Hotel suggestions for Tampa

[rosebud1g]

This hotel is absolutely gorgeous! well worth the $149 a night.

The room was spotless, comfy beds, pillows, comforters.

The entry/lobby was awesome. They had porters dressed in white to

take your luggage as soon as you stepped out of your car.

We were very impressed with this hotel after staying there for 2 nights

pre-cruise.

However, we were NOT impressed with Busch Gardens. $60 pp to

get into the park was a bit much. Not many rides. The shows were

very good. Leaving in a downpour and flood, the tram was too slow

and not big enough for the amount of people in the park. Come on

Busch Gardens add some cars to your tram. .. Disney's tram goes on for days.. long and holds a ton of people. I would skip BGardens and

hang out in Tampa. Channelside was very nice.

The Miracle dock is right next to the Marriott.

It was really cool to wake up Sunday morning and see the ship

from the hotel patio. We rented a car from Budget at the airport

and was able to return the car at an other location close to the port,

then a shuttle took us for free to the port to board the ship.

 

When arriving at the ship terminal we were approached by

BAY shuttle for a return trip to the airport for $28 for a family

of four!! SOLD! Last yr we pd $200 thru carnival round trip Orlando

to Port Canaveral for a family of four.

I would stay at the Waterside again.

[Thamsey]

We are staying at the Wyndham early Jan. $90.00 plus taxes on Priceline.

Can someone give me info on this hotel and can we get downtown and to ybor easily (no Car)

For all my Canadian sisters and brothers these trips are costly once you factor

in exchange rate. OH well this is a trip of a lifetime for my daughter and myself. All you people who live near ports are so lucky. Lucky I got airfare with airmiles but still cost me 400. No worries goin cruizin

[Terri102066]

How is the Holiday Inn Express Westshore?

 

Terri

[crazycruzer68]

Has anyone did the Chase Suites ship and shore package? That's where they pick you up at the airport , take you to the ship the next morning and pick you up at the ship on return and take you back to the airport.

[Terri102066]

I was considering Chase in Tampa with the sail package or the Holiday Inn Express "Westshore". Does anyone have a suggestion on the two different places? I think the Chase would have a bigger room, but from what I understand it doesn't have anything real close as far as shopping. Has anyone stayed in either one that can help me decide? We will be staying for a pre and post night stay.

 

Terri

[back2tampa]

Has anyone stayed at the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk latley? We will be there in November and wonder if it is as good as it looks on the web site. Thanks..

[TexasSmiles]

Rosebud,

We will be staying at the Marriott the night before our cruise. I am so glad to hear you were impressed with the hotel. I understand the trolley runs by the hotel and wondered if you did any pre-cruise shopping and if so what was available, Walmart, Target, ??

[Changes_In_Lattitudes]

I'll be flying into Tampa on August 19th (cruise is leaving the 20th), and will be staying in the Renaissance Hotel right nearby (courtesy of Priceline). I have "transportation tickets" by Carnival from the airport the next day. I called the Renaissance and they do not provide shuttle service down to the cruise terminals, so should we a) take the hotel shuttle back to the airport the next day and hook up with the pinstriped Carnival caddies (carrying luggage back to airport as well), b) take a cab from the hotel and throw away the transportation tickets, or c) make friends with locals and cross our fingers?

 

EDIT: Option D) Take Rosebuds advice and try to get it switched to the Marriott Waterside. I too have a free car rental that I wasn't going to use that Priceline threw in. Maybe I could do what she did?

 

Any advice appreciated.

[crazycruzer68]

I am also trying to decide between Chase Suites and the Hoilday Inn, both have the ship to shore packages, any thoughts?

[jessemon]

Hey Ken,

Sorry about the MIA. Sometimes things get us off our rythem. Yep, this side of Tampa is still here. Things are going along. Will start checking in more to see if I can help on this thread.;)

Guess what...if you look at all the posts on "Hotels pre and Post Cruise" on Cruise Critic...none have more hits than this one. I think Tampa and the cruise lines are missing this. People want to cruise from here. Really...how many people do you know that want to cruise out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale when they can come here and be treated nicely?

Just a thought.

Maybe you and I need to go to the mayor and the county commissioners and show them how to expand this industry in this area.

I THINK THEY ARE MISSING THE BOAT....:eek:

Talk soon....

Jeff/Jessemon

[suited_jacks]

Just spoke w/ Chase. The sail and shore package is 169 for 2 people. includes breakfast buffet, studio suite, pick up from airport, drop of and pick up at port. I understand there are several restaurants near by, Bahama breeze being next door.

 

Let me know the info on holiday inn.

 

Thanks.

[crazycruzer68]

Thanks,

I checked with Holiday Inn and they would do the same package for 129.00, but that's just a standard room. I guess it depends on how many you need to sleep on that night, it would be fine for we only have 4 ppl and won't be getting there until 6:30 or so that night before.

 

I wold like to see if anyone else checks in here that has used the Holiday Inn before I book either.

[suited_jacks]

Holiday inn told me that rate is only good for weekends that they didn't do sail and shore packages on the week days. So we went with Spring Hill Suites with airport pickup for $99.00. Best of luck to you.

[katie286]

Holiday inn told me that rate is only good for weekends that they didn't do sail and shore packages on the week days. So we went with Spring Hill Suites with airport pickup for $99.00. Best of luck to you.

