Transfer vans are available for hire at the airport. Ask your skycap where to go to purchase this transfer.
One-way or round-trip transfers are available. Cost is $11 per person one-way, or $22 per person round-trip. Tip for driver is optional.
To use the van, you must arrive Miami no later than 2 PM and depart from Miami no earlier than 1 PM.
In some cases, especially if people share a cab ride, the cab may be less expensive and more comfortable. Plenty of cabs are waiting at the airport. The choice of van vs. cab will be yours when you arrive at the airport and compare deals.
Although the returning ship arrives in port ostensibly at 8 AM, this doesn't mean you get off at 8 AM. There's usually several hours of waiting while the ship itself is checked by customs.
During this time, you'll eat breakfast, then wait and chat in designated areas till your number or color-code is called over a loudspeaker to proceed to the gangplank.
After disembarking into the terminal, you'll be checked out by a customs officer (a quick, no-brainer). Then you'll go to a vast holding-area to get your luggage. Redcaps are all over the place and will wheel your suitcases outside to the curb (usual tip for redcap is $1 per piece he handles). He will take you and luggage to cab/transfer van stations.
In short, you'll probably get to the curb somewhere between 10 and 11 AM.
If you plan on using the shuttle van, check your airline arrival and departure times so that everything jibes.
Also, and VERY IMPORTANT, make sure your plane taking you back to your home state isn't leaving before you arrive at the airport that morning!
So far, there are 15 freepers arriving the day before embarkation and staying overnight at the Miami Embassy (fun, fun, fun!). The Embassy provides free shuttle vans from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the Carnival terminal the morning of sailing. So these folks are taken care of transportation-wise.
If you plan on arriving in Miami a day early, the Embassy has a neat cruise accomodations package which includes the free van service. These packages are limited in number, so sign up right away if you're interested. To do so, contact our travel agent, the lovely Wanda, at 1-800-890-7583 (Pacific time zone) to sign up. She can also handle your airline reservations also, which may make life easier for you in the long run.
Any questions, post them here.
Bahama Mama
She informs us that the port complex is approximately six miles from the airport. The cab fare one way is "under $20.00". This is about as close as we can come.
Therefore, it appears that taking the transfer van is considerably less expensive than taking a cab.
Bahama Mama tips her straw hat to you, Hoosiermama, for sending us this information.
Bahama Mama