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Due to the Coronavirus crisis, Port Tampa's homeporting cruise shipping operations were paused for 18+ months (March 14, 2020, thru October 16, 2021). In 2017, Port Tampa for the first time handled ~1 million cruisers. The number was impressive, considering Sunshine Skyway Bridge's height limitations (180 ft / 55 m) and the strong competition from larger and better positioned around Florida ports. Understanding the city you’ll be traveling to and the logistics involved will give you a great start to making trip planning as painless as possible. Additionally, you’ll find some of the best theme park rides here, including the SheiKra, which is only located at the Tampa Bay Busch Gardens. This 200-foot tall floorless dive coaster provides an extreme thrill for anyone willing and able.
Best Cruises Out of Galveston (8 Ships Through
You get to visit some of your favorite countries within the park and each one provides different cultural elements to enjoy. The Tampa Bay Busch Gardens features various countries found in Africa, such as Egypt, Morocco, Nairobi, and so much more. Along with tasty restaurants, Tampa has plenty of attractions to offer. You won’t want to miss out on any of these, so plan your trip accordingly so you can experience as much as you want. If you have severe allergies and need a menu that’s gluten-free, you can either go to The Columbia for their gluten-free options, or try out The Refinery.
Luggage

Park Connect offers covered parking areas, free cancellation up to 24-hours before your cruise and an easy to user interface for pre-paying for parking. As a city that caters to cruise passengers, there are also a number of Tampa hotels that offer parking during your cruise, as well as hotels with cruise shuttles. Below are a few options for each, but we suggest seeing our full list in the articles linked above. Payments for car parking and valet services can be made before or on your cruising day. Tampa Port features a payment function on its website (tampaport.com) to facilitate pre-payments.
What is the closest airport to Tampa Cruise Port?
Port Tampa Bay finds niche in growing cruise industry - Tampa Bay Times
Port Tampa Bay finds niche in growing cruise industry.
Posted: Fri, 13 Jan 2017 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Henry B. Plant was the mastermind behind building the Tampa railway system in the 1800s. This, along with the port, helped Tampa to grow into the bustling metropolis that it is today. He also built the Tampa Bay Hotel, which is now the University of Tampa’s Plant Hall, where the museum is located. If you’d like to do some sightseeing before you ship out, go out to dinner, or visit an attraction or two, Tampa certainly does not disappoint.
Port Tampa Bay Increasing Parking Fees for Cruise Ship Passengers - Cruise Hive
Port Tampa Bay Increasing Parking Fees for Cruise Ship Passengers.
Posted: Wed, 21 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Typically, taxi services operate with a predetermined flat rate of $30. Commuting from the airport through Interstate-275 takes about 20 minutes. Additionally, each cruise terminal serves specified cruise lines to enhance efficiency and convenience. Multiple cruise lines have already reaped the benefits of homeporting their ships at Port Tampa Bay. In addition, guests are just steps from the sights, sounds and experiences of Downtown Tampa. In 2018, Carnival Miracle started from Tampa year-round 7-day roundtrips.
Your cruise pass will be scanned onefinal time and then canceled so no return to the ship is possible. All your luggageshould be tagged with the color/group identification tags provided and leftoutside your stateroom door on the night before disembarkation. On arrival, bags are deposited in a huge hangar in groupsby tag color. Tampa Cruise Terminalsare located in the Channelside District in the heart of downtown Tampa. Theport is close to historic Ybor City, a former manufacturing hub for cigarmaking.
Tampa cruise terminal
The largest companies homeporting in Tampa are CCL-Carnival, RCI-Royal Caribbean, HAL-Holland America, NCL-Norwegian. Tampa is a port city in Florida USA (Hillsborough County) with population around 390,000. The Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater Metro by population (around 3,2 million) is Florida's second-largest - after Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach Metro (around 6,14 million).
Caribbean
Passengers can pre-pay with a credit card online for valet and self-parking. This convenience is not cheap ($15 per day – you must include your departure and arrival days). September to December is the best time to visit Tampa, with pleasant weather and better deals on accommodations.
Purchase Your Parking Today
Terminal 6 has a surface parking lot adjacent to the terminal building. The maximum height of the parking garage is 8’2″ as shown in the photo below. When you get back, they drive the car right up to you at the departure door. The only potential negative about cruising from Tampa is the potential for fog which may delay ships leaving or returning to port. While there is some public transportation offered, it’s not particularly convenient, unless you are coming from Ybor City.
If you’re looking for another great place for the family that’s educational and filled with animals, come over to the ZooTampa at Lowry Park. If you come on the weekend, at 1pm you can stand eye-to-eye with a giraffe and feed them some lettuce. You can also visit a variety of other animals, all safely behind glass enclosures. Anyone who’s ever been to a Busch Gardens knows just how much fun it is.
While the bridge is impressive, its height actually limits the size of the ships that can sail from Tampa. This is a reason why some of the biggest and newest ships don’t sail from the port. Tampa Riverwalk extends to Ybor City, an ancient district celebrated for preserving Florida’s culture and history. The city has a lot to offer, including nightlife, shopping, museums, and galleries. Residence Inn by Marriott sits on an easy-to-access property right at Tampa Downtown. The hotel is within walking distance from attraction sites, beaches, and the Tampa Port.
Park Connect – A local agency with good deals for cruise parking near Port Tampa Bay. They offer nearby parking garages at a lower cost than booking direct. I also checked a private company, Park Connect, which I learned costs $10/day. Apparently this company has several garages, each close enough to a port terminal that one can walk to the terminal, and has the highest rating of the several private parking companies.
In 2023, ACL-American Cruise Lines included Key West as a call port of its 7-night/8-day "Florida Gulf Coast and Keys" itinerary. The roundtrip from Tampa was specifically designed for ACL's newbuild catamarans (Coastal Cats) and was first operated by American Glory in 2023. Tampa is one of the USA's most popular homeports for liners deployed in the Western Caribbean.
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