Yankee Trails Bus Transport to FLL and MIA Cruiseports
 

I'd like to hear from someone who has used this service. I see they pick up in Leesburg at Rural King. I'm wondering if anyone has ever left a car in the Rural King parking lot for the week you were gone? This kind of bus transport seems like it would be very convenient, instead of driving down. Would love to hear anyone's experience. Thanks!

Very reliable transportation, as well as a friendly and safe driver. The driver stops about halfway to Miami at a rest stop on the Turnpike. I would highly recommend them. I would not leave my car for a week at any parking lot, although some people do. Maybe a neighbor could drop you off and pick you up?

We went on a 15 day cruise and left our car at Rural King. When we returned I couldn't start the car and had to have AAA jump start it. However, no problems since the jump start. When we originally booked Yankee Trails I told them we would get the bus at the Lady Lake stop. However, after finding that I could park at Rural King I decided to go there. I neglected to tell Yankee Trails. They called my cell phone but I thought it was some sales call from NY so I didn't answer.

If using Yankee Trails be sure you have your cell phone turned on both at Rural King and at the ship upon debarkation.

Other than that no problems. Would use them again.

John

We have used both Cruise Connection and Yankee Trails. Prefer Yankee Trails. Excellent drivers, new buses, as posted above, they stop at a good safe turnpike stop both going and coming back.

We have been getting a taxi from our home to Bealls, but they are not reliable. We drove ourselves to Bealls on 441 for a 6:30am pickup. Left the car parked there and had a good friend pick it up and leave it in our garage while we were gone.

I understand that Yankee Trails rents space in Rural Ling lot. It is next to an overflow lot for a new car dealer. I just left my car
there for a week and will do so while on my next cruise, unless I hear something negative. I did remove my EZ Pass, garage door opener and gate card before parking.

We used this service in November going to Miami. The driver, Frank, is first-rate. Got to talk with him quite a bit while picking up passengers on the way back (to which I'll explain why). We didn't leave a car in the Rural King lot; had a neighbor drop us off and pick us up. God bless him for getting up early enough to drop us off at 6:45 am! There were several people who did leave their cars, however. While it is very convenient to use this service, just remember you are at the mercy of all of the other passengers.
Let me explain. The trip down was pretty uneventful. (That is a good thing.) On the return trip, the bus first picks up passengers in Miami, then on to Ft. Lauderdale. My husband and I were just walking out of the terminal when the driver called to see if we were through Customs, so we were the first on the bus in Miami at 7:10 am. Great! We'll be home early at this rate! WRONG! By the time we had picked up all other passengers in both Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, we didn’t begin our trip home until 11:10! We could have left much earlier if everyone had just followed the directions given them on the trip down to the ports. The driver stresses 2 things. The first is to make sure you turn your phone ON the moment you get into port. He calls every person (or group) scheduled to be on his bus to find out exactly where they are and to arrange the easiest place to pick them up at the crazy busy port. Half the people didn’t bother to turn on their phone and some even gave their home phone as the contact number. The driver was more than patient and calm as he tried to track down all passengers as they don’t leave until everyone is accounted for. The second thing stressed is to get off the ship as soon as possible. The fastest way is walk-off disembarkation. Getting off early means that Customs isn’t as busy and you don’t get bogged down there. We walked off the ship and sailed through Customs. The people in Ft. Lauderdale didn’t do walk-off so they got off the ship later, had to go find their luggage then stand in a very long Customs line. All the while, the driver was trying to contact them to arrange pick up. (Remember these were the people that either didn’t have their phones on or the driver had been given their home numbers as the contact number.) There were 9 ships in port that morning, so to say that the port was insanely crowded and busy would be an understatement. If they had just followed the directions (from the driver that does this every day and actually knows what’s going on) things would have gone much smoother.
Would I try that bus again? Maybe. The price was right as we transferred our cruise booking to Yankee Trails from the cruise line and the entire cost of the bus for both my husband and me was free (a total of $180). And if everyone would just follow directions, it would be a very easy and convenient mode of transportation.
As long as you go into it understanding the possible pitfalls, it’s a good deal. Only you can make that decision. Good Luck!!

Trying to get people to do what they are asked to do is like herding cats! Especially if you have old people involved! Thankfully the passengers on our bus were where they should be.

We got stuck in Customs/Immigration once at Orlando airport and were not allowed to use our cell phone to tell the driver outside that we were delayed. I guess, though, that shouldn't be the case at a cruise ship terminal.