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Question about Mobile Port


Ashemson
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Need some advice on cruise in January, leaving from Mobile. Is it better to stay at hotel that has park and cruise and let them transport you to the port? Or is it better parking car yourself at the port. I know it costs more to park yourself, but I have 8 people traveling so that might make a difference in hotel transportation. Also I read that Renaissance Riverview and Hampton Inn is within walking distance to port...true???

 

I think I'm stressing myself out over all of this...haha

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Need some advice on cruise in January, leaving from Mobile. Is it better to stay at hotel that has park and cruise and let them transport you to the port? Or is it better parking car yourself at the port. I know it costs more to park yourself, but I have 8 people traveling so that might make a difference in hotel transportation. Also I read that Renaissance Riverview and Hampton Inn is within walking distance to port...true???

 

I think I'm stressing myself out over all of this...haha

 

Riverview and Hampton Inn Downtown are both walking distance. Maybe a 10 or 15 minute walk. You have to navigate some very busy streets, but it's really not a bad walk. Both have shuttle I think. There's also a FREE trolley service that makes a loop around downtown and it used to stop at the cruise terminal when Carnival was here before, but that may have changed over the years. You may want to do a bit more research on that if you're interested. It may not work for you in your case.

 

http://www.thewavetransit.com/moda.asp

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I agree with walking if weather is ok. Don't forget to check the Battle House (also a Marriott Renaissance property and my favorite of the historic downtown hotels) for a park/cruise option. There is also a new Hilton Garden Inn on Conception St. but would be a very long walk and no shuttle so port parking is probably preferred unless they offer a park/cruise package. The parking deck at the port sometimes requires overflow parking below an interstate a short distance away, not ideal if your a late arriver and don't get in the actual deck. While I find embarkation in Mobile extremely easy and most times fairly speedy although not the fastest either, I think its much easier just to debark when returning, go to car in attached deck (arrive early!) and be on my way rather than have to be shuttled back to a hotel and leave from there.

 

However, through December, and possibly extended both the Riverview and Battle House have a park/cruise package starting at $169 with no minimum number of nights required, which includes parking for duration of the cruise and shuttle transportation for up to 5 guests. You would need two rooms minimum for your eight guests.

 

I would probably go with price in your situation.

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Just to follow up on this. When I pulled in to park at the civic center this morning at 7am, Fantasy was already docked. When I got out of jury duty at 11:30, the line to pull into the parking garage at the terminal was nearly a half mile long and barely moving. I'm not really sure what to tell you as far as parking at the terminal. LOL.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Need some advice on cruise in January, leaving from Mobile. Is it better to stay at hotel that has park and cruise and let them transport you to the port? Or is it better parking car yourself at the port. I know it costs more to park yourself, but I have 8 people traveling so that might make a difference in hotel transportation. Also I read that Renaissance Riverview and Hampton Inn is within walking distance to port...true???

 

I think I'm stressing myself out over all of this...haha

 

You can book at the Hampton Inn and Suites and they will give you a voucher to park at the port included in the Sleep,Park & Cruise offer. It may cost a little more then the other park and cruise options, but I like the idea of my vehicle at the port versus having to take a shuttle after I get off the boat just to get to my car.

 

http://www.mobile.org/offers/detail/Hampton-Inn-Suites-Downtown-Historic-District-Sleep-Park-Cruise/33/

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  • 1 month later...

We just returned from the Fantasy and the port situation was the worst we've seen other than Miami during a cab strike. We arrived at our check-in time and were told by the cop at the entrance to the driveway to the parking deck to drive around or wait under the over pass and come back in an hour. From our spot we could hear announcements for passengers to get off the ship! at about 11 the line to enter the parking deck was growing so we joined that. Shuttles were allowed in, but we waited another half hour to be able to pull in. Once in the terminal we were processed and on board. Disembarkation was chaos. We did self assist and ended up in a long, long line because customs officials had not arrived. By then, everyone was urging the two people in charge to let priority guests go first, but were told priority doesn't count here.

We won't be sailing out of Mobile again, though we loved the ship, crew and especially Mikey the CD. There are just too many other ports that seem to understand how to deal with crowds.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Thanks for the advice. I thought staggered check in was supposed to alleviate all the mess at the beginning. Lol

 

 

It would alleviate most of the crowds if people would follow directions and wait to show up when they are supposed to. When I sailed out of New Orleans in December, we arrived at the terminal around 11:30 (had a 10:30 am check-in time) and there were huge lines outside the terminal of people who had arrived hours before their assigned check-in time. They weren't happy when we were escorted past all of them and into the terminal. Once inside, we didn't have to wait more than 1-2 minutes at any point before boarding the ship. I'm sure that those who arrived much too early will tell everyone about how awful the lines were and how unorganized the port was...all because they couldn't follow simple directions...

