Wildcatfish Posted August 5, 2018 #26 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Baltimore! I find Cruise Maryland the easiest port to maneuver. Easy drop off of luggage, easy check in, friendly staff, and before you know it you're on board. Sailing the Chesapeake Bay is a unique experience. For me it's... Charm City! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNBR Posted August 5, 2018 #27 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Really all of the Florida ports have their pros and cons. Miami has the most beautiful sail away and with the tunnel to the port, you no longer have to weave through downtown. This is by far is biggest city, though, and hotels are expensive. Port Everglades is closest to an airport, but the airport is not great. Best and probably cheapest offsite parking but sail away is a lackluster setting. Port Canaveral has a nice sail away due to the people out waving goodbye. Also your best shot at seeing dolphins and turtles. But it is an hour away from the airport. Tampa has a great airport and pretty sail away, especially going under the Skyway bridge. Valet parking is nice. But the hotels can be pricey and due to the bridge, the large ships cannot sail from Tampa. Haven’t cruised out of Jacksonville so can’t comment on that port. OP, let us know what you decide. Do people actually pick a port based on the sail away? Is this a "thing" for real? Anyways, since OP is flying, I'd say the most convenient port is the one you can get a great flight in to. Saving 20 minutes commute from airport to cruise port or whatever pales in comparison to a 3 hour layover or expensive flight. Port Canaveral may be the least convenient though, since the airport is nowhere near it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvscruising2007 Posted August 5, 2018 #28 Share Posted August 5, 2018 We have sailed from several different ports. We have flown and have driven. Baltimore was quite easy. Right off of I95 and the parking lot is like parking at a Wal-Mart; actually closer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatka Posted August 5, 2018 #29 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Baltimore is good, but only 2 ships are sailing from there. RCCL Grandeur and Carnival Pride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mcatmcat Posted August 5, 2018 #30 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Miami - sail away is beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John&LaLa Posted August 5, 2018 #31 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Do people actually pick a port based on the sail away? Is this a "thing" for real? Anyways, since OP is flying, I'd say the most convenient port is the one you can get a great flight in to. Saving 20 minutes commute from airport to cruise port or whatever pales in comparison to a 3 hour layover or expensive flight. Port Canaveral may be the least convenient though, since the airport is nowhere near it. 45 minutes in Q5 Express. [emoji6] Headed over Wednesday morning. It's all relative anyway. It used to take 90 minutes to get from my house to ATL when I lived in Atlanta. That was 25 miles Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John&LaLa Posted August 5, 2018 #32 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Pt Canaveral. We have rockets if your lucky. And dont underestimate cocktails on the balcony. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted August 5, 2018 #33 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Royal Caribbean does not sail from Long Beach. The few sailings that originate in that area use San Pedro. No airport there. You can fly into Long Beach or use LAX. Or Orange County, like we do.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare lazydayz Posted August 5, 2018 #34 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Do people actually pick a port based on the sail away? Is this a "thing" for real? Anyways, since OP is flying, I'd say the most convenient port is the one you can get a great flight in to. Saving 20 minutes commute from airport to cruise port or whatever pales in comparison to a 3 hour layover or expensive flight. Port Canaveral may be the least convenient though, since the airport is nowhere near it. Yes, it is a thing when you live in Florida. Agree about convenient flights, etc. but I was trying to provide pros and cons of each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superduper123 Posted August 5, 2018 #35 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Baltimore! I find Cruise Maryland the easiest port to maneuver. Easy drop off of luggage, easy check in, friendly staff, and before you know it you're on board. Sailing the Chesapeake Bay is a unique experience. For me it's... Charm City! Yes! I used to live 20 minutes from the port, so it was a huge convenience. To me, sailaway from Baltimore and Tampa seem similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
