BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WSAV) – After the decision was made to stop cruise ships from docking on Beaufort's waterfront, the American Cruise Line is now stationed at Safe Harbor Dock in Port Royal.
Guests from the cruise are being shuttled directly to downtown Beaufort, but small business owners were upset over the shuttles skipping over Port Royal as a whole.
Mayor Kevin Phillips says the town is now working with the American Cruise Line to create packages for guests, allowing them to explore both downtown Beaufort and Port Royal.
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"So when the cruise ships are here, when people get off, they'll have that option of, 'Do you want to go to the city before or do you want to go to Port Royal or do you want to do both?' So that's all in the works now," Phillips said. "We're really excited about that."
The mayor said they'll be docking periodically through May.
"We'll also see the cruise walking around and hopefully they just enjoy and see what makes Port Royal. So, you know, cool, coastal and far from ordinary."
Phillips said the partnership is in effect now, and they've already seen the shuttles unloading cruise guests around town.