Ever use cruise-connection florida bus service?

[detroitcruiser]

Anyone ever use cruise-connection bus service. I need to get from clearwater to the cruise port and someone told me about cruise-connection.com. Anyone every use the bus? How was it? The person also told me if you book it with an agent there is a reduction in price. Any truth?

[dkjretired]

NJ to Baltimore and the service was excellent. The nice thing about it was we put our luggage on the bus and did not see it again until it was outside our stateroom. This was post 911 and was a nice touch. I do not know the difference in price by booking yourself. I did mine through the travel agent.

[estebofarr]

We've taken it from Clearwater many times. Pickup is at the Steak and Shake on Nursery Road. Nice trip, pleasant drivers, stop for coffee and whatever in Fort Myers. Bathroom on the bus and usually a movie. We did have to identify the bags at the pier and thereby tip the porters. I don't know anything about the discount with an agent. What agent? Travel agent or cruise connection? Good luck. We'll be taking it in February.

[estebofarr]

We've taken it from Clearwater many times. Pickup is at the Steak and Shake on Nursery Road. Nice trip, pleasant drivers, stop for coffee and whatever in Fort Myers. Bathroom on the bus and usually a movie. We did have to identify the bags at the pier and thereby tip the porters. I don't know anything about the discount with an agent. What agent? Travel agent or cruise connection? Good luck. We'll be taking it in February.

[mafig]

Too funny that this question has come up. We have taken the bus several times in the past with good service. If you book through the TA or cruiseline that price is cheaper. It depends on which cruiseline you use as to the price. We were just off Norwegian and we paid $30 per person (round trip).

 

Yesterday, however, it was horrible. We waited two and a half hours to be picked up at the pier. No place to sit, just standing there with our luggage. The person at the pier could hardly speak english and when we asked where the bus was she gave us various times. Something like this:

"should be here around 10:30 to 11. should be here between 11:00 and 11:30. the bus is at the Carnival loading area. maybe the bus broke down." When she said this I asked her "You don't have a clue as to where the bus is, do you?" She said no.

 

Finally the bus arrived. We had to go to RCI's terminal and then back to Carnival where they had left 12 people. Finally on the road. We live in Punta Gorda, we got home around 5 pm. I remember the driver telling the Clearwater people they would probably be home by 9 PM.

 

As I said, in the past they've been good, convenient, and a bargain. But when things go wrong, they go wrong, and they don't communicate. If we had known we'd have such a long day, we would have rented a car one way back home.

[cdbaum]

We have used them several times from Clearwater and they have been great. We will be using them again in fact on 12/11. Initially we weren't real crazy about how much longer it takes compared to driving but we were convinced that it was worth the extra time when the ride back from a Summit cruise was torrential rain the entire way. Being able to read or sleep on the bus versus white knuckle driving in almost vero visiblity was worth the money.

 

Sometimes you do have to wait for pickup at the pier (especially if you get off the ship quickly) since their schedule is based on dropping people of at the right time. They do say on the website that you shouldn't plan on pick-up until about noon.

 

Also, contrary to what they tell you food and drink on the bus aren't really a problem as long as you don't make a mess. If everyone just picks up after themselves the drivers don't really care.

[KAJOKG]

We use Cruise Connection all the time. We book through the cruiseline -- it's cheaper. We had a problem one time. It was a new driver who really did not know what he was supposed to do. There is usually a bit of a wait upon disembarkation, but it's a lot better than driving to the pier. That has gotten to be a hassle since security has gotten tight.

[Ships R Great]

We have used them from Jacksonville several times. Only one mishap---with the air conditiioning. Pickup is at 6:00AM!!!!! at the McDonald's by The Avenues. I would do it again in a minute.

[Two@Sea]

We always use Cruise Connections, and request them at the time of booking. Our TA handles it, so I have no idea if the cost varies one way or another. We get picked up at a Cracker Barrel in Vero Beach. The drivers have always been professional, efficient, and often times hilarious. They also advise us what time to expect pickup, but note it is an "approximation" that can change depending upon late dockings, etc.

 

It costs us $75 pp round trip, but we feel it to be worthwhile when you consider driving the interstate in south FL (nightmare!) and parking fees.