Brightline from MCO to FLL

[kylenne]

I have a solo cruise on the Destiny next Labor Day out of Fort Lauderdale, which is a new cruise port to me. Just used a bounceback offer to book a few days at Poly to hit the parks before the cruise, and I'm considering taking the Brightline down to catch the ship. Does anyone have any experiences with taking the train to the port? I will only be Silver for this cruise so I don't expect to get an early PAT, but I want to take an earlier train just to be on the safe side in case of delays.

 

[MinnesotaDisneyFan]

I took the Brightline from MCO to Miami after a stay at Disney last summer and it was a great experience. The Brightline terminal at MCO is really nice and the experience was very easy to navigate. It was such a smooth experience I don’t have a lot to add other than I’d recommend.

 

[holula]

I did it in January, super easy! I went the night before as I didn’t want to risk the train being delayed and missing the cruise.

 

[DonaldDunk]

It’s actually super easy! You’ll have to Uber from the train station to the port but they are pretty close together. The Brightline is really nice, I would do it again in a heartbeat

 

[Joanna71985]

I used Brightline in Feb. It was very convenient

 

[JAM9842]

It’s fantastic!!

 

[Shellyred8]

We took the Brightline from MCO to Miami back in May, just to experience it. We enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
Here are a few of my tips/tricks.
1. Book early. They do sell out, and the closer they get to full, the higher the prices are.
2. When you are getting close to your stop, start getting yourself ready to get off. The stops at the locations between MCO and MIA were REALLY quick.
3. The pricing during different times of the day can vary greatly. We got our Premium seats for $99 for our time slot, but other times of the day it would've been $200+.
4. It is a train and it does have a little bit of motion to it, but not too bad. If you are prone to motion sickness, come prepared.
5. There are some luggage storage spaces on each car for you to store your larger luggage, but it's a first-come first-serve situation. So, you might want to check your bag, just to be on the safe side.
6. Evaluate the Premium pricing and what you get for the extra cost. It includes a checked bag, so if you need to check a bag, you might be just as well off to get the Premium seat. I was glad to have access to the Premium lounge at the MCO airport. The rest of the waiting area was getting pretty full.
7. The bathrooms are outside of the Premium Lounge area, so make sure to bring your ticket with you so you can get back in.
8. We flew into MCO in the morning and took the APM from terminal A/B to C. It was a really easy process and the Brightline terminal is really close to the APM station in terminal C.
9. The food/beverage/snack options that were included with Premium were solid choices. Since we flew in that same day, we relied on the food/beverage/snack options for our meals/snacks. I feel like we got our money's worth by doing the premium upgrade.

 

[holula]

5. There are some luggage storage spaces on each car for you to store your larger luggage, but it's a first-come first-serve situation. So, you might want to check your bag, just to be on the safe side.
6. Evaluate the Premium pricing and what you get for the extra cost. It includes a checked bag, so if you need to check a bag, you might be just as well off to get the Premium seat. I was glad to have access to the Premium lounge at the MCO airport. The rest of the waiting area was getting pretty full

Just a note on checking a bag, I also had a premium fare from MCO to FLL, and when I arrived at the station I was told they weren’t accepting any more checked bags on my route. So if you do plan to check a bag then get there early. I think I got there around 90 mins before my train time.