Carnival Bus Transfer

[Anyislandwilldo]

I booked the bus transfer from the airport to the port and then from the port to the airport.  Will Carnival send me an email with details on how to find the bus at the airport?  Thanks.

[ontheweb]

3 minutes ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

I booked the bus transfer from the airport to the port and then from the port to the airport.  Will Carnival send me an email with details on how to find the bus at the airport?  Thanks.

Our experience of finding the buses for cruise lines is that you look for the person holding a sign with the cruise line's name. Then they check you off and have someone lead you to the bus.

[ColeThornton]

I looked up the info on the web site.   Click on this link and then click on the city involved.

 

https://www.carnival.com/airport-transportation/airport-shuttles.aspx

[Essiesmom]

They’ll be hanging out at baggage claim with signs/clipboards in Carnival uniform.  EM

[ontheweb]

5 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

They’ll be hanging out at baggage claim with signs/clipboards in Carnival uniform.  EM

You really cannot miss seeing them.

[sailingships]

17 minutes ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

I booked the bus transfer from the airport to the port and then from the port to the airport.  Will Carnival send me an email with details on how to find the bus at the airport?  Thanks.

Carnival will have a desk down in the Ground Transportation area. They usually start about 9am to take passengers to the port. Its first come first serve etc. They should have your name on a list.

[mlshum]

You shouldn’t have a problem.  When you collect your baggage you’ll see the ground transportation area and they will be there.  The layout may differ a bit from airport to airport but they make it easy for you.

[Anyislandwilldo]

Thanks everybody!!

[phoneman69]

29 minutes ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

Thanks everybody!!

Just don't put your cabin tags in until you depart the bus at the port. Tags are to easy to fall off with all the different handlers

 

[Anyislandwilldo]

19 minutes ago, phoneman69 said:

Just don't put your cabin tags in until you depart the bus at the port. Tags are to easy to fall off with all the different handlers

 

Thank you!

[SNJCruisers]

Hate to be a fly in the ointment, but why are you booking Carnival's bus transfers?  You obviously are flying in the day of the cruise, which is another no no for experienced cruisers. Problems can always happen whether it be mechanical or weather related.

With the bus, after your cruise,  you need to wait till it fills up before you leave.  It is cheaper, quicker and easier for a shared van or even Lyft/Uber. 

The only embarkation port I would ever use Carnival's bus would be in Galveston since the port is so far away, either 40 or 70 miles from the two Houston area airports and of course if you were flying in day of.

[BlerkOne]

27 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

 

With the bus, after your cruise,  you need to wait till it fills up before you leave.  It is cheaper, quicker and easier for a shared van or even Lyft/Uber. 

 

Less stress. Vehicles can break down, too. If Carnival's transportation, it is their problem.

[SNJCruisers]

39 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Less stress. Vehicles can break down, too. If Carnival's transportation, it is their problem.

Less stress is flying in the day before your cruise.  Less stress is not sitting for a bus to fill up after your cruise.

If you think the bus is the most efficient way , that's your choice.   But in the majority of embarkation ports, shuttles or Uber are cheaper,  easier and quicker.

 

[kennystwin]

Procedures do vary by airport. Make sure you have the day of travel phone number from the web site. I flew into LA pre pandemic and needed to chase them down (multiple terminals plus multiple terminals per airline made it tricky, but it all worked out fine). 

 

As others have noted, taxis/Uber/Lyft will always be quicker and generally cheaper for a couple, but when I'm travelling solo, the cruise line busses can be a better value. After decades as a frequent business traveler, it's pretty tough to get me in a situation where I'm stressed. I don't mind doing day of cruise travel but I'll be prepared with lots of flexibility and multiple backup options if something goes wrong. 

 

One unadvertised benefit that the cruise line bus may have: On my last trip, they announced on the bus that since Carnival managed your port transfer, you could ignore your assigned check-in time and check in right away. That wasn't an issue on that cruise, but I see it could be a big plus if that's offered in the future as I expect check-in times will be more tightly enforced. 

