Charlottetown Cruise Port Guide — Ships, Excursions & Tips

Currency

Canadian dollar (CAD); USD accepted at many tourist businesses but at a disadvantageous rate -- use a card for a fair exchange.

Language

English (some French spoken, reflecting PEI's Acadian heritage).

Time in Port

Ships typically dock 8am-6pm; the island is compact enough to see a great deal in a day.

Pier Location

Charlottetown Cruise Pavilion is right on the waterfront at the foot of Great George Street, a 5-minute walk from Province House and Confederation Landing Park.

Best For

Canadian history, Anne of Green Gables, red-sand beaches, and fresh lobster

About Charlottetown

Charlottetown, the self-styled 'Birthplace of Canada,' is a compact, walkable colonial capital on Prince Edward Island where red-sand beaches, rolling farmland, and the world's most famous fictional redhead define the experience. The city's Victorian waterfront, charming Confederation Landing, and the 1864 Confederation Chambers -- where Canada was born -- are all within easy reach of the pier, and the island's pastoral landscapes are just minutes beyond downtown. For fans of Anne of Green Gables, this port is practically a pilgrimage.

💡

Insider Tip

Book the Green Gables excursion in the morning and ask your driver to stop at New Glasgow Lobster Suppers on the return -- a fixed-price feast of chowder, fresh mussels, unlimited rolls, and lobster that has been running since 1958 and gives you an authentic taste of PEI hospitality.

Highlights

📗
Green Gables Heritage Place, Cavendish
The farmhouse that inspired L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables is a 45-minute drive from the pier through achingly pretty PEI countryside -- Parks Canada has restored it meticulously and the surrounding Cavendish trails walk through the 'Haunted Wood' and 'Lovers' Lane' from the novels.

🏛
Province House & Confederation Chambers
The room where Confederation was debated in 1864 is perfectly preserved inside a neoclassical sandstone building one block from the pier -- guided tours are free and one of the most genuinely moving historic-site experiences in Canada.

🦞
Victoria Row & Confederation Landing
The pedestrianised Richmond Street restaurant strip and the scenic waterfront park are the social heart of Charlottetown -- best place to eat a lobster roll, browse local art galleries, and catch a busker or two.

🏖
Cavendish Beach & Red Sand Shores
PEI's north-shore beaches have the distinctive iron-oxide red sand unique to the island -- Cavendish Beach National Park (combined with the Green Gables visit) has the most photographed stretch of shoreline and warm summer water temperatures.

🧁
Cows Creamery & Lucy Maud Montgomery Sites
PEI's famous Cows ice cream (the Cheddar Crunch flavour is locally legendary) has its home dairy just outside Charlottetown; pair it with a stop at the author's birthplace in New London or the Anne of Green Gables Museum at Park Corner for the full Montgomery itinerary.

Local Food & Drink

PEI lobster roll -- Island lobster is considered among the best in Atlantic Canada; a classic roll (chilled, mayo-dressed, in a toasted split-top bun) from the Lobster on the Wharf shack at the waterfront is the definitive port-day lunch.
Malpeque oysters -- PEI's cold, clean bays produce oysters famous worldwide; freshly shucked with a squeeze of lemon at the waterfront fish market is the way to eat them.
Cows Creamery ice cream -- made from Island dairy with flavours like Wowie Cowie and Gooey Mooey; the Charlottetown shop on Queen Street is a mandatory stop.
PEI mussels -- steamed in white wine with local butter, mussels are on virtually every restaurant menu in Charlottetown and are spectacularly fresh from the island's aquaculture farms.

Shore Excursion Ideas

1 Green Gables Heritage Place & Cavendish Beach -- the essential PEI day: the restored farmhouse, the National Park beach, and Cows ice cream on the way back.

2 Confederation walking tour -- Province House, Great George Street's Victorian streetscape, and the site of the 1864 conference that created Canada.

3 North Shore cycling -- rent a bike at the pier and follow the Confederation Trail or the quiet county roads through pastoral red-dirt farmland to the coast.

4 Lobster fishing boat excursion -- morning trips head out with working lobster boats; captains explain the trapping process and you haul traps alongside the crew.

5 Anne of Green Gables Museum at Park Corner -- Montgomery's ancestral home with letters, photos, and her original wedding dress on display, about an hour's drive from the port.

Sailings to Charlottetown

Upcoming Royal Caribbean & Celebrity cruises that visit Charlottetown

View all →

Celebrity

Boston, Maine & Canada

Celebrity Silhouette · 12 nights

Boston · September 5, 2026

From $2,384/pp

Celebrity

Boston, Maine & Canada

Celebrity Silhouette · 11 nights

Boston · September 17, 2026