Planning an Amtrak/cruise trip

[GregL]

We are starting to plan a cruise in the Caribbean Ocean. I have read in this forum that some have taken Amtrak to the port of departure. What city did you sail from? Did you have any trouble getting from the station to the dock? I realize that we should arrive a day early to make sure we arrive on time for the cruise departure. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

GregL

 

[JackieTakestheTrain]

We are starting to plan a cruise in the Caribbean Ocean. I have read in this forum that some have taken Amtrak to the port of departure. What city did you sail from? Did you have any trouble getting from the station to the dock? I realize that we should arrive a day early to make sure we arrive on time for the cruise departure. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.GregL

Hi Greg:

A few years ago, I did. I live in Boston and took a train to New York City and then a cab to the Port Authority to board a Carnival cruise -- I think it was the Legend. At that time, Carnival and Amtrak had some kind of deal where I received a discount off my Amtrak fare by booking them both at the same time. I had to do it through the travel agency (AAA) where I bought the cruise. I can't remember if I got my Amtrak ticket there too or if I had to go to the Amtrak station to get the ticket.

It was super easy though. It was probably easier for me because I lived so close and did not have to spend the night. We just were sure we had an early train and had plenty of time to board.

Hope this helps.

-- Jackie

 

[MrEd]

we took a ship out of new orleans via amtrak. It was very easy and we enjoyed both parts of the trip. Took taxi from station to hotel next to the pier. Next morning was able to walk to the ship.

 

[NativeSon5859]

Cruises from New Orleans are unique because you also get to experience cruising down the Mississippi River during the first evening (and then again overnight during the last evening of the cruise). The train station is just about two miles (maybe less) from the cruise terminal, and there are plenty of hotels in the area which are just a very short cab ride from the cruise terminal. Current cruise lines serving N.O are Carnival (Carnival Triumph is the ship) and Norwegian (Norwegian Spirit is the ship).

 

[GregL]

Cruises from New Orleans are unique because you also get to experience cruising down the Mississippi River during the first evening (and then again overnight during the last evening of the cruise). The train station is just about two miles (maybe less) from the cruise terminal, and there are plenty of hotels in the area which are just a very short cab ride from the cruise terminal. Current cruise lines serving N.O are Carnival (Carnival Triumph is the ship) and Norwegian (Norwegian Spirit is the ship).

We have been on two cruises, neither were the cruise lines you mentioned, however we would be open to one of those. We were in New Orleans for a long weekend in 2008, and we always wanted to go back and spend more time. This is the way to do all three, cruise,Amtrak,and NOL. Thanks for the suggestions!

GregL

 

[alanh]

I'd beware of a same-day connection, though -- if the train is late, you could miss your ship.

 

[Tony]

I'd beware of a same-day connection, though -- if the train is late, you could miss your ship.

Very good advice.

I still remember being late, rather late, on a southbound Silver, and while it was an inconvenience for me, it was far worse for those who missed their cruise.

 

[Upstate]

I just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Fantasy out of New Orleans about a week ago. This was my first cruise and I chose this port because the train fares from Atlanta to New Orleans are cheap. NOL is about as good as it gets for combining trains and cruises, both terminals are very close to downtown/french quarter.

 

[Shanghai]

I just returned from an ocean cruise departing from Ft Lauderdale.

We always travel down one day before the cruise departs.

We stay in a Sheraton hotel near the airport (Griffin Rd) which offers a shuttle to the ship pier.

On return, we take a taxi from the pier to the FTL Amtrak station.

We take the Silver Star. We have been able to disembark the ship, collect our luggage,

take a taxi to the train station, check our luggage and board the train with time to spare.

Good luck and I hope you have a good trip.

 

[cindylou]

We are starting to plan a cruise in the Caribbean Ocean. I have read in this forum that some have taken Amtrak to the port of departure. What city did you sail from? Did you have any trouble getting from the station to the dock? I realize that we should arrive a day early to make sure we arrive on time for the cruise departure. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.GregL

