Shuttle from West Palm Beach to Port of Miami

[shadbrew]

Has anyone ever taken a shuttle from West Palm Beach airport (PBI) to the Port of Miami?  Need some assistance.

[1025cruise]

You might get a better response on the Florida Departures Board.

[island284]

Other than a shuttle there are additional options.

 

Tri Rail is a commuter train that runs from WP to Miami. There’s a free shuttle bus from PBIA to the Tri Rail Station. Once in Miami you’d need to take a taxi to the port, $27 flat fee. About a 2 hour train ride. About $5-7 per person. 

 

Another option is Brightline Train. Taxi to Brightline station in West Palm Beach. 1 hr 10 min. to Miami.  More costly than Tri Rail but much nicer. Then a $12 Lyft to the port. About $20 per person. 

 

Of course these options are more involved than a shuttle but they are options you might know be aware of. 

[crbonfiber]

Brightline is the way to go. give it a try you won't be sorry. I just did it for Navigator

[RSLeesburg]

2 hours ago, crbonfiber said:

Brightline is the way to go. give it a try you won't be sorry. I just did it for Navigator

Did you fly into WPB or are you local?  I noticed that Brightline is offering park n ride cruise packages, and I thought about doing this for our cruise in December.  

Edited July 15, 2019 by RSLeesburg
Correct spelling

[island284]

59 minutes ago, RSLeesburg said:

Did you fly into WPB or are you local?  I noticed that Brightline is offering park n ride cruise packages, and I thought about doing this for our cruise in December.  

I’m local and use Brightline every time we go to Miami for a cruise out of Miami. We reserve on line and watch for rate decreases. The new offer is the cruise special which includes parking ( in the parking garage), your round trip fare, and Lyft to and from the port. Lyft is about $12 however, the last time we took a taxi from the port to Brightline the taxi driver Flat Rated us and it was $22. He did not receive a tip!  It’s cheaper to use the cruise package than the most expensive seating. 

 

There are 3 different seating choices/prices. The only difference is a snack and beverage is offered for the most expensive seating. Not worth  it for an hour ten minute train ride. 

 

Just a hint . . . Only 1 person needs to reserve the cruise package and the other person can reserve the cheaper ticket. At least that’s what we did the last time we used Brightline. 

Edited July 15, 2019 by island284

[RSLeesburg]

Excellent advice!  We have taken Brightline a few times, but never for a cruise.  We were debating using the cruise package vs. driving down the night before and staying at the Intercontinental.  Our cruise starts on a weekday, and don’t really want to deal with the traffic.  Will need to price out both options - my wife and son love the train, but I am not sure if I want to leave our car in the garage for 10 nights.  

[island284]

7 hours ago, RSLeesburg said:

Excellent advice!  We have taken Brightline a few times, but never for a cruise.  We were debating using the cruise package vs. driving down the night before and staying at the Intercontinental.  Our cruise starts on a weekday, and don’t really want to deal with the traffic.  Will need to price out both options - my wife and son love the train, but I am not sure if I want to leave our car in the garage for 10 nights.  

We’ve left our car for 8 nights and other than it being dusty and dirty there wasn’t a problem. I guess it’s a chance you take. We don’t have a highly desirable car.   We’d do anything to avoid Miami congestion and crazy drivers. 

 

Another idea is to Uber or Lyft over to the station if you are in WPB. We are in Jupiter and hate to ask friends to drive us down to Brightline. 

Edited July 15, 2019 by island284

[Biker19]

 

Miami-Dade County commissioners on Tuesday gave the green light to Brightline, soon to be Virgin Trains USA, to develop a station at PortMiami by the end of 2020.

 

A US transit first

This will be a US transit first as the only intercity rail system directly connecting a major cruise port with an international airport (Orlando International Airport).

The service will increase mobility, take cars off the road and connect Central Florida to the ‘cruise capital of the world,’ said Patrick Goddard, president of Virgin Trains.

‘This private-public partnership is a great opportunity to expand PortMiami’s connectivity to visitors traveling from Central Florida and for Miami-Dade County residents to get to the Orlando area in a quick, enjoyable way,’ Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez added.

 

Plus, Aventura and, perhaps, Boca Raton

Current stops include downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach with construction under way to connect with Orlando in 2022. An additional station in Aventura was recently approved and Virgin Trains is working with the city of Boca Raton to add a station in 2020.

Last year PortMiami handled more than 5.5m passenger movements. Goddard said 40% to 50% of cruisers drive to the port, and that many traveling by car originate from points north of Palm Beach, making Virgin Trains a convenient option.

The railway already serves MiamiCentral, not far from the port. But particularly for overseas visitors who may pair a vacation in Orlando with a cruise from Miami, being able to get off the train and see ships ‘removes a lot of the friction’ from their travel, Goddard said.

 

750,000 rides annually

Virgin Trains is initially projecting 750,000 cruise passenger rides annually involving the PortMiami station.

An average of two round-trip trains a day is envisioned for the first two years of operation, with the plan to expand to at least four daily round-trips thereafter.

‘We’re going to tailor our schedule to optimize operations. We’re looking at peak embarkation/disembarkation times and trying to line up our overall schedules,’ Goddard said. That could mean fewer round-trips with longer trains or shorter trains with greater frequency. He noted that peak times for cruisers are different from peak commuting times, which should balance the ridership nicely.

The $15.4m station will be built at the northeast end of the port, where the existing rail tracks are located, and shuttles will be used to transfer passengers between the station and their cruise terminal.

‘The addition of a Brightline station at PortMiami is very exciting news,’ said Ken Muskat, EVP and COO of MSC Cruises USA ‘For MSC Cruises, the official cruise line of Brightline, we now have four ships sailing from PortMiami, in addition to the new terminal we’re building. Our partnership with Brightline has been very well received by our guests to date and the new Brightline PortMiami station will make getting to the port and our ships even easier for our guests.’

 

Working with all cruise lines

Virgin Trains also has a marketing agreement with Norwegian Cruise Line. And Virgin Voyages is in the family. However, Goddard stressed the company aims to work with all cruise operators.

PortMiami is currently home to 22 lines and will welcome Virgin Voyages in 2020. New terminals are coming for Norwegian, Virgin, Carnival Cruise Line and MSC Cruises. Over a decade, PortMiami’s cruise traffic is expected to nearly double, to 10m passenger movements.

Virgin Trains already offers ‘Train to Port’ packages that bundle in parking, a checked bag and more. These are available to passengers of all lines sailing from South Florida ports. This month, a dedicated booking portal for travel agents rolled out with access to the lowest fares and a generous 20% commission. More than 100 agents have signed up to date.

To further raise awareness among cruise lines and destinations, Virgin Trains plans a significant presence at Seatrade Cruise Global in April. It will sponsor the press room and has secured a news conference slot.

[Cienfuegos]

The travel agent portal is an excellent improvement, thanks for the link.

 

 

[JohninDC]

It's about a 90+ minute drive from WPB to POM and I am not aware of any shuttles that regularly make that trip.  I would follow the advice provided above, or look at a one-way car rental which would allow you to stay, dine and shop where you want the night before your cruise.

[jdvmd]

I would go Brightline then switch over to the Downtown people mover. Quick taxi to ship.

I believe if you have never done Brightline before you can get a free roundtrip for two people. Was about to do this a couple of weeks ago but we ended up doing Uber and not the train in the end.