Talk of The Villages Florida - Good first trip on Brightline train

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brightline to a cruise

All of the parking companies (off airport) , provide a shuttle service to the Brightline Station. That is different from Terminal C. At the Brightline Station you can take an elevator (instead of an escalator) if you have a lot of luggage. You can also check your bags (free for premier guests, and a charge for smart travel guests). As previously stated getting Uber from the Fr. Lauderdale station and back to it from the Cruise Ship has been easy for us. Just requesting one when we arrive. We usually take the 8:50 am train from Orlando and that gets us to the ship with plenty of time to spare. By the way we use Park n Fly to park (advance booking for them saves money too).

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Originally Posted by carpej (Post 2421664)

Thanks for all the good tips and information. As for the question about rental car locations near the Miami Brightline station. We used Avis which was about one half mile from the station.....walkable. The may well be closer options. Avis was very close to our hotel in Hollywood Beach which is why we chose it.

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Originally Posted by Smalley (Post 2421358)

I wanted to share how well the new Brightline train works. The station is right at terminal C at Orlando airport. Both of our trains were on time to the minute. Everything new and clean. The ride was smoother than I expected compared to Amtrak Autotrain. There is a Premier coach and there were 4 other coaches. Stops at West Palm Beach, Ft Lauderdale, Aventura and Miami.

Took it in October. Train down to Miami was 25 minutes late, I believe the reason was to allow the northbound train to pass. The return train to Orlando was on time. Staff very helpful. We had suitcases that were checked bags on plane but didn’t need to pay for them on Train. Just put them at the end of our car. We took a shuttle to Miami airport that I believe was about $15 pp, pay on board and waiting right outside Train station. No reservation necessary.

Sign up for and watch for deals. Got a great deal on the ride going down, unfortunately same deal wasn’t available for return trip. Would definitely take it again. Very comfortable. Beats driving or flying because the flights I looked into involved long layovers.

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Originally Posted by carpej (Post 2421664)

I would worry that if a delay takes place for Brightline of a few hours could miss the ship.

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Originally Posted by Lanieb (Post 2421584)

How long did it take?

3 & 1/2 hrs…. Went by very quickly

3 & 1/2 hrs…we parked off site on Semoron Blvd / Park & Go. We were shuttled to the train station entrance. Due to mobility issues we chose not to walk terminal C.

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Originally Posted by Smalley (Post 2421358)

like no one has ever been on it...... smh