Hi, GregL. We're from Iowa also (Central) and took our first Amtrak trip/first cruise last winter. We cruised out of Ft. Lauderdale on Princess to the Panama Canal. We drove to Galesburg, Ill. and then caught the SW Chief for the short trip to Chicago, then the Capitol Ltd. to DC, then the Silver Meteor to Florida. We gave ourselves some extra cushion in case of unforseen delays, and were in Florida about 36 hours ahead of sailing. Yes, you should definitely get to your port city a day or so ahead, and have a hotel for the pre-cruise stay. Just grab a cab at the Amtrak station when you arrive to get to your hotel. Many hotels (in Florida at least) have a free shuttle to the port, or some say it's easier and quicker to just take a cab. We did stay in Ft. Lauderdale again on our return, and caught the Silver Meteor the next day, as we were worried that we wouldn't get off the ship in time to make the 0920 departure, but in hind sight, we probably would have made it with no problem. But sometimes the disembarkation takes longer than you might expect, so we stayed an extra night in Florida and hopped on the train the next morning. (One more day in the Florida sunshine in January before heading back to the snow...twist my arm. :lol: )

We had a GREAT experience, due to all the awesome folks on this forum who willing gave advice on the fine art of Amtrak travel! So great, in fact, that we are doing an identical trip this January for another cruise! We did have roomettes for the trips between Chicago/DC and DC/FTL, and it was a fun and relaxing way to travel. We also had some good layover time in both Chicago and DC between trains, which was great, as we did some sightseeing, etc.

I would love to take Amtrak to New Orleans for a cruise trip, also. We've been looking at that and dreaming of a future trip!

Cindy

 

[Gingee]

To the person who drove to Galesburg, how long did it take from Galesburg to Chicago to NYC to Ft. Lauderdale? We would like to cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale but by train it looks like it would take forever to get there.

To the person asking this question, we have taken Amtrak to NYC, New Orleans, Seattle, and to Galveston, Texas (train stops in Longview and you take a bus to Galveston). We have never had any problems except coming back once from NYC on the Cardinal and it was very late.

 

[VentureForth]

First, let's compile a list of Amtrak stations that are close to cruise ports. If I miss one, please let me know.

East Coast

Boston

New York

Bayonne

Baltimore

Charleston

Jacksonville

Fort Lauderdale

West Palm Beach

Miami

Gulf of Mexico

Tampa

New Orleans

West Coast

San Diego

Los Angeles

San Francisco

Portland

Seattle

The following are too far for what I would consider to be a normal "transfer" from a rail station to the closest cruise port, therefore I am intentionally omitting:

Galveston (from Beaumont or Houston)

Port Canaveral (Popular cruise port with regular transfers from Orlando airport but not from Orlando Amtrak, so far as I am aware)

Mobile (Oh, they WOULD be a contender if the SSL was still alive E of NOL)

 

[MrEd]

Could people take the auto train and then just drive to the pier ?

Seems like that would be easy same day connection.

 

[DET63]

I'd beware of a same-day connection, though -- if the train is late, you could miss your ship.

Very good advice.

I still remember being late, rather late, on a southbound Silver, and while it was an inconvenience for me, it was far worse for those who missed their cruise.

And I've heard the bus ride to catch up to the ship is a humdinger.

 

[Upstate]

Could people take the auto train and then just drive to the pier ?
Seems like that would be easy same day connection.

The surcharge for the vehicle and parking fees probably come out to a lot more than a one way rental.

 

[GregL]

When you buy cruise and plane tickets through a travel agent, you can get insurance that would pay for you to catch up with the ship if you missed it because of a delay. I don't know if you can get insurance for a train. I'll check.

GregL

 

[haolerider]

We are starting to plan a cruise in the Caribbean Ocean. I have read in this forum that some have taken Amtrak to the port of departure. What city did you sail from? Did you have any trouble getting from the station to the dock? I realize that we should arrive a day early to make sure we arrive on time for the cruise departure. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.GregL

Call Amtrak or go online and see if the Rail & Cruise program is still in existence. It offered discounts on the rail portion if you booked with certain cruise lines. I am not sure what lines are still part of this program.

 

[Tony]

Could people take the auto train and then just drive to the pier ?
Seems like that would be easy same day connection.

Well, if the autotrain is late, I guess having one of those Amphicars might help.

 

[cindylou]

To the person who drove to Galesburg, how long did it take from Galesburg to Chicago to NYC to Ft. Lauderdale? We would like to cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale but by train it looks like it would take forever to get there.

Gingee, the trip was about 2 days in total, and we went thru Washington DC, not NYC. We left Galesburg at about noon on a Monday and arrived in Ft. Lauderdale at 6 pm on Wednesday. This included layovers of several hours in Chicago and DC between trains, which, as I said, was alot of fun. Union Station in both Chicago and DC were cool and we could've spent several hours just wandering around there. In DC we toured the Capitol and did some sight-seeeing, as neither of us had that opportunity before. I realize people fly because it gets you there fast...but if a person has the extra time, taking the train was wonderful. Watch the scenery, take a nap, go eat your meals in the diner, read a book,play cards, wander the train a little...my husband and I thought it was a great trip!

