Valet Parking at Port Of Miami?

[rucrazy]

We will be sailing out of Miami for the first time this December as we get back to or Holiday Cruises.

We love to drive down the east coast  from Maryland so we can relax and take our time 'I know that the Port Of Tampa offers VIP Valet Parking. My question is Does the Port Of Miami also offer this service, ( where we pull up to the terminal and someone parks for us and retrieves our auto upon disembarkation.

We will be sailing on Seabourn.

Any insight is greatly appreciated! 

Thanks!

[capriccio]

There is no mention of valet parking (and cruising our of Port Miami pre-covid I didn't see it) on the Port Miami official website (https://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/parking-information.asp).

 

Parking is conveniently available at all cruise terminals. Designated disabled permit parking spaces are available in each garage. Spaces are also available for oversized vehicles (oversized vans, recreational vehicles and vehicles with trailers) at special rates. All facilities are patrolled by security. Oversized vehicles may only park in Lot #2, across from Cruise Terminal E.

 

On cruise days only, all garages and Lot #2 are open and manned by a parking attendant from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please note that Garage J is pre-paid only. Passengers pay upon arrival to Garage J and are given a decal to post in their vehicle for the duration of their cruise.

[Cienfuegos]

I'm not aware of anyone offering this service, but it sounds like a great idea.

[rucrazy]

2 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

I'm not aware of anyone offering this service, but it sounds like a great idea.

They have it in place in Tampa!

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

I'm not aware of anyone offering this service, but it sounds like a great idea.

 

I agree,  But, with the traffic congestion at the terminals that already exists, having a designated area just for valet parking at each terminal would only increase the lack of space for guests to unload/load luggage and for taxis to arrive/depart.  

[hrhdhd]

5 hours ago, rucrazy said:

They have it in place in Tampa!

Tampa is a much smaller port with fewer ships and sailings. Miami can have 7 ships or more on a busy day; there isn't space designed for such a service.

[rucrazy]

12 minutes ago, hrhdhd said:

Tampa is a much smaller port with fewer ships and sailings. Miami can have 7 ships or more on a busy day; there isn't space designed for such a service.

I realize space is at a premium in SOFL as in other major port towns.. when I googled parking I landed  on a website that said it offered such a service, but could not verify that it was legit and an official port company ( https://www.thecruiseparkingmiami.com/ ) also I did not want get ripped off by paying for something in advance and have to later have problems try and let my CC company refund charges to  me.

 

 

[Host CJSKIDS]

2 hours ago, rucrazy said:

I realize space is at a premium in SOFL as in other major port towns.. when I googled parking I landed  on a website that said it offered such a service, but could not verify that it was legit and an official port company ( https://www.thecruiseparkingmiami.com/ ) also I did not want get ripped off by paying for something in advance and have to later have problems try and let my CC company refund charges to  me.

 

 

 

They are NOT an official website for Port Miami and Miami is one place to be very careful with parking.  There is no valet parking at Port Miami unless that has recently changed.  Parking at the port is plentiful and I have never seen it too full.  This is one port that I would say part directly at the port. 

[Corby114]

There definitely isn’t any valet parking at the Port Of Miami. The parking garages are very big and easy to navigate. When I leave my personal vehicle at the Port Of Miami I drop off my luggage and my family at the terminal. I then drive over to the parking facility and secure my vehicle. I then walk back over to the terminal and meet up with my family for check in. Whatever you do don’t park at an off site Miami lot. Too many sad stories about damaged vehicles, thefts from vehicles and spotty shuttle service since I joined Cruise Critic in March 2002.

[Noxequifans]

My assessment is that there is only one good choice at Miami ....park at the pier. 

[rucrazy]

I appreciate all the responses

since we will be shipping our luggage from home to the pier and back home, parking at tje pier self serve is our plan for this adventure!

 

[Noxequifans]

Have a wonderful trip!

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, rucrazy said:

I appreciate all the responses

since we will be shipping our luggage from home to the pier and back home, parking at tje pier self serve is our plan for this adventure!

 

 

If you will have only carry-ons and won't need to drop luggage off at the terminal, you may be able to avoid some of the traffic chaos that exists in trying to get close enough to the terminal to give your luggage to the Porters.  

