If you’re cruising out of Port Canaveral in 2016, you may want to budget a little more for parking. The port commissioners unanimously voted for a $1 per day increase. The new daily rate will be $16, currently $15. Oversized vehicles will increase $2, up from $26 to $28.
An exact date for the parking increase has not been set but said to be within the next 30 days.
The Growth Off Site Parking
At the current rate, a three-night cruiser currently pays $60 a car if they park at Port Canaveral.
Offsite cruise parking companies like GoPortCanaveral will be benefit from the rate increases, they charge less than half the price of the cruise port or offer free parking with a pre-cruise hotel package.
“Parking near the port is always much cheaper than parking at the port. Some offsite lots charge by as much as $8.95 per day and offer free transportation, we do the opposite. Free cruise parking for your entire cruise, just purchase cruise shuttle transfers for $10.00 per person,” Kayla Kirsch, Marketing Director for Go Port Canaveral told us.
The Port’s Stand
“The port finds itself in a unique position whereby, most of the time, the parking garages servicing the cruise terminals are fully occupied,” Rodger Rees, Port Canaveral’s deputy executive director and chief financial officer said. “With over $30 million in capital expenditures for parking facilities” during the last few years, “staff believes that an increase is warranted in order to recapture these capital expenditures.”
Overall
The parking increase will generate an additional $900,000 per year for the port. Cruise parking accounts for 17% of the port’s overall revenue. The $1 rate increase is said to run on a 90 day trial.
