Destination: Charleston, SC

October 16, 8:50 AMBaltimore Cruise Travel ExaminerStephen Mencik

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Bombardment of Fort Sumter - Charleston, SC

Charleston, South Carolina is the featured port today, as I continue to look at the ports visited by the Celebrity Mercury's 9-night cruise from Baltimore. Other port stops on that cruise include Key West, FL, and Nassau and CocoCay in The Bahamas.

There is a lot of history to see in Charlston, including Fort Sumter, the bomardment of which was the beginnings of the Civil War. There is a museum where you can see the Hunley, which was involved in the first naval submarine expedition. Other military points of note include the USS Yorktown, a WWII era aircraft carrier and a few other smaller vessels tied up at Patrioit's Point Park. If you happen to be there on July 4th, they have a great fireworks display there, with the fireworks being shot off from the deck of the Yorktown.

People from Charleston were also important at the time of the Revolution. The house of Charles Pinckney, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, is a National Historic Site and is located in nearby Mount Pleasant. In downtown Charleston is the Charleston Museum Mile. This stretch of Meeting Street in downtown is where you will find six museums, five nationally important historic houses, four scenic parks, a Revolutionary War powder magazine, and numerous historic houses of worship and public buildings including the Market and City Hall. One of the museums is The Charleston Museum, the first museum founded in the United States, established in 1773. At the market you will find many vendors, including those of women weaving sweet grass baskets. You'll admire their workmanship and probably want to take one home as a souvenier.

While several of the ports featured recently have been miserable for golf, Charleston is fantastic. Golfers may be aware of all the courses in Myrtle Beach (90 minutes to the north) and Hilton Head (60 minutes to the south), Charleston has many good courses of its own. Just south of Charleston on Kiawah Island is the Ocean Course that was host to the Ryder Cup competition in 1991. If you can't afford to play the Ocean Course, then some of my personal favorites in the area are probably for you. Those include Charleston National Country Club, Patriot's Point Links, Wescott Plantation, Dunes West, and the Links at Stono Ferry. All of these are open to the public, are very nice courses, and you won't have to remortgage your house to afford the greens fees.

Other areas of interest include Sullivan's Island. This place is the setting for Edgar Alan Poe's "The Gold-Bug". It is also home to a very unique triangular lighthouse. Just down the street from the lighthouse is Fort Moultrie, another National Historic Site. Finally, if you have time, the South Carolina Aquarium makes for a nice visit.

The 9-night Celebrity Mercury cruises that will take you to Charleston, SC depart from Baltimore on 11/21 and 12/12 in 2009, as well as 1/02 and 1/23 in 2010. Make your reservations before they sell out.