National Geographic adds Beaufort cruise. Seeing city from water adds ‘cool factor’
National Geographic Expeditions is advertising a cruise with a stop in Beaufort this spring, making it the third cruise with a port of call in the Lowcountry communities.
The stop is part of a new South Carolina tour for National Geographic Expeditions, said Rob Wells, president and CEO of the Beaufort-Port Royal Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
It will positively showcase Beaufort’s waterfront and downtown, says Wells, and also bring visitors to town with a light footprint — people who are conscientiousness about the environment. And, he adds, how people arrive in Beaufort makes a difference in the experience.
“People who drive here have a different arrival experience from people who come by water,” Wells said. “I envy those people who arrive by water, because that’s how you came to Beaufort centuries ago. There’s a cool factor to that.”
The National Geographic Sea Lion, a cruise ship that accommodates 62 guests in 31 outside cabins, will cruise along the state’s coast in six separate trips, from April 30 through Nov. 27, according to National Geographic Expeditions. The six-day trips begin and end in Charleston with stops in Beaufort, Port Royal Island, Phillips and Edisto islands, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge an Francis Marion National Forest.
The expeditions into the Lowcountry’s environment and history, which cost $3,990 per person, are billed as “Wild South Carolina Escape: A Voyage to Beaufort and the Barrier Islands.”
“Dive into this diverse heritage today, visiting Old Sheldon Church; the Port Royal Museum; and the Penn Center, the first academic school for freed slaves,” National Geographic Expeditions says of the Beaufort and Port Royal stop. “See evocative antebellum mansions, and then head to Lady’s Island Oysters for a tasting of oysters raised in the nearby estuary.”
Said Wells: “Having somebody like National Geographic come in, remember their mission. ... They are not here to leave a footprint. They are here to have people to engage and participate and most of their travelers are going to recognize the importance of the environment that they are in.”
Stuart Pimm, a Duke University conservation professor, will lead the team of experts accompanying the cruise.
The company’s Sea Lion is the second cruise ship to dock in Beaufort.
In April, one of American Cruise Lines’ ships, the “American Star,” returned to the Beaufort Downtown Marina after a year-long absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. American Cruise Lines said it is expected to return to the city in November.
Meanwhile, two Victory Cruise Lines cruise ships remain tied up on Battery Creek in Port Royal, where they have been parked for months, initially as a result of the pandemic.
Cruise ships in Port Royal
In September, American Queen Steamboat Company announced that it had merged with sister company, Victory Cruise Lines, under a new name, American Queen Voyages.
Wells said the new company will be making stops in Port Royal, but hasn’t announced its itinerary yet.
