CruisingSteve Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Brightline announces it will add train stop in Cocoa – Orlando Sentinel Makes it much easier to go from Port Canaveral to MCO Airport. No opening date announced RestingBird, Cactus527, WAAAYTOOO and 2 others 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 11 minutes ago, CruisingSteve said: Brightline announces it will add train stop in Cocoa – Orlando Sentinel Makes it much easier to go from Port Canaveral to MCO Airport. No opening date announced Now....send one down our way... DunkelBierJay and RCIfan1912 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Of The Seas Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 SWEEEEEET! A long way off I know, but if the plans to connect SunRail to Brightline at MCO come to fruition, we could Uber 5 miles to the Longwood SunRail station and never put a wheel on godforsaken I-4 or 528 until the Brightline Cocoa station! Wow! This is like Christmas!!!! Snotarni, Cactus527, WAAAYTOOO and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Of The Seas Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2024/03/12/brightline-gives-green-light-to-cocoa-stop-for-its-rail-service/72940551007/ WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 I still can't believe this wasn't part of the original plan. RestingBird, Snotarni, Cactus527 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 2 hours ago, smokeybandit said: I still can't believe this wasn't part of the original plan. Politics, competing interests and greed got in the way. Brightline had to move forward without Cocoa on the original plan. The toll road companies have and are lobbying hard against Brightline. nickpants 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingSteve Posted March 12 Author Report Share Posted March 12 4 hours ago, smokeybandit said: I still can't believe this wasn't part of the original plan. Working with government agencies can take years to come to an agreement. It's probably something they have been working on for a while and just got approved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoppy2BHere Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 16 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Now....send one down our way... Not sure how far south you guys are, but I believe Stuart is also planned to be another stop… dmattinson and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 13 hours ago, CruisingSteve said: Working with government agencies can take years to come to an agreement. It's probably something they have been working on for a while and just got approved And probably something that won't be done for at least 5 more years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 30 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: And probably something that won't be done for at least 5 more years. Brightline has been pretty good at cutting through the red tape...how they do it, only they and the bureaucrat$ know...I bet it happens fairly quickly from land acquisition if they don't already have it to the time needed for construction. The line is already there, and that was the biggest hurdle. Looking further in the future, I would love to see hotel/train packages like GoPort offers....it would be great to have more hotel options pop up in Port Canaveral, or even a hotel attached to the Brightline station at MCO, which is another discussion. There are 5-6 hotels that are walkable to Terminal 1, but I'd love to see a couple more that are closer. The only drawback is how long you have to sweat. I've made the walk from the Residence Inn in 15 minutes and was soaking wet, so I dry off at the bar at Grills prior to boarding. PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 2 hours ago, Hoppy2BHere said: Not sure how far south you guys are, but I believe Stuart is also planned to be another stop… Yes, I had read that Stuart was getting one. That's close enough. I was just being impatient. We're in Port St Lucie Hoppy2BHere 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexanTwoStep Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 2 hours ago, DunkelBierJay said: Brightline has been pretty good at cutting through the red tape...how they do it, only they and the bureaucrat$ know...I bet it happens fairly quickly from land acquisition if they don't already have it to the time needed for construction. The line is already there, and that was the biggest hurdle. Looking further in the future, I would love to see hotel/train packages like GoPort offers....it would be great to have more hotel options pop up in Port Canaveral, or even a hotel attached to the Brightline station at MCO, which is another discussion. There are 5-6 hotels that are walkable to Terminal 1, but I'd love to see a couple more that are closer. The only drawback is how long you have to sweat. I've made the walk from the Residence Inn in 15 minutes and was soaking wet, so I dry off at the bar at Grills prior to boarding. We're arriving there May 31st and staying in the Hampton Inn -- is that close enough to walk to port or do I need to get an Uber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 2 hours ago, TexanTwoStep said: We're arriving there May 31st and staying in the Hampton Inn -- is that close enough to walk to port or do I need to get an Uber? I think that Hampton Inn is fairly new, so I looked at Google Maps. It brings it up just north of the Homewood Suites, so if this is correct, you're definitely within a 15 minute walk and you're on the right side of Astronaut Blvd to get the sidewalk to the little industrial area a couple of blocks below the port area. You would have to go around a small retention pond to avoid walking in the street to the port (all sidewalk/walking path). You may want to scout it out by going to dinner the night before at one of the three or four restaurants right next to the terminal, just to the west or left as you're walking up. I've been to Fishlips and Grills. I haven't been to the others. I like Grills a little better...in fact the bar is a great pace for breakfast and you're right next to the ship that you