Carnival Airport Transfers

[bradysmom]

For those of you who have used the Carnival transfers, could you please fill me in on the process.

Do you have to wait for a large bus to fill up at the airport, or does it leave on a schedule ?

Also what is the system with your luggage? Do you put it on the bus, then it is taken from there by porters, or do you get your luggage back off the bus then have to take it to the porters?

[glituner32]

I've done it once at Orlando airport. At the airport baggage claim there will be someone there holding a Carnival sign. They have a list of flight schedules when guest come in. I think it depends on the time guest fly in but last time i waited about 45min before the bus was almost full and left. As for luggage you place it on the bus and I got my own back when I got off the bus and then gave my bad to the porters they have waiting.

[Shipbound]

I have used Carnival transfers and yes they wait until the bus is filled. But I use SAS transportation from FLL to POM they are fast and cost about half the price as Carnival.

 

Gary

[bradysmom]

We would be using the transfers from Houston (IAH) to Galveston.

There doesn't seem to be any great options in terms of shuttles for a group of 4.

But if the Carnival transfers seem to be annoying, I would rather pay a little more for private .

But if they are a decent option, I would rather use them to simplify life and maybe save a few bucks for some frosty drinks!

[Eileenfa1]

I have used carnival transfers several time. At the most waited 30 min for a bus. Super easy. 16.00 bucks each way from port to Mia airport

 

 

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[Elaine5715]

I always used Carnival transfer from FLL to POM. Representatives wait by baggage claim. They gather up folks in one area and lead you (you take your luggage) to the pick up spot. Once the bus gets there, they load up everyone waiting and their luggage then they immediately proceed to the next terminal. They stop at each terminal if there is room and load waiting passengers only. We have never waited unless a cruise representative radioed ahead they were leading passengers. Then we proceed to port. I have never sat there endlessly waiting for the bus to fill. The buses may actually have seats open.

[junglecat]

Did it once and never again. Flight got in at 10 and didn't get one board until 2. We had to wait until the bus filled.

[jayscore]

Depending on the port, I try to find any other transportation than use the CCL "cattle car". Yes, you will wait until the bus is filled up before you leave for your airport. Many times, a cab is cheaper, and faster than the bus.

Our next cruise is out of Port Canaveral, and we are going to take the bus, only because it's about an hour drive to MCO, and knowing this, we booked a later flight. (2:00 PM).

I hope this helps a little bit.;)

[CHOPPERTESTER]

The Carnival shuttles are a way that Carnival controls traffic showing up at the port (the other cruise lines do this as well). They will wait until the bus is full and they are cleared to go to the port.

 

Ditto for the car rental shuttles to the port from the airport. They will not start going until 11:00 ish

 

Leaving the ship on a shuttle is different as they want to get rid of you ASAP.

[WindsorFred]

Do you have to pre order from the ship to airport or can we just disembark and get on the bus and pay? Reason I am asking is we will be arriving in Galveston and need a shuttle to Hobby.

[A2Mich]

The Carnival shuttles are a way that Carnival controls traffic showing up at the port (the other cruise lines do this as well). They will wait until the bus is full and they are cleared to go to the port.

 

 

 

Ditto for the car rental shuttles to the port from the airport. They will not start going until 11:00 ish

 

 

 

Leaving the ship on a shuttle is different as they want to get rid of you ASAP.

 

 

I don't really believe that the cruise lines do this for crowd control measures. The cruise lines contract with local bus charters and by nature of the contract, the bus company wants to fill that bus as much as possible. It would not be in the bus company's best interest to assign a 60 passenger bus for cruise terminal duty and send it out with 5-10 passengers onboard. Fuel costs are not much different for 10 people than for 60. One or two trips is more economical than 4 or 5.

 

 

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[hhalliv]

Do you have to pre order from the ship to airport or can we just disembark and get on the bus and pay? Reason I am asking is we will be arriving in Galveston and need a shuttle to Hobby.

 

You don't have to purchase them before you embark, but you do have to purchase them onboard the ship for your return trip.

[A2Mich]

You don't have to purchase them before you embark, but you do have to purchase them onboard the ship for your return trip.

 

 

Thought that they could also be purchased beforehand for both ways, but maybe not?

 

 

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[Honolulu Blue]

Thought that they could also be purchased beforehand for both ways, but maybe not?

 

You can purchase them in advance either way, or both ways.

[WindsorFred]

You don't have to purchase them before you embark, but you do have to purchase them onboard the ship for your return trip.

Thanks, at this time we are undecided how we will travel to the airport.

[hhalliv]

I wonder why Carnival transfers have such a bad rep/long wait times. On other cruise lines they essentially do the same system. I wonder if more people on Carnival elect to get themselves to the port versus taking the busses so that's why the wait is so long. Disney has the most efficient system I've ever seen, where you're on the bus rolling in about 5 minutes, but the bus is always full in my experience.

[Sherryleea]

One thing to keep in mind is that they are non-refundable so don't book it until you are sure you want to commit!

[kelkel2]

The only time I booked one was for our return from Galveston to Houston Hobby. We were on the Ecstasy and there was just enough people to fill one bus and they told us we had to self assist and be there within a certain amount of time because the bus was leaving at a specific time. They took our luggage from us loaded the bus, and then as soon as the bus was full we headed to the airport. When we got there they gave us our luggage back and sent everyone on their own way.

Honestly, this transportation service isn't cheap, and unless it's your only option, we didn't know better, I don't see the point in it. We use SAS from FLL to Miami now and it's much cheaper than Carnival and Carnival's option doesn't work for us always as we get a hotel the night before. SAS has been reliable picking us up after the cruise and getting us to the airport. They seemed very organized and we will be using them for our next cruise as well.

[bradysmom]

One thing to keep in mind is that they are non-refundable so don't book it until you are sure you want to commit!

 

This isn't true, I just canceled ours last night and got a full refund.

I think it's only nonrefundable if the transfers are included with the airfare packages they offer.

[CHOPPERTESTER]

I don't really believe that the cruise lines do this for crowd control measures. The cruise lines contract with local bus charters and by nature of the contract, the bus company wants to fill that bus as much as possible. It would not be in the bus company's best interest to assign a 60 passenger bus for cruise terminal duty and send it out with 5-10 passengers onboard. Fuel costs are not much different for 10 people than for 60. One or two trips is more economical than 4 or 5.

 

 

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It's the other way around. The bus companies are paid on a trip basis and not the number of passengers in the bus. This is why you will wait at the airport for the Carnival rep to call the bus in when he/she feels there are enough to fill it and the port has told her/him to let the bus go.

[jamesr3939]

We went in a few days early and hired a car service to take us from IAH to Holiday Inn Sunspree. It's a long drive from IAH so I don't think I would want to wait around. We used ship transport back to IAH as we wanted to use luggage express, which is well worth the money.

[Mary49]

I'm taking the Carnival Transfer to the airport in San Juan and was wondering if it will give me plenty of time for a 2:30pm flight? I'm going solo and do not prefer to take a taxi as I'm afraid that I would have to wait longer for one. Thanks for this info. Mary49

[Honolulu Blue]

I'm taking the Carnival Transfer to the airport in San Juan and was wondering if it will give me plenty of time for a 2:30pm flight? I'm going solo and do not prefer to take a taxi as I'm afraid that I would have to wait longer for one. Thanks for this info. Mary49

 

You should have plenty of time to get to the airport with the shuttle. Things can go wrong, of course.

 

I'm not sure about how long you'd have to wait for a taxi, since I've actually never taken one from the port to the airport. The shuttle, of course, will wait until it's full or nearly so before taking off.