Capitol Parking Tampa FL or Port of Tampa Channelside Parking Garage

Has anyone ever used Capitol Parking or the port parking garage across street from cruise port for cruise out of Tampa ?

Thanks,

Marcy

Marcy

Last April I dropped our party and baggage at the cruise ship. Drove across the street to the Port of Tampa parking, paid $14/day (now $15) for parking with my debit card and was given a TOKEN. Credit cards are good but not sure about cash as this is all automated no attendants. Do not lose the token, leave it in your car! When you return, get in your car, drive to the exit and insert your token to be released! Pick up your party and the luggage and punch Home on your GPS.

Hope this helps!

Has anyone ever used Capitol Parking or the port parking garage across street from cruise port for cruise out of Tampa ?

Thanks,

Marcy

I will be using Capital Parking tomorrow, Feb. 4th through Feb. 13th as I am sailing out of Tampa on the Jewel. I spoke to the owner who said this particular lot is a new one for the company but advised the company has been in business for 2 years. I paid up front on a credit card which I wasn't real comfortable with but that's how they do it. He said there is shuttle service from the lot which is less than a mile to the cruise port. Sooo......I will report back after using the service. I'm hoping it will beat the price of RCCL parking which is $15 a day. The gentleman (I hope) said the lot is open from 8-2 on cruise days and when you pre-pay, a voucher is sent to you. They run from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. according to him. We'll see. Wish me luck!!

Cruisemom43

Thanks ever so much for taking this on. On a 10 Day cruise you'll save a fortune in parking! When you get back and settled please tell us all if you had any problems finding the place and how long you had to wait going to the port and wait to get picked up on the return.

As a side note let us know about evening entertainment, what shows and specials did they have. We don't leave until the 1st week of April. Bon Voyage'

I will be using Capital Parking tomorrow, Feb. 4th through Feb. 13th as I am sailing out of Tampa on the Jewel. I spoke to the owner who said this particular lot is a new one for the company but advised the company has been in business for 2 years. I paid up front on a credit card which I wasn't real comfortable with but that's how they do it. He said there is shuttle service from the lot which is less than a mile to the cruise port. Sooo......I will report back after using the service. I'm hoping it will beat the price of RCCL parking which is $15 a day. The gentleman (I hope) said the lot is open from 8-2 on cruise days and when you pre-pay, a voucher is sent to you. They run from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. according to him. We'll see. Wish me luck!!

 

Cruisemom43

Any input on this parking option? The satellite view from Google (granted it's old) shows what looks like a grass/gravel lot. Also the price just increased today to $6.99.

So how was parking with this Capital Parking? Google street view just showed on open lot with a wooden fence. Shuttle system any good?

Thanks!

I will be using Capital Parking tomorrow, Feb. 4th through Feb. 13th as I am sailing out of Tampa on the Jewel. I spoke to the owner who said this particular lot is a new one for the company but advised the company has been in business for 2 years. I paid up front on a credit card which I wasn't real comfortable with but that's how they do it. He said there is shuttle service from the lot which is less than a mile to the cruise port. Sooo......I will report back after using the service. I'm hoping it will beat the price of RCCL parking which is $15 a day. The gentleman (I hope) said the lot is open from 8-2 on cruise days and when you pre-pay, a voucher is sent to you. They run from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. according to him. We'll see. Wish me luck!!

 

Cruisemom43

Here's a link to some reviews: http://www.yellowpages.com/tampa-fl/mip/capital-parking-llc-464581823

So how was parking with this Capital Parking? Google street view just showed on open lot with a wooden fence. Shuttle system any good?

Thanks!

Just saw an ad online for this company and am anxious to hear your report. Hope you had a great cruise.

I did use Capital Parking. All went smooth; the shuttle was at the ship at 8:00-8:30 a.m. and I was home before 10:00 a.m. It is a dusty parking lot however with a wooden fence. And I've noticed the fees have gone up a dollar since I used it. I have also heard about Premier Parking, same idea, which I might look into as well next time I cruise out of Tampa.

I did use Capital Parking. All went smooth; the shuttle was at the ship at 8:00-8:30 a.m. and I was home before 10:00 a.m. It is a dusty parking lot however with a wooden fence. And I've noticed the fees have gone up a dollar since I used it. I have also heard about Premier Parking, same idea, which I might look into as well next time I cruise out of Tampa.

Thank you so much for the update.:)

I did use Capital Parking. All went smooth; the shuttle was at the ship at 8:00-8:30 a.m. and I was home before 10:00 a.m. It is a dusty parking lot however with a wooden fence. And I've noticed the fees have gone up a dollar since I used it. I have also heard about Premier Parking, same idea, which I might look into as well next time I cruise out of Tampa.

Thanks cruisemom43! $49 sure beats $105 for a 7 day cruise...

Has anyone used the 2-4-1 service parking that is only 3 blocks away from port. It has 24 hour security, lighted lot, and gated. The cost is only $5.99....

Hi all,

If you go to longtermparking.com you can download a coupon from that site and it will only cost $6 per day to park at Capital parking. I've never used them personally so I can't vouch for their service. I have used coupons from this site at several offsite parking lots for airports and everything went smoothly.

I can't stand paying for parking on my vacations!!!!! I've become a bit of a long term parking expert because I can't believe how much I spent one vacation on parking. Drove me nuts!

MsBlues

We just returned from a cruise yesterday, and used Capital Parking. (We were able to use the coupon mentioned above at longtermparking.com to essentially get 5 nights for the price of 4.)

