Tampa USA Cruise Port Guide

Location:

The Tampa cruise terminal is located on the Ybor channel downtown, close to Ybor City. It is about five miles from Tampa International Airport. There's a lot to see and do right around the Tampa cruise terminal complex.

Many cruises start & end at the Port of Tampa.

There are many options for transportation and shuttles between the Tampa airport and the cruise terminal. You can catch a shuttle, hop in a taxi, rent a limousine, or rent a car. It should take about 25 minutes to go the 5 miles from the airport to the port.

The free TECO Street Car (trolley) runs on the road in front of the cruise port. Their website has links to many of the things to do in the downtown area.

The River Walk is a nice stroll along the Hillsborough River. Cross the Kennedy Ave. bridge to visit the H.B. Plant Museum at the University of Tampa.

A 5 minute walk from the port is the Tampa History Museum. While there, enjoy a Cuban sandwich or Spanish Bean soup at the Columbia Restaurant.

The Port of Tampa opened a new 730-space parking garage. $15 a day. The new garage is located on Channelside Drive, across from Channelside Bay. There are also many hotels with park & cruise packages.

For GPS users:

Cruise Terminal 2: Carnival Cruise Lines 651 Channelside Dr Tampa, FL 33602
Cruise Terminal 3: Royal Caribbean Intl 815 Channelside Dr Tampa, FL 33602
Parking Garage (For Terminals 2 & 3): 810 Channelside Dr Tampa, FL 33602
Cruise Terminal 6: Holland America Line 1333 McKay Street Tampa, FL 33602

Hotels near the Cruise Terminal

Printable map to take along.

Cruise calendar for this port, and which terminal.

Check here for festivals and events in Tampa when you are in port.

Watch a destination video.

Live Nautical Chart with Wikipedia Markers

Port Location on Google Maps

Monthly Climate Averages for Tampa USA

Sightseeing:

Multi-ethnic Tampa on the Florida peninsula's west coast is a thriving city where quaint historic neighborhoods co-exist happily with sleek skyscrapers, and shrimp boats vie with cruise liners for space in the busy port. It was the Cuban immigrant community, led by Vicente Martinez Ybor, who put Tampa on the map when they introduced the cigar industry in the 1880s and developed Ybor City, now fully restored to its Latin Quarter elegance and a favorite neighborhood for tourists to explore, by day or night.

Most visitors to the Tampa area stay in the resorts of St Petersburg and Clearwater, across Tampa Bay from the city. Most pay at least one visit to Tampa itself, however, for the exciting attractions and excellent museums on offer, particularly families with children in tow. The most popular attraction is the Busch Gardens entertainment park.

The Chihuly Collection is a stunning, permanent collection of world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly’s unique artwork. This presentation is unique as it is the first installation of Chihuly art in a building designed specifically for that purpose. Designed so that the art and architecture work together to create a visitor experience unlike any other exhibition of Chihuly’s art.

The Florida Aquarium is at the port.

Amalie Arena is home to the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team. It also has a good variety of shows & concerts.

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Tours Excursions Transportation:

Renting a car is your best bet in the Tampa area.

It pays to compare your cruise line shore excursions here.

Nearby Places:

Tampa is also within easy reach of Orlando, site of the world-famous Walt Disney World's theme and adventure park.

The Salvador Dalí Museum is an art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, dedicated to the work of Salvador Dalí. It houses the largest collection of Dalí's works outside Europe. It is located on the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront by 5th Avenue Southeast, Bay Shore Drive, and Dan Wheldon Way.

Shopping and Food

International Plaza, adjacent to Tampa International Airport, is the most distinctive shopping and dining destination of Florida's West Coast. Three fashionable department stores, over 200 specialty shops and Bay Street at the Plaza an open-air village of fine restaurants and small boutiques.

Currency:

The official U.S. currency is the United States dollar (symbol: $) ATM's everywhere.

Major credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard are widely used and accepted, even for transactions worth only a few dollars. In fact, in some cases, it may be the only way to make a transaction. Note to overseas visitors: Prices of goods and services always seem lower than they really are, as taxes and gratuities are seldom included.

Most states have a sales tax, ranging from 2.9% to nearly 10% of the retail price; 4-6% is typical. Sales tax is almost never included in posted prices (except for gasoline, and in most states, alcoholic beverages consumed on-premises), but instead will be calculated and added to the total when you pay.

Tipping in America is widely used and expected. While Americans themselves often debate correct levels and exactly who deserves to be tipped, generally accepted standard rates are:

Full-service restaurants: 15-20% (Often this is the only income of the wait(ress). Tips are either left in cash or you can add it to the credit card slip) Note: Few restaurants add an automatic service charge, in which case it is up to you how much you tip extra. Check your bill!
Taxi drivers, hairdressers, other personal services: 10-15%
Bartenders: $1 per drink if inexpensive or 15% of total
Bellhops: $1-2 per bag ($3-5 minimum regardless)
Hotel doorman: $1 per bag (if they assist), $1 for calling a cab
Shuttle bus drivers: $2-5 (optional)
Private car & limousine drivers: 15-20%
Housekeeping in hotels: $1-2 per day for long stays or $5 minimum for very short stays (optional)
Food delivery (pizza, etc.): $2-5, possibly more for very large orders

Currency Converter

Communication:

The U.S. has no official language at the federal level, but English is by far the standard for everyday use. Several states have declared their official state language as English. Spanish is also official in the state of New Mexico, where it is widely spoken; French is official in Louisiana and the Hawaiian language is official in Hawaii, but neither approaches the use of English and are official for primarily historical reasons.

Emergency 911

Opening Hours and Holidays:

In major metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles, many drugstores and supermarkets are routinely open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, while department stores, shopping centers and most other large retailers are typically open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and often with shorter hours on Sundays - generally 11 a.m. or noon to 5 or 6 p.m. On holidays, the tendency is to remain open (with the exception of the most important holidays like Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day where stores are generally closed)

Holidays in the USA

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