I wanna go to Miami!

[user 1215]

Here underlines some of the basic problems with the existing way Amtrak works and the way States deal with our beloved Passenger Rail Provider.

I thought about taking a cruise out of Miami. Amtrak goes to Miami. Oooo - can do a land/sea cruise package! How nice!

One problem is that train arrival doesn't coordinate with most cruise departures. Overnight in a hotel is required. Other problem is getting from Miami Amtrak to the Cruise dock. Unfortunately for cruises that depart on Mondays, the only way to get to the dock is by including a cab for a portion. How much that portion is up to how much public transit you wanna use. IE:

1) Taxi all the way - 10 miles, 2 pax, about $40ish... Pro - direct and easy. Con - Expensive.

2) Bus 42 to Metrorail station, Metrorail to downtown, Metromover to East side of downtown, cab to dock. Pro - lots of transit modes! Woo hoo! $1.50! Con - luggage moving a pain in the rear.

3) Transfer to Tri-Rail at Hollywood, avoiding bus. Rest same as above. Pro - avoid bus. Con - added revenue, making Hollywood connection unsure.

It's just a bummer that while being planned, Metrorail couldn't stretch to the Amtrak station. That would solve all kinds of mess. Limit transfers to one to get to the majority of destinations and things are good. Two is tolerable, but more than that is just irritating.

 

[Guest_gretnagreg_*]

I kinda like the idea of having a one night stay in a hotel...for the pure and simple reason that gives me a good cushion in case the train is real late and I miss my cruise!

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

Wow, that makes Boston look pretty reasonable for public transportation to the cruise ship terminal: at South Station, you can board an electric bus, the SL2, take it to Silver Line Way, wait while the convert it to a diesel bus, and it takes you right to Black Falcon Terminal.

On the other hand, there are tracks present which would enable a diesel push/pull Amtrak or commuter train to get all the way to Black Falcon Terminal, should anyone ever wish to run that service. There are a couple of grade crossings on that track when you get close to Black Falcon Terminal.

 

[Walt]

I kinda like the idea of having a one night stay in a hotel...for the pure and simple reason that gives me a good cushion in case the train is real late and I miss my cruise!

That is what popped into my mind too!

Both a train and a ship need to be relaxing trips. Having that buffer in a local hotel, helps ensure that.

BTW, would any hotel offer complimentary local transportation.

 

[Walt]

Let me also add, that I discovered something similar, when looking at a cruise out of Port Canaveral.

 

[Rail Freak]

I kinda like the idea of having a one night stay in a hotel...for the pure and simple reason that gives me a good cushion in case the train is real late and I miss my cruise!

That is what popped into my mind too!

Both a train and a ship need to be relaxing trips. Having that buffer in a local hotel, helps ensure that.

BTW, would any hotel offer complimentary local transportation.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking of my TPA - TPA trip via SM-CL-EB - (hotel in Seattle) - CS- CZ- CL-SM.

In that cumfy hotel room, I'll have the opportunity to consider if I did the right thing in taking the advice of all these Train Crazy A.U. Folks. LOL!!!!



PS There is an airport in Seattle, right?

 

[meatpuff]

Here underlines some of the basic problems with the existing way Amtrak works and the way States deal with our beloved Passenger Rail Provider.
I thought about taking a cruise out of Miami. Amtrak goes to Miami. Oooo - can do a land/sea cruise package! How nice!

One problem is that train arrival doesn't coordinate with most cruise departures. Overnight in a hotel is required. Other problem is getting from Miami Amtrak to the Cruise dock. Unfortunately for cruises that depart on Mondays, the only way to get to the dock is by including a cab for a portion. How much that portion is up to how much public transit you wanna use. IE:

...

It's just a bummer that while being planned, Metrorail couldn't stretch to the Amtrak station. That would solve all kinds of mess. Limit transfers to one to get to the majority of destinations and things are good. Two is tolerable, but more than that is just irritating.

I see why you would want to avoid the hotel room stay, money is tight.

As far as the local transit, my initial reaction is that things just aren't yet planned out as well in "newer" cities like Miami. I couldn't envision a situation with public transit that inconvenient happening in Chicago or the cities of the Northeast that have had a lot longer to get their act together (and date to when intercity rail was more important).

But I started reading Wikipedia, and it turns out you just planned your trip a couple of years too early:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Intermodal_Center

(it says in the Wikipedia page for Miami, FL that it will be complete in 2010)

 

[Chatter163]

Most folks who fly to Miami to go on a cruise spend the night there before departing on the ship the next day. Amtrak is not alone in this.

And someone who is spending on a cruise ship is going to worry about a $40 cab fare???

