Charleston dinner cruises

Which cruise has dinner?

Only one of the three harbor cruises on this site serves dinner. The Spirit of Carolina, run by SpiritLine Cruises, is a boat with enclosed dining decks where a plated meal is served while it sails. The sunset cruise on a 45-foot power catamaran and the history cruise on the Carolina Belle both run from the Charleston Maritime Center in downtown Charleston. They are shorter, they sell drinks and snacks from an onboard bar, and they do not serve a meal. The Carolina Belle is a replica of a 1920s bay steamer, with an enclosed observatory and a partly covered upper deck.

• Dinner on the water: the Spirit of Carolina, from Patriots Point
• Sunset and skyline lights, no dinner: the power catamaran, from downtown
• Harbor history with commentary, no dinner: the Carolina Belle, from downtown

What the dinner cruise includes

The dinner cruise lasts two and a half hours. The meal is four courses, made to order on board from local, seasonal ingredients. Live music plays through the evening, the dining decks are climate controlled, and a full-service bar is open. Tables seat four to six people. The route runs past Fort Sumter, along the Battery and beneath the Ravenel Bridge. In the summer months the sun sets while you are on the water. The boat itself is 90 feet long and 30 wide, with two enclosed dining decks, an open-air observation deck, ten-foot ceilings and two mahogany bars. Most of what the fare pays for is the dinner and the evening around it.

• A four-course plated dinner, with soup, salad, main course and dessert on the operator's current sample menu
• Live music
• Climate-controlled dining decks and an open-air upper deck
• A harbor route past Fort Sumter, the Battery and the Ravenel Bridge

What costs extra

Drinks are not part of the fare. The bar sells wine, beer and soft drinks, and does not serve shots. Outside alcohol is not allowed, and the operator says it will be confiscated. Parking at Patriots Point is run by a separate company, takes cards only and is a fee on top of the cruise. Some guests also mention a photographer on board who sells pictures at the end of the evening. Budget for a drink or two per person, and for parking if you drive.

How the evening runs

Boarding begins at 6:30 pm, after you collect a boarding pass at the ticket window, and the boat sails at 7:00 pm. Dinner is served while it is under way: soup and salad first, then the main course you chose, then dessert, with live music playing throughout. Between courses you can go up to the open upper deck for the bridge, the fort or the skyline. The cruise ends at about 9:30 pm back at the same dock, so the car you left at Patriots Point is where you finish.

Choosing between the three cruises

Pick by the evening you want. Choose the dinner cruise if the meal is the point: an anniversary, a birthday, a group that wants to sit down together. Choose the sunset catamaran if you want an hour or two on the water with the skyline lights coming on and are happy to eat elsewhere afterwards. Choose the history cruise if you want the harbor explained, with live narration past more than 75 landmarks. It is also the only one of the three that cannot be cancelled once booked, which matters if your plans are not fixed. Check the length too: the dinner cruise needs the whole evening, while the other two leave room for a meal before or after.

What you sail past

Charleston Harbor forms where the Ashley and Cooper rivers meet, and the dinner cruise stays inside it. Fort Sumter sits on an artificial island at the harbor mouth; its brick walls are five feet thick and it is where the first shots of the Civil War were fired in April 1861. The Battery is the seawall and promenade at the tip of the peninsula. The Ravenel Bridge opened in 2005 and its towers rise 575 feet. The boat passes the fort rather than landing there.

Read next: The sights on the route

The table and who you sit with

The dinner is served at tables for four to six. A party of two is seated with another party of two unless a private table has been bought in advance, so plan to share if there are only two of you and ask the operator beforehand if that matters. One guest enjoyed sharing a table with strangers, and another wrote that a waiter who learned of an anniversary brought dessert. The fall sample menu lists a braised short rib, seared chicken, brown-butter salmon and shrimp and grits, plus a vegetarian main course. The kitchen is not free of nuts, shellfish or gluten. Tell your server about allergies when you order.

Booking through GetYourGuide or the operator

SpiritLine also sells the dinner cruise directly, with group rates for parties of 15 or more through its sales office. Booking through the link on this page follows GetYourGuide's terms instead: free cancellation up to 24 hours before the cruise, and the option to reserve now and pay later. The operator's own site sets its own terms, which are different, so read the cancellation wording wherever you book. For a small party, the practical difference is the cancellation window and how you pay.

When to go

The cruise sails in the evening, and whether you see a sunset depends on the date. From about mid-March to early October the sun goes down after the boat leaves the dock. From late October the whole sailing is after dark, and the lit bridge and city take the place of the sunset. Summer evenings are hot and can bring thunderstorms. Cooler months mean a jacket for the open upper deck, and a coat in winter. Dates, times and the dock itself are covered in the next guide.

Read next: Patriots Point cruise tips

Who this isn't for

Skip the dinner cruise if you need step-free access, because the operator says accessibility is very limited and steps are required. Skip it if you want a private table for two without paying for one in advance, if a severe nut, shellfish or gluten allergy means you need a certified free-from kitchen, or if you want to walk around Fort Sumter, which the boat only passes. Strollers are not allowed on board, and the sunset or history cruise is the better choice if you want something shorter.