Tampa airport to the ship (Horizon)

[late seating]

Hello,

We booked our own airfare but did not know that we could not buy transfers as our return flight is at 12:05PM. X insists the flight must be after 12:30PM or they won't sell you a transfer.

 

Our question is: Does anyone know the distance from Tampa airport to the ship and about what is the cost of a taxi. Or, any cost saving suggestions will be appreciated.

 

Our cruise in a ten dayer (Jan. 21,2005 - Jan 31,2005) on the Horizon.

 

Thanks, Connie & Angelo (late seating)

[Shirley and Les]

The ride from the cruise terminal is in the vicinity of 10 to 15 miles, takes 20 minutes and a cab will cost about $30.00.

Before boarding the ship, there will probably be a shuttle bus representative in the cruise terminal selling one-way tickets back to the airport. If not, you can pick up shuttle tickets upon your return from the cruise. I would suggest holding off until you return and then deciding between shuttle bus and cab based on convenience. If the shuttle line is long, take a cab or vice versa.

You should not have a problem making your flight. On two Horizon cruises from Tampa, we were at the airport before 11:00 am. I would be worried more about getting to Tampa from upstate New York in mid-January. Hope you planned to go south the day before your cruise.

[akur23]

We got off the Horizon on the 29th, and just took a shuttle to the airport. They cost $9 per person and were lined up in front of the pier. We made our 12:35 pm flight very comfortably. They have a desk right outside the customs area.

[late seating]

Thanks, Shirley & Les and akur23

The information you took the time to send us was exactly what we were looking for: Thanks very much!!

 

Shirley & Les: We hope you guys do not know something we don't. We have cruised for the past nine years in January from NY (Ithaca) to Florida to board our ship and have not been snowed out yet (knock on wood).

 

One more question: Is there also a shuttle from the airport to the ship?

 

Happy Cruisin',

Connie & Angelo (late seating)

[C 2 C]

Don't think the taxis would be that expensive either..

It's not that far... I've usually taken the rental car transfers

[Shirley and Les]

Connie and Angelo,

No, we don't have any inside info on the weather. We have a son that lived in the Corning area for a few years. It seems it snowed everytime we visited him between November and March.

Yes the shuttle does run from the airport to the pier. At Tampa airport, I always rent a smart cart to haul our luggage from the carousel to the shuttle/courtesy bus area. Turn right as you leave the baggage claim area and the shuttle bus is outside at the end of the building.

Les

[NJ Cruisers]

We just got back from our trip on the Horizon out of Tampa and took a cab both ways. The fixed price is $20 each way plus tip. The ride was about 15 minutes and we made it both ways with no problem. There are plenty of cabs both at the airport and at the pier. The transfers through the cruise line were more expensive (around $30-$35 per person) and we didn't have to wait around for the bus to be full. This was by far the smoothest trip to and from the airport ever.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Donna & Harry

[late seating]

Hi all,

We want to thank everyone who took the time to answer this thread. These message boards are the best but only as good as everyone that participates.

 

Shirley & Les, if you ever get back we want to thank you for your insite "If I was you, I would worry about getting to Florida from NY in the middle of January". Well, we put a lot of thought into that and yesterday we changed our flight so we arrive at Tampa the day before the cruise. That gives us great peace of mind knowing a snow storm won't cancel our cruise.

 

If anyone is interested we booked at the LaQuinta Inn (813-287-0440) close to the airport. They shuttle us from airport to the motel and the next day to the ship.

 

Thanks again, Connie & Angelo (late seating)

[ivylane]

We are staying at the Howard Johnson hotel airport stadium and they also have a shuttle from the airport to the hotel, and from the hotel to the port the next day for free. Plus, we're on a budget and the price was very reasonable.:p

[hdawson]

For our Feb cruise on Horizon, we got Hyatt Regency downtown Tampa on Priceline for $50.

[Shirley and Les]

Connie and Angelo,

Didn't really want to intimidate you into going to Tampa the day before, but we think you made a good decision. Have a coffee and a donut for breakfast at the motel in the morning of the cruise and then leave somewhere around eleven am to have the buffet lunch on the ship. The buffet lunch will be the start of a weeklong feeding frenzy.

The International Mall near the Tampa airport is a neat place to have dinner the night before the cruise. They have a lot of restaurants there. Probably, the motel courtesy van will take you there and back for a few $$$ tip.

There is a Walmart fairly close to the airport where you can pick up any last minute things you forgot. There is also a liquor store about 1/2 block from the WalMart where you can pick up any last minute refreshments you forgot. Again, the motel courtesy van driver might accomodate a supply run for a few $$$. We stayed at the Westport(?) Hilton near the airport and it was a 15 minute walk to the WalMart. We stayed at the Hilton on a Saturday night and the van driver even transported us to the local Catholic church for Mass on Saturday night. He came back, as requested, about 10 minutes after Mass was over, to take us back to the motel.

Les

[late seating]

Thanks all, especially Les and HDawson,

 

We went on priceline.com and were able to reserve a room at the Airport Days Inn for fifty bucks. So, we cancelled our $89 room at the LaQuinta (that we thought at the time was a great price).

 

God, we love this cruise critic message board. We learned something useful from everyone that responded.

 

Thanks again, Connie & Angelo (late seating)