Ever Stayed in St. Pete for a Tampa Departure?

[SunnyinDC]

I'm looking at sailing from Tampa on August 26. I cannot, however, find any hotel rooms in Tampa. I just realized that they're probably all booked for the Republican National Convention that is taking place there the next week.

 

Soooo... has anyone ever stayed in St. Petersburg to cruise out of Tampa? How bad would it be -- would there be huge cab fares from the airport to the hotel or from the hotel to the port?

 

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide!

[Robpuffdaddy]

I live in St. Pete and I wish I could tell you how much it is going to cost for cab fare, but it is going to cost you a bit because it is at least 15-20 miles or so to the port. Depending on what part of St. Pete you will stay. Hotels are going to be hard to find even in St. Pete. The convention is going to affect the entire Tampa Bay area. There are convention events scheduled to happen in St. Pete also. Enjoy your cruise.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Go to www.stay123.com. I put in Aug 25 for Tampa and it did come up with 2 or 3 Tampa hotels.

 

 

Good luck to you.

:)

[BlueHerons]

I'm looking at sailing from Tampa on August 26. I cannot, however, find any hotel rooms in Tampa. I just realized that they're probably all booked for the Republican National Convention that is taking place there the next week.

 

Soooo... has anyone ever stayed in St. Petersburg to cruise out of Tampa? How bad would it be -- would there be huge cab fares from the airport to the hotel or from the hotel to the port?

 

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide!

 

Did you look into flying into St. Pete/Clearwater airport? If you stay in St. Pete you'll want to rent a car. Amazing beaches there.

[SunnyinDC]

Thanks, Rob, Hoosiers and BlueHeron:

 

I'll try that site you mentioned, Hoosiercouple -- I've never heard of it before. That's why I love these boards! Always something to learn...

 

We've also started looking at Orlando flights -- I figured we could fly to Orlando the day before, stay overnight and then drive to Tampa in the morning to board the ship. Hopefully, we can find a one-way rental that's not too expensive. The drive should take about two hours, right??

 

Thanks!!

[Robpuffdaddy]

Yes, it will take about 2 hours drive time. You will just need to shop the air fares and determine which airport would have the cheaper fares. St. Pete/Clearwater airport would be a easy airport to navigate from. Rental cars available at all 3 airports. I would stay in St. Pete or Tampa. Less travel time on cruise day would mean less chance of having traffic or car problems. Like I said I live in St. Pete and am leaving from Ft. Lauderdale for a cruise in June. Even though it it is only about 3 1/2-4 hr drive to the port, I could leave the day of the cruise, but I still leave the day before to spend the night close to the ship. And this time I am actually taking the train to Ft. Lauderdale, it was cheaper to get train tickets for my DW and myself roundtrip than drive the car (gas) and then pay to park the veh at the port.

[Zoey]

Now it's going waaaayyyy too far when politicians start to mess up people's cruise plans too.....haven't they already done enough?