Galley Stores Marina

This is not a resort marina, it is how ever a nice place to stay to see New Bern. It's close to all the shopping, restaurants and historical places in town.

We have stayed at Galley Stores Marina at least two previous times prior to this visit and enjoyed our stays. The marina at this point in time is in disrepair and very much of it is unsafe and unusable. We called ahead and were told we would be in slip C 7. Two problems with that, the entry to the marina is not signed so C dock is a guess without someone meeting incoming boats. When we found it, there was a boat already tied up. Another hail to find out that the boat, based in New Bern, was supposed to leave earlier in the day???? They put us in a side slip that was a stretch to dock properly. The "topper" to all of this is that the bathrooms were filthy by any standard, but when the first mate complains, you can get the picture. We were told the owners have received their insurance payment to rebuild but will not until after the upcoming hurricane season. I would recommend not to pay for a stay and enhance the pocketbook for a crappy place.

First the negatives. The marina docks suffered damage in a storm this past January and the outer breakwater/T dock is essentially gone. We stayed on the T head of C dock and this dock is in serious need of repair. The planking is rotten in many places, and a number of the planks are curling on the end. There are some serious tripping hazards and a number of times I felt I could step through the planking where it was particularly soft. The marina is completely exposed to the south and southeast. On this particular stay the wind was fairly strong out of the southeast, so it was a bit bouncy. On a positive note, it was very hot so the breeze was welcome. The channel that runs in front of the marina has a lot of recreational boat traffic, and it was the rare boater that paid any attention to the effect their wake had on the boats in the marina. It was July 4th, so the traffic was likely higher than usual, but the combination of strong wind and boat wakes added to the bounce. The Galley Marina and stores is a combination gas station, convenience store and marina. and the bathroom/showers had something of a truck stop/gas station feel. They were serviceable, but fairly rough. The marina advertises that they have upgraded and extended their WiFi. I would hate to have seen what is was like before, but we found the WiFi virtually useless. I ended up just turning off the WiFi on my phone and using broadband, which worked fine. Now for the positives. The marina is located in a beautiful spot along the banks of the Neuse River, with a great view. It is within easy walking distance of downtown, with plenty of shopping, restaurants, bars, etc. close by. The marina staff were helpful enough and we had no problem getting in and out. The store is well provisioned. The marina has the potential for being a first class destination, but is not at this time. That being said, we felt the positives out weighed the negatives and plan on staying there again in the fall, once the temperatures cool down and we can get out and really take advantage of all that New Bern has to offer.

Parking lot could use some attention.

Stan was a cheerful and helpful hand on the dock.

Someone was in our slip so they put us on outside terrible boat wakes wind ! Had lunch and had to leave! Out side docks were broken and in bad disrepair , inside many broken piling apparently from the hurricane ! Went to oriental much more pleasant experience! Won’t be back to New Bern! The town however is very nice, not very accommodating to Boaters!

We love staying here when we visit New Bern. The store has a great selection of craft beers, wine and goodies! Great town to walk around and shop and eat! Friendly helpful staff

Had 2 good nights Fun town. Mark is great!

Finding the actual slip was a little difficult but otherwise was fine.

Docks were in bad condition, a third in total dis-repair, and gulls everywhere that try to enhance your vessels paint job. Not really a marina a but a gas station with docks out back. Website touts a great marina, that may have been in the past, but not now, seems deceptive. The radio is broken (seems it has been for years), must call on phone, bathrooms are at the gas station with only a sign for privacy, and no working wi-fi. Easy access to down town - that’s the plus.

