Where is Tampa Seaport in relation to Tampa airport?

[Charliesmom]

We will be taking a cruise from Tampa in February. How far is the port from the airport? If you were to choose a hotel, where in the Tampa, St. Petersburg area is most convenient to the Seaport?

Do HAL and carnival leave from the same general area?

Thanks.

Roberta

[marshacher]

Hi Roberta,

This is Marsha. The Tampa Airport and Tampa Cruise Terminals are a very short taxi ride. Do not stay in St. Petersburg. That is quite a distance away. If you choose any downtown Tampa hotel you are a short distance to the docks. I know people talk about the Marriott so try that. Also, see if any hotels offer transportation to the docks. I'm sure they do. And yes, HAL and Carnival, as well as Celebrity, are all in the same general area.

I will try to research a little more for you and have more information when we sail on Dec. 12. By the way, where are you going in Feb?

Marsha

[bombero]

There are many hotels within a couple miles of the pier... Check on Expedia or PriceLine for the best rates.. They can probably tell you if there is pier transportation also... Bombero

[Charliesmom]

We are scheduled to go to the Western Caribbean. Grand Cayman is listed ,although I doubt we will go there as well as Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize. My sister is quite concerned that there will be no place to visit because of the hurricanes. I told her to call Carnival to find out what they were substituting. For my DH and I, we go for the ship and don't really care much about the ports. It is nice to get off the ship and walk around the towns, but we are pretty much shopped out and it takes very special scenery to get us excited. This whole cruise might not happen because two of my siblings are really dragging their feet, and it was supposed to be a family party. I think the last cancellation date is in early December, so we have plenty of time to change our minds.

We are supposed to go on the Miracle which is a new ship that is reportedly very nice. We'll see if my idea of nice concurs with that of the Cruisemates reviewer.

Roberta

[Charliesmom]

Thank you all for your wise advice on where to stay and for the info on proximity to the airport.

Roberta

[PEFER33]

Marshacher or anyone from Tampa,

We'll be returning to Tampa on Jan. 29th. It appears the pirate parade and festival will be that day. Any idea how this will affect getting off the ship and getting to the airport?

Phil

[marshacher]

Phil,
Shouldn't be any trouble. There will be taxis at the pier and they can get to the airport without going thru downtown Tampa. You will probably be off the ship before the parade starts.

Roberta,
If you do get to go on the Miracle make sure you catch the Las Vegas style shows. I have a friend who produces the shows for Carnival Cruise Lines and I know he did the Miracle. He produces, does the staging and choreography, etc. His shows are a knockout.

Marsha

[Charliesmom]

I'm looking forward to the shows. We went on the Carnival Victory from Boston to Halifax, NS and the shows were the best we have seen on a ship. The food was terrible. My DH lost weight on the cruise and he loves to eat. They also had the best gym we've seen on a ship.

The best part of that cruise was that it left from Boston.

Roberta