Tampa Fl. hotels w/shuttle to pier

[stoumey]

Does anyone know if their are any hotels in Tampa, Fl. that offer transportation from the airport to their hotel for a night stay and then to the pier for a criuise, or all the above and after the cruise transportation from the pier to the airport?

We have 4 couples that are going on the Carnival Miracle on October 1st and plan on spending a night before the cruise at a hotel near the pier in order to get aboard the ship early.

[Cracker Ken]

stoumey@aol.com - Go here for info. Everything you could possibly dream of is somewhere in that thread, probably several times by now. Try going to the last page or two first, what you need is probably there.

 

CLICK HERE - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=108072

 

Ken

[stoumey]

Thanks, you have been very helpful. I appreciate you assistance in my endeavor to save a buck.

[gjules]

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express-Tampa Airport/Stadium and they had a shuttle that was free anywhere within 3 miles and only $5 per person to the pier. We tipped on top of that...he was a great shuttle driver and made a special trip to the pier just for us so we could get there early. The Holiday Inn Express was nice...not too fancy, decent continental breakfast and a nice pool to eat beside!

[rosegrower]

We also stayed at the Tampa Bay Holiday Inn Express but had a little different experience last week (Jan 28, 2006) I had to call 3 times from the Airport to get someone to come get us cause they kept hanging up on me! They tell you they will take you within 3 miles for free and $5 to the pier but the airport is the priority so they may not be able to. They have a sign up for the pier and you should do it as soon as you get there. We did but ended up on the 12:30 run which would get us to the pier at 1:00. The earliest one at 11:30 was filled (they can only take 4 at a time) We took a Taxi and it cost $16.85 on the meter, we gave the driver $20. The two women at the desk were not very nice and told us we were wasting our money, that we could not get on the ship until 2:00. I knew this was not true from reading these boards so we took a cab and we were on the boat and eating on the Lido deck before 12:30 when we would have been leaving the hotel. The couple that we saw in the lobby that was on the 11:30 run, arrived at the port and were 2 numbers behind us in the boarding groups so even their first trip does not get you there very early. No one ever offered to take us earlier. We stayed there on the way home also and did not even try to get them to come get us (we were told that airport has priority) We took a cab and the clerk was very rude and uncooperative until my husband flashed our priority club card that allows us to check in at any time and then all of a sudden there were rooms available! It is a new facility and nice and clean but if we ever leave out of Tampa again, we would go elsewhere. The steakhouse in front is very good and reasonable but not alot else around. We ate there on Sunday (opens at 1:00) and ordered in Pizza for dinner. We were told by another couple that you can leave your car there for $3 a day. If you had your own transportation you could drive to other restaurants and stores!

[kimmimom]

we stayed at doubletree jan 14, 2006 before we left on Miracle. It was very comfy. Shuttle service was great and FREE. They provide free shuttle from airport to hotel, hotel to port, and port back to airport. It is a great deal esp when many hotels charge per person to the pier (and we are a family of 5). I would definitely book with DOubletree again!