Debarkation in Tampa question?

[Buddy44]

We have booked a cruise (Western on Legend) in may from Tampa...our plane leaves at 11:30 a.m....will we have enough time...thanks

[jessemon]

We have booked a cruise (Western on Legend) in may from Tampa...our plane leaves at 11:30 a.m....will we have enough time...thanks

Probably will. Just make sure you notify guest services to the time of your flight. Airport is only a 15 minute drive at most.

The only hang up is ship arrival time. If something happens to slow you down (fog...another ship in the channel) that is a problem.

Live in Tampa and have taken 8 cruises out of here. Been late twice.

Hope this helps.

Just to let you know...there is a thread on the boards (in forums) under Gulf Coast Ports that has much info on Tampa. Hotels...eats...shopping...things to do and so on.

[chitown cruisers]

We have booked a cruise (Western on Legend) in may from Tampa...our plane leaves at 11:30 a.m....will we have enough time...thanks

In normal circumstances....probably but it's close. We took our time and were off by 9:30. If the ship gets in on time without any problems...it's doable. The Tampa port situation is real nice.....I'm talking REAL nice. They know what they are doing. I'm sure you'll be moving much faster than we were (if you only knew LOL)

[cck0000]

Hmm. You are cutting it close. That said, we had a great experience in Tampa. Very efficient and close to the pier.

I would try to be in the first group off. They call it "self-

assist". You have to carry your own luggage off though. That group was invited to debark for us at 815am last week. We were with VIP (the second group off---you are allowed in this group if you have a flight before 12:30pm).

We left the boat around 830am. We were sitting at our gate that morning just after 930. I thought that was great! But, there are many many variables that could slow you down too....lines and security as well.

Good luck.

[crusinpsychRN]

Where are you coming in from?

[DGP1111]

I don't know what day of the week your return is scheduled for, but may I also encourage you to factor in the rush-hour traffic in Tampa in the mornings Mon-Fri. Even if you get off the ship in a jiffy using self-assist you might hit an odd backup, very very common here on our interstate system that is not of the quality to handle the traffic load it receives. Yep, it's not a long journey to TPA Int'l, but this doofus Central FL traffic can come to a complete stop at the drop of a hat. Have a teriffic cruise, and Bon Voyage!!

[sallyb]

We cruised the Miracle in Feb of this year. We could not get back in the channel and had to dock at an industrial port and be bussed back. Then we sat on those busses forever! There was no self assist on this cruise because of the channel being blocked, they said by a tanker delivering oil.

I did write to Carnival and was given a 45 day letter for our next cruise, but I also got sick from the smell of diesel fuel since we sat on that bus in port for a very long time. Actually, we and several other passengers simply decided we had enough and got off the bus. It was an unfortunate ending to a very nice cruise.:( We would not have been able to make an early flight. Maybe they have fixed this, it's been almost a year.:confused:

[suncoastgirl]

The tanker problem in the channel has been fixed. I would be more worried about traffic. I agree that people around here will stop on the interstate to look at nothing or to let others merge onto the interstate. It does usually start to clear up around 9:15 or 9:30 am. Good luck and have a great cruise.