The Carolina Princess is the big head boat on the Morehead City waterfront and the cheapest way out of the port, a 95 foot boat that runs all day bottom fishing for $125 with the gear, bait, and license included. It is the accessible choice: walk ups are welcome, the mates draw genuine praise for working to put people on fish, and a family can fish offshore for a fraction of a private boat’s price. It lands in the mixed tier because the weaknesses are as well documented as the value, with the reviews flagging rough day seasickness, a crowd that favors regulars, and uneven service across the seasons.
The verdict and where it ranks
At seventh in the port, it is a mixed pick: book with caveats, depending on the trip. The case for it is the case for any good head boat, the cheapest offshore fishing in the area, on a big stable boat with the gear and the license covered and no experience needed. The caveats are real and recur across a deep review record. Reviewers note seasickness on the rougher days, a rail where the prime stern spots can go to regulars, and service that runs uneven, and the long Gulf Stream trips that once set it apart are currently on hold, so the menu is bottom fishing only. Book it for a cheap bottom fishing day on a calm forecast. For a private boat with a dedicated captain, the ranked sportfishers above it are the move; the other head boat option is the Capt. Stacy across the inlet.
The boat
The boat is a 95 foot aluminum head boat with wide decks, the biggest we rank in the port and a stable platform for drifting and anchoring on the bottom grounds. It is Coast Guard certified to carry well over a hundred passengers, but day trips run nearer 70 to 80, which keeps the rail more workable than a packed boat. It is a capable, roomy boat for what it does, though it is an older hull and a working head boat rather than a comfortable cabin cruiser, so the recurring seasickness notes in the reviews are partly the reality of a big boat drifting offshore in a chop. For a budget bottom fishing day, it is the right tool.
The fishing and what you target
The Carolina Princess bottom fishes the reefs and wrecks offshore for vermilion snapper, black sea bass, grouper, gray triggerfish, amberjack, jacks, and grunts, with red snapper on the short federal season when it is open. Captain Terrell Gould works between several numbers through the day to stay on the bite, and a full day gives roughly 6 hours of actual fishing once the run out and back is counted. This is bottom fishing, not blue water trolling: the catch is reef and bottom fish, and on a slow day, as the reviews note honestly, that can mean a box of smaller fish. The 18 and 24 hour trips that once reached the Gulf Stream for tuna and mahi mahi are discontinued for now, so the offshore trolling is left to the private boats.
Trips and prices
The boat sells seats by the person, walk on, and the pricing is clear and posted. The half day, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., is $85 for adults and $70 for children; the full day, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., is $125 for adults and $95 for children, cash, with about $5 added per ticket on a card. All gear, bait, ice boxes, and the blanket license are included, fish cleaning runs about $1 per pound, and a $5 military discount applies on regular days. A $25 deposit holds a reservation. The value is genuine and it is the cheapest way offshore in the port. Our cost guide sets the per person fare against a whole boat charter, and the party boat versus private charter guide works through the choice between a shared rail and your own boat.
The crew
Captain Terrell Gould now owns and runs the boat, having taken it over from the late Woo Woo Harker, who ran the boat for decades and was a fixture on the Morehead City waterfront. The mates are the crew you deal with on deck, and on a good day the reviews praise them by name for working hard and helping newer anglers. The honest qualifier, which recurs too often to ignore, is two sided: the service runs uneven, and a steady thread of reviews describes a boat that caters to its regulars, with the best spots and the most attention going to repeat customers, plus an occasional sharp note about a rude crew member. It is the mixed record of a busy head boat under new ownership, and it is the main reason the captain and crew and track record scores sit where they do.
Booking and what to know
Book by phone or text, or walk on for most trips. The boat leaves from 604 Evans Street on the Morehead City waterfront, the downtown charter docks on Bogue Sound. Arrive early for a full day to park and get a good rail spot, and bring cash for the fare and any cleaning. No individual fishing license is needed, the boat covers it, and ice boxes are aboard for your catch. Bring sunscreen, a hat, food and drinks, and motion sickness medication taken before you board, since a day drifting offshore turns more than a few stomachs, which the reviews make plain.
How we scored it
The Carolina Princess scores seventh and lands in the mixed tier: the cheapest, most accessible way offshore in the port on a big stable head boat, with the value and the walk on access genuine and the mates well liked, held down by a mixed review record, recurring seasickness and crowd complaints, uneven service under new ownership, and a bottom fishing only menu now that the Gulf Stream trips are paused. Value is where it holds up; captain and crew, trips, and service are where it gives ground. See how we scored this boat, and weigh it against the rest of the Morehead City fleet.