Wilmington NC North Carolina
USA

48 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

American Cruise Lines (36 Cruises)

Scenic Cruises (12 Cruises)


Frequently Asked Questions

At Port City Marina, right on the edge of the historic downtown. Coastal cruise ships come up the Cape Fear River between salt marshes and pine forest before tying up opposite the old facades.
Yes. From the marina, a boardwalk — the Riverwalk — follows the bank for nearly three kilometres, linking restaurants, terraces and shops set in former warehouses. The historic district begins just behind.
The Riverwalk and historic district on foot, with the Bellamy Mansion or the Burgwin-Wright House, then the battleship North Carolina if time allows — allow two hours for that alone.
Access is by road, a few minutes by taxi from downtown: the ship lies in its basin on the far bank of the Cape Fear. The tour covers bridges, engine room, 16-inch turrets and crew quarters, and easily fills two hours. Wear closed shoes for the ladders and passageways.
A house completed on the eve of the Civil War that shows the opulence of the merchant class and also tells, honestly, the lives of the enslaved craftsmen and domestic workers who built it.
A former cotton trading house converted into a shopping arcade, keeping its weathered brick, beams and wooden staircases. It makes a charming shortcut between the river and the shopping streets, good for Southern confections and local craft.
Because the studios based here have served as backdrop for many productions, and numerous television series have borrowed its porches and moss-draped oak avenues. Film fans will recognize certain street corners.
It is stained by peat bogs upstream. That near-black current adds a mysterious note to the arrival without taking anything from the landscape: salt marshes, pine forest and terns diving in front of the docks.
The US dollar and English. Credit cards are accepted throughout the historic district and along the Riverwalk.
Spring, when the historic district gardens overflow with azaleas, and fall. North Carolina summers are hot and humid, and the Riverwalk offers little shade at midday.