champagne123 Posted August 5, 2018 #36 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Love all the positive input about Baltimore!!! Cannot wait!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lake effect Posted August 5, 2018 #37 Share Posted August 5, 2018 U.S. port ? Don't forget San Juan , especially in winter you miss all the Florida cold front wind and the nighttime sail away is beautiful. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BND Posted August 5, 2018 #38 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Baltimore, by far, is the easiest port to cruise from. Right off I-95 and I mean right off, quick entry, easy parking, etc. It does help we live just over an hour away from Baltimore. Second for us is probably Port Canaveral for RCI just because it's easy to get into and out of. PC for Carnival has always been painful. Bayonne, for us isn't difficult because we never drive there so we get dropped off by a car service, but can take longer to get into. Tampa was a PITA. I thought Fort Lauderdale was painful too, especially driving in, having to stop for security at the gate entrance to the port area and then everything is a distance from that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dett Posted August 5, 2018 #39 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Port Canaveral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holden0301 Posted August 5, 2018 #40 Share Posted August 5, 2018 My vote goes to Bayonne. The parking is right next to the pier. It's a very short walk to an easy check-in. There are plenty of staff with IPads to make the check-in process smooth and quick. Plus the drive is easy for us (about 1.5hrs. from our house). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted August 5, 2018 #41 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Baltimore. Easy from airport to port. If you want to arrive night before, good hotels not far from the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superduper123 Posted August 5, 2018 #42 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Baltimore, by far, is the easiest port to cruise from. Right off I-95 and I mean right off, quick entry, easy parking, etc. It does help we live just over an hour away from Baltimore. Second for us is probably Port Canaveral for RCI just because it's easy to get into and out of. PC for Carnival has always been painful. Bayonne, for us isn't difficult because we never drive there so we get dropped off by a car service, but can take longer to get into. Tampa was a PITA. I thought Fort Lauderdale was painful too, especially driving in, having to stop for security at the gate entrance to the port area and then everything is a distance from that. I agree. I don't care for Tampa as far as parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted August 5, 2018 #43 Share Posted August 5, 2018 I agree. I don't care for Tampa as far as parking. Though very convenient for the fly-in cruiser.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeandliz Posted August 5, 2018 #44 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Port of Columbus Ohio. Nice port, lots of palm trees along the inlet. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcatfish Posted August 5, 2018 #45 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Port of Columbus Ohio. Nice port, lots of palm trees along the inlet. Beautiful scarlet and gray bunting lining the Sciota River. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfaninfl Posted August 5, 2018 #46 Share Posted August 5, 2018 "I agree. I don't care for Tampa as far as parking." Have to disagree...we always use the valet parking which is well worth the slight extra cost. Have never waited longer than five minutes for our car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruise runner Posted August 5, 2018 #47 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Ports, :wine-glass:(y) Our favorite port to cruise out of all is Cape Canaveral . We live in Ontario Can. Buffalo Airport is about 40 minutes from home. So for us we have booked flights to Mia or FLL, Tampa or San Juan. We agree with all the above reasons for using Cape Canaveral. More cost effected, easy cruise terminals, reasonable hotels, shuttle service good restaurants and for us a 2 hour flight to Orlando. Enjoy your cruises. just waiting to cruise kruise runner:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaska_planner Posted August 5, 2018 #48 Share Posted August 5, 2018 seward, alaska you can walk to the terminal from the train or the hotel (if you're staying on that side of town).. we walked from our hotel... and seward is gorgeous...worth spending several days there before you board... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John&LaLa Posted August 5, 2018 #49 Share Posted August 5, 2018 And there goes Oasis Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margy23 Posted August 5, 2018 #50 Share Posted August 5, 2018 We live about 100 miles from Tampa and 140 miles from Port Canaveral. Since we've been on over 40 cruises, have taken all the excursions and are no longer able to snorkel, destinations are not important to us, so for the past 5 years or so, we have limited our cruising to those two ports (with one exception - to go to Bermuda we had to sail out of Fort Lauderdale). Tampa was our first choice - valet parking is convenient and we love the Radiance class ships. However, we have noticed that the traffic around the Tampa port has gotten so bad in the last couple of years that we're learning to love the Oasis. We have 3 more cruises booked on her before she leaves Port Canaveral and then our first one booked on Harmony. Because we really love the Brilliance, we have booked one more on her but are thinking of using a limo company to go from Ocala to Tampa. Although it's annoying, I guess it's progress. We started out in the Ocala - Silver Springs area as snowbirds from Illinois for 10 years. I know it can't really be true, but every fall when we got back to Florida it seemed the traffic had doubled. Someone else mentioned the possibility of seeing a launch at Cape Canaveral. We were fortunate enough to watch one from front-row seats in the Windjammer, and it is awesome - a definite plus! Happy Cruising! Margy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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