will be boarding. I highly recommend looking at the satellite view on Google Maps to get familiar with the turns. Note that the satellite view is not up to date as the terminal isn't in the pic, but it's there. I circled it in red below. The Map View shows it however and the current state is much more developed than this pic shows. If you're on an upper floor of your hotel with a north view, you will see the terminal and parking garage, and in the morning, you will see the ship on the other side after docking. Late May will be pretty hot and humid, so that would be a consideration. You may not have to exert yourself to break a sweat. If you're ok with that, it's very doable. I hope you have wheels on your luggage. Personally, I wouldn't do it otherwise. Walking Directions <-- link Snotarni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean79 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 Probably still won't be cheap enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 48 minutes ago, Bean79 said: Probably still won't be cheap enough. Orlando to West Palm is $49 for Smart Class. First Class is $109. The fare to Cocoa Beach is probably comparable. I used the service from Miami to Fort Lauderdale and can't speak highly enough of it. Personally, I prefer this to Uber/Lyft the whole way even though you have to use Rideshare to/from FLL and to/from PortMiami. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingSteve Posted March 13 Author Report Share Posted March 13 4 hours ago, TexanTwoStep said: We're arriving there May 31st and staying in the Hampton Inn -- is that close enough to walk to port or do I need to get an Uber? If it's terminal 1 (usually Wonder and Allure use that terminal) it's walkable. But if it's terminal 5 or 6, it's several miles so Uber/Lyft will be your best bet TexanTwoStep 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmattinson Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 When they build that station, they are likely going to have to provision "cruise express" train-sets to cover the volume of passengers from Cocoa to MCO - I could see them setting up a service like Disney used to have where after gathering your bags post-cruise, you tag them at a set of kiosks or service desks like you see at self-serve stations in the airport check-in lobby and load the bags up with Brightline porters on specialized carts who take your bags on trucks/cargo vans or load up luggage cars on the train itself and provide streamlined luggage transfers to TSA and onto the airlines to put on the flights - talk about a "value added service". If they coordinate with the cruise lines and get these kiosks set-up in an area of the ship, you might even be able to not worry about your bag before even getting off the ship (although the security logistics make me wonder how they will secure the chain of custody to ensure nothing gets placed inside someone's bag once the bag is set out in the hallway the night before). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 bobroo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 3 hours ago, DunkelBierJay said: Orlando to West Palm is $49 for Smart Class. First Class is $109. The fare to Cocoa Beach is probably comparable. I used the service from Miami to Fort Lauderdale and can't speak highly enough of it. Personally, I prefer this to Uber/Lyft the whole way even though you have to use Rideshare to/from FLL and to/from PortMiami. Fares are highly variable. They use dynamic pricing. I’ve seen one way Orlando to Miami fares over $200 for the regular class. Kay45 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkg276 Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 So in this scenario a family of 4 getting off Wonder takes a Uber from terminal 1 waiting for an XL vehicle to pick them under the parking deck. Loading all the bags riding to the new Brightline stop near the Walmart super center in Cocoa, cost $35.00 (no surge)plus tip. Unload vehicle and wheel your bags over to the station to purchase {or pre purchase) Brightline tickets to MCO, guesstimate $40 (no surge)per person ($160) stand and wait for train (tik tok) if its on time and space available you would then ride to the Brightline terminal at MCO. The train terminal is back adjacent to the new terminal C. Grab all your bags and make your way onto another small 2 car tram that runs from the Brightline station over to the main A/B terminal. Then possibly walk to the opposite end of the A/B terminal to your airline counter to check your bags. Total cost: $195 (no surge)plus tip Aggravation: hard to measure but seems HIGH! My scenario: Order a Uber XL or private transportation from the terminal, load your bags and have a 50 minute drive to MCO. Preferred drop off at the curb in front of the airline counter your flying on. Check your bags, go through security and get a drink. Total cost: $110 - $130 (no surge)plus tip Aggravation: minimal Yes I provide private transportation at the port and drive for Uber/Lyft. But as a cruiser and traveler I always try to make my vacations as stress free as possible. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atricks Posted April 1 Report Share Posted April 1 Rail from this point in Cocoa to the Port itself has been discussed in the past, but there's a bunch of environmental concerns about expanding it across Merritt Island. This 10 year old article https://www.floridatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/12/11/controversy-grows-port-canaveral-rail-plan/20245383/ discusses the possibilities, including an option connecting the port with the existing Nasa Railway that's already on the island (but a bit out of the way as it goes through north of titusville) and also building it across from 528. Nasa railway barely ever gets used nowadays, and would be susceptible to blocks when rocket launches are going on, so a new set of bridges across from where the cocoa curve is is probably the best long term plan. I.e. it's come up before, but seems unlikely in the short term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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