My thoughts on the Brightline after a cruise out of PC

[princesscinderella]

I took the brightline from MCO to Ft. Lauderdale. I dropped off my rental car in terminal A of the MCO airport and there was signs pointing the way to terminal C all throughout Terminals A & B. There were also plenty of food spots to grab a bite in Terminals A/B so if there’s time from the DCL transfer drop off to the train departure I’d trek over there. It was about 10-15 minutes to get between the two terminals. So if it’s an hour before departure you should have time to grab a quick bite. Terminal C was definitely a ghost town when I made it over there. The train was probably 1/3 full on my trip.

 

[Bonnie1222]

I wanted so badly for this to work well. To be fair, we were able to book our travel for $50/ea during a promotion, so for all four of us it was $275 and at the time I looked at car rentals, it was just about a wash. Also, terminal C is so new, perhaps more options to eat are coming. I’m waiting and watching to see what they do.

For those who want to try the train that live local - we have to add the price of parking at the airport as well. I was thinking about trying this to cruise out of Miami/Ft Lauderdale but it sounds like it would be cheaper to fly and get a hotel room the night before. Unless prices become more reasonable - it is just going to become another failure like Sunrail.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I don't think I even own a suitcase larger than 28". To me that's a full-sized bag and the train allows it as carry-on. I almost always kept it with me on Amtrak -- in fact my usual route didn't even accept checked bags to my destination. But I don't know what the seating or storage is like on Brightline.

Brightline allows one personal item and one carry on for free. Carry-on max: 40 lbs, 28x22x14.

@Memorymakerfor4 I came *this* close to missing the fact we had to pay for checked bags but when booking asked me about extras and I saw checked bag I did the research on it. I did the opposite of you Fort Lauderdale-MCO. Bummer MCO was such a maze for you, once we got our bags at MCO it was pretty easy to get out, I think we took an elevator and walked outside to the curb where we caught our rideshare.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

I took the brightline from MCO to Ft. Lauderdale. I dropped off my rental car in terminal A of the MCO airport and there was signs pointing the way to terminal C all throughout Terminals A & B. There were also plenty of food spots to grab a bite in Terminals A/B so if there’s time from the DCL transfer drop off to the train departure I’d trek over there. It was about 10-15 minutes to get between the two terminals. So if it’s an hour before departure you should have time to grab a quick bite. Terminal C was definitely a ghost town when I made it over there. The train was probably 1/3 full on my trip.

Thank you for the information. We're planning on three days at WDW before taking the Brightline to Fort Lauderdale then Uber over to Port Everglades.

Any suggestions on going from Saratoga Springs to MCO?

 

[princesscinderella]

Thank you for the information. We're planning on three days at WDW before taking the Brightline to Fort Lauderdale then Uber over to Port Everglades.

Any suggestions on going from Saratoga Springs to MCO?

I had rented a car because I was heading up to Gainesville to see my son so I didn't do transportation between WDW and MCO. My husband has used the sunshine flyer before and we have also just taken an uber to get from MCO to our disney resort, they are much cheaper usually than arranging private transportation.

 

[lanejudy]

Brightline allows one personal item and one carry on for free. Carry-on max: 40 lbs, 28x22x14.

Typical airline carry-on is smaller -- only 22x14x9.
I don't know what size suitcases everyone on here uses, but my family doesn't have any larger than 28" so we consider that a "large" suitcase and it is still eligible for carry-on with Brightline as with Amtrak.

Since Brightline charges for checked luggage, folks may want to measure their bags to see if it can be a carry-on.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Typical airline carry-on is smaller -- only 22x14x9.
I don't know what size suitcases everyone on here uses, but my family doesn't have any larger than 28" so we consider that a "large" suitcase and it is still eligible for carry-on with Brightline as with Amtrak.

Since Brightline charges for checked luggage, folks may want to measure their bags to see if it can be a carry-on.

For sure. It's actually a touch larger than airline checked bags, as the standard airline checked bag is 62" total. The weight part is noticeably less though at 40 lbs over 50 lbs.

 

[Bonnie1222]

For sure. It's actually a touch larger than airline checked bags, as the standard airline checked bag is 62" total. The weight part is noticeably less though at 40 lbs over 50 lbs.

62" is 5 feet... I have never seen a suitcase that big
Edit - do you mean overall volume??

 

[OKW Lover]

We took the Brightline train between Orlando & Miami last week for a cruise out of Miami. We paid to check our larger suitcases ahead of time and carried on our smaller suitcases.

We left & arrived on time both ways and the ride was smooth & comfortable.

I have to agree with OP about the food options. They are very limited in the station (even in Miami) and the food onboard is expensive (sandwiches start at $14). We were also in coach 2 and had the same experience with the food cart not coming until about half way through the journey.

DH & I are planning to take the train between Orlando & Miami for another cruise in May, though we may just spend the extra for premium since checked luggage & food is included.

How long was the trip? From the time you left Orlando until you arrived at the Miami station? Also, how early did you check in at Orlando before actual departure? And one more question - once in Miami, how did you get to the ship?

 

[jenushkask8s]

How long was the trip? From the time you left Orlando until you arrived at the Miami station? Also, how early did you check in at Orlando before actual departure? And one more question - once in Miami, how did you get to the ship?

It was about 3 hours, 10 minutes end-to-end.

We checked in about 2 hours early at the station in Orlando. It was our first time riding and we didn't know how long security would take (it was very quick).

We stayed in Miami for a night before boarding the ship and we took a Lyft to our hotel from the Miami station.

 

[OKW Lover]

It was about 3 hours, 10 minutes end-to-end.

We checked in about 2 hours early at the station in Orlando. It was our first time riding and we didn't know how long security would take (it was very quick).

We stayed in Miami for a night before boarding the ship and we took a Lyft to our hotel from the Miami station.

Thanks. Appreciate the extra info. It will come in handy the next time we cruise out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale.

You mentioned security in Orlando. I didn't realize that there was a security check before getting on the train. Was it the same as TSA for flying?

 

[lanejudy]

62" is 5 feet... I have never seen a suitcase that big
Edit - do you mean overall volume??

I think that PP means add up the H + W + D for a "linear" calculation. Apparently some airlines use that as the guide so for the "standard" carry-on of (22+14+9) that comes to 45". However, at least in the US I've really only seen the actual measurements used as the max size, not the linear calculation.

 

[jenushkask8s]

Thanks. Appreciate the extra info. It will come in handy the next time we cruise out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale.

You mentioned security in Orlando. I didn't realize that there was a security check before getting on the train. Was it the same as TSA for flying?

It's much more relaxed than TSA. It's more like the security process at UOR. Your carryons go through the scanner and you just walk through a metal detector. There's no liquids limit and you keep your shoes on.

 

[gottalovepluto]

62" is 5 feet... I have never seen a suitcase that big
Edit - do you mean overall volume??

Hahaha, yeah. The major airlines moved away from L/W/H to overall measurements.