From $610 per vehicle: a private, one-way ride from Port of Miami to Pool Side: Resort Side in a chauffeured SUV or van.
The fare is locked per vehicle for the one-way trip, and it already covers the tolls, the fuel and the driver’s time.
Disembarkation at Port of Miami is easier with a driver already outside the terminal. The greeting at the curb is part of the price, the Meet & Greet at the terminal adds $40, and the vehicle is yours alone from the port to the destination, luggage included.
Pool Side: Resort Side is exactly what the name promises — a resort stay organized around its water, in the Tampa area of Florida. After a week at sea, it makes a natural landing spot: a place where the pace slows down, the deck chairs come out, and the afternoon plan can be as simple as a swim before dinner.
The setting sits among the resorts and pool-home communities that spread across this part of the state, close to Tampa rather than the coast you left behind at the pier. It is a residential, unhurried stretch of Florida — the kind of address where families settle in for a few nights instead of rushing from one attraction to the next, with the pool as the center of the day.
Arriving straight off the ship, you reach the property by the door instead of a distant lot, with luggage carried the last few steps for you. From there the water is the whole point: a simple first afternoon while the rest of the trip sorts itself out around you. Whatever your group has planned near Tampa — a quiet reset, a comfortable base for the days ahead, or simply somewhere to unpack and breathe — Pool Side: Resort Side gives you room to do it on your own schedule, without the crowd and clock of a cruise-terminal morning still hanging over the rest of the day.
The ride begins the moment your group clears the terminal on Dodge Island. Your chauffeur is already staged and organized by message as you come off the ship, so the wait belongs to the driver, not to you. Bags go straight into the vehicle, everyone climbs in, and the trip runs as one reserved leg from the pier to Pool Side: Resort Side — no extra pickups, no detours, no second stop before your door.
From there it is one highway run toward the Tampa area, your group alone in the vehicle for the whole way. Tell us your cruise line and arrival date and the car is positioned for the disembarkation rush: walkers off early, checked-luggage travelers a little later, either way the driver is ready. You set the pace, and the luggage assist waits for you again at the far end when you reach.
Pool Side: Resort Side in Tampa is 285.6 miles from the Port of Miami by road, about 4 hours 23 minutes without heavy traffic via I-595. The fare is per vehicle: $610 for the Black SUV, $865 for the Van and $1070 for the Van XL. Pickup is at your cruise terminal curb at PortMiami.
| Road distance | 285.6 miles |
|---|---|
| Black SUV, 1-5 | $610 |
| Drive time | 4 hours 23 minutes |
| Van, 6-9 | $865 |
| Main roads | I-595 |
| Van XL, 10-14 | $1070 |
| Back from Pool Side: Resort Side | $610 / $865 / $1070 |
The return covers the same 285.6 miles: pickup at the main entrance of the resort, drop-off at your cruise terminal at PortMiami after about 4 hours 23 minutes. From Pool Side: Resort Side the Black SUV costs $610, the Van $865 and the Van XL $1070. Open the booking box with the points swapped and choose the date and time. Book the return
Plan on about 4 hours 23 minutes for the 285.6 miles from the Port of Miami to Pool Side: Resort Side via I-595 when the roads are clear. Peak hours can stretch the trip; it is a fixed fare per vehicle, no traffic or surge charges: $610 for the Black SUV.
Book the time you expect to walk out of the terminal with your bags, not the docking time. The waiting rules for slow disembarkation days are on the FAQ page linked below. The drive to Pool Side: Resort Side then takes about 4 hours 23 minutes.
Outside the cruise terminal, at the curb. Driver, car and plate arrive by message ahead of the pickup, so you know who to look for; the drive to Pool Side: Resort Side starts as soon as the bags are loaded and takes about 4 hours 23 minutes.
The Black SUV holds up to 5 passengers, with passengers plus big suitcases up to 10; on this route it costs $610. Six to nine travelers with their cases take the Van ($865), ten to fourteen the Van XL ($1070). All three go door to door to Pool Side: Resort Side.
On sailing day the ride from Pool Side: Resort Side to your terminal is $610 for the Black SUV, $865 for the Van and $1070 for the Van XL. The 285.6 miles take about 4 hours 23 minutes in light traffic, so leave early enough for boarding.
Every policy in full: FAQ
Nuestro grupo entero reservó una van directo de la terminal a Pool Side: Resort Side, y nadie tuvo que preocuparse por nada. Teníamos los datos del conductor con anticipación, así que no había que adivinar nada en el puerto.
The two of us set up a private transfer for disembarkation morning so we wouldn’t worry about the timing getting over to Pool Side: Resort Side. The night before, we got a message with the driver’s name and license plate, so there was no wondering which car was the right one on the way out. The fare was fixed when we booked, no surprise on a busy disembarkation morning.
Cruising with the kids, we didn’t want any disembarkation-day chaos, so a private van waiting at the terminal Pool Side: Resort Side was perfect.
My partner and I finished a wonderful cruise and capped it off with a private car waiting right at the terminal to take us to Pool Side: Resort Side — no fuss at the port. We were dropped straight at the door of Pool Side: Resort Side, not down the block. We went from the ship to the front desk of Pool Side: Resort Side with no stress at all.
After our sailing, my partner and I weren’t going to gamble on a ride at the terminal, so we lined up a private car to Pool Side: Resort Side. The night before, we got a text with the driver’s name and license plate, so there was no wondering which car was the right one on the way out.