Carnival transfer at debark

[lovestocruise19]

My DH, SIL, her husband and I are doing the Carnival transfer from FLL to POM and back for our cruise next year.

 

I know that you meet the Carnival reps in the baggage claim area on the first day. My question is where will the buses be during debark and also, should you do self assist when disembarking? We have done self assist twice and it was a breeze, but I wonder if we'd have to sit in the bus for a long time until it was full enough to go to FLL or if the bus would even be there if we were off the ship quickly.

[nwcruiselover]

When you get off the ship there are people who direct you to the Carnival shuttles. They're there and waiting when the first people disembark, and they wait till each bus is full or nearly full before they leave. That might mean a wait of 15-20 minutes if you're among the first people off the ship. You can do self-debark or do regular debark and get off when your number is called. The shuttles run continuously and you'll get on one whenever you get off the ship. If you have an early flight you'd probably want to self-debark so you could be on the first shuttle to leave. Also, with 4 people it might make sense to take a taxi instead so you would get to the airport without waiting for other people to join you on the bus. Money-wise it would probably be the same as 4 fares on the shuttle. Nancy

[Bunkie103]

If not a taxi maybe a private shuttle service. Try the Ports of Call board for suggestions.

[MSRussell]

I booked my return shuttle on the ship. I asked when the latest one would be, she said about 10:30. Being Platinum I received a number 1 tag, but since my flight was at 4:30pm, I wanted to leave the ship later. My Steward gave me number 20 tags.

As the previous poster said, there are people right in front, as soon as you walk off with a sign that says Carnival Shuttle, and you will get pointed to the right direction.

Melanie

[S.S.Oceanlover]

why not book with somebody like SAS for a total of $69 each way for the 4 of you?

 

Bill

[lovestocruise19]

Thanks for the tips. We are doing the Carnival shuttle for peace of mind and are aware that it is more expensive. We just figured it would make us feel more comfortable, especially since we are traveling with first time cruisers.

 

I remember getting off the ship really early like 7 a.m. in Fort Lauderdale, so it is good to know that the shuttle buses will already be there as soon as the debarkation starts.

[ManyMore]

I don't think using their shuttle gives any piece of mind at all as there have been people who arrived late even on their shuttle and didn't make it to the ship. These other serves are very well versed in taking people back and forth to the ship and know they need to get it right as people can use another service the next time. We used Carnivals shuttle ONCE and would never do it again! We waited over an hour for the bus to leave and the terminal was only 20 minutes away and... remember this... you have a while bus load of people with you going through security and check in that can take even longer. We would have been on the ship and done lunch if we hadn't done their shuttle lol