Advantage to Carnival transfer to/from airport

[Savlamara]

We have never done transfers before, but for our next sailing the cost of the Carnival transport to/from the port is the exact same as Super Shuttle, $24 each way. Are there any advantages to using Carnival for transfers?

 

Can those who have used Carnival transportation to or from port, in this caase New Orleans, please weigh in. Thanks!

[lemansz20]

Carnival guarantee's you that they will get you to the port and the ship wont leave without you. When you do it through them, its worth that piece of mind.

[firemanbobswife]

I never use the shuttle. Too many people and you have to wait for the bus to fill up. Then you have to have them wait to unload all the luggage. Then all those people that were on the bus with you are now in line.

 

I used to take taxis until I discovered Uber this last trip. Super affordable and way more convenient. You don't have to worry about the ship leaving you in the home port if you arrive in plenty of time.

[Savlamara]

I never use the shuttle. Too many people and you have to wait for the bus to fill up. Then you have to have them wait to unload all the luggage. Then all those people that were on the bus with you are now in line.

 

I used to take taxis until I discovered Uber this last trip. Super affordable and way more convenient. You don't have to worry about the ship leaving you in the home port if you arrive in plenty of time.

 

Trust me I'm a dedicated Uber user at home and on travel, but in NO the Uber has to adhere to the flat taxi rate to/from the airport which is $70+! So no Uber this cruise. Only interested in hearing about Carnival transport vs Super Shuttle.

[firemanbobswife]

Trust me I'm a dedicated Uber user at home and on travel, but in NO the Uber has to adhere to the flat taxi rate to/from the airport which is $70+! So no Uber this cruise. Only interested in hearing about Carnival transport vs Super Shuttle.

 

Oh wow! Well in that case I would take whichever one carries less people.

[Savlamara]

Oh wow! Well in that case I would take whichever one carries less people.

 

Thats the thing, I never did Carnival transfer before so I have no idea how it is... I dont want to just show up and be confused.

[Buckett]

I'm curious to hear more replies on this too. I've never used Carnival transfers either, but did sign my niece and myself up for it next year post-cruise, from POM to FLL. The cost was $62 total, which didn't sound bad to me.

[coevan]

take a taxi, so easy and way less then $24 pp

[richmke]

Trust me I'm a dedicated Uber user at home and on travel, but in NO the Uber has to adhere to the flat taxi rate to/from the airport which is $70+!

 

What about taking Uber to a nearby hotel, and then taking Uber from there to the Port?

[coevan]

Uber's airport pick up is $70 to anywhere. The taxi cartel blocked Uber pick ups, however, you can take Uber to the airport.

[doneinne]

We did carnival transfers for the first time in Seattle this last September. It was very smooth and easy. We didn't wait very long at all. We are doing them again in April from LAX, hopefully we have similar results.

[cruisecheap]

DW and I have taken carnival transfer twice, pre and post cruise both times. When you land and go to baggage claim you will see cruiseline people. They will direct you. We did not have to wait very long. The bus was not full pre or post cruise. We used it in Orlando and FFL.

[Savlamara]

I dont want to have to trek to a hotel and then take anything. Thats double time and money.

 

How is carnival transport is the question? I've done Super Shuttle in many states hundreds of times. I just want to know the difference between the 2.

 

Are the carnival shuttles like super shuttle buses? Do the drivers actually help with bags? Was your wait long? Does anyone with experience with a carnival transfer to/from MSY in New Orleans have any comparison?

[cb at sea]

Yes...ship shuttles are buses...the driver stows your bags under the bus.

[mistycruiser]

I've used Carnival transfers in several different ports, most recently in January in Houston to get to Galveston. Carnival will use regular full size busses that hold approx. 50 people or so. They've always helped with luggage when I've used them and as someone mentioned you would meet the Carnival person in the baggage claim area. Yes, they will normally wait for a full or nearly full bus before they leave the airport but I've never considered it that much of a hassle. I guess I just don't sweat the small stuff. JMHO.:)

[Savlamara]

Thanks so much. I think I'll go with super shuttle with the smaller vans.

[Itzmyn]

Don't know about other ports, but my daughter and I did the post cruise transfer in Miami. Didn't have to wait long for the bus to fill up, and it dropped us off at a dedicated Carnival check-in (lower lever) area at the airport, very easy, then off to security.

[dmdiver]

Did a Carnival transfer one time in Miami - took 2 hours of waiting & waiting & waiting for the bus to arrive and fill up. What was really bad was almost an hour of that waiting was outside for some reason. And it was summertime. So, we have never done a Carnival transfer since then. New Orleans could be completely different, though.