We arrived on April 10 after calling to see if we could move our reservation up from April 14. They told us no problem. The pictures on Docwa are incorrect as the 100’ T dock was destroyed from a January storm. They placed us in slip N8 at the end of the T dock. The wood pilings were knocked over at the N7 dock and one in between N8 and N7. The dock segments were not attached to each other except cosmetically on N8. N3 was unoccupied. There was a Gale warning posted for that night. During the night the lack of segment attachment was seen by the adjacent segments next to us moving 2’ vertically from each other. I stayed awake and added 5 additional lines to the steel pilings and remaining cleats. At least a dozen dockboards at N8 were not screwed down and went into the water that night leaving large gaps. I decided to sleep, but heard banging against the hull; one of the dock floats had broken loose and was bumping against the bow surrounded by loose lumber. I got a line on the float and tied it to a cleat at 1AM. The wind turned at midnight and the waves subsided and conditions calmed. They offered to move us to N3 the next morning, but as the winds were still 35mph, I decided not to attempt a new docking. We moved to a new marina 4/14 when the winds settled. Worst experience of any marina in 6500 miles of the loop without comparison. Caveat Emptor.

Mark was very helpful.

We had a very comfortable one night stop at Galley Marina. Communication before arrival was excellent, including docking assignment so Captain would know where to go. Wind started piping up and clocking, likely making our location uncomfortable. Having seen the possible scenario, Mark (manager/owner?) called to offer us a different slip. We chose to tough it out and hope for calmer overnight winds. As luck and the weather gods would have it, that’s just what happened. The Galley Stores is clean, convenient and well stocked with interesting local food, beer and wine offerings - and good basic coffee for that first sip before hitting the town for breakfast or snooping. We met long term local docker/owners and winter cruisers who were there for three months. It’s small, but serves all comers with New Bern hospitality. Enjoy!

Really enjoyed my two months there.

The team and mark were terrific. We enjoyed our stay and will visit this marina again

Galley Stores made New Bern feel like home. The marina is easy in and easy out, with direct access from the Neuse River and accommodating depths for ships of all sizes. The marina staff knows what they are doing and looks after you and your boat like part of the family. Every inch of the historic downtown of New Bern is walkable. You can shop easily and even load up on fresh goods on Saturday through the local farmers market. If you have any issues, just communicate it with the staff and they do whatever they can to make things right or assist you as best they can. We hope to come back again.

Didn't have usable wifi, bathrooms were disgusting and finger docks were scary wobbly.

Excellent value for the price. Walking distance to all the amenities the wonderful town of New Bern has to offer. Mark, the owner, is very accommodating. Have stayed here a number of times and will be coming back!

Easy in and out with great access to downtown New Bern. The Dockmaster was very helpful and knew what he was doing.

Always enjoy our stay at Galley Stores Marina. Great location in terms of easy walk to downtown and restaurants , dog friendly and nice people. Persimmons restaurant on premises is a huge plus with both indoor and outdoor (on the water) fine dining. The Marina took a hit during Hurricane Ophelia and still recovering. Wish the WiFi and streaming were better—very sporadic.

Galley Stores has an awesome downtown New Bern location. It’s a small marina and was damaged in TS Ophelia just a few weeks ago, so some docks were unusable. This created a bit of a space problem, but Mark, the owner, and his team were super helpful and accommodating. There are two nice bathrooms and you are provided a key upon checkin. They have a pumpout and fuel dock. Note they do not have all sizes of pumpout fittings. There is no laundry onsite, but there is a nice one that is walkable (less than a mile) that we used. We will definitely come back.

Great location! We had to use the phone to get someone to help us dock, but the dock master was then very helpful, especially with a splitter to accommodate our 30 amp cord. The dock itself was unpleasantly dirty with bird dung, and our finger dock rocked at the end to a dangerous extent. But we really enjoyed being to able to tie up in downtown and walk to dinner.

We stayed 3 month in the marina and had plenty enjoyment. Close walk to Downtown, Restaurants and Michel Hardwarestore. Even after tropical storms (Idalia) we felt safe. The owner Mark was very helpfull and friendly.

We arrived in June, and departed September 28, 2023. We really enjoyed our stay and very much appreciated Mark, Stan, and all the staff. Very highly recommended this marina, and New Bern in general. We hope to return next summer.

Super nice staff, and a great location. Close to all the neat things in town. From the time we filled for fuel, and then moved to our slip, the dock hand Stan was so helpful. We were there through TS Ophelia and both Stan and the owner Mark made sure our boat was safe and secure. We liked it so much, we want to go back.