5fathom Posted April 16, 2010 #1 Share Posted April 16, 2010 We are sailing on the Grand in Feb. We would like to spend 3 days at Disney prior to sailing. We see Princess offers a service that picks up at various Florida cities enroute to FLL. Has anyone used this service? We would assume they would make many stops along the route. How late do you usually arrive at pier? We are trying to decide between this service or just renting a car and driving ourself. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCManders99 Posted April 16, 2010 #2 Share Posted April 16, 2010 We used this service back in 2007 as we live in Orlando. We had to meet the bus very early in the morning at a designated place (they tell you where). Ours was at a MCD's on International Drive. We arrived at port around 11am. But we were the last stop as noone else joined us after. I know the driver said they might of been 1 or 2 extra stops. I cannot remmeber the name of the company that was used. But if someone else can give it, it gave an estimated time to arrive at port depending on your city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelin' Nauti' Posted April 17, 2010 #3 Share Posted April 17, 2010 My parents who live in Fla use this service. Quite easy. Florida motorcoach service pick-up locations include: Clearwater Vero Beach Tampa Leesburg Daytona Ocala Sarasota Port Charlotte St. Petersburg Ft. Pierce Brandon Orlando Melbourne Stuart Lady Lake Venice Ft. Myers Bradenton West Palm Beach Sun City Naples Roundtrip rates begin at $79 per person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagsfan Posted April 17, 2010 #4 Share Posted April 17, 2010 When we used it out of Jacksonville, it was called Cruise Connection. Interesting that that list doesn't include Jacksonville. We prefer now to spend a night or two before cruising. Much more rested, and already removed from the sturm and drang of daily life. Cruise Connection always made up to 3 fairly brief stops, leaving Jax around 6am and arriving at the ship in plenty of time. The return was the same except we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant. Does save you the parking charges at the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dietemann Posted April 17, 2010 #5 Share Posted April 17, 2010 See the bus schedule on http://www.connect2cruise.com. We have used them from Venice, FL. They usually made 2 or 3 stops after picking us up shortly before 8 a.m. Nice comfortable busses, we also normally get to watch a movie to help kill the time. Arrival at port was anywhere from noon to 1:00 depending on stops, traffic, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santaharry Posted April 17, 2010 #6 Share Posted April 17, 2010 We are about to use Cruise Connection our third time and highly recommend it. There are a couple of things to know however. You will stop approximately every 30 to 40 miles (Tampa, Sun City, Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice, Ft. Myers and Naples). They may use the same bus for all of the cruises. (first time we were out of Miami and hit Ft. Lauderdale first.) This however beats standing in line, on return we were picked up at 11:AM both times and back in Tampa at about 4 PM. You have to have an open mind. You will be with possibly a very mature group. We are taking some bottled water and snacks since the lines for lunch can be daunting. There were 4 buses at the McDonald's on our last trip and the Arby's next door had no line. Guess where we ate breakfast? We enjoyed the company of other travelers and shared information. They also showed a couple of older concerts and movies. This is the easiest way to get to the port and avoid all of the traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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