mcftlf

Have a safe trip home! I have enjoyed reading your reports this week. We board the Valor in 9 days. 

Start out by saying its been 10 years since we have been on a cruise. Our son is a senior in High School now and this was his senior trip.

Early morning flight without a hitch. grabbed some breakfast at the airport in Tampa. UBER to the port with a stop at Publix for soft drinks and at Terminal 3 about 9:30. When I requested UBER the destination was Publix on Bayshore Blvd. Once I got in the car I told the driver I wanted to continue to the port. No Problem. While we were in Publix I saw my trip info change from Publix to Terminal 3. I think my original quote was $12.40. After the stop and taking us to the port the total was less than $16.

Porter was great...grabbed our luggage and told us we were good to go. We didn't realize that security would happen so quickly and my wife lost her unopened 20 oz soft drink. There was a large wedding party that was lined up at the VIP check in. we asked and the man sent us to the general check in lines which had about 50 in front of us. They were not taking anybody from this line as the wedding party was getting the check-in people. My wife has bad knees and usually is fine if not asked to stand for extended periods of time or go down stairs. After about a half hour of standing in this line and not moving, I went and asked again about priority check-in. This time he directed us to another line that was almost empty further down the terminal. So I went back to the line grabbed my wife and our carry-ons and headed towards the other line. While we were walking to the other lines...the same man went to the front of the line we just left and marched them all down to the lines he just sent us to. Since they didn't have to go through all the roped off line thingy's they all ended up in front of us. So now...instead of being in the middle of the line we were at the very end. So much for VIP check in. Talked to the manager once we got to the check-in lady who said "sorry". They directed us towards the area for priority holding. Evidently, the ship was going through some kind of Coast Guard inspection. We didnt get on board till about noon.

I will write up more later. I will say....no sewage smell..... didn't hear anything about bathrooms not working... I thought food in the dining room was great..no weird vibrations or indications that something was wrong with the propulsion....wouldn't pay for a suite again on this ship....

As mentioned above, the Tampa Cruise Port is located very near the city center. There is a lovely pedestrian walkway that runs along the waterfront just west of the cruise port. Once you've checked in your bags at the cruise terminal, you could enjoy a walk to the Tampa Convention Centre and beyond (depending on how much time you have available).

 

http://cruiseports.ca/america/tampa.html

Thanks for the info and the link!

I went to Ybor in January ... what a cute town!!! If you go there, hit Tampa Brewing Company ... yum!!

Late flight out on the way home so, we are renting a car and heading to Ybor city. Got to have a 1905 salad since we are so close!

The port is in Channelside which is basically downtown. You could get coffee somewhere down there (Starbucks, Ginger Beard, and Victory Coffee come to mind) or take the streetcar that runs through there to Ybor (the historic district). There are a lot of Cuban coffee/cigar places down there. You could also take a walk on the Riverwalk which is near the port, but you might want to give your bags to a porter first if possible.

Thank you. That helps! The porters start working about the same time the terminal opens?

Thanks for this question! I'm sailing on the Paradise on 4/15 ... any chance that's your date? I arrive around 9 a.m. that morning and was planning on a cab to the port but was told to try Uber. I've never done Uber so I'm a little hesitant.

We are actually sailing this weekend. As far as Uber...I was a little concerned also but- after using it multiple times in San Diego last year...I'm hooked.

There are some nice stores in the airport, one is a great book store.

Thank you. We were talking about eating at the airport before using UBER

We open the doors to Terminal-3 around 9:15, Check-In at 9:30, and boarding generally starts around 11:30ish.

Thanks! Exactly what I was needing.

It's been 10 years since we have cruised. On a 5 day aboard the Paradise soon.

We have a early morning flight arriving in Tampa at 7:30 the day of our cruise. What can we do so early in Tampa with no car toting suitcases? Planning to Uber from airport to publix near the port for soft drinks. How soon can we get IN the port? Traveling in a suite so we have VIP check in.

Any thoughts are appreciated

There are no hair dryers in the cabins on the Paradise?

File not found

Sorry, that file doesn’t live here anymore. It might have been moved or made private.

I was really hoping for a recent 5 day Paradise scan!