Port of Tampa, Legend, and FFTF

[carnival03]

We will be sailing the Carnival Legend in April out of Tampa and we paid for FTTF. Can anyone give any tips on the port of Tampa with FTTF? Our flight comes in at TPA at 8:45AM (Has anyone have info on TPA is getting a cab hard?) I know we will be at the port a little early! (Any tips on the fact we will be there early) Also with FTTF are we taken to a separate lounge to wait? Finally demarkation, how does this work with FTTF. Concluding... Does anyone have any general tips for TPA, Port of Tampa, Embarkation, Carnival Legend, FTTF, or demarkation in general? Thanks!

[Danacat222]

We will be sailing the Carnival Legend in April out of Tampa and we paid for FTTF. Can anyone give any tips on the port of Tampa with FTTF? Our flight comes in at TPA at 8:45AM (Has anyone have info on TPA is getting a cab hard?) I know we will be at the port a little early! (Any tips on the fact we will be there early) Also with FTTF are we taken to a separate lounge to wait? Finally demarkation, how does this work with FTTF. Concluding... Does anyone have any general tips for TPA, Port of Tampa, Embarkation, Carnival Legend, FTTF, or demarkation in general? Thanks!

 

No separate lounge for waiting.

 

For debarkation-you get a lower debarking #, or you can be last off.

[rolaur]

We just got off the Legend on the 5th and had FTTF. There is no special waiting area for getting on the ship, just one large room. On debarkation, if you are not checking baggage, you go down to Sachimos lounge at 8:30 and are walked off the ship first with the Platinum and Diamond members (sooooo glad we had FTTF for this as the ships public areas were packed with people waiting a long time to get off the ship). I didn't notice how it worked with checked baggage as we didn't check any.

In our opinion, FTTF was worth every penny for all 3 of our cabins. No lines at guest services and priority tendering were great!!!! We are booked on the Pride for next New Years and already have our FTTF booked as well.

[Ehpride]

TPA is a great airport. It should be easy to get a taxi. When you get your checked bags at baggage claim, just follow the signs for taxis. It should be a flat rate of 25 dollars.

 

Channel side is at the port but there won't be much open at that time on a Sunday.

 

If you need to stop for wine or water, there is a Publix downtown.

[carnival03]

Thanks for all the tips!

[jsmac3]

We are just off the Legend yesterday. We arrived at the terminal at noon on the 5th and were on the ship in 12 minutes.

 

Debarkation went very well. We were in the first group after the self-assist and were off the ship in 10-15 minutes.

 

 

If you are looking for something to do before boarding, there is a nice aquarium located at Terminal 2.

 

Tampa is a great place to cruise from.

[carnival03]

We are just off the Legend yesterday. We arrived at the terminal at noon on the 5th and were on the ship in 12 minutes.

 

Debarkation went very well. We were in the first group after the self-assist and were off the ship in 10-15 minutes.

 

 

If you are looking for something to do before boarding, there is a nice aquarium located at Terminal 2.

 

Tampa is a great place to cruise from.

 

Great! Thanks for the info, glad to hear you had a smooth embarkation and demarkation experience!

[markntara]

Is there a VIP entrance at the drop off / unload area - or still only VIP check in up stairs after security?

[PAcop141]

No special area and its a free for all. We were about run over trying to get on in December. They called for platinum guests to board and everyone with that and fttf swarmed the entry point, pushing and shoving to get through the gate. I dont know how many people say "I payed to get on first" while trying to get to the front of the line. I guess thats the mentality when someone pays instead of earns something.......

[bdette4]

Just got off the Carnival Legend today (March 9th). Had first to the fun. There was someone as soon as we got through security on the right checking in FTTF people. We were giving Zone 1 boarding passes and were 3rd group on the ship. First group was wedding, second is platinum/diamond members and then us. Were able to go right to our room and drop off our bags we carried on and within less than an hour both our checked bags had arrived. Debarkation was slow as they kept calling for two cabins occupants to head to non-u.s. citizen's immigration so we could clear customs.

 

We had Zone 1 and were let go right after platinum/diamond and then self-assist. A lot of people were doing self assist.

 

If you are thinking of buying wine on the Sunday you board, note that most of the stores we tried cannot sell until 11:00 A.M.