I'm wondering how well this would work out for typical cruisers. Let's say they fly into MCO and need to get to the port. Right now they can purchase bus transfers that will take them and their luggage directly to the ship.
How would the train improve on this? Wouldn't the passenger have to collect their airline luggage and take it to the train in Terminal C? And then, once the train gets to Cocoa, how to they get themselves and luggage the last 10 miles to the ship? Another bus? Seems like a lot of extra handling and wait times.
The bus transfers I have seen go out of terminal A and start at 10 AM with the last bus leaving around 12:30 PM. If you're flying, say JetBlue which uses terminal C, the train is in the same terminal. So collecting luggage out of terminal C and going to a bus transfer is likely 30 minutes and then has the issue of first-come first-serve on the bus. I am not sure many cruisers are keen on waiting for the next available bus especially as embarkation time draws near. Also, it should be easier for those flying Aer Lingus, Azul, British Airways, Caribbean, Emirates, Gol, Icelandair, Lufthansa and Norse using terminal C.
Add to that the risk of accidents on the bus transfer to/from MCO to PC. Of course, Brightline could incur a delay, but I would venture to say the probabilities are far less than the traffic on the 528/A1A. And this section of Brightline's rail can achieve speeds up to 125 MPH giving them a traveler's ETA advantage. I would surmise there will be shuttle services from the Cocoa station to the cruise ports, but at least the distance is shortened considerable as the traveler is likely within 10 miles vs. 45 miles. I think the net time will be less due to the high-speed advantage. For those cruisers that have earlier boarding on the ship and/or want to maximize their time, the rail should have another advantage and make it easier on stress.
I am going to presume the rail, holistically, will carry/transfer more passengers than the bus transfers regardless of cycling bandwidth. Additionally, I am going to presume the rail will have better seating and restroom arrangements. I do not know if you will be able to purchase dedicated tickets/seats ahead of time on the rail but presume it would be like it is now. That should make it easier than the stress of first-come, first-served in a bus transfer scenario.
No timeline has been given on the construction or final date as they are seeking additional funding/grants before breaking ground. And by the time the station is finished, I do wonder what airlines will be serviced by terminal C thereby making the rail an even easier option.
