Most convenient US port to sail out of

[Wildcatfish]

Baltimore! I find Cruise Maryland the easiest port to maneuver. Easy drop off of luggage, easy check in, friendly staff, and before you know it you're on board. Sailing the Chesapeake Bay is a unique experience.

 

For me it's... Charm City!

[BNBR]

Really all of the Florida ports have their pros and cons.

 

Miami has the most beautiful sail away and with the tunnel to the port, you no longer have to weave through downtown. This is by far is biggest city, though, and hotels are expensive.

 

Port Everglades is closest to an airport, but the airport is not great. Best and probably cheapest offsite parking but sail away is a lackluster setting.

 

Port Canaveral has a nice sail away due to the people out waving goodbye. Also your best shot at seeing dolphins and turtles. But it is an hour away from the airport.

 

Tampa has a great airport and pretty sail away, especially going under the Skyway bridge. Valet parking is nice. But the hotels can be pricey and due to the bridge, the large ships cannot sail from Tampa.

 

Haven’t cruised out of Jacksonville so can’t comment on that port.

 

OP, let us know what you decide.

 

 

Do people actually pick a port based on the sail away? Is this a "thing" for real?

 

Anyways, since OP is flying, I'd say the most convenient port is the one you can get a great flight in to. Saving 20 minutes commute from airport to cruise port or whatever pales in comparison to a 3 hour layover or expensive flight.

 

Port Canaveral may be the least convenient though, since the airport is nowhere near it.

[luvscruising2007]

We have sailed from several different ports. We have flown and have driven. Baltimore was quite easy. Right off of I95 and the parking lot is like parking at a Wal-Mart; actually closer.

[Tatka]

Baltimore is good, but only 2 ships are sailing from there. RCCL Grandeur and Carnival Pride.

[mcatmcat]

Miami - sail away is beautiful

[John&LaLa]

Do people actually pick a port based on the sail away? Is this a "thing" for real?

 

Anyways, since OP is flying, I'd say the most convenient port is the one you can get a great flight in to. Saving 20 minutes commute from airport to cruise port or whatever pales in comparison to a 3 hour layover or expensive flight.

 

Port Canaveral may be the least convenient though, since the airport is nowhere near it.

45 minutes in Q5 Express. [emoji6]

 

Headed over Wednesday morning.

 

It's all relative anyway. It used to take 90 minutes to get from my house to ATL when I lived in Atlanta. That was 25 miles

 

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[John&LaLa]

Pt Canaveral. We have rockets if your lucky.

 

And dont underestimate cocktails on the balcony.

 

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[Clarea]

Royal Caribbean does not sail from Long Beach. The few sailings that originate in that area use San Pedro. No airport there. You can fly into Long Beach or use LAX.

Or Orange County, like we do.:)

[lazydayz]

Do people actually pick a port based on the sail away? Is this a "thing" for real?

 

Anyways, since OP is flying, I'd say the most convenient port is the one you can get a great flight in to. Saving 20 minutes commute from airport to cruise port or whatever pales in comparison to a 3 hour layover or expensive flight.

 

Port Canaveral may be the least convenient though, since the airport is nowhere near it.

 

Yes, it is a thing when you live in Florida. Agree about convenient flights, etc. but I was trying to provide pros and cons of each.

[superduper123]

Baltimore! I find Cruise Maryland the easiest port to maneuver. Easy drop off of luggage, easy check in, friendly staff, and before you know it you're on board. Sailing the Chesapeake Bay is a unique experience.

 

For me it's... Charm City!

 

Yes! I used to live 20 minutes from the port, so it was a huge convenience. To me, sailaway from Baltimore and Tampa seem similar.

[champagne123]

Love all the positive input about Baltimore!!! Cannot wait!!!!

[lake effect]

U.S. port ? Don't forget San Juan , especially in winter you miss all the Florida cold front wind and the nighttime sail away is beautiful.

