Tampa hotels with a cruise shuttle

Tampa’s cruise terminals are on the edge of downtown, so a hotel shuttle matters most if you stay further out. Four of the hotels below are downtown or in Ybor City, 3 to 6 minutes from a terminal by car. The other eight are spread around the city, from Westshore and the airport to east of Ybor City, 10 to 20 minutes away without traffic.

These are the hotels whose own websites say they run, sell or arrange a ride to the cruise port, as the pages read on October 28, 2026. None of them says which terminal it serves, so give the driver the terminal number on your boarding documents. The times in the table are OpenStreetMap driving routes from the hotel to the terminal building.

Is there a free cruise shuttle in Tampa?

One, with a caveat. The Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa/Ybor City/Downtown runs a free shuttle within three miles of the hotel and names the Port of Tampa among its stops, along with the convention center and Benchmark International Arena. It’s a general local shuttle rather than a cruise service. The hotel publishes no schedule and doesn’t say whether it collects guests at the port after a cruise, so ask about both, and about luggage. By car it’s 5 minutes from any of the terminals.

Two downtown hotels run free local shuttles that don’t name the port. The Barrymore runs one within 2 miles of the hotel from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, first come, first served, and Hotel Flor runs one within 3 miles. The terminals are within those distances by road, 1.7 to 1.9 miles from the Barrymore and 1.2 to 1.5 from Hotel Flor on our routes, but neither hotel says its local shuttle goes there. Both include a port ride in a cruise package instead.

Which hotels charge for the shuttle, and how much?

Three publish a price, and it’s $10 a person at each.

• Quality Inn Tampa Airport - Cruise Port, South Tampa: $10 a person, one way, from 6 AM to midnight. Ask at the front desk. The hotel says it’s 3 miles from the cruise port; our drive is about 5 miles, 10 minutes to Terminal 2 and 12 to Terminals 3 and 6.
• Holiday Inn Tampa Westshore - Airport Area: its Park Stay & Go package text lists a Port of Tampa transfer at $10 a person, without saying which way it runs or how to book it. It’s 12 minutes from the terminals.
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa Stadium - Airport Area: its Park Stay & Go package text lists a cruise port shuttle at an extra $10 a person. Its directions page says the hotel’s shuttle runs only to and from Tampa International Airport, so confirm with the hotel before you count on it. It’s 11 minutes from Terminals 2 and 3.

Five more say they run or arrange one without a price:

• Hampton Inn Tampa Downtown Channel District: offers a shuttle for cruise travelers. It’s also an 8-minute walk from Terminal 6.
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa East - Ybor City: shuttle at select times, charges apply. It’s 11 minutes away.
• La Quinta Inn Tampa Airport Stadium Westshore: a shuttle to Port Tampa Bay for an extra fee, 13 minutes away.
• Sailport Waterfront Suites, Rocky Point: the hotel says its staff can arrange the ride and calls it a 15-minute drive. Our routes take 17 to 18 minutes.
• Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Tampa Airport North: a cruise port shuttle arranged for a fee. At 20 minutes, it’s the furthest of the 12.

Which cruise packages include the ride?

Six hotels include a ride to the port in a cruise package. None publishes a package price.

• The Barrymore Hotel Tampa Riverwalk, Ship & Shore: parking for up to 10 days and a shuttle to and from Port Tampa Bay. Show your cruise boarding passes at check-in. It’s 6 minutes from Terminals 2 and 3 by car.
• Hotel Flor, Cruise and Stay: a night before or after the cruise, a round trip to the Port of Tampa, a welcome amenity and a cocktail for two. Parking is extra.
• Quality Inn & Suites Tampa near Fairgrounds and Casino, Stay Park and Cruise: 14 days’ parking and a round-trip shuttle to Port Tampa Bay. The hotel’s FAQ says it doesn’t run a shuttle otherwise, so the ride comes with the package.
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa East - Ybor City, Park And Cruise: up to 14 days’ parking, breakfast and round-trip port transportation. The hotel asks you to call on the day you arrive to book the drop-off.
• Quality Inn Tampa Airport - Cruise Port, Stay & Cruise and Park & Cruise: one night and breakfast, with up to 2 people taken to the cruise terminal and each extra person $8 one way. Park & Cruise adds 14 days’ parking. The hotel says to call for rates.
• Sailport Waterfront Suites, Snooze & Cruise: one night in a waterfront suite, an airport shuttle, a round trip to the Port of Tampa and 7 nights’ parking. The package’s own page now redirects to a general offers page that doesn’t list it, so ask whether you can still book it.

The park and cruise guide compares the parking side of these packages with the hotels that sell parking only.

Will the shuttle bring me back after the cruise?

Only the packages say so. The Barrymore’s shuttle runs to and from the port, and the packages at Hotel Flor, the Quality Inn & Suites near the Fairgrounds, the Holiday Inn Express Tampa East and Sailport are round trips. The Quality Inn Tampa Airport - Cruise Port is unclear: its own website mentions only the ride to the terminal, while its Choice Hotels page says the package includes transport to and from the port.

None of the others says whether it collects you after the cruise. If yours doesn’t, a taxi or rideshare from the terminal is the usual way back, and the airport transfer guide covers the ride to TPA.

Do any Tampa airport hotels have a cruise shuttle?

Of the 10 airport hotels we checked, only the Holiday Inn Tampa Westshore lists a port transfer. The Embassy Suites and Hilton at Tampa Airport Westshore carry Hilton’s Park, Stay & Go offer, which says some Hilton hotels serve cruise ports, but neither hotel’s own pages confirm a port shuttle. The Tampa airport hotels guide compares them, and the hotels near the Tampa cruise port guide has every hotel we checked.