Reviews: Casper's Marina

Reviewed by: John Highsmith , CAT O' MINE, on Jul 13, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 26'
Draft: 2.5'

Rating: 3

Helpful, attentive dockhands and staff. Fixed docks subject to ICW wakes and wind with long fetch. Bath house not climate controlled, 92 degrees inside and outside. Historic town and mueseum.

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Reviewed by: Gary & Karen Cervak , My Brown Eyed Girls, on Jul 11, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 41'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 3

Docked on ICW side of T- head which was a fixed dock with wood pilings on the outside of dock. Have fender boards in place if wind and waves will push you towards dock. Dock hands were waiting and ready to push us off dock if needed (it was). Winds from the south, along with wakes from ICW will cause significant rocking and movement. That, along with fixed dock may make boat access difficult at times. Staff was helpful. 2 restrooms and 1 shower were clean but not climate controlled, so a bit hot and muggy. Location is good. Very close to downtown shops and restaurants.

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Reviewed by: D. Jenkins on May 31, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 31'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 5

Very nice marina - family owned and not too large - just what we prefer. Docks were in great shape and fuel was fairly priced. The dock and office personnel were excellent. Very short walk to a charming town. Swansboro has changed a lot since I was stationed at Camp Lejeune ... many years ago ....Wish we had scheduled more days here. We will be back, for sure.

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Reviewed by: MARK GLOVER , COOL CHANGE, on May 2, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

Great little marina! Family owned and operated! Walking distance to downtown!!! Bathrooms need a little sprucing up but Wade and the other work… forgot his name… sorry….. awesome!!!! We dropped an engine while docking and got spun…. They handled the lines like pros and had us tied in no time!!!!! Thanks so much!!! Great little place to stop if you get the chance!!!

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Reviewed by: David Waugh , Winds of Change, on Oct 25, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 39'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

Great little Marina right off the ICW. Staff was extremely helpful. Shower worked great but not climate controlled. A short walk to a very charming little town

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Reviewed by: Janet Gannon on Jul 6, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 37'
Draft: 5.5'

Rating: 5

This was a sweet little marina right off the ICW. There's quite a current running through but the dock hands were terrific in getting us on the dock. We didn't have any issues getting on and off the boat but I can see that if you have mobility issues it might be a problem. We thought the showers were great -- I'm not sure what other people encountered but there was a ton of water pressure and plenty of hot water. They were not climate-controlled so maybe it wouldn't be great in winter. Swansboro is a charming town with lots of dining choices, and grocery nearby.

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Reviewed by: Thomas Schlehuber , Hey Schlu!, on May 15, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 47'
Draft: 0.0'

Rating: 4

5/13/23 Great 3rd generation owned marina. They are awesome…very friendly and extremely helpful with docking. Bigger boats are on outside wall which is a little touch during tides as current gets very strong. Wind also picked up so it was a bit of a rough night. Town is cute (it was Prom night!!) Easy walk to restaurants — several are dog friendly.

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Reviewed by: Daniel Warthan on Apr 24, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 40'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

Great dockhands to help with tie up; town is convenient to marina and easily walkable. Italian restaurant Il Cigno Italiano was EXCELLENT! Bathroom facilities were good. We were on outside pier so felt some boat wake at times but no bad. Nice people

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Reviewed by: Kirk Conners , Fancy Nancy, on Aug 18, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 3

Casper's is more of a dry storage facility for the locals with a dock for a couple of transients if they pass by. Fixed docks so when tide comes in, it's a little bit of a challenge to exit and enter the boat. The pilings are outside the dock surface as noted, so that adds to the difficulty.
Dock hands were helpful getting the boat tied up (We had 3 on hand!!)
Wifi was good, not great. A little slow at times, but given there's usually only 1 or 2 boats at the marina at any given time, it doesn't get bogged down with a lot of users.
Restrooms were disgusting when we got there. I politely mentioned it to Susan and she got someone to clean them. But that once was the only cleaning they got while we were there the 3 days. And most of the locals and the patrons of "Lady Swan" use the bathrooms as the come and go daily. It's the details that make or break you, and that's one detail they need to improve on.
Town is close by with nice galleries and a couple of nice restaurants. And a candy store that is a "don't miss" with ice cream.
I'd stop again, but only for a night, as the town is not big enough for more than one visit.

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Reviewed by: Gary Merrill , Sea Gypsy, on Jun 7, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.2'

Rating: 5

We stopped for diesel. Best price for miles. The dock hand was excellent!!!

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Reviewed by: Capt Maria Langer , Ecstasea, on Apr 22, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 36'
Draft: 3.3'

Rating: 4

Stayed there two nights. Great dockhands greeted us and secured the boat quickly. boat had to be parked against pilings, which caused a gap between the boat and dock and a lot of squeaky rubbing noises. Friendly staff. Restrooms could use some work but were clean enough. Ran out of hot water on my shower and had to rinse in cold water. Close to downtown with shops and restaurants. Supermarket and Walgreens are about a mile away. Were told that we must arrive before closing at 5 PM or we could not dock; that was a trifle tricky with an ICW closure that affected the area, but we made it. Good fuel prices (compared to other marinas we passed in the area on the loop).

