Is there a route to Florida on the train?
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Since the 1979 demise of the Floridian, you need to take two trains, basically get to Washington DC and change to one of the Silver service trains.
Currently, the "normal" routing would be to take the Capitol Limited, train 30, from Chicago to WAS, then take the Silver Meteor, train 97 to Florida.
The Cap doesn't leave Chicago until 6:10 pm, so you have options getting to Chicago, depending on where you in the midwest. Any of the Western LDs are legal connections, for instance.
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Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
What he said. You will probabl have a hard time going CHI-MIA on the train. Kind of like going NOL-DEN.
Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
You like cruises? I've never liked them too much, too bad there's not much ocean liners left.
Not that bad. 2 nights, one on the Cap, one on the Meteor. Gets to Ft. Lauderdale at 6:02pm, Miami at 6:55pm. I wouldn't even try for a same day cruise connecting from a long distance train in any event, even if it were possible. Arrive the day before, and no worries.
I live in Florida and manage to get home every time I travel cross country, which I have done 3 times. I usually take the CL and connect to 97 in WAS. Once I took the Cardinal from CHI to Charlottesville, thruway bus to Richmond, then connected with the Meteor in Richmond. Although it is not a direct route to Florida, it is very scenic, IMHO.
Agreed. Probably the most annoying part of the cruise market, IMHO, is that in spite of there being dozens of cruises running around the Caribbean during peak season, there's no real way to take a ship to a destination (for example, Grand Cayman), stay a few days, and then take another ship home.
gdj
Train Attendant
I have done the Amtrak to Florida cruise trip. Our ship went out of Ft. Lauderdale. It is about a 15 minute taxi ride between the Amtrak station and the port. Also, if you are going on a longer cruise and have several suitcases Amtrak can handle them at no extra charge.
Gary
Gary
How about New Orleans?
Not many ships but there are cruises from that port.
I'm going to take the CONO in March for a 5 day Caribbean on Carnival.
Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Carnival have cruises from the Port of New Orleans.
the_traveler
Engineer
As said, it's not that bad getting to Fl via Amtrak. You may have to go (somewhat) "out of the way", but a few years ago before Delta and Nothwest Airlines merged, to fly Delta from RI to say DEN or PDX, I had to go to ATL first! Why not consider one of the other ports for a cruise - like NOL, BAL, PHL, NYC or BOS?
frugalist
Lead Service Attendant
I don't understand that comment at all. From Chicago, they take the Capitol Limited to Washington then either the Silver Meteor to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami or the Silver Star to Tampa. What's so hard about that?
To the OP, don't forget the Port of Tampa is served by Amtrak also, with the Silver Star. Scheduled to arrive around 12:30pm, but I wouldn't depend on on-time arrival. Always plan to arrive at your embarkation port a day before your cruise to assure yourself a stress-free trip. Think of the train ride as a land cruise!
Cho Cho Charlie
Engineer
Don't forget that Amtrak offers a 20% discount to those using it to go on a Carnival cruise. Call 800-USA-RAIL, ask for promo V602, and have your cruise reservation number handy.
Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
Other than NOL, yoou could also go to NYP to take cruises/liners somewhere. You could even take the QM2 to Britain!
the_traveler
Engineer
In fact on the train from FL this week, I met a couple of Brits who did cruise from England via NYC.
Ispolkom
Engineer
Well, that's no harder than taking the City of New Orleans to Chicago, then the California Zephyr to Denver. So Brother Swadian is correct that going from Chicago to Miami is as difficult as going from New Orleans to Denver. We just have different definitions of "difficult."
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We just went out of New Orleans last week on a cruise. Have gone out of NYC also. Have gone out of Seattle and California also. Just looking at a Florida departure since they offer some different cruises than the ones we have taken. Was just trying to figure out how it could be done going on a train. If we could even go out of Bloomington, Illinios, even better.
Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
Well, if you are going to take a cruise, at least take a unique one. The mass market ones are just too boring IMO.
Oh my gosh, I was looking in to taking the QM2 to England and back, over $8,000 for cruise alone for 3 of us. Add train because I don't like to fly, I think it was like $1200 each way not including sleepers. Add hotels, trains, rental cars and everything else in England and Europe which would add up fast for over two weeks there. $15,000 or more trip.
I'm still waiting for my mom to give me the go ahead to do it. Right now it's a no but I never know with her. Would be an awesome trip!
I look at routes to get to Florida all the time from Denver. I'm tired of going to Mexico from L.A for cruises but it's the closest and easiest way. And now no cruises next summer to Mexico. To get to Seattle, Galveston, New Orleans from Denver is quite a ways on the train also. One of these days I will do it.
The past few years have seen a revival in the river cruising industry in the US. Large, paddle-wheel steamships ply the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers (as well as a few out west). Smaller ships offer cruises along the rivers and coastal waterways of the east coast. If this interests you, check out Great American Steamboat Company and American Cruise Lines.
Good luck in arranging your travel to Florida via Amtrak, if that's what you ultimately do. Going by train is a great way to jump-start/extend that "vacation" feeling! Amtrak is ideally convenient to both the Port of Tampa and Port Everglades/Ft. Lauderdale, and a little less convenient for the Port of Miami. Port Canaveral by train won't work unless there's an additional shuttle or rental car involved. Just make sure, as stated earlier, that you plan your arrival the day before sailing.
(If you wind up coming to Tampa, here's a link to another thread with information on the area around Union Station and the cruise ports.)
Excellent information. I'd like to take a river cruise myself. And you're correct that Port Everglades has easier access via Amtrak than the Port of Miami. (In my opinion, this applies to the airport/port access also). I'm not familiar enough with the Port of Tampa to comment on it.
Cruise travelers do have one more Florida option, and that is the Port of Jacksonville. The Carnival Fascination is Jacksonville-based and usually offers 4-5 day Bahamas cruises. Amtrak JAX is not far from the cruise port, although if you plan to (wisely) arrive the day before sailing, then note that decent lodging is closer to the port, not the train station.
The Amtrak station in Tampa is about a mile from the cruise terminal. (It looks like less than a mile on a map, but you can't get there in a straight line.) If the Amtrak schedule and the cruise schedule don't align, there are several hotels in downtown Tampa; room rates vary a lot depending on whether there is a major convention in town.
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