Tampa City Tour, Airport transfer

[deedee290]

My 2 friends and I are sailing on theInspiritation 9/17. Our return flight does not leave untuil 7pm...We were wondering what to do in Tampa until time to get to the airport. I see Carnival offers a Tour of Tampa with airport transfer. Has anyone done this?? Any suggestions??

[cruisinmama0]

We just returned and this is my opinion. I wouldn't do the tour because you would have to meet on the ship at one of the lounges around 815 am then you wait until you can get off. You are on the tour and dropped off at the airport for around 3pm. You would still have many hours before your flight.

 

this is what I would do...get a day room at a hotel. We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Ybor city. It is a short taxi ride away. It is a new hotel and had a nice pool. At noon the trolley starts to run and you can ride it all day with a $3 per person pass. You can go to Centro Ybor which has shopping and a movie theatre or ride the other way back to Channelside near the ship pier. It doesn't take long to ride it and it's scenic. Channelside had many restaurants, bars and shopping. We were so tired after the week that I wished we had gotten a hotel room to nap in and enjoy a dip in the pool. We went to the aquarium instead which was great. There is a place to check in luggage at the pier building for $5 and sold discount aquarium tickets, but not sure what time it closes. We walked across the street to the aquarium and enjoyed a relaxing day there. There is a nice water park for the kids with splashing and water cannons etc. and a restaurant/bar.

 

Hope this helps. I'm telling you we were so tired and I wished we would have made arrangements to go back to the Hampton and rest and swim.

 

There is also a Marriott in the Tampa airport, but I'm not sure of their amenities.

[tadjr]

The Airport Marriott does have a pool, but not sure about offering day rooms. You can call them direct at 813-879-5151.

4 hours in the airport is still a long time. Usually by the afternoon the mad rush of the cruise people has died down and you can easily check in and get to the gate in an hour, hour and a half tops, and thats taking it leisurely. Just be sure to find out the checkin cutoff time for your airline. If you decide to get a day room at the airport, you can check in 4-6 hours before flight (depending on carrier), check your bags (except carryons), get your boarding passes and then enjoy the pool and room until the last minute.

[DonnaMarieNJ]

deedee - what did you ultimately end up doing in Tampa - I'm in the same boat this summer - lots of time to kill before my flight.