 

We are staying at the Springhill Suites this Sunday prior to our Monday cruise. No too much is mentioned on this thread about it so I will give a review when we return.:)

[betcat]

We to like all the good reviews about Springhill suites. And I called them and they have a service to the port for 6.00$ a per person. So for my family that is still around 125.00$. Thats a great deal. I will find my own ride(like a cab) back to the airport after the cruise. When I get off the ship I don't like to be waiting around for a shuttle service that might not show up for a 1/2 hour or a hour. I get off the ship I need to get to the airport and catch the first flight home.

[katie286]

We to like all the good reviews about Springhill suites. And I called them and they have a service to the port for 6.00$ a per person. So for my family that is still around 125.00$. Thats a great deal. I will find my own ride(like a cab) back to the airport after the cruise. When I get off the ship I don't like to be waiting around for a shuttle service that might not show up for a 1/2 hour or a hour. I get off the ship I need to get to the airport and catch the first flight home.

 

I didn't know that they had a service to the port for $6.00 per person. I only knew of a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. They will also shuttle you around within 5 miles, I think. We were planning on taking a taxi to the pier the morning of our cruise. I'll check it out when I get there.:)

[boards]

We to like all the good reviews about Springhill suites. And I called them and they have a service to the port for 6.00$ a per person. So for my family that is still around 125.00$. Thats a great deal. I will find my own ride(like a cab) back to the airport after the cruise. When I get off the ship I don't like to be waiting around for a shuttle service that might not show up for a 1/2 hour or a hour. I get off the ship I need to get to the airport and catch the first flight home.

Thats a good deal. We were there last Nov. 2005 and they didn't have that service available. That's great. You will like the Springhill Suites..

[suited_jacks]

Does anyone know if there are any restaurants with-in walking distance. I think we are just going to take it easy, eat, drink and watch football on sunday before the cruise.

[sam73]

Can anyone tell me about this hotel. They have a cruise package which picks you up at the airport, takes you to the port,and i think breakfast for $129. Is there restaraunts near it or bars which we could walk to. I am between this place and Sheraton Riverwalk.Obviously The Sheraton being more money. We fly in at 1:30 in the afternoon,and we just to stay somewhere that we can go out walk around have dinner and drinks and relax. Any info would be great. Thank you:)

[boards]

Yes there are several restaurants nearby. The one we liked was down the street called the "Steak and Ale Restaurant, 204 N. Westshore Blvd, right in front of the mall. There is one right across the street but is expensive and next door. There is an Italian restaurant in the mall, a little pricey and of course there is the food court in the mall for lunch. The breakfast in the Springhill Suites was okay. Eggs, sausage meat, pancakes, muffins, juice, enough to get you started for the day

[GottaCruise18]

CrackerKen: My question is not on hotels, but I am turning to you since I trust your answer. After reading on these boards that Budget car rental has a location at the pier, I talked to Budget who tried to get me to book a reservation with a drop-off that they said was at the pier, but the maps show it to be 14 miles away. A second phone call to Budget provided a drop-off location 4 miles away from the pier (I might as well drop it off at the airport). Is there a car rental company at the pier - Budget or otherwise? I want to pick-up at the airport on Friday and drop-off at the pier on Sunday before boarding Carnival's Miracle.

[betcat]

I can't fine this on the hotel board. Maybe this will get back on

[june1300]

Hey lattitude...we are on the same ship and will also be at renassance (16 of us) we are going to use the free shuttle from the airport then just take a cab in the next morning...

I am hoping reanassance will let us do early check in as we are getting to tampa at noonish.

Lattitude arnt you the ones getting married???

 

Ken is there a "reasonable" place to pick up last minuite items & booze??

I see that there is a mall next to the hotel but I see gucci, louis vitton, versache as the type of stores listed....and they are wayyyy out of my league.

thanx

June

 

 

 

I'll be flying into Tampa on August 19th (cruise is leaving the 20th), and will be staying in the Renaissance Hotel right nearby (courtesy of Priceline). I have "transportation tickets" by Carnival from the airport the next day. I called the Renaissance and they do not provide shuttle service down to the cruise terminals, so should we a) take the hotel shuttle back to the airport the next day and hook up with the pinstriped Carnival caddies (carrying luggage back to airport as well), b) take a cab from the hotel and throw away the transportation tickets, or c) make friends with locals and cross our fingers?

 

EDIT: Option D) Take Rosebuds advice and try to get it switched to the Marriott Waterside. I too have a free car rental that I wasn't going to use that Priceline threw in. Maybe I could do what she did?

 

Any advice appreciated.

[suncoastgirl]

I too live and work in the Tampa area. I actually work in the Westshore area where you will be staying. The mall you are referring to is International Plaza. Just south of there is another mall - Westshore Mall. It is only about 1-2 miles from where you are staying. It is more reasonable with stores like Penny's, Macy's, etc. Across the street from there is a Walgreens Drug Store. I think it also has booze but if not there are plenty of liquor stores on Kennedy Blvd. near the interesection of Kennedy and Westshore. You can also go to Wal-Mart on North Dale Mabry (not sure if it has booze). It is right as you exit I-275. It is only a few miles from your hotel also. There is an ABC Liquor Store right next to Wal-Mart. The hotel should be able to give you directions to all of this or call you a cab. FYI-Cabs to the port average about $20.

[boards]

Suncoastgirl just gave you great advice and one more thing though if you the time the bus service is great around there too. We used it when we stayed at the Springhill Suites and visited all those stores including Targets that across the street from Walmarts.