 

 

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[BND]

Baltimore, by far, is the easiest port to cruise from. Right off I-95 and I mean right off, quick entry, easy parking, etc. It does help we live just over an hour away from Baltimore. Second for us is probably Port Canaveral for RCI just because it's easy to get into and out of. PC for Carnival has always been painful. Bayonne, for us isn't difficult because we never drive there so we get dropped off by a car service, but can take longer to get into. Tampa was a PITA. I thought Fort Lauderdale was painful too, especially driving in, having to stop for security at the gate entrance to the port area and then everything is a distance from that.

[Dett]

Port Canaveral.

[holden0301]

My vote goes to Bayonne. The parking is right next to the pier. It's a very short walk to an easy check-in. There are plenty of staff with IPads to make the check-in process smooth and quick. Plus the drive is easy for us (about 1.5hrs. from our house).

[SRF]

Baltimore.

 

Easy from airport to port. If you want to arrive night before, good hotels not far from the port.

[superduper123]

Baltimore, by far, is the easiest port to cruise from. Right off I-95 and I mean right off, quick entry, easy parking, etc. It does help we live just over an hour away from Baltimore. Second for us is probably Port Canaveral for RCI just because it's easy to get into and out of. PC for Carnival has always been painful. Bayonne, for us isn't difficult because we never drive there so we get dropped off by a car service, but can take longer to get into. Tampa was a PITA. I thought Fort Lauderdale was painful too, especially driving in, having to stop for security at the gate entrance to the port area and then everything is a distance from that.

I agree. I don't care for Tampa as far as parking.

[Clarea]

I agree. I don't care for Tampa as far as parking.

Though very convenient for the fly-in cruiser.:)

[Mikeandliz]

Port of Columbus Ohio. Nice port, lots of palm trees along the inlet.

 

 

 

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[Wildcatfish]

Port of Columbus Ohio. Nice port, lots of palm trees along the inlet.

 

Beautiful scarlet and gray bunting lining the Sciota River.

[eaglesfaninfl]

"I agree. I don't care for Tampa as far as parking."

 

Have to disagree...we always use the valet parking which is well worth the slight extra cost. Have never waited longer than five minutes for our car.

[kruise runner]

Ports, :wine-glass:(y)

Our favorite port to cruise out of all is Cape Canaveral . We live in Ontario Can. Buffalo Airport is about 40 minutes from home. So for us we have booked flights to Mia or FLL, Tampa or San Juan. We agree with all the above reasons for using Cape Canaveral. More cost effected, easy cruise terminals, reasonable hotels, shuttle service good restaurants and for us a 2 hour flight to Orlando. Enjoy your cruises.

just waiting to cruise

kruise runner:cool:

[alaska_planner]

seward, alaska

you can walk to the terminal from the train or the hotel (if you're staying on that side of town)..

we walked from our hotel...

and seward is gorgeous...worth spending several days there before you board...

 

.

[John&LaLa]

And there goes Oasis

 

 

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[Margy23]

We live about 100 miles from Tampa and 140 miles from Port Canaveral. Since we've been on over 40 cruises, have taken all the excursions and are no longer able to snorkel, destinations are not important to us, so for the past 5 years or so, we have limited our cruising to those two ports (with one exception - to go to Bermuda we had to sail out of Fort Lauderdale).

 

Tampa was our first choice - valet parking is convenient and we love the Radiance class ships. However, we have noticed that the traffic around the Tampa port has gotten so bad in the last couple of years that we're learning to love the Oasis. We have 3 more cruises booked on her before she leaves Port Canaveral and then our first one booked on Harmony. Because we really love the Brilliance, we have booked one more on her but are thinking of using a limo company to go from Ocala to Tampa.

 

Although it's annoying, I guess it's progress. We started out in the Ocala - Silver Springs area as snowbirds from Illinois for 10 years. I know it can't really be true, but every fall when we got back to Florida it seemed the traffic had doubled.

 

Someone else mentioned the possibility of seeing a launch at Cape Canaveral. We were fortunate enough to watch one from front-row seats in the Windjammer, and it is awesome - a definite plus!

 

Happy Cruising!

 

Margy