Tampa - General Info Please

[xntric1]

I hope this one skirts Florida. The state has had its share of bad weather!

Take care!

[Melissa_A]

ok, i'm pretty much over this hurricane stuff! :mad: they say la nina is going to cause the next 25 hurricane seasons to be similar to this one! i don't know anyone who's NOT getting hurricane shutters this winter. i'm going to have to cut back all my trees too. i am leaving for my alaskan cruise tomorrow :p and will be bringing in all my outdoor stuff because i'm certain we'll have another one coming our way while i'm gone.

[tadjr]

Have a great time Melissa. Dont worry about what goes on while on vacation since you cant do anything about it anyway. Just get the loose stuff in the garage or pool and lock things up as best you can and go have some fun. I am ready to just get away as well. Even though we havent been hit directly (Frances came within about 15 miles of here), its still been a trying season so far. All the waiting and watching is trying on everyones nerves. Just forget about it and HAVE SOME FUN!!!!

[xntric1]

Melissa,

Have a great time!

Donna

[shipperx]

Does anyone know cabfare from the pier to the airport in Tampa.

[tadjr]

About $20-25.

And here comes another one. I guess Mother Nature is just going to keep throwing them at us until she hits every part of the state at least once this year! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!

[xntric1]

TADJR--
Just what did yall do to make Mother Nature so mad???

I thought after Frances, my Oct 11 cruise out of Tampa was "safe". Now with Jeanne headed toward FL, I am beginning to wonder!

My 86 yr old in-laws live in FWB and my sister-in-law in The Villages- we have spent the last few weeks in constant worry! IN-laws stayed at home thru Ivan! (They live < .5 mile from the bay.) Told them they were acting like a couple of rebel teenagers! I was awake all night worrying about them!

I hope it is about over for Fl. It is more than any area deserves!

[xntric1]

Just checking in to see if all is OK after Jeanne.

[xntric1]

Tadjr,
The others and myself on the Sensation Oct 11 roll call thread [url]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=2109108&posted=1[/url] are trying to find out if there is a webcam in the Port of Tampa. We have located a couple:
[url]www.wtvt.com/skycam.htm[/url]
[url]www.kroooz-cams.com/ports/tampa.htm[/url]
but nothing right in the port it seems.
Do you know of one?
You have been so helpful in the past, I certainly appreciate all the effort you have put forth.

Hope all is well in Tampa with you.
Donna

[tadjr]

Dont know of a camera right in the port, but I'll try to think if there might be any. The krooz cam you have listed is the closest to downtown that I am aware of. Its on channel 8 which is located just across the Hillsborough River from downtown about 1-1 1/2 miles from the port.
I'm so sick of this. Nothing major for me thankfully, but it was scary again with the wind howling around the windows and through the attic. Some very big trees down in the neighborhood, luckily toward the street and not toward the house. Lots of fences down, neighbor had shingles off his roof and still have lots of people without power or water. About 785,000 people in Hillsborough and surrounding counties without power (including my parents).
Maybe this will be the end of it!
Port still safe.

[tadjr]

[url]http://www.tecocam.com[/url] is another one downtown Tampa, but I cant get the pix to show. Dont know if its just me or the camera was blown off in the storm?

[xntric1]

Tadjr,
I am glad to hear you came thru without any damage. I hope your parents and the rest who have endured so much, get their power back soon. It is very tough not having electricity.
We just had a strong squall come thru, lasted about an hour. It was one of Jeanne's bands. We closed our plant at 2 today, as did most of the local schools due to tornadoes, high winds and rain.
I cant imagine what sitting thru an actual huricanne is like. I am not a scaredy-cat type, but not something I want to experience either.

If you think of a webcam, pls post it.

Thanks for all your help.
Donna

[Melissa_A]

hi again....the cruise was wonderful! it was my first and i'm glad it was alaska. i was on the radiance, a 90,000 ton ship and it was rocking pretty much the entire time. we learned that it was not the seas but rather the 60 mph winds they have up there in alaska!

anyway, about 4-5 days into the cruise, i caught a few minutes of CNN. they showed jeanne moving South?!?! then West!?!? i thought i was in the twilight zone! there's no way this storm is still out there...let alone making a u-turn for Florida. Ivan was still affecting the south when I left and i thought Jeanne was long gone. anyway, i was to fly home on sunday, a direct flight from Seattle to tampa. That flight obviously got cancelled since the tampa airport was closed. so they got me to Atlanta....along with everyone else in the country trying to get to florida. i have friends there, so i wasn't stuck at the airport like many people. then i couldn't get a flight out until tuesday. i had used freq. flyer miles for 1st class, so luckily delta had 1 first class seat left on tues morning. otherwise i would have had to wait until thurs. to fly home. it annoyed me that if i had coach, they wouldn't have given me that 1st class ticket. delta's customer service has gone downhill. but that's another topic! so me and my two 60-lb suitcases almost missed my flight out on tuesday due to longggg lines going thru security. luckily, the flight was delayed 20 min. so i was able to make it. came home to a lot of down oak branches, but nothing major. i dread a hurricane from the west. i hope we don't have to deal with another storm this year.