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Hate to be a fly in the ointment, but why are you booking Carnival's bus transfers?  You obviously are flying in the day of the cruise, which is another no no for experienced cruisers. Problems can always happen whether it be mechanical or weather related.

With the bus, after your cruise,  you need to wait till it fills up before you leave.  It is cheaper, quicker and easier for a shared van or even Lyft/Uber. 

The only embarkation port I would ever use Carnival's bus would be in Galveston since the port is so far away, either 40 or 70 miles from the two Houston area airports and of course if you were flying in day of.

You write as if all cruise line transfers are in the US.

 

On our last booked (and of course cancelled because it was last summer), the port was Southampton and the airport Heathrow in London. We were scheduled to fly in a day early. We decided to book a hotel at the airport intending to go into London for the day and then being able to take the Princess transfer from the airport. We also booked a Princess transfer back to Heathrow that included going to Stonehenge, a place still on our bucket list.

[SNJCruisers]

8 hours ago, ontheweb said:

You write as if all cruise line transfers are in the US.

 

On our last booked (and of course cancelled because it was last summer), the port was Southampton and the airport Heathrow in London. We were scheduled to fly in a day early. We decided to book a hotel at the airport intending to go into London for the day and then being able to take the Princess transfer from the airport. We also booked a Princess transfer back to Heathrow that included going to Stonehenge, a place still on our bucket list.

This is a Carnival  thread and with the exception of Australia and the occasional European cruise, well over 90% of Carnival cruises are in the western hemisphere. 

[travelplus]

On 6/26/2021 at 10:13 PM, SNJCruisers said:

Hate to be a fly in the ointment, but why are you booking Carnival's bus transfers?  You obviously are flying in the day of the cruise, which is another no no for experienced cruisers. Problems can always happen whether it be mechanical or weather related.

With the bus, after your cruise,  you need to wait till it fills up before you leave.  It is cheaper, quicker and easier for a shared van or even Lyft/Uber. 

The only embarkation port I would ever use Carnival's bus would be in Galveston since the port is so far away, either 40 or 70 miles from the two Houston area airports and of course if you were flying in day of.

Agree. I don't use the transfer.

[ontheweb]

15 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

This is a Carnival  thread and with the exception of Australia and the occasional European cruise, well over 90% of Carnival cruises are in the western hemisphere. 

And my post was about transfers in a thread about transfers. And you admitted that there are Carnival cruises outside of the US. And I'm sure many on the Carnival board sail on other cruise lines in addition to Carnival.

 

Lighten up.

[naxer]

On 6/27/2021 at 1:13 AM, SNJCruisers said:

Hate to be a fly in the ointment, but why are you booking Carnival's bus transfers?  You obviously are flying in the day of the cruise, which is another no no for experienced cruisers. Problems can always happen whether it be mechanical or weather related.

With the bus, after your cruise,  you need to wait till it fills up before you leave.  It is cheaper, quicker and easier for a shared van or even Lyft/Uber. 

The only embarkation port I would ever use Carnival's bus would be in Galveston since the port is so far away, either 40 or 70 miles from the two Houston area airports and of course if you were flying in day of.

This experienced cruiser will occasionally fly in the day of the cruise.  It just happens that way sometimes.  Each time I have flown in the day of, sometimes intentionally, it's been a wonderful start to my vacation.  Back in the day, I was even able to check in for my cruise at the airport, and then walked right on to the ship because airport transfers followed Diamond and Platinum.  I do prefer to fly in the day before, but, it's no indictment against my wisdom or experience if I choose not to.

 

And it's not necessarily cheaper to take Lyft or Uber, especially if you're solo.  I always do the math and don't take it for granted.  Also, depending on the day and the port, the bus can be easier than figuring out where to meet the driver, as different port authorities and airports have different rules about where you can be picked up and dropped off.  LAX, MIA, MCO, FLL and their respective ports are all different scenarios. 

 

Different strokes, different folks, different circumstances.  What works well for you may not work for everybody else. 

