This tour was one that we (5 of us) were really looking forward to. JUST as our tour was scheduled to depart, a thunderstorm hit Charleston. The tour was not cancelled...but delayed, and we headed for the Fort in a downpour. We couldn't see anything it was raining so hard. Rain was coming into the boat on the upper deck (it was raining sideways) and the lower deck was so cold, we couldn't stay there. No win. The ranger said a few words to us on the ride to the Fort. Didn't really say much but said she was saying what she'd normally say on the Fort. She reiterated over and over what time we'd RETURN, and with the delay in starting, our tour was being cut short. We got to the Fort, it was raining so hard, most of the passengers stayed on the boat.....nervous to walk or run in the rain, on the metal dock. The rain let up a little bit, so we ventured off the boat, walking with umbrellas, under the rain. Got to the first cover/ entrance of the Fort. Then the ranger said 'jokingly' " now you get to swim!" What? No plans for this? We couldn't get to the Fort without walking through at least 6-7" of water. Our only chance to see inside or the museum/ gift store - was to walk through the water, getting our feet/ shoes and socks soaked. Why no boards, plywood or contingency plans to protect your paying customers from flooding? We walked through the water and soaked our feet / shoes...and got into the museum....and were finally enjoying reading the information. Can't comment on the quality of the museum because I didn't have time to get through all of it. The inside Ranger, hurried us out and said "we're closing - I have to catch the last boat - it's my ride." No concern for the paying customers getting a reduced tour, albeit wet and cold. We were rushed out of the museum and put back on the boat - drenched and cold. We couldn't sit in the downstairs, air conditioning too cold. Upstairs, all of the chairs were wet from the rain - and so it was up to us to wipe down our own chairs, or just sit on wet chairs. No assistance from the staff or rangers.
Everyone was huddled in the middle of the boat with their chairs/ cold and shivering....and we were still getting wet.
The final kicker, was when we got to the dock, where we boarded, we were told, "well, there is another boat there now - so we are going to an alternate dock." It was farther away from the original dock, so again, we were just left to walk farther in the rain, wet and cold. The staff didn't seem to really care about the customers....and I heard someone say, on the way out: "I'm surprised they didn't cancel the tour - when it was raining so hard." The other person said, "no, they never cancel because they want the money, no matter what."
That's the way I felt, just a piece of cash that they shipped to/from the Fort island, and they didn't even care about the poor experience we had. I was highly disappointed, because I love history and wanted to learn about the battles and the history of Fort Sumter. The National Park employees and Rangers were not friendly or truly considerate or caring about the rain or the poor experience we had. Might recommend, but ONLY on a sunny day!