Pushback from sailing from Miami?

[mac_tlc]

6 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Food for thought. Is 20+ minutes really that bad🤔

 

 

Personally I prefer driving 70+ vs stuck in bumper to bumper traffic

 

 

On 528, you can get both!  70+ mph and bumper-to-bumper!! 😜

Edited May 22, 2023 by mac_tlc

[barbeyg]

6 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Not to mention that the extra drive distance between Port Everglades and Miami feels like another 500 miles.  I don't know what it is about the extra stretch of road but it's like a scene out of Mad Max. 

When we drive to Miami, the only stretch I need a drink after is between Ft Lauderdale and Miami. Each time we have done a road trip, there have been more wrecks in that one stretch than anywhere else, and much more aggressive drivers. Ken drives that leg, because I can’t.  

[PCHENG]

I have sailed out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral, and I rate Fort Lauderdale number one, Miami second and Port Canaveral a distant third.  Fort Lauderdale and Miami are destinations onto themselves, and there are plenty of good restaurants, hotels and attractions near the port.  Port Canaveral to me is just too isolated.  There are very few hotels or restaurants, and you can't really go anywhere without a car since there is hardly any public transportation.  

[PCHENG]

5 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I seem to recall there is a shuttle included during the kick off. Don't recall details.

When I sailed on the Oasis out of Miami Thanksgiving of 2021, I took Brightline from Fort Lauderdale down to Miami the mroning of the cruise, then transferred to the cruise terminal for free in a Tesla Model 3.  

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

On 528, you can get both!  70+ mph and bumper-to-bumper!! 😜

 

I can go from port exit to airport exit in about 35 minutes without trying.

 

Can't wait to race Brightline someday

[mac_tlc]

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

I can go from port exit to airport exit in about 35 minutes without trying.

 

Can't wait to race Brightline someday

And never be in the passing lane ……🏎️🏎️

[John&LaLa]

1 minute ago, mac_tlc said:

And never be in the passing lane ……🏎️🏎️

 

Why do people down here stay in left lane going 75🤔

[twangster]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Why do people down here stay in left lane going 75🤔

 

Because they are from somewhere else.  

[PWP-001]

2 hours ago, PCHENG said:

When I sailed on the Oasis out of Miami Thanksgiving of 2021, I took Brightline from Fort Lauderdale down to Miami the mroning of the cruise, then transferred to the cruise terminal for free in a Tesla Model 3.  

The Tesla's have been retired with the integration of Uber service.  

[George C]

I dislike flying into Orlando since that is the farthest airport from the port , I take Miami over that , but prefer Ft Lauderdale since that’s a ten minute drive from port. Had no negative issues with last few cruises from Miami. 

[JCDCA]

On 5/21/2023 at 4:40 PM, Oceansaway17 said:

Yes I agree but the luggage porters in Miami are aggressive and I won’t tip and I stand to the side to wait and watch to see luggage not shoved aside and forgotten.

You could just tip a couple dollars per bag…

[Biker19]

On 5/22/2023 at 6:20 PM, John&LaLa said:

Can't wait to race Brightline someday

It's coming soon.........

 

"

Brightline's Orlando station is due to open soon, connecting riders between Central and South Florida, including four cruise homeports.

 

Nobody is a bigger champion of this high-speed train than Royal Caribbean International's Vicki Freed, SVP sales, trade support & service, who rides it daily between her home in Boca Raton and the cruise line's PortMiami office.

'I love it. It's game-changing for us,' Freed said. She's not the only Brightline fan: 'I think we're the largest corporate user,' she said of Royal Caribbean Group. 'So I meet all my buddies on the train.'

 

They've given up the hassles of driving on I-95, for a fast, smooth ride where they catch up on emails, work and sometimes have one-to-one meetings. 'We get a lot accomplished,' Freed said. 'None of us are stressed out any more because we've got our emails done. We don't sit in I-95 traffic. It's such a pleasure.'

 

Freed typically boards the 7 a.m. train in Boca for the 56-minute ride to the Miami station, where Royal Caribbean supplies shuttles to the office. So she's at her desk by 8:10 a.m.

