Brightline to the Port of Miami

[twoflyers]

Has anyone taken the Brightline from West Palm Beach to the Port of Miami?

They offer a train to port service on their website and I would be interested in hearing about the experience.

 

Thanks!

[BlueHerons]

I've taken it a bunch from Fort Lauderdale to WPB and from Fort Lauderdale to Miami but not to the Port of Miami.

 

The stations are just like going through a very small, immaculate airport.  The trains are spotless luxury rides.

 

Full bar in the stations and on the trains.

[SteerageJoe]

I did this recently! Ask me anything...

 

We were in Select (business) class going south and standard (smart) going north.

The trickiest part was parking at West Palm Beach and figuring out how to get the free stay. Are you planning to park? It is in a building across from the station.

You also have to install the Lyft App.

Fortunately there are Brightline folks at the entrance to assist you. And parking attendants on the floors to help. But you MUST install the PayByPhone app on your phone in order to get the free parking (using the voucher from your train ticket).

 

The train and everything about it is wonderful. A very positive and happy experience.

When you arrive at Miami, order your Lyft ride then escalator down  and walk out of the north entrance and you will see huge signs for Lyft at the entrance. Your driver will be there.

It is only 6-10 minutes to the Port!

 

Highly recommended!

[BlueHerons]

Thanks Joe, forgot to add that the staff are really helpful and nice!  

 

It's an anomaly in South Florida customer service!

[skrufy]

3 hours ago, twoflyers said:

Has anyone taken the Brightline from West Palm Beach to the Port of Miami?

They offer a train to port service on their website and I would be interested in hearing about the experience.

 

Thanks!

We are taking Brightline from West Palm to Miami early next year. Right now the train only goes to The a Miami station by government center. This station is about a 10 minute ride to the port. The offer includes a Lyft ride to the POM.   I emailed Brightline  about the train to port one way but they only run the service round trip. Hope this helps

[CruiszBug]

1 hour ago, SteerageJoe said:

I did this recently! Ask me anything...

 

We were in Select (business) class going south and standard (smart) going north.

The trickiest part was parking at West Palm Beach and figuring out how to get the free stay. Are you planning to park? It is in a building across from the station.

You also have to install the Lyft App.

Fortunately there are Brightline folks at the entrance to assist you. And parking attendants on the floors to help. But you MUST install the PayByPhone app on your phone in order to get the free parking (using the voucher from your train ticket).

 

The train and everything about it is wonderful. A very positive and happy experience.

When you arrive at Miami, order your Lyft ride then escalator down  and walk out of the north entrance and you will see huge signs for Lyft at the entrance. Your driver will be there.

It is only 6-10 minutes to the Port!

 

Highly recommended!

 

It sounds like you booked the Cruise to Port package? It looks like the parking for that package is only for 15 days max. I need 22 days...  I will call and find out what the deal is if you ride Select. In the amenities it says FREE PARKING. But then elsewhere it says "one day" free parking....

 

Also, do you park and then schlep your bags to the station? Or is there a baggage drop before parking?

Edited September 23, 2019 by CruiszBug

[SteerageJoe]

9 hours ago, CruiszBug said:

 

It sounds like you booked the Cruise to Port package? It looks like the parking for that package is only for 15 days max. I need 22 days...  I will call and find out what the deal is if you ride Select. In the amenities it says FREE PARKING. But then elsewhere it says "one day" free parking....

 

Also, do you park and then schlep your bags to the station? Or is there a baggage drop before parking?

 

I used the word FREE instead of INCLUDED! 

Yes parking is FREE when doing a 1-day return trip on Brightline ($8 a day on the SMART package) when on the SELECT package.

 

I believe the cruise package discounts the parking to $5 a day instead of $8. So you pay for parking but still a great deal.

 

We paid extra for the one-way upgrade to SELECT at checkin because I wanted to experience the difference and they were nice to us! Otherwise the upgrade is both ways only.

 

Yes, drop your luggage at checkin before parking because we did not see any porters (maybe I missed them?) You may have to drop a passenger too or perhaps ask one of the check-in staff to keep an eye on your bags.

 

I parked on the 11th floor because my truck is too big and those spaces are tiny! Every floor has a handfull of larger spots but those were all taken on lower floors.

 

There is an elevator on every floor and we took that down to ground level, then walked across the road to checkin.

I did not see any special procedures for luggage handling other than dealing with it yourself.

 

About the parking APP. Do not worry about it until you are in the lounge. Then you ask a staff member to assist you if needed. You just need your voucher code (check your email) and car registration number. That's it! Very easy once you can navigate the APP.

 

As I wrote yesterday, we LOVED every minute of the trip. Did not want the ride to end! The lemongrass aroma in the stations, the cleanliness, the Italian drinks (beer and wine), the smiling staff. Everything.

 

And Miami Station is great for breakfast before you head to the ship! It's like you're in Paris or Europe somewhere!

