Cruise from Charleston SCAbout Cruise from Charleston SC
This site answers one question honestly: what can you still sail from Charleston? Big ships stopped departing after Carnival's last sailing on Dec 30, 2024, and Union Pier closed to cruise calls on June 30, 2026. What remains is American Cruise Lines' small-ship route to Amelia Island, the homeports a drive away in Jacksonville and Norfolk, and the harbor cruises that leave Charleston every day, from the $17 water taxi pass to the dinner cruise. We compare tour listings, the port's and the cruise lines' own information and recent traveler feedback. We do not operate or personally conduct these tours. The full line-up sits in the cruises from Charleston SC catalog.
Why It Exists
Search for a cruise from Charleston and most results still read as if Carnival sailed from Union Pier. It has not since the end of 2024. The listings for harbor cruises have the opposite problem: a dozen boats that look alike, with the details that change your evening (the dock, the time, whether drinks are sold or brought, whether you land at Fort Sumter) spread across separate pages.
Those details are the columns of the comparison table here, read off each listing and the operator's own page.
Where the Figures Come From
Harbor cruise prices, ratings, review counts and inclusions come from the listing on the platform that sells each cruise. Docks and timings come from the listing and, where it is more precise, from the operator. Port history and ship calls come from SC Ports, the cruise lines and local news reports. Ocean cruise fares are per person, change daily and are quoted only as the line or a reseller lists them. Park hours and fees come from the City of Charleston, Charleston County Parks, the National Park Service and Patriots Point.
When two sources disagree, the page shows both and says which one it follows.
What You Will Not Find
There is no invented captain or travel writer behind these pages, and no claim that anyone from the site rode these boats. Reviews shown are short excerpts from four and five star platform reviews. A complaint that matters, such as a sunset that falls before departure in winter, is stated in the text with the advice attached.