 

Other Brightline commuters include regular employees from RCI, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea, and senior executives like Alfredo Suarez, SVP corporate finance and strategy, Royal Caribbean Group; and RCI's Kara Wallace, CMO; John Foulk, VP global contact centers; Vince Alesia, director onboard sales; and Ali Douglas, manager, national accounts — to name a few.

Many joined Brightline's coffee club; for $99 a year they get Lavazza coffee or tea in the station and on the train.

'It's so relaxing, like going first class on an airplane,' Freed said. 'It's clean, beautiful, a really great experience.' And Brightline hires 'amazing people. They're friendly. We all feel so welcomed.'

 

For cruisers

Of course Brightline's benefits also apply to cruisers. Stations currently serve three cities with cruise ports: Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Once the Orlando International Airport station opens, that will give access to Port Canaveral.  

Brightline will cover the 230-mile Orlando-Miami trip in 3.5 hours.

'We're excited about Orlando opening next month,' Freed said. 'For anyone in Florida, we're encouraging them to take Brightline for many reasons: No. 1: It's stress-free, it's easy, you don't have to drive. Our parking structures are full. People hate to have to park off-site. It's expensive to park.'

 

'Starting your vacation at the station'

'It's really about starting your vacation the minute you enter our station,' according to Johanna Rojas, Brightline’s SVP partnerships and sales. 'It's very important to us to offer a seamless experience. We think of everything, from food and beverage to customer service to the design of our stations to our onboard experience.

 

'The minute [passengers] are onboard, they're in that vacation state of mind. They're not stressed, stuck in traffic, thinking about are they going to get there on time? It's really about being laid back, enjoy your vacation, your time with your family and significant other.'

Royal Caribbean sales teams actively promote Brightline and tell travel advisors about the benefits for their clients. In future, it's planned that anyone booking a cruise from Florida will get communications, and Brightline reservations are to be incorporated into Royal Caribbean technology as part of the pre-cruise booking options.

 

Travel advisor commissions

Rojas said Brightline will soon roll out commisions for individual travel advisors. The company already has programs with AAA and other major travel sellers. International travelers are also targeted via wholesalers since many fly to Miami or Orlando and combine a cruise from either port with a visit to the Central Florida theme parks.

 

Freed tells travel advisors it's easy to book and encourages them to talk about Brightline as 'a mini-vacation on top of a cruise ... It's fun. It's fun for families and kids to travel on the train.'

For the full Orlando-Miami stretch, Brightline Smart fares will start at $39 for children/$79 for adults, up to $149 for adults in Premium (first) class. There are discounts for kids and savings for groups of four and more. Parking at Brightline stations costs $7 a day, versus what can be $28 a day at cruise terminals.

 

'A perfect marriage'

Brightline's reduced promotional fares for children 'marry beautifully with Royal Caribbean and us being the leader for families,' Freed said. 'We're promoting Icon of the Seas, particularly, as being the best family vacation in the world. So, for us, it's a perfect marriage.'

 

She added that when Utopia of the Seas enters service with three-/four-day cruises from Canaveral, that will mean an incremental 15,000 passengers a week. And with many cruisers expected to come from Florida, 'We want people to take Brightline because ... we'll never have the parking.'

 

Seamless package with Uber included

Brightline's 'From Station to Vacation' package provides what Rojas called 'a seamless experience.'

Passengers booking a premium ticket get priority lounge access, mimosas on board and complimentary Uber pick-up for transport to the station and drop-off upon arrival within a five-mile radius, so that includes PortMiami, for example.

 

When the Orlando station opens, Brightline will unveil a transportation partner for the transfers to/from Port Canaveral; that will be an extra charge.

 

The parade of big new ships coming to Florida will drive a 'huge need,' Rojas said.

Brightline has targeted cruisers from the start, but it's working to grow the 'train market' — as opposed to 'drive market' — for cruising. Rojas said about 1m passengers a year drive to PortMiami, for example. 

 

'We hope to capture half of that, if not more,' she said."

 

Cruise industry gets on board with Brightline high-speed train (seatrade-cruise.com)