Save money on Parking

[wwinfl91]

Here's a tip on how to save some money on parking when you are away on a cruise. If you park in most of the lots here in Florida at least the cost is anywhere from $7 to $10 a day and you pay around that if you drive your car to the airport and park it in their lot until you get back.

What we did for a cruise that we were flying out to catch the ship was rent a car and drive it to the airport and drop it off. Then when we came back 15 days later we had arranged to pick up another rental car which we drove home and then dropped it back off the next day. The two days of rentals cost us just a little under $60. Had we parked our car at the cheapest parking around the airport it would have be $7 a day or $105. If we used the indoor parking right at the airport it was $10 a day or $150 for our cruise.

If you shop around the various rental agencies you can usually find deals for around $20-25 a day which with tax works out to less than $30 a day. Just make sure that you can drop the car off and they will provide transportation to the ship if you are driving to a cruise rather than to an airport.

This idea is especially good if you are leaving from one port and then ending the cruise in another one (i.e. leaving from Ft Lauderdale and ending up in Montreal).

Anyway hopefully it will be a tip that someone can use and save some parking money to spend for fun things on your cruise.

HAL Noordam 3/97 West Carib
Hal Westerdam 12/97 East Carib
HAL Veendam 11/98 East Carib
Hal Zaandam 12/00 South Carib
HAL Veendam 10/01 Panama Canal
RCCL Enchantment 09/02 W.Carib
Costa Atlantica 12/02 E.Carib
HAL Noordam 03/03 S.Carib
Golden Princess 07/03 Med
Celebrity Zenith 12/03 W.Carib
HAL Maasdam 05/04 Canada

[aqua]

Great idea! We are going to Europe for 18 days, and even the cheapest off-site parking will be expensive. I'm calling car rental agencies today. Thanks!

[cruisintwinsmom]

Great suggestion![img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] I'm calling the rental agencies as soon as I get off the boards!

Thanks!

[Andee]

We parked at a Marriott near O'Hare airport when we went on an 17 day cruise/tour for $50 because my husband belongs to the Marriott rewards program, which is free to join. The hotel shuttle drove us to and picked us up from the airport. Cheap and convenient!

[wwinfl91]

I have heard of people staying at a hotel here in Orlando which is right in the airport for a night before they leave and then leaving their car on the hotel section of the parking lot until they got back. I also heard that again here in Orlando they have cracked down on that practice and will tow cars that can't be identified via license plates to a registered hotel guest. But if the Marriott rewards program provides this service is sounds worth looking into.

I'm also glad that my suggestion may end up being used by others.

Have a great next cruise.

HAL Noordam 3/97 West Carib
Hal Westerdam 12/97 East Carib
HAL Veendam 11/98 East Carib
Hal Zaandam 12/00 South Carib
HAL Veendam 10/01 Panama Canal
RCCL Enchantment 09/02 W.Carib
Costa Atlantica 12/02 E.Carib
HAL Noordam 03/03 S.Carib
Golden Princess 07/03 Med
Celebrity Zenith 12/03 W.Carib
HAL Maasdam 05/04 Canada

[happy1]

Does anyone know of hotels in Tampa that provide free shuttles & allow you to leave a car during a 7 day cruise?

Carnival Fascination 03
NCL Star 03
RCCL Enchantment 02
Disney Wonder 02
Celebrity Century 01
Disney Magic 00
Premier Big Red Boat 99
Celebrity Meridian 91
Chandris Galelio 89

[katmom]

We use the Holiday Inn Express in Orlando near the airport. They have a park & fly package with a free shuttle to & from the airport. We only spent $55 for the room and had free parking for a week. We will be staying there again before our cruise this fall, they also have a manager's reception each evening & a free breakfast buffet, can't beat it!

Till we Sail-Away Again
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;10;30;22;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

[bigmike7]

Yo-

The "park and fly" programs in the San Francisco Bay Area - especially SFO will save you some SERIOUS money!!!

Caution - do your home work (I use Google and Yahoo searches) to make sure that you are getting the best deal - I have found major differences between different providers for the exact same property/parking program-

Happy Cruisin'

Mike

Fairsea'86-Mexican Riviera
Stardancer'88-Mexican Riviera
Crown Odyssey'00-E. Med
Dream'01-W. Med
Sky'01-Hawaii
Regal'02-Alaska
Norway'02-E. Carib
Norway'03-E. Carib
Elation'03-Panama Canal
Crown'04-Canada/East Coast
Norway "Royal Suite" 07/04/04-CANCELLED!!
Carnival "Spirit" 12/11/2004 Mexican Riviera
"We have never had a BAD cruise - some were just BETTER than others"

[deb18]

We left our car at the airport Westshore Hilton in Tampa for 11 days after staying there one night and they shuttled us to the pier and picked us up for $10pp. Our car was fine while some parked at the pier were broken into. deb

[swysong77]

Anyone know of a hotel in or near Port Canaveral that offers free parking and a shuttle to the port? We're going in August and would love to save the exta $70 in parking costs!
Thanks!

[Jeal]

Try the Radisson at the Port. They have several deals - we are going in December and paying $79 a night - that includes 11 days of parking while we are on the cruise and a free shuttle to and from the port.

[paula2051]

The Radisson at the Port is a beautiful hotel and you will not be disappointed. If you choose to stay there, make sure you ask them to reserve you a space on the shuttle when you make your reservation. That way you can get on the earliest shuttle out.

The phone number is 321-784-0000

paula

[swysong77]

Thank you for your advice!

I booked a room last week at the new Quality Suites (sister property to the Radisson) for $80. They offer the Radisson's shuttle service and parking at no cost, as well. ;)

[MrsPete]

If you choose to stay at a "shuttle hotel", you might want to consider this trick: Most people try to get their whole families and their luggage into the shuttles, and they often have to wait a while for seats. Instead, drive your own car (with Mom, Dad, kids, and luggage) to the port. Have Dad return the car to the hotel, then catch the shuttle back to the port. One empty-handed person can probably hop on the very next shuttle.

When you return, use the trick in reverse. Have Mom and kids stand in line at customs with all the luggage while Dad runs through empty-handed to get into the first shuttle. By the time Mom and kids are through customs with the luggage, Dad will have retrieved the car, and he'll be waiting for them at the curb.

[oscarmoraz]

Great ideas. we like to ahve the car there ready for us once the event is over to enjoy a nice slow drive home on the coast of Florida.

[Deb in Cali]

I have been in a quandry about get to and from SF for our cruise in June. We are driving in since we only live 3 hours away. I refuse to pay $140 in parking fees for our cruise. Flying from our local airport to SF would be more than double the cost of the parking fees. :eek:

The only solution that I have come up with so far is to have a relative drive us to Dublin, CA. and we will take the BART the rest of the way into SF. We will either take the muni bus or a cab from there to the ship, depending on our luggage situation.

If anyone out there has used BART to get to and from a cruise ship I would like to hear how it worked out for you.