[TC Cruiser]

We've used Tropicana Transport when we stayed the night before the cruise at a hotel near the Florida Mall. I think they are around $40 per person round trip around that area.

 

Has anyone experienced Super Shuttle picking up at such widely dispersed hotels that it took an hour longer than you expected? I assume that straight from the hotel to the pier isn't an issue.

[dolphin2012]

We have used the Carnival Shuttle many times with no problems. The only small problem is sometimes we cant find the Carnival Rep to find the shuttle. They are very helpful and no worries to get to the ship. On the way back to the airport they always help with the luggage and get us there on time. The cost was very comparable to the local fares. good luck..

[Nic6318]

I'm curious to hear more replies on this too. I've never used Carnival transfers either, but did sign my niece and myself up for it next year post-cruise, from POM to FLL. The cost was $62 total, which didn't sound bad to me.

 

hi there

 

For POM to FLL or the other way, you have at least two choices that charge $15 p/p each way.

 

If you go to the North American Homeports/Florida departure threads and do a search or ask you will get many opinions, but they are all reliable companies.

 

have a great cruise

[winddawn]

We have never done transfers before, but for our next sailing the cost of the Carnival transport to/from the port is the exact same as Super Shuttle, $24 each way. Are there any advantages to using Carnival for transfers?

 

Can those who have used Carnival transportation to or from port, in this caase New Orleans, please weigh in. Thanks!

I've used Carnival's shuttle in NOLA many times. The staff are very friendly and helpful. Depending on what time your flight arrives you might have a wait, but I've never found the wait time to be unacceptable. The driver will load your luggage for you. There is a small building across the lanes from baggage claim where you will wait. Carnival's ground staff will be waiting for you in baggage claim and then will lead you across the way with your luggage to that building.

 

I always use Carnival's shuttle in NOLA if I fly in the day of my cruise; however, if I go in a day early, I always use airport shuttle new Orleans dot com for airport to downtown hotel transfer. Their shuttles are smaller than Carnival's buses. Their drivers always load your luggage too. With them, the driver will stop at various hotels in downtown before you get dropped off at yours, but normally that's maybe 3 or 4 stops at most.

 

I find both options to be reliable and acceptable transfer options. To me, a taxi is not an acceptable option in NOLA since the drive to the port or downtown is expensive due to the distance involved.

[cruzn buckeye]

My cruise in from Mia and my post cruise flight is from FLL. I have booked a 12:45 flight. I have used SAS for this before, but usually have later flights. So i am counting a 45 minute drive to FLL. And will probably have to arrive by 11:30 or so? its on a Thursday... is that enough time at FLL?

What would you suggest would be the best return transfer... We will be getting off the ship in the first group.... SAS, Carnival, ?? Never used Uber...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Retired_to_Cruise]

If we fly into Miami the day of we take a taxi. Flat rate of $27.00 for the ride, not per person. If fly into Miami for a Fort Lauderdale cruise on day before, we take the hotel shuttle back to MIA and catch the Carnival FLL shuttle. We will be following this route on next trip to Orlando in May.

 

In all cases Carnival knows how many people are planning to take the shuttle and the times they are arriving at the airport. They use this info to plan the number of buses and when they plan to have them leave. We have been on buses with less than 10 people because of the wait time between arriving flights would be way to long. The concept that they always wait until the bus is full is not true.

 

We also used the bus transfers in Vancouever for an Alaska cruise years ago. That was a neat concept because you were loaded on the bus without going through customs or immigration at the airport. They then sealed the bus doors as if it were a cargo container. They drove us to the port into special area for unloading. If the seal was still on the door, they let us right into the terminal. Doing the same thing on the way back to the airport made it possible to say that you never were on the ground in Canada. Saved time because you did not have to clear immigration on the way in our out.

[Savlamara]

My cruise in from Mia and my post cruise flight is from FLL. I have booked a 12:45 flight. I have used SAS for this before, but usually have later flights. So i am counting a 45 minute drive to FLL. And will probably have to arrive by 11:30 or so? its on a Thursday... is that enough time at FLL?

What would you suggest would be the best return transfer... We will be getting off the ship in the first group.... SAS, Carnival, ?? Never used Uber...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

In this situation I would do SAS or carnival transfer. Only because both of them are already sitting there waiting to go to the airport. I have done Uber for 2 cruises at POM and both times it was a bit of a wait for the driver to drive to the port and then find us when we returned.

 

You dont have time to wait with a 12:45 flight.