 

[Green Maned Lion]

What I can spend is irrelevant in many cases. I refuse to spend $15 to take a cab from NYP to my aunt on 42nd & 5th

when the A, S, and my feet can do it for $2!

 

[AlanB]

What I can spend is irrelevant in many cases. I refuse to spend $15 to take a cab from NYP to my aunt on 42nd & 5thwhen the A, S, and my feet can do it for $2!

Personally I'd take the 1, 2, or 3 to the #7 to the 5th Ave stop. The A and the S add like 3 extra blocks of walking.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind for future trips.

 

[meatpuff]

And someone who is spending on a cruise ship is going to worry about a $40 cab fare???

What I can spend is irrelevant in many cases. I refuse to spend $15 to take a cab from NYP to my aunt on 42nd & 5thwhen the A, S, and my feet can do it for $2!

Agreed, I would feel bad spending $4 if I found out later I paid twice what I should have. I don't think I could manage my personal finances very well if I didn't have this kind of reaction!

 

[daveyb99]

As an avid cruiser, I do not understand why anyone would consider such an adventure on day of departure. Always allow ample time, but Get To The Boat.

On the way home, if you want to be creative, go for it. We actually walked from pier to AMTRACK in Vancouver. Only 1-1/4 miles through downtown, and we need the exercise !!!

But day of, never.

 

[BobWeaver]

As an avid cruiser, I do not understand why anyone would consider such an adventure on day of departure. Always allow ample time, but Get To The Boat.
On the way home, if you want to be creative, go for it. We actually walked from pier to AMTRACK in Vancouver. Only 1-1/4 miles through downtown, and we need the exercise !!!

But day of, never.

One has to keep in mind that the cruise ship is, around 95% of the time, going to depart on schedule. When one of my friends took a cruise over Spring Break, his father spent the night before in a hotel, and both my friend and his brother took the early flights out of CAE and PHL, respectively, just in case something went wrong. Sure enough, the brother missed his flight in Philadelphia, but was able to snag a seat on another flight in a few hours.

Why risk it unless your flight gets in at like 8 or 9 AM?

 

[Cascadia]

As an avid cruiser, I do not understand why anyone would consider such an adventure on day of departure. Always allow ample time, but Get To The Boat.
On the way home, if you want to be creative, go for it. We actually walked from pier to AMTRACK in Vancouver. Only 1-1/4 miles through downtown, and we need the exercise !!!

But day of, never.

Yes, Vancouver is one place where the trip from the train station to the cruise terminal is the simplest straight shot on the SkyTrain ever. Just walk out across a small park, climb to the SkyTrain, and ride a short way to the end of the line (or, beginning as the case may be) at Waterfront Station, come up out of Waterfront and walk next door to Canada Place, the pier where the cruise ships dock, couldn't be simpler.

Of course I don't have any idea how the Cascades times line up with the ship departure times. And, the Cascades could get hung up for sure. Luckily we are getting second train to Vancouver "soon" whenever that may be. "Soon"!

 

[MrFSS]

As an avid cruiser, I do not understand why anyone would consider such an adventure on day of departure. Always allow ample time, but Get To The Boat.
On the way home, if you want to be creative, go for it. We actually walked from pier to AMTRAK in Vancouver. Only 1-1/4 miles through downtown, and we need the exercise !!!

But day of, never.

Yes, Vancouver is one place where the trip from the train station to the cruise terminal is the simplest straight shot on the SkyTrain ever. Just walk out across a small park, climb to the SkyTrain, and ride a short way to the end of the line (or, beginning as the case may be) at Waterfront Station, come up out of Waterfront and walk next door to Canada Place, the pier where the cruise ships dock, couldn't be simpler.

Of course I don't have any idea how the Cascades times line up with the ship departure times. And, the Cascades could get hung up for sure. Luckily we are getting second train to Vancouver "soon" whenever that may be. "Soon"!

But, Vancouver has two terminals for cruise ships. See this LINK.. If you happen to get Ballantyne as the one your ship leaves/arrives from it isn't as easy to get to trains or the airport.

 

[user 1215]

Let me also add, that I discovered something similar, when looking at a cruise out of Port Canaveral.

Train doesn't even get close to Port Canaveral. That was my first choice. Cab/Bus etc from Orlando would be the same cost as me driving down from Savannah.

 

[user 1215]

Most folks who fly to Miami to go on a cruise spend the night there before departing on the ship the next day. Amtrak is not alone in this.
And someone who is spending on a cruise ship is going to worry about a $40 cab fare???

With decent planning, a 4 night cruise can be had for under $280. Hard to think that a 20 minute cab ride is worth 1/7th of that. Don't mind the hotel bit. Thought about that, and know that most cruises are set to depart around 8 AM. Don't need one on the return. That's nice. My main gripe is that there isn't better transit between Amtrak Miami and the rest of the City. After all, that train station has probably been there much longer than Metrorail, Tri-Rail, and Miami International Airport.

