Can anybody tell me about the special needs boarding area at Charleston Terminal?

Hi Mr. Stephan, Click HERE for some general information. It is in the right column under passengers and parking. I would also have your Travel Agent if you used one to contact Carnival for specific instructions. If you didn't use a Travel Agent, I'll post the special needs info below.

Email: specialneeds@carnival.com

Guest Access Services Phone: 800 438-6744 Ext. 70425

Hope this helps neighbor,

Dwayne

If Y'all are going to be driving down 17 as I am, I found this map to the terminal.

Carnival's driving instructions are located HERE. Just scroll down for Charleston.

Good cruise choice for the Carnival Glory! She is a wonderful ship.

Thanks for the info. Enjoy your cruise on the 9th Jack

FYI (not really a :warning: but just be aware) ...

the Charleston port can be "interesting"...I just had friends that got off the ship on Saturday.

They are "EARLY ARRIVERS"...they got to the port at 10:30am, but could not enter the terminal until 11:30am...

It seems that when you arrive, you give your luggage to the porters and then go park your car....and then you must get on a SHUTTLE to get to the port terminal.

They were there at 10:30am...BUT they said the first shuttle did not leave for an hour....which meant standing around in the heat for an hour waiting....

you put your carry ons under the bus....

I know it is weird to have to take a shuttle the very short distance to the terminal doors..but that is what is required...so just be aware....especially if there are some special needs involved....

Yes, it is interesting to say the least! I wrote some comments about this in this thread. I was only there for a ship inspection and couldn't believe the confusion on the pier. Guests were being redirected back to the warehouse to take a shuttle back. This was at the top of my list to address to Carnival's area manager for South Carolina. She said "Dwayne be patient, a new terminal is coming". This was back in June, and Charleston voted it in just in the last two weeks.

It is a nutty thing they have going on there, and I was a little put off by this as I have campaigned for several years for Carnival to bring a year round ship here. Even guests arriving by taxi have to go to the parking/shuttle pick up area, then take a shuttle back to the terminal entrance at last check. I hope the new terminal solves this issue.

Yes, I wanted to make sure the OP was very aware....especially since he has someone with Special Needs....

now we have no way of knowing what those special needs are, but as a Mom of a son with Autism...an hour wait in the hot sun would have been an "issue" what I would have wanted to know about....

Absolutely! And thank you for pointing this out. I'm going to also ask some questions about this while I am down there next weekend in order to further help the OP. I plan to also contact Special Needs concerning this in order to hear what they say myself.

One thing to point out though is they advise not arriving to the port before 12:30PM. The current terminal has to be switched over from Customs and Debarkation and set back up for Embarkation. This is what causes the problems with "Early Arrivers", as they don't have a separate area to begin checking them in.

So a Head's Up..don't arrive at the Port of Charleston too early!

Absolutely! And thank you for pointing this out. I'm going to also ask some questions about this while I am down there next weekend in order to further help the OP. I plan to also contact Special Needs concerning this in order to hear what they say myself.

One thing to point out though is they advise not arriving to the port before 12:30PM. The current terminal has to be switched over from Customs and Debarkation and set back up for Embarkation. This is what causes the problems with "Early Arrivers", as they don't have a separate area to begin checking them in.

So a Head's Up..don't arrive at the Port of Charleston too early! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks Dwayne....

hopefully in a few years (when they get the new terminal finished) this will all be an inconvenient memory!!!

Since my daughter now sails form this port I have signed up for the Port of Chalreston Newletter. Wow an email every time a ship comes to port. Who knew. Every time the Fantasy come to port it tells me this:


"From about 11 am until the embarkation process is completed, a small portion of Concord Street will be closed from north of Market Street to the intersection south of Hasell Street on Washington Street. During the embarkation, for access to and from areas just north of Union Pier Terminal, drivers are encouraged to use Calhoun and Laurens streets."

So if you are driving in beware that some streets are closed, GPS use may not know this

They also make a note for early luggage drop off:

"Early luggage drop-off for the Fantasy's sailing begins at 9 am. For detailed passenger information, including instructions and guidelines, click here."

I see the link did not copy But clearly there is some provision to drop off luggage early

And thanks for the other info, That will be a big help in planning our first trip to Charleston. We are planning to drive. I will have to ask my daughter if she has to take the shuttle when she parks her car. I bet she does, and if it's the same one, then a treat to come in late will be that cruise personall will be on the shuttle with you, in disguise of course, they look like regular people with a ID badge around thier necks HAHA