Tampa Airport to Pier Transportation

[rjo1220]

Hi!

 

There will be two of us (both adults) flying into Tampa and heading to the pier to embark on our cruise. I've never cruised out of Tampa before, so I'm not sure if it's best to take advantage of RCCL's shuttle service or just take a taxi. I see the pier is only 5 miles from the airport, so I'm leaning towards a taxi, but would like to hear from some experienced Tampa cruisers.

 

Does anyone have any information they'd like to share?

 

Thank you!

[tampasteve1]

Hi!

 

There will be two of us (both adults) flying into Tampa and heading to the pier to embark on our cruise. I've never cruised out of Tampa before, so I'm not sure if it's best to take advantage of RCCL's shuttle service or just take a taxi. I see the pier is only 5 miles from the airport, so I'm leaning towards a taxi, but would like to hear from some experienced Tampa cruisers.

 

Does anyone have any information they'd like to share?

 

Thank you!

 

Depends on the cost of the shuttle and what time of day you will be driving out of the airport. The airport is a good 15 minutes from the port in good traffic. If you are planning on traveling/driving in rush hour it could easily be substantially longer. Down town Tampa and the port area are easy to get around, but the airport and the port are separated by some of the worst traffic in the area during rush hour.

 

Steve

[SeaPA1]

It's closer to 10 miles, but imho taxi is the way to go. It is a flat rate of $25 (per cab, not per person).

 

Some of the shuttle services might be slightly cheaper, but only by a few dollars. That minimal savings, to me, is offset by the fact that with a cab you hop in & go, while with a shuttle you wait for them to have a full enough load to go.

 

Most of the "cruiseline arranged" shuttle/transportation deals I've seen quoted are more expensive (sometimes WAY more expensive) than a cab. I don't know how much RCCL charges for their transportation package.

[tampasteve1]

Cool, I did not know they had a flat rate from TIA to the port! Good to know.

 

Steve

[rjo1220]

Thanks for the quick replies. I called RCCL and their shuttle is $82 round trip for the two of us. Sure makes $50 round trip for the cab look good. Plus, no waiting for the RCCL bus to fill up, like you said.

[epic12112]

Norwegian quoted me $40 round trip per person. Sounds like a cab is the way to go. There may be 6 of us going from the airport to the pier. We probably won't fit in a cab though. We may have to look at a shuttle, car service or 2 cabs. Anyone know anything about shuttles or car services.

Thanks,

John:confused:

[FlaGrl4Evr]

TIA has a nice-long taxi queue just outside of baggage claim. When one cab fills, the next pulls up. There must be at least 20 or so cabs in line at any one time so don't worry about cabs at TIA. The port also has plenty of taxis at debark time. $25 flat fee from TIA to the port - same fee on the way back. This is for up to 4 passengers.

 

Have fun. :)

[PCHENG]

Can anyone that has taken a cab from TPA to th port recently confirm that the rate is still 25 dollars per cab each way. Just want to double check as the original reference was from two years ago, and gas prices had gone up in the past couple years.