Our relatives who were flying to FTL to meet us for the cruise got hung up in Detroit due to mechanical problems with their plane, and barely made it to Florida...they arrived at 2 am the day the ship left and were all wrung out on the first day of the cruise. I felt bad for them...but not TOO bad, because they thought we were crazy wanting to try an Amtrak trip.!

Cindy

 

[sfrieman]

We are starting to plan a cruise in the Caribbean Ocean. I have read in this forum that some have taken Amtrak to the port of departure. What city did you sail from? Did you have any trouble getting from the station to the dock? I realize that we should arrive a day early to make sure we arrive on time for the cruise departure. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.GregL

We are sailing from Miami November 30. We will be taking Amtrak from Baltimore to Miami leaving the 28th and arriving in Miami the 29th. I'll let you know how it goes after we get back.

 

[MDRailfan]

Could people take the auto train and then just drive to the pier ?
Seems like that would be easy same day connection.

I took the auto train last May and caught the RCCL's Freedom of the Seas from Port Canaveral. It's about a 1hr drive from Sanford to Port Canaveral. We stayed overnight at the Hilton Cocoa Beach as I did not want to take a chance if the auto train was late. It was great and worked out well. Also took the AT back and also did stay overnight in Orlando.

 

[Rumpled]

I wouldn't exactly call LA Union Station close to either the cruise terminal in LA or Long Beach.

San Diego is very close. About two blocks away. I've gotten off of a ship there and walked to the trolley for the day.

 

[Kentuckian]

The whole Amtrak & cruise together idea is something I would very much like to do at some point in the future too. I live in Central Kentucky, about 2 hours south of any one of three Cardinal stops, so of this list we've come up with, the closest port via Amtrak for me would probably be Baltimore. (cheap daytime ride to Baltimore on the Cardinal, evening arrival, hotel the night before the cruise departure.) As someone who has never been there and has no clue about it, my questions for those in or knowledgable on Baltimore would be: how best is it to get from Baltimore Penn to a hotel near the cruise ship port, (I'm guessing cab, if so are we talking astronomically high or what?) and what hotels near the port are there for that matter? Has anyone else done Amtrak (from anywhere) into Baltimore for a cruise departure before? Or does anyone have a better idea of a departure port from here? This is probably at least a year out for me, but I'd really like to do it, and its nice to scheme about now when I'm bored, lol.

 

[frugalist]

We are starting to plan a cruise in the Caribbean Ocean. I have read in this forum that some have taken Amtrak to the port of departure. What city did you sail from? Did you have any trouble getting from the station to the dock? I realize that we should arrive a day early to make sure we arrive on time for the cruise departure. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.GregL

My wife and I live in Central Florida and have taken several cruises around the Caribbean Sea, out of Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale). In the past we have driven to the port of departure, but for our next cruise we intend to take Amtrak from Sebring to Ft. Lauderdale. Since both Silver Service trains arrive in Ft. Lauderdale late afternoon/early evening, we will book a room at a hotel near the pier. Many nice hotels in the area offer free shuttle service to the ship. I would imagine they would also pick you up at the train station if you ask. Then, after the cruise, the northbound train schedules allow plenty of time to get to the station after disembarking from your ship early in the morning.

To get excellent information about a specific pre-cruise city, including hotels, where to eat, what to do , as well as info on your specific cruse line, ship and itinerary, check out the forums at cruisecritic.com.

We already have two trips in the pre-planning stage combining AGR train trips with cruises. #1 would involve a paid ticket from Sebring to Ft. Lauderdale (about $40 for 2), an overnight hotel stay, a 15-18 night cruise through the Panama Canal to somewhere on the West Coast, then a 5-night bedroom AGR ride back to Sebring (this is a one-way 3-zone award).

#2 would involve driving to Atlanta, visiting my son (who lives there) for a couple of days, boarding the Crescent for a 5-night bedroom AGR ride to Seattle, WA (a 2-zone award), catching an Alaska cruise to/from Seattle, then returning to Atlanta on another 5-night bedroom AGR ride (again, a 2-zone award).

Seems to me it doesn't get much better than this. Enjoy your train ride and your cruise. Let us know how they went.

 

[TrackWalker]

The Alaska Marine Highway System (Alaska Ferry) is right across the tracks from the Bellingham, WA. depot.

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/index.shtml