cleaned, everyone was checked in at the Convention Center in North Charleston, then bused to the terminal after the all clear was issued.

 

That solution wouldn't work for normal operations because busing people from parking to North Charleston then back to the terminal is not practical.

 

 

As a side note, we were scheduled on that ship the following cruise. Fortunately the "code red" was lifted a couple of days into our cruise.

Edited June 6, 2016 by ChucktownSteve

[dcwalker]

question - I see posts about Charleston that reference a shuttle. Is the shuttle mandatory? My husband and I are driving and staying overnight and ubering to the port for embarkation. Can the uber driver drop us near the ship so we can walk, or is there some place that we are required to go to get on a shuttle before going to the ship? I don't get it.

[ChucktownSteve]

question - I see posts about Charleston that reference a shuttle. Is the shuttle mandatory? My husband and I are driving and staying overnight and ubering to the port for embarkation. Can the uber driver drop us near the ship so we can walk, or is there some place that we are required to go to get on a shuttle before going to the ship? I don't get it.

 

The free shuttle is part of the security check in process and is mandatory. The Uber driver will need to drop you off at luggage drop off inside the Union Pier gate. If you walk up to the port area from downtown, you will still be required to wait in a parking lot within eyesight for the shuttles to pick you up to drive you to the terminal a few hundred feet away.

 

The terminal is within walking distance but they check to see that you have your passport & cruise document before they let you board the shuttle. No terminal walk up is allowed. That check point is similar to the airport tsa check point before you go through security.

Edited June 12, 2016 by ChucktownSteve

[dcwalker]

Huh. Very interesting. Thanks, ChucktownSteve, for clearing up the shuttle mystery for me.

[ChucktownSteve]

Huh. Very interesting. Thanks, ChucktownSteve, for clearing up the shuttle mystery for me.

 

You're welcome. Hope you have a great cruise and don't forget to enjoy Charleston on either end of the cruise! :D

[waterbug123]

I've never been to the Charleston airport so not sure how large/small it is, but something to keep in mind is long lines at security. Its been in the news lately that TSA does not have enough staff to

 

I live in Charleston so fly out of CHS frequently. The airport is not huge; concourse B was recently expanded and now has 9 or 10 gates, and concourse A has 5 gates. There is now one consolidated security area serving both concourses. Lately the PreCheck line has been open every time I've flown and it's never long, so if you have PreCheck you have no worries. The regular line can be long, but I've yet to see it prohibitively long. Flew recently with a friend who didn't have Pre and waited on the other side maybe 15 minutes for her. YMMV