Will any larger ships ever been able to sail out of Tampa?

I love sailing out of Tampa--flights are so much cheaper then flying to MIA or FLL from where I live and it is so quick getting from the port to the airport. But I have done most of the Tampa ships/itineraries! Just wondered if anyone had heard of any plans to get larger ships to be able to go out of Tampa??

I love sailing out of Tampa--flights are so much cheaper then flying to MIA or FLL from where I live and it is so quick getting from the port to the airport. But I have done most of the Tampa ships/itineraries! Just wondered if anyone had heard of any plans to get larger ships to be able to go out of Tampa??

A report is due out next week outlining the several options to do this. One is to replace the bridge, either with a higher one, or with a drawbridge section, and this could cost $2 billion. The other option is to dredge a new channel, and use the dredged material to build an artificial island on the west side of the existing bridge, which could cost $700 million. However, the dredging and island building would have to be studied as to impacts on local beaches, and EPA requirements. This would also require additional infrastructure to bring food, supplies, and passengers from the Tampa area to this new island (via one causeway). I don't know if either of them will happen anytime soon.

Other than relocating the port from the Bay to the 'burbs (Sarasota? Clearwater?) how would you propose to accomplish this--besides the usual cry to raise up or tear down all the bridges in the Bay area?

I love sailing out of Tampa--flights are so much cheaper then flying to MIA or FLL from where I live [...] ut I have done most of the Tampa ships/itineraries!

...but if cost is your main argument, with the larger number of much larger ships competing for passengers at PortMiami and Port Everglades you should be able to get a lower enough cruise fare to more than offset the higher airfare to MIA or FLL.

moopig

I love sailing out of Tampa--flights are so much cheaper then flying to MIA or FLL from where I live and it is so quick getting from the port to the airport. But I have done most of the Tampa ships/itineraries! Just wondered if anyone had heard of any plans to get larger ships to be able to go out of Tampa??

...but if cost is your main argument, with the larger number of much larger ships competing for passengers at PortMiami and Port Everglades you should be able to get a lower enough cruise fare to more than offset the higher airfare to MIA or FLL.

FLL Airport is so near Port Everglades that is not an issue for many. A taxi is under $10 and shuttles are even less. The longest it has even taken to get from Port to Airport for us has been maybe 15 minutes.

Taxi from Airport to port in Tampa cost us a deal more than $10 each way.

I love sailing out of Tampa--flights are so much cheaper then flying to MIA or FLL from where I live and it is so quick getting from the port to the airport. But I have done most of the Tampa ships/itineraries! Just wondered if anyone had heard of any plans to get larger ships to be able to go out of Tampa??

I don't know that new (and implied bigger) ships will bring new itineraries. There are only so many islands in the Caribbean, and routes from a fixed start/end point.

I love sailing out of Tampa--flights are so much cheaper then flying to MIA or FLL from where I live and it is so quick getting from the port to the airport. But I have done most of the Tampa ships/itineraries! Just wondered if anyone had heard of any plans to get larger ships to be able to go out of Tampa??

Have you looked at Ryndam's 14 day round trip from Tampa? That's

a really nice cruise. We did it a few times. When Ryndam leaves the fleet,

Veendam is scheduled to take over that itinerary.

There was an article in Tampa Tribune a week or so ago discussing a new terminal just outside the bridge. Don't know if that's part of the report chengkp75 mentioned.

The whole issue sounds so political that I doubt anything will get done. (I'm currently in the Tampa area, reading the news about the FL governor's election. Having either of these guys as serious candidates leaves me astounded at politics in FL.)

I love sailing out of Tampa--flights are so much cheaper then flying to MIA or FLL from where I live and it is so quick getting from the port to the airport. But I have done most of the Tampa ships/itineraries! Just wondered if anyone had heard of any plans to get larger ships to be able to go out of Tampa??

I am a bit confused about your air situation. We assume you fly out of Detroit and there are some excellent prices on air between Detroit and FLL. And as has been posted, from FLL to Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale's port) is a very inexpensive and fast ride (you can actually see the cruise ships from the airport).

Port Everglades is a huge ports with many cruise options including Celebrity, RCI, HAL and Princess. As to the port of Tampa, they join Baltimore as putting their respective cruise ports beyond low bridges. It is a darn shame, and also very poor planning.

Hank

I am a bit confused about your air situation. We assume you fly out of Detroit .......

 

Hank

Hi,

the op got Grand Blanc MI listed as the residence ...... that is very close to Flint, Mi. (FNT).

There ( Flint) is a very nice and small airport ( Bishop) and there are some direct flights to TPA ....... there is one on Southwast that is often priced lower than flight to FLL ........ perhaps that is what the op got in mind.

