For many cruise passengers, disembarkation day can be a distressing day, and not just because their vacation is coming to an end.
The final day of a cruise can often become a stressful travel day that includes waiting in long lines, first to get off the ship, and later to catch a flight at the airport.
Related: Royal Caribbean brings back beloved passenger perk
Sitting in traffic to get out of the cruise port and on to the airport can add more stress, especially in the busiest cruise port in the world — PortMiami.
The booming port recently welcomed a record-breaking 10 cruise ships in one day. With close to 68,000 passengers on board the ships, traffic had to be at a record-high level, too.
Miami traffic is already notoriously bad, and increasing passenger counts at its cruise port only make matters worse.
To help improve the traffic situation, Royal Caribbean, which homeports the largest cruise ship in the world, Icon of the Seas, in Miami, is taking a new step that passengers are sure to appreciate.
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PortMiami, known as the “Cruise Capital of the World,” welcomed more than 8.2 million cruise passengers last year.
Image source: Daniel Kline/ComeCruiseWith.com
Royal Caribbean launches free shuttle to airport for select sailings
Royal Caribbean is now offering free bus transfers from PortMiami to the airport on disembarkation day for select sailings, according to RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com, an unofficial fan blog not affiliated with the cruise line.
Passengers on some recent sailings from Miami aboard Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas and Symphony of Seas have reported receiving emails from the cruise line offering free bus transfers to the Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports on disembarkation days when the cruise port is expecting extra heavy traffic. Royal Caribbean has even offered the free service to passengers who already booked and paid for an airport transfer through the cruise line.
Related: Royal Caribbean drops popular cruise departure port
To be clear, this complimentary shuttle service doesn’t seem to be offered for every Royal Caribbean sailing from Miami, but only on certain cruise disembarkation days when the cruise line anticipates heavier traffic than usual. If the service is offered for their sailing, passengers can expect to receive an email from Royal Caribbean close to their cruise departure date.
For passengers hoping to get off the ship quickly, the cruise line also recommends using self-assist departure, where passengers carry their own luggage off the ship rather than claim it at the cruise terminal after they disembark.
Cruisers confirm PortMiami traffic can be a nightmare
In comments posted on Royal Caribbean Blog’s Facebook page, passengers confirmed the heavy traffic at PortMiami recently.
“Just got off Symphony on Sunday and can attest to the insane traffic in Miami. Wish we had gotten this offer as I would have jumped on it,” Gwen Kerian Kolbeck wrote.
Others emphasized that getting to PortMiami on cruise embarkation day can be especially challenging.
“This happened to me back in Dec – a 20 minute bus ride took almost 2 hours – traffic was not bad till we reached the port and there were 7 to 8 ships in port,” Nancy White noted.
Related: Royal Caribbean faces pushback on key port expansion
“Took 2 hours from port entrance to Symphony last Sunday. Passengers were bailing out of cabs/Ubers and walking. The main issue is how the port is routing, restricting and not directing traffic…not simply a volume issue,” Notl Scott explained.
Some passengers even said they avoid cruising from PortMiami specifically because of the traffic woes.
“Cruised out of Miami once, and it was such a zoo that I have avoided doing it again. I absolutely expect some chaos and congestion, but Miami was another story,” Kylie Elizabeth wrote.
One passenger who took Royal Caribbean’s free shuttle to Fort Lauderdale airport also shared their experience.
“Used the free transportation to FLL. Took about an hour from meeting time to arrival. Much appreciated the free lift,” Sabrina Duffield Somerby said.
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