Hmmm... Looking forward to 2011.

 

[user 1215]

Looks like if I want to do a cruise, Tampa would be a better choice. 3 hour window to connect with boat, both going and coming; 1 mile cab ride from station to dock.

I think that's what I'll plan for!

 

[haolerider]

Here underlines some of the basic problems with the existing way Amtrak works and the way States deal with our beloved Passenger Rail Provider.
I thought about taking a cruise out of Miami. Amtrak goes to Miami. Oooo - can do a land/sea cruise package! How nice!

One problem is that train arrival doesn't coordinate with most cruise departures. Overnight in a hotel is required. Other problem is getting from Miami Amtrak to the Cruise dock. Unfortunately for cruises that depart on Mondays, the only way to get to the dock is by including a cab for a portion. How much that portion is up to how much public transit you wanna use. IE:

1) Taxi all the way - 10 miles, 2 pax, about $40ish... Pro - direct and easy. Con - Expensive.

2) Bus 42 to Metrorail station, Metrorail to downtown, Metromover to East side of downtown, cab to dock. Pro - lots of transit modes! Woo hoo! $1.50! Con - luggage moving a pain in the rear.

3) Transfer to Tri-Rail at Hollywood, avoiding bus. Rest same as above. Pro - avoid bus. Con - added revenue, making Hollywood connection unsure.

It's just a bummer that while being planned, Metrorail couldn't stretch to the Amtrak station. That would solve all kinds of mess. Limit transfers to one to get to the majority of destinations and things are good. Two is tolerable, but more than that is just irritating.

Amtrak has Rail & Cruise discounts with several cruise lines, but there is a rule that you cannot book the Amtrak portion for arrival on the same day as your cruise departure. This is to avoid the problems with late trains and on-time cruise departures. I also don't know why anyone would not want to spend a night in Miami prior to the cruise and relax a bit, rather than rush to the boat.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

The Tampa Union Station is indeed quite close to the cruise terminal. I don't know for sure if it's the only terminal, But we've walked past it several times on day trips from the Orlando area on 91 and 92 when there was a large cruise ship docked there. It's two or three blocks from TUS to what I think is called Channelside Drive, which goes past the cruise terminal (two or three blocks down Channelside Drive). Channelside also is where the the Tampa Aquarium, a WW-II Victory Ship freighter, and I think a hotel and conference center are. The TECO trolley runs that route, and will take you all the way to Ybor City. If you had much in the way of luggage, you would probably want to take a cab, of course, but it is certainly not a long distance to walk between TUS and the cruise terminal..

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Here underlines some of the basic problems with the existing way Amtrak works and the way States deal with our beloved Passenger Rail Provider.
I thought about taking a cruise out of Miami. Amtrak goes to Miami. Oooo - can do a land/sea cruise package! How nice!

One problem is that train arrival doesn't coordinate with most cruise departures. Overnight in a hotel is required. Other problem is getting from Miami Amtrak to the Cruise dock. Unfortunately for cruises that depart on Mondays, the only way to get to the dock is by including a cab for a portion. How much that portion is up to how much public transit you wanna use. IE:

1) Taxi all the way - 10 miles, 2 pax, about $40ish... Pro - direct and easy. Con - Expensive.

2) Bus 42 to Metrorail station, Metrorail to downtown, Metromover to East side of downtown, cab to dock. Pro - lots of transit modes! Woo hoo! $1.50! Con - luggage moving a pain in the rear.

3) Transfer to Tri-Rail at Hollywood, avoiding bus. Rest same as above. Pro - avoid bus. Con - added revenue, making Hollywood connection unsure.

It's just a bummer that while being planned, Metrorail couldn't stretch to the Amtrak station. That would solve all kinds of mess. Limit transfers to one to get to the majority of destinations and things are good. Two is tolerable, but more than that is just irritating.

Amtrak has Rail & Cruise discounts with several cruise lines, but there is a rule that you cannot book the Amtrak portion for arrival on the same day as your cruise departure. This is to avoid the problems with late trains and on-time cruise departures. I also don't know why anyone would not want to spend a night in Miami prior to the cruise and relax a bit, rather than rush to the boat.

A lesson painfully learned by my father and I as we raced down to Key West!

 

[Judy]

I look at the pre-cruise hotel stay as an insurance policy. It's alot cheaper to stay in a hotel one night than to "catch" up with the cruise ship if you miss it. If you go to one of the cruise forums someone there might have a suggestion on the best way to get from amtrak to the pier. Crusie Critics is a good one.