[Anyislandwilldo]

On 6/27/2021 at 12:13 AM, SNJCruisers said:

Hate to be a fly in the ointment, but why are you booking Carnival's bus transfers?  You obviously are flying in the day of the cruise, which is another no no for experienced cruisers. Problems can always happen whether it be mechanical or weather related.

With the bus, after your cruise,  you need to wait till it fills up before you leave.  It is cheaper, quicker and easier for a shared van or even Lyft/Uber. 

The only embarkation port I would ever use Carnival's bus would be in Galveston since the port is so far away, either 40 or 70 miles from the two Houston area airports and of course if you were flying in day of.

We are flying in the day before.  We will take the free airport shuttle to hotel and then the next morning take the free airport shuttle back to the airport to catch the transfer.  I opted to do it this way because I don't want any extra hassles on this trip.  I've taken taxis in the past, rented cars and such.  For me, this is how I prefer to go this time.

[Elaine5715]

Naxer is correct.  There is little cost savings for a solo cruiser to use ride share.  Shuttle services rarely take less than two guests.  I also have never been on a bus waiting for the bus to "fill up".  The buses are released when another bus pulls up.  

[Elaine5715]

11 minutes ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

We are flying in the day before.  We will take the free airport shuttle to hotel and then the next morning take the free airport shuttle back to the airport to catch the transfer.  I opted to do it this way because I don't want any extra hassles on this trip.  I've taken taxis in the past, rented cars and such.  For me, this is how I prefer to go this time.

Same.  I have used ride shares from Fort Lauderdale hotel to POM.  The driver was visibly nervous and I needed to direct once we got to the port.  Had a Carnival shuttle driver see traffic ahead at we get to Miami, get off the freeway, bypass the jam and proceeded easily to the port.  

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, naxer said:

This experienced cruiser will occasionally fly in the day of the cruise.  It just happens that way sometimes.  Each time I have flown in the day of, sometimes intentionally, it's been a wonderful start to my vacation.  Back in the day, I was even able to check in for my cruise at the airport, and then walked right on to the ship because airport transfers followed Diamond and Platinum.  I do prefer to fly in the day before, but, it's no indictment against my wisdom or experience if I choose not to.

 

And it's not necessarily cheaper to take Lyft or Uber, especially if you're solo.  I always do the math and don't take it for granted.  Also, depending on the day and the port, the bus can be easier than figuring out where to meet the driver, as different port authorities and airports have different rules about where you can be picked up and dropped off.  LAX, MIA, MCO, FLL and their respective ports are all different scenarios. 

 

Different strokes, different folks, different circumstances.  What works well for you may not work for everybody else. 

I detest the "what car is mine" hunt during the chaos at debark.  Spending an extra $10 or so to walk directly to a large bus in a designated spot with a huge sign is worth it.

[BoozinCroozin]

24 minutes ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

 For me, this is how I prefer to go this time.

I like this attitude!!! It is your trip, do it your way. 

 

I think there is a lot of good advice in the thread for those that may have a similar question and like differences of opinions. Everyone that is flying in the US needs to have very detailed plans in place. Even though this is the beginning of the restart to mass flying, there has been nothing short of disastrous problems. SWA, I think it is AA, and others have canceled 1000s of flights and for many days. If I were on one of the July cruises, I would definitely have my "drive to port" backup plan in place. I am 100% ready for my November cruise that leaves on a Saturday. If our flight is canceled on that Friday night, we are just taking the 9-hour drive. We would probably make it about 6-hours before having to get a hotel near JAX and finish the rest of the drive in the morning after 4-5 hours of sleep. 

[SRQbeachgirl]

We always fly in the day before, so Carnival transportation to the cruise terminal is not an option. However, we have used it after the cruise. I don't mind using Uber/Lyft for a short drive, but when it comes to transportation between Orlando & Port Canaveral - nope. I hate I-4 even when we rent a giant SUV (think Land Rover or Suburban) and my husband is driving (who has never gotten a ticket and I can nag him to slow down whenever I want), but put me in the backseat of a Kia or Altima with a stranger driving and my stress level will be through the roof on that drive. It's much more relaxing for me to be on a giant bus sitting high above the traffic.