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Jacksonville FL Parking & Best Excursions


blnorman
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Okay all,

 

Newbies to this whole cruising thing.

 

1) Is there any parking located in Jacksonville FL other than at the cruise terminal? Was informed parking would run roughly $15.00 per day. I have heard of VIP Parking in Jacksonville, but aren't really sure if that is necessarily the better option. I was really wondering if anyone has ever used a hotel that offers a cruise and park package? I have read things about VIP not starting to shuttle people till around 11:00, but if you park at the port terminal you could possibly start boarding the ship at 11:00 a.m. and avoid some of the crowd. I'm not interested booking a stay with the hotel, only parking. I am only 7 1/2 hours away so i don't really need to book a room.

 

2) Excursions - We are not really big into snorkeling or anything like that, so I was wondering are there any excursions that may include ATV riding or casual biking in Nassau? Any suggestions for a anniversary couple would be greatly appreciated.

 

Any other cruise tips for this first timer will also be very much appreciated.

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Welcome to cruise critic!

 

We sailed on Carnival out of Jacksonville for the first time on 9/13. We drove from north of Atlanta, so we also didn't need/want a room. We parked at the terminal. It was $75 for our 5-day cruise. The cost is based on how long your cruise it. You pay in advance, when you park your car.

 

I was very glad that after researching and debating, we just decided to park at the terminal.

 

Jacksonville port is very small. One building really, with the one ship. All the reviews I have read talked about the efficiency of the port, the knowledge of the employees, and their ability to move you along through their system. Our experience was exactly the same. I was quite pleased with how easy it was.

 

When entering, they ask you if you want to drop off your luggage first. They direct you. You just follow the cars to the terminal. We dropped of the luggage, DS, and myself. DH parked the car and walked back. Then we did our check in together.

 

I was equally glad to be parked onsite when we departed. We had FTTF, so getting off was a piece of cake. The car was so close, we just walked to the car with the luggage and off we went.

 

As I saw others head over to wait for the shuttles to take them to off site parking, I thought to myself how happy I was that we were right there and could hit the road quickly to begin our trek home.

 

We self toured in Nassau.

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Thanks Anita -

 

I will def take this into consideration. Haven't made up our minds as to what we will do for the time in Nassau, but we have never been there so I don't want to over do it. I want something simple and fun, but different. If all else fails everyone says Atlantis is always a good stop.

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We just got off the Fascination on Saturday. We had a GREAT cruise!

We did a private tour of Nassau that was awesome. I can give you more information if you're interested in a non Carnival excursion.

 

Used VIP Parking and we will never use them again and I most certainly won't be recommending them to anyone. The car was safe enough, but their employees are extremely rude and downright disrespectful.

From now on, we'll use the port parking.

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Okay all,

 

Newbies to this whole cruising thing.

 

1) Is there any parking located in Jacksonville FL other than at the cruise terminal? Was informed parking would run roughly $15.00 per day. I have heard of VIP Parking in Jacksonville, but aren't really sure if that is necessarily the better option. I was really wondering if anyone has ever used a hotel that offers a cruise and park package? I have read things about VIP not starting to shuttle people till around 11:00, but if you park at the port terminal you could possibly start boarding the ship at 11:00 a.m. and avoid some of the crowd. I'm not interested booking a stay with the hotel, only parking. I am only 7 1/2 hours away so i don't really need to book a room.

 

2) Excursions - We are not really big into snorkeling or anything like that, so I was wondering are there any excursions that may include ATV riding or casual biking in Nassau? Any suggestions for a anniversary couple would be greatly appreciated.

 

Any other cruise tips for this first timer will also be very much appreciated.

 

We cruised on Fascination back in March and did a park and stay at Holiday Inn Express Blount Island. It was wonderful, staff super friendle, and shuttled you to and from the boat. I'd do it again.

 

We did the "Jeep" tour in Nassau. It was really fun, hubby drove (wrong side of road), off road, on road, everywhere. Glad we did it. Enjoy!

 

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Forums mobile app

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