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Brightline Report!


BlueHerons
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So the hubs and I took the Brightline train yesterday from downtown Fort Lauderdale to downtown West Palm Beach.

 

The train drops you off near Clematis Street so we walked over to Roccos Tacos for margaritias and chips then ate lunch at Grease. Both were excellent.

 

From there we walked over to City Place and Blue Martini. City Place is a bit deserted but still kind of cool. I hope it picks up.

 

The ride took 40 minutes and the trains are quiet and spotless. Service was excellent from the train station to the people working on the trains.

 

The station is gorgeous and the views are beautiful of downtown Fort Lauderdale. They serve beer, mixed drinks, and have snacks both in the station and on the trains.

 

I highly recommend a trip. Can't wait until Miami service begins next month!

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So the hubs and I took the Brightline train yesterday from downtown Fort Lauderdale to downtown West Palm Beach.

 

The train drops you off near Clematis Street so we walked over to Roccos Tacos for margaritias and chips then ate lunch at Grease. Both were excellent.

 

From there we walked over to City Place and Blue Martini. City Place is a bit deserted but still kind of cool. I hope it picks up.

 

The ride took 40 minutes and the trains are quiet and spotless. Service was excellent from the train station to the people working on the trains.

 

The station is gorgeous and the views are beautiful of downtown Fort Lauderdale. They serve beer, mixed drinks, and have snacks both in the station and on the trains.

 

I highly recommend a trip. Can't wait until Miami service begins next month!

 

Thanks for the info! Can't wait for it to start service to Miami as well. It can be a game changer for people looking to get from Miami to Fort Lauderdale and vice versa for cruising.

 

Just think you can take it here to Brickell for a martini at our Blue Martini. LOL

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Blue - how much was the fare between PB to FLL?

 

I'm not sure!

 

We got free passes then used the promo code Friend Brightline (that isn't it but it is something like that so if anyone knows, please chime in!)for a BOGO so we only had to use one of our passes.

 

Then the train was late so they refunded everyone so we are back to two round trip passes.

 

If I had to guess, I think it was $20 pp round trip. Maybe $10?

 

It was so nice that $20 would be a very fair price.

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No, the station is still under construction. No confirmed opening date has been announced yet.

 

If I remember correctly through my haze of tequila and beer, the staff told us April 8th but I could be completely wrong.

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I'm dying for this to come to Orlando and when it does i'll take more cruises out of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. I'm just scratching my head as to why there's apparently no planned Pt. Canaveral/Cocoa Beach stop as it makes sense for shuttling the cruise crowds back and forth from MCO.

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I'm dying for this to come to Orlando and when it does i'll take more cruises out of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. I'm just scratching my head as to why there's apparently no planned Pt. Canaveral/Cocoa Beach stop as it makes sense for shuttling the cruise crowds back and forth from MCO.

 

Because the tracks will only go as far east as Cocoa before turning south.

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Because the tracks will only go as far east as Cocoa before turning south.

 

 

Still having a stop at Cocoa makes a lot of sense. Cruisers can just cab it to the port or area hotels from there. Plus it would be a stop close to the beach for Orlando area residents.

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So there are no plans to add a Cocoa station?

 

Not at this time.

 

Still having a stop at Cocoa makes a lot of sense. Cruisers can just cab it to the port or area hotels from there. Plus it would be a stop close to the beach for Orlando area residents.

 

Not sure about that. I actually don't think a lot of cruisers would use it. Not sure how many times a day it would run, so this would involve picking up your luggage, taking it on the APM to the train station, a possible hour or two wait for the train, bringing your luggage onto the train. getting off in Cocoa with your luggage and then having to find transportation to the port and then doing it all in reverse after the cruise.

 

As for area residents using it, I wouldn't foresee that either. From the airport to the beaches is 35-45 minutes depending on which one that you go to. Taking the train would involve parking the car, waiting for the train, getting to Cocoa, finding a ride to the beach and then doing it all in reverse. Being from Kissimmee, would you do that to get to the beach?

 

Don't get me wrong, I am 100% pro-train, but I don't see any advantage to a stop in Cocoa for the purposes above.

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Not at this time.

 

 

 

Not sure about that. I actually don't think a lot of cruisers would use it. Not sure how many times a day it would run, so this would involve picking up your luggage, taking it on the APM to the train station, a possible hour or two wait for the train, bringing your luggage onto the train. getting off in Cocoa with your luggage and then having to find transportation to the port and then doing it all in reverse after the cruise.

