Parking at Tampa's port?

[cruisingtrish]

Hi has anyone parked at Tampa's port and left their car there before? I am trying to find out if it is safe and will my truck be covered?

Thanks.

[Beth]

Yes it is very safe. It is a covered garage. It is $10 per day pre pay. We have left our car 5 times with no problem. We put anything left in the back seat in the trunk. We di dit 2 weeks ago again with no problem.

[kujobie]

It's as safe, or unsafe, as any downtown parking garage can be. Car theft and break-ins are common in tampa. In fact, at one time we were the "car theft capital" of the U.S. That has changed since the chase policy was re-instituted by the police but it is still a problem. There was a story about a year ago where 30 or so vehicles in that garage were broken into in one night while the owners were on the Sensation. All of the vehicles were SUV's and all had the passenger window broken. A criminal with obsesive/compulsive disorder? Anyways, I do believe there is video surveillance there. I'm not trying to scare you, just being realistic. I would strongly advise not to leave anything of great value in the vehicle, that kinda goes without saying. One thing also to consider that many people often dont think about... Don't leave any papers with your address in the vehicle and/or an electronic garage door opener. That's like an invitation to have your home burgalarized.

[ShannonE]

I had the same concerns while I was preparing for an Inspiration cruise this summer. I feared that since it was so obvious that everyone came and went on Sunday, it left all week for thieves to do what they wanted with the cars. (I am an excessive worrier in general and have had my car broken into in my own city, so I may have been overreacting! :rolleyes: )

 

I chose to park some other place in Tampa (at our hotel's parking deck) where people would be coming and going all week. Then we took a cab from there to the port--it cost about $30 round-trip so we ended up saving money. I guess the only worry with finding someplace else would be if they decided to tow your car, but I felt like that was less of a risk than a break-in at the pier.

 

Shannon