[xntric1]

Glad you havd a good time ...I bet Jeanne was a surprise! We got some high winds and a lot of rain from her as well.
I will be leaving Tampa on the Sensation on Monday the 11th. Thanks for all of your help with the Tampa area. Our plans have changed and we will not be staying overnight in Tampa. I still hope to make it to Cappys for lunch on Saturday.
Donna

[tadjr]

Final report please? How was the cruise and the info on the area. Anything else you found out about that we as locals should be aware of when advising tourists info on Tampa? Thanks.

[tadjr]

Just bumping back up to see if we can get a followup.... thanks.

[akur23]

We can't afford Bern's, but do like Sam Seltzer. They usually have a nice special (i.e. $9.99 for prime rib) and have nice garlicky crutons on the table. They're near the airport.

[KathyB]

Hi All

Seem to be many knowledgable people here about the tampa are. I have a couple of questions . .

We are arriving 2 days prior to our cruise out of Tampa. Would like to stay at a beach resort (we have w teens with us) - not sure what is closer to Tampa airport/port of tampa - clearwater beach or St. Petersburg Beach? Can anyone recommend a hotel that is nice on the beach?

Thanks,
Kathy

[tadjr]

Check out this website [url]http://tampabaybeaches.com/scripts/gbshow5a.cgi[/url] . It lists all the beaches along Pinellas County and it has listings for all the hotels/motels and resorts. Depending on when you are coming, you might be able to get some deals online. Many of the places have websites listed to check for specials. Clearwater Beach is closer, but not by a lot ( 15 mins closer non rush hour) than St Pete Beach. You can probably make it from South St Pete Beach (Don Cesar Resort) to the pier in about 45 mins- hour non rush hour. Its interstate Most of the way.
I havent stayed on the beaches, but some of the names I hear mentioned are Sheraton Sand Key, Tradewinds St Pete, Don Cesar. Check out the websites and if you see anything you want to ask about, just post.

I will be gone for 2 weeks starting this weekend (YEAH CRUISE TIME!!!!), but will check here before I go and when I get back.

[KathyB]

Thanks for your help tadjr

I think I will stick with Clearwater Beach as I do want to be as close to tampa airport and port as possible - just in case I don't rent a car. We are not coming in until July but I do have two kids with us so a beach is a must (they are 20 and 17). I was looking at priceline for clearwater beach hotels - they have the following 3* hotels:

Hilton Clearwater Beach
Marriott Suites Clearwater Beach
Adams Mark


Any idea which is better and what would be closer to night time activites

Thanks
Kathy

[Donnask8pro]

Tadjr, I dont know if you say my thread on beer sales in Tampa. We are staying at the marriott Airport and coming in the night before. I was wondering if you could tell me where the closest place is to buy beer and soda from the Marriott? Thanks ahead of time. Ü

[CruznTom]

I haven't been there yet, but we are booked at Sailport

[url=http://www.tampadowntown.com/hotels/sailport-resort.html]LINK[/url]

We booked for the parking, as we are driving down. Anybody know about this establishment?

[tadjr]

Hey guys,
Sorry for the delay. Just got back on Sat am from the cruise and have been trying to get caught up with mail, bills, laundry, etc...
I havent been to Clearwater in a while, but the Hilton is closest I believe to the public beach and many restaraunts and shops. Also the Adams Mark is near restaraunts and shops. The Marriott also has some places nearby. Its not more than a mile or 2 from one to the other so you can easily walk for anything on Clearwater Beach. I believe the Marriott is on Sand Key which requires another bridge crossing, but not sure if peds are allowed on it. You can check on Yahoo Maps for the closest places depending on what types of food you might be looking for. Whichever you chose, its not a long drive to get to the other end of the island.

The closest place to the Airport Marriott to get beer and wine is a KashNKarry on N Dale Mabry. The Walmart is not a superstore there so they have a limited supply of things but have sodas and snacks. They might also have limited beer, but I dont remember seeing it there last time I was down that way. If I'm in there anytime soon, I'll try to look, but try to avoid the stores during the Xmas season unless absolutely necessary. ;)

[Donnask8pro]

Thank you .... Does there happen to be a good reasonable restaurant close to the kashandkarry? One stop when having to grab a cab. Thanks again

[tadjr]

No, I dont think there is. There is a Crazy Buffet Chinese restaurant across the street and Chilis next door, but thats about it there. There is a van from the airport to the International Plaza that has a wide selection of restaurants and it is free. Not sure of the hours it runs though. You can check out their website. [url]http://www.shopinternationalplaza.com[/url] and see the names. You can also email them to see when the van runs. I've seen it leaving the airport, but not sure how late they run it. If not late, a cab ride isnt more than a couple of dollars.