 

Edited September 23, 2019 by SteerageJoe

[CruiszBug]

The parking is actually listed as $8 per day but $12 for overnight on the website (which would be $252 + one free night for 22 days). I think I will call today and find out the scoop! Thank you for your detailed info, it is appreciated!

Edited September 23, 2019 by CruiszBug
correct math

[twoflyers]

Hi all,

 

Thank you so much for all this information, SO helpful.  As a result:

1/  We will do a "dry run" to check out the parking so as not to run into a problem the "day of".

2/  Had no idea of the $5.00 a day for parking, so not as great a deal, but not a deal breaker.

3/  Thanks for the app info, I have Lyft, but will need to add "Pay by Phone".

4/  Looking forward to a great ride to begin the celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary!!

 

Thanks again and smooth sailing for all!!

 

[royalnewbie]

On 9/24/2019 at 9:08 PM, twoflyers said:

Hi all,

 

Thank you so much for all this information, SO helpful.  As a result:

1/  We will do a "dry run" to check out the parking so as not to run into a problem the "day of".

2/  Had no idea of the $5.00 a day for parking, so not as great a deal, but not a deal breaker.

3/  Thanks for the app info, I have Lyft, but will need to add "Pay by Phone".

4/  Looking forward to a great ride to begin the celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary!!

 

Thanks again and smooth sailing for all!!

 

How was it?  I am planning to do this on 2/15 for the Symphony.  Would love to hear your review. 

[twoflyers]

21 hours ago, royalnewbie said:

How was it?  I am planning to do this on 2/15 for the Symphony.  Would love to hear your review. 

We did this is November and it worked perfectly.  Very easy to find the entrance to the parking garage as there are 

[twoflyers]

We did this is November and it worked perfectly.  Very easy to find the entrance to the West Palm Beach parking garage as there are folks at the entryway to guide you.  The bottom floors are for residents of the condo/apartment, so you have to go up to the upper floors to park.

Just to correct the info posted by Steerage Joe, the "Cruise to Port" package includes parking for up to 15 days.  We were on a 12 day cruise and I believe our package was $110, which included parking, the RT train from West Palm to Miami and RT Lyft rides.   Parking at the Port of Miami would have cost $264.

I downloaded the "Pay by Phone" app and it guides you through the process, which includes taking a picture of your license plate.

Arrived at the Brightline counter, they checked us in and took our checked bag.  After five minutes we were on our way upstairs to the clean and well appointed waiting area.

The ride down to Miami was very relaxing and enjoyable - SO much better than the I-95 drive.

Upon arrival in Miami, we went to the baggage claim area, retrieved our bags and exited to call our Lyft.

Our Lyft ride arrived within minutes and we were at the port within 10 minutes.  

The only hiccup we experienced was on the return.  We requested our Lyft and saw the vehicle pulling up.  All of a sudden, he took off, leaving us at the curb.  I think he saw that it was a very short ride and he did not want to waste his time when he could pick up someone going on a longer trip.  Not nice!!

However, we got another ride within minutes and the return was equally uneventful.

We have another Brightline trip scheduled for the end of this month and again in June - it is truly a great way to get to the Miami and Fort Lauderdale ports. 

Let me know if you have any other questions - glad to help.

[royalnewbie]

11 hours ago, twoflyers said:

We did this is November and it worked perfectly.  Very easy to find the entrance to the West Palm Beach parking garage as there are folks at the entryway to guide you.  The bottom floors are for residents of the condo/apartment, so you have to go up to the upper floors to park.

Just to correct the info posted by Steerage Joe, the "Cruise to Port" package includes parking for up to 15 days.  We were on a 12 day cruise and I believe our package was $110, which included parking, the RT train from West Palm to Miami and RT Lyft rides.   Parking at the Port of Miami would have cost $264.

I downloaded the "Pay by Phone" app and it guides you through the process, which includes taking a picture of your license plate.

Arrived at the Brightline counter, they checked us in and took our checked bag.  After five minutes we were on our way upstairs to the clean and well appointed waiting area.

The ride down to Miami was very relaxing and enjoyable - SO much better than the I-95 drive.

Upon arrival in Miami, we went to the baggage claim area, retrieved our bags and exited to call our Lyft.

Our Lyft ride arrived within minutes and we were at the port within 10 minutes.  

The only hiccup we experienced was on the return.  We requested our Lyft and saw the vehicle pulling up.  All of a sudden, he took off, leaving us at the curb.  I think he saw that it was a very short ride and he did not want to waste his time when he could pick up someone going on a longer trip.  Not nice!!

However, we got another ride within minutes and the return was equally uneventful.

We have another Brightline trip scheduled for the end of this month and again in June - it is truly a great way to get to the Miami and Fort Lauderdale ports. 

Let me know if you have any other questions - glad to help.

Thank you!