I'm in Yorktown every day and I didn't even know that cruise ships stopped there. That's my new tidbit of info for the day. It looks like they stop right at the waterfront. It's really the only place they could because I don't think the navy will let them stop at the Naval Weapons station.

Yorktown is a cute, tiny town with a few restaurants and shops on the waterfront. A couple of blocks away are the older buildings in the National Park area of Yorktown. Behind that stretches the battlefields. Further along the waterfront is the Yorktown Victory Center. Two places I would recommend in Yorktown are Carrot Tree for lunch and the Nancy Thomas Gallery for shopping. Both are off the waterfront so you need to specifically go looking for them.

http://www.carrottreekitchens.com/yorktown

Nancy Thomas is great at art but lousy at web site design. Neither of her sites tell you where the gallery is so I guess you'll just have to ask in town.
www.nancythomasgallery.com
www.nancythomas.com

Williamsburg is 15 minutes from Yorktown. It appears that you can take a shore excursion to hit some of the highlights. You may be able to just take shuttles on your own but you won't be able to see everything.
This is a link to the Colonial Williamsburg website with a description of the Jamestown and Yorktown sites.
http://www.history.org/visit/recreation/historicVenues/index.cfm
You can take a shuttle from CW to J&Y but I'm not sure whether you can originate in Yorktown. You might have to call and ask.
Let me know what you're interested in and maybe we can narrow it down.

Birdie is correct. We saw a cruise ship in Yorktown last year when we were there. DH was stationed at the Naval Weapons station half a century ago and was surprised at the changes in Yorktown.

I would imagine the cruise line would arrange for land excursions to Williamsburg and/or Jamestown. Both are worth seeing. If not it is not too bad a walk up to the park service VC there in Yorktown and there is a house near the waterfront that still has cannon balls stuck in it.

The drive from YT to JT and Wmbg up the Colonial Parkway is very very pretty.

Finally, thanks goodness, some pertinent information regarding where the cruise ship docks in Yorktown. I have checked the Yorktown waterfront website and nothing looked big enough to take a cruise ship? I have been searching for days and must have googled the area a hundred times. Thank you Charli for asking the right question on the right website. And, thank you emalloy for confirming. I must now find out if there are buses or taxi's from the Yorktown dock to Colonial Williamsburg. The cruise line does have excursion but they are limited in time and rather expensive.

Thank you all for your replies. I know what you mean, OldeBrit, I searched for a long time as well. This is the best info from you kind folks. I know that the ship has excursions, but I rather wanted to do probably way too much. I will have to just accept a "taste" and go back for a vacation. In case anyone wants to check out the ship and exactly where it docks, it will be in port Sat., Apr 16, from 7AM to 5PM, and is Oceania's REGATTA.

The National Park Service had a bus that made the "historic triangle" Yktn, Wmsbg, Jamestown circle throughout the day. Not sure if it still operates but it left the Yorktown visitors center on the battlefield which is up the hill from the riverfront dock. Hope it still operates for you it would be perfect. Enjoy the area. I grew up there but moved away many years ago.

We had visitors to the area use that shuttle last year. As noted pick up in Yorktown was at the battlefield and also at the Yorktown Victory Center. It apparently runs on the half hour so it ought to be able to accommodate your visit.

There is more information here: http://www.nps.gov/colo/planyourvisit/publictransportation.htm

Thanks, bushwacker, I'd completely forgotten about the park service shuttle until you brought it up.

April 16th is the start of Virginia Garden Week, so fingers crossed, things will be lovely when you arrive.

Charli: We are on the same cruise. I found the link below on the Cruise Critic Roll Call forum. Come and join us. I also found out that the ship will dock by the River Walk landing in Yorktown.

http://www.yorkcounty.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=6580

Hopefully, we will be able to do the whole "triangle" in the one day.

Thank you all for being so helpful.

How fabulous! Maybe we can get a taste of all 3 in one day.
Hope to see you on the ship OldeBrit - is that your pen name on CC? I am Capecodder2. Should be a really interesting cruise, such a different itinerary from the norm. This will be our 7th O cruise. See you there..........

Hi, we are also on the cruise and would be interested in maybe taking a shuttle/taxi instead of the excursions that the cruise line provides (as OldeBrit says, they are very expensive).
Thanks for providing all of the information here, its hard to find anywhere else! If you have any places to visit/recommend please say and we hope to see you all soon.

When does your cruise come through Yorktown? Because I believe the shuttles don't start running until the middle of April. Also there is a trolley that runs within Yorktown during the same times that is free also. It's an easy walk (uphill) from where the ships dock to the battlefields where you can catch the shuttle. The battlefields are interesting to see, but difficult without the use of a car since they stretch quite a ways. There is also a shop in Yorktown that rents bikes if you're interested in biking them, it's quite beautiful and we bike them on many of the nice weekends. The drive along the Colonial Parkway is also scenic, which is the route that the shuttle takes. Have a fabulous time in our area!

Hello MandPNorman. I haven't been on this forum for weeks but I'm always checking on our Roll Call on the Cruise Critic forums. Come and join us. I think most of Ports where the ship will dock you can simply "walk off" and into town, except for the islands in the Caribbean of course.

SlipperyHippo: The ship docks in Yorktown on Sat 16th April and I think the shuttle starts the day prior? We are indeed looking forward to seeing Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown.

It seems that there are a number of us on the Regatta docking at Yorktown on April 26th. I wonder if there's anyway we could congregate on the ship and share what we have found out via this web site.I'm looking at the ship's plan and perhaps meet at the Reception Desk (wherever that is!) after breakfast on the 15th, maybe at 10:00. Just see who shows up?? The shuttle actually starts on the 15th. That's pretty lucky. I have asked how we obtain the shuttle pass.