 

Try to determine which Parking Garage you will need to use before you arrive at the Port.  Then, once in the Port you may be able to see signs that will direct you to that Garage and ignore the signs that direct one to a specific terminal.  If you can find the Parking garage information, I recommend studying the Port map and be prepared to get into the proper lane (of a multi-lane street) in order to get directly to the Garage's entrance.  

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 7/6/2022 at 4:21 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

If you will have only carry-ons and won't need to drop luggage off at the terminal, you may be able to avoid some of the traffic chaos that exists in trying to get close enough to the terminal to give your luggage to the Porters.  

 

Try to determine which Parking Garage you will need to use before you arrive at the Port.  Then, once in the Port you may be able to see signs that will direct you to that Garage and ignore the signs that direct one to a specific terminal.  If you can find the Parking garage information, I recommend studying the Port map and be prepared to get into the proper lane (of a multi-lane street) in order to get directly to the Garage's entrance.  

 

So you're saying that every terminal has its own parking garage.  Shouldn't be hard to figure out, at.hough our cruise line is one of the smaller ones so that might be an issue. 

 

Do you know if there is porterage from the garages to the terminal entrance?  I.e., if walking with luggage is an issue?

[Cienfuegos]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

So you're saying that every terminal has its own parking garage.  Shouldn't be hard to figure out, at.hough our cruise line is one of the smaller ones so that might be an issue. 

 

Do you know if there is porterage from the garages to the terminal entrance?  I.e., if walking with luggage is an issue?

Porterage at several terminals is located at the entrance to the terminal building, not in or at the garage. At Miami, this is a large space, with buses and private cars dropping off luggage. Similar to most airports, etc. The garage is usually across a wide street from the terminal building.

 

On my several cruises, I'll drop my baggage with the porters at the entrance to the terminal. Sometimes my wife will get out with a carry on for swim suits, etc and watch the porters place the marked and tagged luggage on the trolley to go inside. I drive around to the garage, pay to enter and receive a dashboard tag.  Find a space, and return to collect my wife at the porter station.  Then, we go inside to complete the boarding process.

 

Since we will be gone for a week or more, I try to avoid parking on the roof. Miami sun and rain can be brutal.

[Cienfuegos]

I will reaffirm the suggestion to identify your cruise's departure terminal, and the associated garage. And then carefully examine the Port of Miami parking map.

 

There are two ways to get onto Dodge Island Cruise Port, one is the tunnel, the other is the bridge from Biscayne Boulevard. Although each feeds into the loop road which serves all terminals, knowing where your terminal is relative to the starting point is very helpful. The three and sometimes four lane wide roadway has both left and right exits, some with little notice.

 

https://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/parking-transportation.asp

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Our cruise line usually uses Terminal J.  I see here on the Port of Miami website, that the parking here is pre-paid only.  Does this just mean that you pay when you arrive, or that you must reserve in advance?  Here's what it says: 

 

"Please note that Garage J is pre-paid only. Passengers pay upon arrival to Garage J and are given a decal to post in their vehicle for the duration of their cruise."

[rkacruiser]

On 7/10/2022 at 7:43 PM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Do you know if there is porterage from the garages to the terminal entrance?  I.e., if walking with luggage is an issue?

 

Cienfuegos provided an excellent answer to your question.  Porter service from the terminal to the garage may be possible.  I had a wheelchair disembark from MSC Meraviglia, the port agency staff member wheeling me obtained a Porter in baggage claim and both took my luggage and me directly to my car in the garage.  A generous gratuity to both is warranted, in my opinion, for such service.  

 

On 7/10/2022 at 10:42 PM, Cienfuegos said:

The three and sometimes four lane wide roadway has both left and right exits, some with little notice.

 

That adds to the confusion and chaos for those who are first time drivers to the Port of Miami.  

[Cienfuegos]

Studying the map is very helpful, even for an experienced driver.  Construction is continuous, so lanes are sometimes blocked, or detours established, etc.  Knowing where you are going is very helpful.

 

Wendy, my experience is that you do not need reservations for garage parking at the port of Miami. You pay on the way in, and receive a card which you put on your dashboard for the duration of the vehicle's stay.

 

You load and go on your return from the cruise.