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Reviewed by: Robert Sherer on Jan 11, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 42'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 3

The marina has installed new fixed docks but the pilings are outside the dock planking to an extent that there's a huge step from the boat down to the dock which does not start until you're past the diameter of the pilings. If you're tied up with 10 inch fenders against the pilings, you have to leap about 1.5 to 2 feet to reach the dock. That's not so bad until the tide comes in and you're faced with not only the nearly 2 ft leap horizontal leap but also the 2 ft drop from your boat to the dock. My wife could not get off the boat and I had to carry the dog on and off the boat - it was too big a leap. Pay attention to closing time, they don't stay late. They do have a small store for odds and ends but the difficulty in getting on and off the boat ruined the marina for us. The marina is otherwise functional.

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Reviewed by: Karen Ratte on Jan 11, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 49'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

Marina itself is probably a 3.5 stars, but location and the town brings it up. Nice docks, very good dockhands, but could use a washing down to get rid of bird droppings (we were there in the extreme off season so might not be as much of a problem at peak when more activity). Bathrooms are dated and could use more attention to stocking and cleaning, but have seen worse. Town is lovely and good dog walking, friendly locals. Would gladly return.

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Reviewed by: Donna Arnott on Jan 4, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 44'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 1

Showers, or rather "shower" is "outhouse" style; no heat or AC, so on a cold winters day in January it's not what you are looking forward to. Also, the hot water is timed, which means you better have a "sailors shower" or you'll run out of the hot stuff.
WiFi? Sure, it's offered, except it's not strong enough to carry down the docks.
We won't be back.

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Reviewed by: DBrian on Jul 26, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 41'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 1

They did not answer numerous calls on the VHF nor the cell phone during approach. We will not ever return to this marina. There are no amenities, docks are in rough shape... the main problem is they're charging $2/ft for a place that only warrants $1/ft.

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Reviewed by: Rob Dare , Liberty Call , on Apr 5, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 46'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 3

Great dock hands. Made getting in and out fairly easy in a hard wind and quick current. Very friendly and helpful. Swansboro is a nice town with lots of good seafood.

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Reviewed by: Edward Nyberg on Apr 29, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 47'
Draft: 4.7'

Rating: 4

Stopped here on southbound trip to Jacksonville in Jan, 2020. Friendly and very helpful staff. Very convenient to downtown restaurants and shops. The staff was very helpful in recommending what restaurants were open. We stayed 2 nights due to weather...the facilities should be improved and then this would be a must stop. I do recommend Casper's Marina, but the best reason to stop is for downtown Swansboro and The Boro restaurant.

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Reviewed by: Anita Smith , Oceana, on Apr 16, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 40'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 5

Very helpful dock hands. Convenient services. Good wi-fi. Dockage rate was $2/ft with no discount, which is higher than posted.

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Reviewed by: Gary Cuppels on Sep 29, 2018
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 3

I have stayed numerous times at Casper's. It is not the best marina on the ICW but it's not the worst either. It is convenient to downtown and restaurants. The staff have always treated me well.

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Reviewed by: Tbird , Woolymag, on Apr 30, 2018
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 28'
Draft: 1.2'

Rating: 5

Awesome marina. Tremendous staff, very helpful. Plan to make it a regular stop.

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Reviewed by: Isidore on Feb 3, 2018
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 36'
Draft: 5.5'

Rating: 1

$1.50/ft middle of winter. No pumpout, no water, poor wifi, shower cold after 2 minutes. Manager in a hurry for us to pay at 3 pm so they could go home early. They have fuel and convenient to ICW but don't overnight here!

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Reviewed by: Elena&Meg on Dec 5, 2017
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 46'
Draft: 6.0'

Rating: 5

Great price for dockage and diesel. Helpful staff. Deep water. Clean and well kept. They thanked us for paying! (Apparently, there's a problem with boats tying up after hours and skedaddling without paying). Very convenient access to old-town shops, pub, and restaurants. Would definitely stop here again.

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Reviewed by: Gregor Owen on Nov 9, 2017
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 1

Had engine and fuel trouble just past Swansboro and TowBoat US took me back to Caspers. Owner refused to let us stay more than that night for repairs without $400+ charge per week, and had to have tow to another marina. Bathroom had burned out bulb and shower was locked with no key and two large boats including mine at dock. No electric hookup available that night as office closed before we could even discuss hookups. No water hookup at docks except single dock hose. Towboat US staff and the employees of this marina were amazing and very helpful, owner was not, and basically said so many fishing boats come by that she did not want any overnights no matter what the price. Avoid if possible, try town docks or Dudley's in this area.

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Reviewed by: Bill Lawrenson on May 27, 2017
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 36'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 2

Had a booking for the night and was delayed by the Marines who had closed the ICW for live round target practice. No joke. Casper said they were full, and would not let us tie up as a late arrival. They would not take a phone payment. When we passed them on the way to the town dock there was only one boat on the face dock, and plenty of room for many others.

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Reviewed by: Harold Hutchins on Sep 12, 2016
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 36'
Draft: 2.5'

Rating: 2

Gas dock inconvenient. Transient slip on outside t. Bathrooms not the best, only 1 shower. Good restaurants close. Just an OK stop after long slog.

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