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less stress if you wait untill after 1pm.

sail out of mobile in may 2017.no problems.waited untill after 1pm

to check in.was on the ship with in 15 minutes of arriving at the port.

Arriving after 1 pm were you able to park in the parking garage or did you have to go to the overflow lot?

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  • 4 weeks later...

From what I've seen, it's EXPENSIVE to park at the port, so I would definitely look at any hotels that offer a Park & Ride situation, or will let you leave your car and walk over. I used to work in the offices above the Renaissance Plaza Hotel and it looked like abject chaos below. We would often see cruise guests at the nearby coffee shops long after it would have made sense for them to be on board.

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  • 1 month later...
We just returned from the Fantasy and the port situation was the worst we've seen other than Miami during a cab strike. We arrived at our check-in time and were told by the cop at the entrance to the driveway to the parking deck to drive around or wait under the over pass and come back in an hour. From our spot we could hear announcements for passengers to get off the ship! at about 11 the line to enter the parking deck was growing so we joined that. Shuttles were allowed in, but we waited another half hour to be able to pull in. Once in the terminal we were processed and on board. Disembarkation was chaos. We did self assist and ended up in a long, long line because customs officials had not arrived. By then, everyone was urging the two people in charge to let priority guests go first, but were told priority doesn't count here.

We won't be sailing out of Mobile again, though we loved the ship, crew and especially Mikey the CD. There are just too many other ports that seem to understand how to deal with crowds.

 

We have sailed out of mobile 3x when carnival was there years ago. For some unknown reason they do not let one car in the garage until every car from previous cruise has gone out. Not an ideal situation. So traffic is snaked all over the place and once it opens up everything is behind schedule.

I will say everyone is very friendly but it can be a nightmare.

When we get into garage in New Orleans people are coming and going like crazy at 8:30-9:00

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  • 1 month later...
For our January 27th sailing on the Fantasy, got a room at the Microtel in Saraland for the night before for $74 on Expedia. Free parking at the hotel during the cruise and shuttle to the port and back.

 

I have to update my post. The Expedia price does not include park and cruise. Another thread had a post that made me suspicious so I called the hotel and found out that the park and cruise price is $129.99, $148 with taxes and fees. Have to book with the hotel directly. Oh well, this is still cheaper than a hotel and parking at the port.

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Does anyone have any recent experience with the parking situation in Mobile? We thought we would be at the port around 10:00 to 10:30. Should we expect lines? Is that too early? Is it not early enough?

Thanks for any input.

Port documentation says parking deck opens at 10 AM. On Dec 26 we arrived at 10:25 and were turned away by police because previous cruise customers still leaving. We were instructed to return at 11. We returned at 10:55 and traffic was backed-up on to the I-10 exit ramp along Water Street. It took 45 minutes to get into the parking deck to unload luggage and park. Unloading is a bottleneck because cars are unloaded in batches of six or seven. If the first or second car in line is not prepared and has to sort or tag luggage then everyone behind that car waits until they are finished. We noticed some cars were lined-up along Old Water Street (along the rr tracks) and appeared to get into the garage more quickly at first. If you look at a map and can navigate to Old Water Street there may be an advantage when the parking deck initially opens.

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Port documentation says parking deck opens at 10 AM. On Dec 26 we arrived at 10:25 and were turned away by police because previous cruise customers still leaving. We were instructed to return at 11. We returned at 10:55 and traffic was backed-up on to the I-10 exit ramp along Water Street. It took 45 minutes to get into the parking deck to unload luggage and park. Unloading is a bottleneck because cars are unloaded in batches of six or seven. If the first or second car in line is not prepared and has to sort or tag luggage then everyone behind that car waits until they are finished. We noticed some cars were lined-up along Old Water Street (along the rr tracks) and appeared to get into the garage more quickly at first. If you look at a map and can navigate to Old Water Street there may be an advantage when the parking deck initially opens.

Good info. Thanks for the input. Has anyone else experienced the same experience? I want to get on asap, but really don't want to wait in long lines. My sisters are talking about going into the port around 1:00pm. I'm concerned about that time because I want to park as close to the port as possible, and I understand that garage can fill up fast.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I have to update my post. The Expedia price does not include park and cruise. Another thread had a post that made me suspicious so I called the hotel and found out that the park and cruise price is $129.99, $148 with taxes and fees. Have to book with the hotel directly. Oh well, this is still cheaper than a hotel and parking at the port.

we just stayed there last week and the price was what you said! nice and clean and the shuttle was good. will stay there again.

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we just stayed there last week and the price was what you said! nice and clean and the shuttle was good. will stay there again.

 

 

Glad to hear good report on this hotel, especially recently. Good reviews are on Trip advisor as well.

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