 

As for area residents using it, I wouldn't foresee that either. From the airport to the beaches is 35-45 minutes depending on which one that you go to. Taking the train would involve parking the car, waiting for the train, getting to Cocoa, finding a ride to the beach and then doing it all in reverse. Being from Kissimmee, would you do that to get to the beach?

 

Don't get me wrong, I am 100% pro-train, but I don't see any advantage to a stop in Cocoa for the purposes above.

 

 

I don't have a car and rely on public transportation so yes I would definitely utilize the train to access the beach as well as use it for cruising.

Positives are that it eliminates gas and toll expense for drivers as well as potential traffic delays.

When cruising, I use the shuttles from MCO to Cocoa Beach hotels and while it's only a 1 hour ride, if there's an accident or construction on the 528, the train wouldn't be affected.

I also don't think people would mind bringing luggage on and off the train as they're still bringing their luggage with them via shuttles and driving.

From what i've read and seen of the new intermodal station coming to MCO, there will be a people mover transporting passengers from the main terminals to the train making luggage easy to transport.

And sometimes these shuttles cram people into those vans like cattle, you wait for them to fill up, or make other stops before heading to the coast. You experience none of that on the train.

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I don't have a car and rely on public transportation so yes I would definitely utilize the train to access the beach as well as use it for cruising.

Positives are that it eliminates gas and toll expense for drivers as well as potential traffic delays.

When cruising, I use the shuttles from MCO to Cocoa Beach hotels and while it's only a 1 hour ride, if there's an accident or construction on the 528, the train wouldn't be affected.

I also don't think people would mind bringing luggage on and off the train as they're still bringing their luggage with them via shuttles and driving.

From what i've read and seen of the new intermodal station coming to MCO, there will be a people mover transporting passengers from the main terminals to the train making luggage easy to transport.

And sometimes these shuttles cram people into those vans like cattle, you wait for them to fill up, or make other stops before heading to the coast. You experience none of that on the train.

 

I agree with this. While we have yet to cruise from Port Canaveral, when I was working, I had to go to the Cape. It's not a bad drive, but the tolls bothered me :DI live out west, where we don't have toll roads. As a result, I have no EZ Pass (or whatever) to help with tolls.

 

My issue isn't so much that tolls are charged (although I don't like it) but that when you rent a car now, you end up paying more than the toll, since they add a surcharge. I have pored over maps and I can't find a good way to avoid the toll going east. (It's easy to do from MCO going west, and I do enjoy that!).

 

So, if I could take a train from MCO, even just to Cocoa, then find a cab or Uber, I would. And I could just sit back and relax. I'm tired of dealing with cashless tolls, which are great for many drivers but not so much for tourists. I preferred the "good old days", when I could just toss some quarters in a hopper and go.

Edited by NoWhiners
typos
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My issue isn't so much that tolls are charged (although I don't like it) but that when you rent a car now, you end up paying more than the toll, since they add a surcharge. I have pored over maps and I can't find a good way to avoid the toll going east. (It's easy to do from MCO going west, and I do enjoy that!).

 

So, if I could take a train from MCO, even just to Cocoa, then find a cab or Uber, I would. And I could just sit back and relax. I'm tired of dealing with cashless tolls, which are great for many drivers but not so much for tourists. I preferred the "good old days", when I could just toss some quarters in a hopper and go.

 

You can avoid the toll going east by taking 436 north to SR50 to Titusville, or SR50 to SR520 to Cocoa or Cocoa Beach, or the south exit out of MCO to get to SR15 which hits US192 to go east to Melbourne, all without a toll.

 

Also, all of the BeachLine toll booths have exact change lanes where you can throw in your quarters to your hearts content and go.

 

Again, I am all for the train, I just don't think logistically, only stopping in Cocoa, enough people would do it, but that is just my $.02.

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You can avoid the toll going east by taking 436 north to SR50 to Titusville, or SR50 to SR520 to Cocoa or Cocoa Beach, or the south exit out of MCO to get to SR15 which hits US192 to go east to Melbourne, all without a toll.

 

Also, all of the BeachLine toll booths have exact change lanes where you can throw in your quarters to your hearts content and go.

 

Again, I am all for the train, I just don't think logistically, only stopping in Cocoa, enough people would do it, but that is just my $.02.

 

OMG, thanks for this!! I knew there had to be a way. And I was under the impression that all lanes were EZ pass only now, good to know we can use cash.

 

I would prefer a train but if I can use a rental car and either avoid tolls or use cash, I am happy. (I love throwing quarters in the bin!!)

 

Thank you for this info

ML

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