Capital Parking's lot is indeed nothing more than a dirt & gravel lot, secured with a wooden privacy fence and gate (that presumably is locked at night). It is in the middle of several high-end condo towers and developments, so felt reasonably safe with it from that standpoint.

It couldn't have been more convenient. After parking, I called the number found on the reservation page and found driver Mike was on his way back from dropping other passengers at the terminal. After verifying our reservation paperwork, he loaded our luggage and us for the 2 minute ride to the terminal. Easy and convenient.

Upon disembarking from the cruise, we drug our bags across the street to the designated waiting spot, called Mike, and were back in our vehicle in under five minutes.

Great service, and great value...

We used this company for our cruise on the Carnival Legend 11/26 - 12/2. Found them using onestopparking.com. The site offers several different options for parking at the Port of Tampa and we chose Capital due to it's proximity to the port and it's supposed security. It is close to the port and it is less expensive than parking at the port itself but there are several downsides. Security is a cheap wooden privacy fence that wouldn't stop a 10 year old. Getting to the port was a cluster, they only had 2 employees working at the site, one checking in vehicles and the other driving the shuttle - a 10 passenger van. Eventually both employees we're driving shuttles but one kept having to stop to check in other vehicles. We were the lucky ones only having to wait an hour to be shuttled to the port, others were there in excess of 2 hours. Returning we went to the required meeting place and called. It went to voice mail. They called and said 10-15 minutes... try 30 minutes. The employees were very apologetic for the wait, both arriving and departing, but it was a horrible service. Would I use them again? No way.

Dec. 22, 2012 PARKING potential solution

I read posts about horrible experiences with parking prior to trying something that my neighbor recommended. I will let you know how it works out, but here is her suggestion: Call a hotel or motel to see if they have a parking program.

So, I did. I called Quality Inn in Ybor City, prior to taking a cruise from the Port of Tampa.

The manager at the Quality Inn in Ybor City answered the phone himself. Parking is $45.00 for up to 14 days. You park in their regular motel lot and use their shuttle to your ship. The shuttle will also pick you back up at the dock and bring you back to the hotel when you return (they start shuttle service at the dock for returning ships at 8:30 or so and I was told that the service to the ship starts at 11:00) . Presumably you take the keys with you.

This would probably work in any city and maybe for a flight as well. Nice to know, since parking in different cities may be a horror for some, as it was for those who caused me to make my first post.

I'll report back in a week or so.

[ Note: If you are a Choice Hotels Privileges member, call one of their hotels to see if they have a parking option. I am a member and have been for several years so I know their shuttles and personnel in several locations (you might know the hotels better than the name "Choice" perhaps: Quality Inn, Comfort Suites, Rodeway, etc.). ]

any more reports on off site parking in Tampa? The reviews of all the places are too mixed so I guess we are just going to park at the port and pay the $15.

I am really interested in 717 Parking. Their advertised rate is $2.99 per day which is unbelievable. They seem to be a fairly large company working in the city who is just getting into the cruise parking with a shuttle service.

Anyone know anything about them?

Thanks for the tip SLOEngineer. We are on NCL Dawn next week. Today we went to watch the Dawn and Carnival Legend sail away and we stopped at the Quality Inn to check it out. It looks pretty good and we booked for our cruise. They confirmed the info SLOEngineer provided - $45 includes parking and shuttle both ways and first departure to the port is scheduled for 11am.

Plan to post a followup after cruise on parking/shuttle experience.

We did not have the nerve to try any of the offsite places. Ended up with the port parking and $75

Well...used 717 parking and figured I would share my experience since there isn't much out there. The price was $2.99 per day which was unbeatable. The lot is open but is highly visible directly across from the Amtrack station.

We did use the shuttle but I found the service to be a little slow, we waited about 30 minutes each time. The lot is only about a mile from the port so you could take a taxi if needed.

We used Capital Once Parking 7/1/2012 for a 7 day cruise .

No problems at all. Didn't have to wait long to get to the ship and they were

pretty quick picking us up.

7/1/2012

$3.99 per day + tax ($1.96) and handing fee ($4.00) w/ coupon discount $3.99 total $29.90 for 7 days

Just checked for 5 days this Feb. 2013

$7.99 per day tax ($2.80) processing fee ($4.00) for $46.75

total for parking at the port is $75.00.

So the savings is not as good but it is still close to $30.00 for 5 days

We parked at the Quality Inn Ybor(parking only-no hotel stay) for Dawn Jan 20-27. We arrived ~11 and saw the first full shuttle was leaving for the port. Front desk was very nice and invited us to coffe/tea in their breakfast area while we waited. The shuttle returned ~11:30 and we were off to the port ~11:45.

Jan 27 we got off the ship/collected our luggage and walked outside ~9:45 to see the van just finish with loading and on it's way. It was back in 25 mins. Considering the price and that there were 3 ships in port on both days and one of the roads into the port was closed with a detour, we were very happy with the parking/service and will definitely use them again.

I just wanted to say that we just used Capital Parking in Tampa 3/28/2013 and I must say they were very professional and Enrique was the man. Very polite and courteous. I booked online and when we arrived they checked us off on the list, we got in the van and they dropped us off right in front. On the way back we called while we were going through customs and they were right there within 3 minutes. Was very pleased with them. No coupons but $40.00 was better than the port parking.

Capital Parking has MOVED!!!! Call to get their address because where they were was only a temporary lot.

After finding out where they were it was a great experience. Very easy process. Nicest guys in the world!