Pros and Cons of Florida Ports

[weltek]

I've only sailed out of Miami (and have flown into MIA and FLL). I'm comparing cruises out of Miami and Port Canaveral right now. For those of you who have sailed out of both Miami and Port Canaveral, I'd like to hear your pros and cons. And feel free to throw other ports in, too, as you never know when I might have a departure out of others and need your thoughts!

 

 

[JohninDC]

We've sailed all of the FL ports and base our choice primarily on the cruise and ports of call - getting to any of the ports is easy.

1. PC is likely the most challenging, with MCO being about an hour away, but lots of flights to choose from, lots of hotels in Orlando, and we usually use a one-way car rental to get to the port

2.  PE and POM are easily accessed by either FLL or MIA; lots of transport options and hotels to choose from - hotel prices here vary the most depending upon the tourist season

3. Tampa - port is only 15 min from the TPA airport and lots of hotels and easy taxi or Uber transport; limited ship sizes due to bridge access, so usually shorter cruises

4. JAX is our least favorite FL port just because there are fewer sailings and port of call options

[bajathree]

Living in Fl I can drive to any port...so will give you a perspective with that considered. My favorite port to cruise out of due to the combination of best ship selection , price and ease would be Port Everglades. Miami I don't love to sail out of due to overall congestion in the Miami area which adds more drive/transportation time for me. Tampa is a very easy port (and by far the closest) but very restricted in ship selection due to the Sunshine Skyway bridge that limits the selection of ships in the port....due to this  even though I live in Tampa I hardly ever sail out of Tampa. Port Canaveral although close for me is one of the less frequented ports I sail out of. Don't love the overall ship selection although in the past years it has improved....the second reason would be cruise fare seems to always be at a premium over Port Everglades or Miami. 

[rkacruiser]

I have sailed out of Port Everglades, Port of Miami, and Port Canaveral.  Port Everglades is my favorite.  Signage is excellent, traffic patterns are logical and, while busy at times, not chaotic.  Port Canaveral is my second favorite for much of the same reasons as Port Everglades.  Sailing on a Carnival ship, I really liked being able to drive into the terminal/garage complex, dropping off the luggage, and then proceeding to park in the same complex.  Getting to the Port of Miami, I drove South from Fort Lauderdale (where I had been staying) on US 1 rather than using the race track with idiotic drivers called I-95.  Because of the stop lights, the drive takes longer, but my blood pressure did not suffer as it would have if I had used I-95.  The Port's signage was poor.  The traffic congested and chaotic.  Would be very easy to be involved in a fender/bender at times in trying to access the proper lane to get to where one unloads luggage and then get into the proper lane to get to the proper parking garage.  If I sail from Port of Miami in the future, I will not be driving into the Port!  

 

No experience with either Jacksonville or Tampa, but, driving by Jacksonville's port, I liked what I saw.  

[Lois R]

I live in Jacksonville and have never taken a cruise from here.......the port only has 1  Carnival ship so if you are not a Carnival cruiser it doesn't do you any good.

 

I have sailed from Canaveral, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.......prefer Ft. Lauderdale.

[weltek]

Sigh. Port Canaveral just seems like a bit of a downer when you are flying in. And being more limited by return flight times stinks.

[bajathree]

1 hour ago, weltek said:

Sigh. Port Canaveral just seems like a bit of a downer when you are flying in. And being more limited by return flight times stinks.

If I were flying in I would be concentrating on Port Everglades or Port of Miami. 

[Cienfuegos]

Miami is a difficult place to drive. Very aggressive, poorly marked in some places.  There was a gunfight on I-95 this past weekend. One driver offended another, and popped off a few rounds.  The recipient returned fire, as each raced along the highway. 

 

An outlier event, to be clear, but not rare

[JohninDC]

2 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

Miami is a difficult place to drive. Very aggressive, poorly marked in some places.  There was a gunfight on I-95 this past weekend. One driver offended another, and popped off a few rounds.  The recipient returned fire, as each raced along the highway. 

 

An outlier event, to be clear, but not rare

That's why I leave the driving in Miami to Uber, Lyft and taxis.

[weltek]

2 hours ago, bajathree said:

If I were flying in I would be concentrating on Port Everglades or Port of Miami. 

Yeah, I think the cheaper cruise out of PC is cheaper for a reason. They are both on NCL, on similar ships with the same itinerary. NCL cruisers just aren't used to going out of PC, so it's probably selling a lot slower.

[Cienfuegos]

If the prospective cruiser from Port Canaveral times it right, they may get to see a rocket launch up close.  Very close.  Even 40 miles out at sea, the visibility can be amazing.

 

However, if the master of the ship fails to read the Notice to Mariners from the Coast Guard, the Master may find themself in hot water.  RCCL Harmony of the Seas wandered into the down range closed waters for the recent SpaceX launch, according to published reports.  Causing the launch to be scrubbed.

[weltek]

1 hour ago, Cienfuegos said:

If the prospective cruiser from Port Canaveral times it right, they may get to see a rocket launch up close.  Very close.  Even 40 miles out at sea, the visibility can be amazing.

 

However, if the master of the ship fails to read the Notice to Mariners from the Coast Guard, the Master may find themself in hot water.  RCCL Harmony of the Seas wandered into the down range closed waters for the recent SpaceX launch, according to published reports.  Causing the launch to be scrubbed.

I saw that! Makes those mistakes I have at work seem like small potatoes. 🙂 

With the uptick in space travel, this opportunity to see a launch should become more frequent for PC cruisers.

[rkacruiser]

On 2/1/2022 at 2:09 PM, Cienfuegos said:

if the master of the ship fails to read the Notice to Mariners from the Coast Guard, the Master may find themself in hot water.  RCCL Harmony of the Seas wandered into the down range closed waters for the recent SpaceX launch, according to published reports.  Causing the launch to be scrubbed.

 

I wonder how the Master explained this to the Coast Guard and to Royal Caribbean.