But DTW is not that far from op.

I live in the Tampa Area and there has been lots of discussion about a new terminal but no real decision has been made.Most cruises out of Tampa are to the Mexico ports and there isn't much variety since there are few longer cruises. At one time there was a cruise terminal at Port Manattee but that was years ago and didn't last long.

I would rather see more cruise lines going out of Port Canaveral. That could mean better itineraries including Europe and the Med. There has been talk of one of RCs Mega Ships docking there.Too many short cruises and very few over 7 days.

Makes you scratch your head why were the bridge designers were a little short sighted when they settled on a navigational clearance that is so limiting. You can understand in places like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge are a little low for today's "tall" ships, but it was built back in the early 50s. On the other hand the present Sunshine Skyway only goes back to the 1980s:confused:.

Should Tampa decide to build a new cruise terminal in a different location, it is going to be very costly and won't happen quickly.

We have sailed out of Tampa on both the Veendam and Ryndam.

Makes you scratch your head why were the bridge designers were a little short sighted when they settled on a navigational clearance that is so limiting. You can understand in places like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge are a little low for today's "tall" ships, but it was built back in the early 50s. On the other hand the present Sunshine Skyway only goes back to the 1980s:confused:.

Well, to be fair, the largest cruise ship back in the '80's was the Sovereign class, which is one third the tonnage of the Oasis class ships today. Not real sure anyone imagined cruise ships tripling in size. And let's face it, compared to all the cargo ships out there, cruise ships are a small percentage of the world's fleet, so the bridge was designed for the most common customer. Even the Maersk Triple-E class container ships are only one meter taller (keel to masthead) than the Oasis class ships, but have 5 meters more draft, so they are essentially 4 meters shorter under a bridge.

I can't find what the clearance was for the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge that the present SSB replaced, perhaps they increased the clearance sufficiently or so they thought. Also what may have entered their thinking was the fact that no one really thought they would have to replace the original bridge as soon as they did and the present bridge would the most economical and expeditious solution under the circumstances. However had they tacked on another 15 ft or so of clearance these high priced solutions would not be even be on the drawing boards at this time.

Yeah, for some reason it is WAYYYYY cheaper to fly from Flint to Tampa than to fly Detroit to FLL or MIA. The only reasonable flights out of DTW are Spirit and if I fly with my husband, we cant do Spirit--he literally cannot fit! He is 6' 6" and Spirit has NO legroom. Last time I flew them I couldnt even put my knees out straight when sitting and I am only 6' tall. And the Flint airport is 15 minutes from home compared to DTW which is almost 2 hours.

Thanks for all the info!

I can't find what the clearance was for the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge that the present SSB replaced, perhaps they increased the clearance sufficiently or so they thought. Also what may have entered their thinking was the fact that no one really thought they would have to replace the original bridge as soon as they did and the present bridge would the most economical and expeditious solution under the circumstances. However had they tacked on another 15 ft or so of clearance these high priced solutions would not be even be on the drawing boards at this time.

I found one reference to the original bridge that states a maximum clearance of 150'. The new bridge is 175', so that was a significant increase. The old bridge cost $22 million, the new one $224 million.

Yeah, for some reason it is WAYYYYY cheaper to fly from Flint to Tampa than to fly Detroit to FLL or MIA.

Which airline do you fly out of FNT ?

P

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Which airline do you fly out of FNT ?

Southwest flys direct (and cheap) to Tampa. I don't mind going out of Detroit but when it is over $100 MORE that is just crazy!

Should Tampa decide to build a new cruise terminal in a different location, it is going to be very costly and won't happen quickly.

We have sailed out of Tampa on both the Veendam and Ryndam.

We did, too, but I cannot remember when we sailed Veendam if she did that 14 day itinerary or if we made it b-to-b. Ryndam cruises I know were the 14 days.

For a totally different itinerary I would look at leaving from another port.

Last year we did a transatlantic on Brilliance of the Seas out of Tampa and it had wonderful port stops of Boston, Bruggs, Cork, and Cherbourg. So keep your eyes open for those unusual itineraries. It might be worth it to find an online TA that lists their cruises by port of embarkation so that you can find the odd cruise out of Tampa.

If what you really are interested in is a specific ship like Oasis, think about flying in or out the day before of after so that you can book the least expensive flight of the day. Usually the first flight of the day out of FLL is significantly cheaper because it is too early for people to book on debarkation day. Many people have commented on these boards that the difference in flight costs almost pays for the hotel. Choose a hotel with free local transportation and you can get an extra day of vacation.

For everybody that says just raise the bridge try driving over the skyway a few times and see how high it already is .A one point it gets down right scary.