Cruise ship passengers who don’t live near a port usually fly to where the cruise departed the day before. With cruise lines operating ships from more ports than ever before, they have more choices than ever about where to fly.
In most cases, cruise lines don’t choose a cruise based on which airport offers the best experience, but all things being equal, the airport that offers the best experience can play a role in the decision. Additionally, especially in Florida, you can fly into multiple airports and access multiple cruise ports.
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For example, Orlando is about an hour from Port Canaveral and not far from Port Tampa. Of course, International Miami is very close to the Port of Miami, but it’s also only about an hour away from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.
A new study from online casino site Nieuwe Casino analyzed various reviews, facilities and Google searches for 31 of the busiest airports in the United States to create an index. Factors considered for each airport include its Google review rating, percentage of 5-star reviews on Google, FlightRadar24 review rating, number of places to eat, shop and spend time according to Tripadvisor, and average monthly search volume per 100,000 passengers related to the “lost baggage” query, identified using the Google Keyword Planner Tool.
Each factor is then given an index score, and each airport receives an overall index score for all factors. These survey results reveal a ranking of the best airports in the United States for flying experience.
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Top 10 airports in the U.S. for passenger experience
Based on flying experience, Tampa International Airport (TPA) is the best airport in the United States. The study gave Florida airports an overall passenger satisfaction index score of 71/100.
The airport has the highest Google rating overall (4.6 out of 5) and the highest proportion of five-star reviews among U.S. airports (74.11% of all reviews). Not only that, but reviews on FlightRadar24 are unanimous, with the airport ranked number one on the site, receiving a rating of 88/100.
Several cruise lines depart from Tampa, including Canrival, Royal Caribbean and Margaritaville at Sea.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ranked fourth, with an overall index score of 60.7/100, which is commendable.
Of the factors considered, California airports scored highly across the board. However, SFO achieved a particularly impressive FlightRadar24 score of 84/100 on the website.
Carnival’s Princess Cruises and its Cunard cruise lines sail from the Port of San Francisco.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) ranks among the top five airports in the United States for the best flying experience.
The study found that Georgia airports had an overall Flight Experience Index score of 57.6/100, with more than half (57.24%) of Google reviews for the airport receiving a 5-star rating, one of the factors that influenced the airport’s overall score.
Atlanta isn’t a cruise port city, but it’s not unreasonable to fly to the city from one of Florida’s ports. This requires renting a car or booking another type of transportation, but Atlanta is generally a very affordable airport to fly into.
Also read: Top travel agents share how to get the best cruise prices
Orlando International Airport (MCO) ranked sixth. Research shows that Florida airports have an overall index score of 57.3/100. Its outstanding factor is the amenities provided to passengers, ranking fourth among the analyzed airports.
Port Canaveral is the second largest cruise port in the world by passenger volume. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, MSC Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, multiple Carnival Cruise Line brands and other cruise lines all use the port as their base. It takes about an hour to get to the port from MCO, and most cruise lines offer shuttles.
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