Spot cruise ships in Port Royal? Here’s what they’re doing and how long they’ll stay
It’s a glimpse of what could become a regular sight at Port Royal’s waterfront, but this stop is only temporary for two cruise ships in town.
Victory Cruise Lines ships, named Victory 1 and Victory 2, typically roam the Great Lakes during the summer months. But during the coronavirus pandemic, the 350-foot vessels have been worked on at Charleston Naval Shipyard while not carrying passengers.
Rather than remain in Charleston or return to the Great Lakes, the ships navigated to Port Royal. Cruise line operators saw the former state shipping terminal as a more affordable, long-term solution, said Whit Suber, a real estate broker working on the private redevelopment efforts at the Port of Port Royal.
The cruise line is renting dock space along the wharf on Battery Creek from the nonprofit Warrior Sailing organization, which leases the space from developers as part of a program to get military veterans out on the water. The sailing group handled logistics of the ships’ arrival, including working with federal authorities on how the boats would navigate Port Royal Sound.
The arrangement is temporary but another chance for developers to demonstrate the possibilities of the deep-water port. Through Warrior Sailing, the terminal has hosted deep-drafting racing yachts like the 88-foot Rambler.
Developers had been in talks with the cruise line for more than a year about the possibility of making Port Royal a day stop during a trip along the coast, Suber said.
“Nothing demonstrates to big boat people that you can bring a big boat in other than bringing a big boat in,” Suber said.
The Port of Port Royal sold to private owners in 2017. The investment group, Grey Ghost Properties, plans a marina with space for large yachts and regional cruises.
The area isn’t suitable to serve as a headquarters for a cruise line for people to park, board and debark, Suber said. But it could ultimately become a port of call for day trips.
The cruise liners have not carried passengers since the coronavirus outbreak and maintain a crew of less than a handful of people for each vessel. They hope return to business along the southeastern coast this winter and would leave town as soon as that’s possible, Suber said.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 12:11 PM.
