Carnival Elation at JAXPORT Cruise Terminal
Everything you need for boarding Carnival Elation (Carnival) at JAXPORT Cruise Terminal. Terminal info, parking, restaurants, hotels, and pro tips.
Historical Terminal Reference
Carnival Elation usually sails from JAXPORT Cruise Terminal at JAXPORT Cruise Terminal — this association is historical, so confirm with your cruise line. The drop-off lane, the sourced parking rate, and check-in timing are below.
When Can You Board Carnival Elation?
Carnival gives you an Arrival Appointment, chosen during online check-in — the time everyone in your stateroom should be at the terminal. You must be on board by the Final Boarding time printed on your boarding pass.
The arrival time on your own boarding pass is the one that governs your sailing.
Read on Carnival Cruise Line’s own site, August 11, 2026.
Email me the Carnival Elation boarding-day plan — pick your sailing below and we'll send your terminal, parking and boarding details now, then reminders a month out to book the hotel, two weeks out to pack, the week before you sail and the day before, whichever are still ahead of you. No newsletter.
Upcoming Sail Dates
Current sailing dates are temporarily unavailable. Use the terminal, parking, hotel, and local guidance below, and confirm your itinerary with the cruise line.
We are not showing sail dates for Carnival Elation right now — our JAXPORT Cruise Terminal schedule is between checks, so this is a gap in what we can vouch for, not a sign the ship has stopped sailing. Your cruise line has the current dates.
Planning the rest of your port day
Parking rates, boarding windows and getting to the terminal are the same for every ship sailing from JAXPORT Cruise Terminal, so they live in one place: parking at JAXPORT Cruise Terminal, boarding tips and when you can board.
Historical Terminal Reference
Carnival Elation usually sails from here, but this terminal association is historical and may have changed. Confirm your terminal with your cruise line.
JAXPORT Cruise Terminal
Drop-off: Set your GPS for 9810 August Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32226 — JAXPORT publishes that address on every cruise page and asks passengers to use it rather than a landmark. Its own directions say to take Exit 41 for Heckscher Drive (FL-105) from either I-95 or I-295, heading east from I-95 and west from I-295, then follow the signs and turn onto August Drive. Curbside drop-off is unrestricted, so a driver who is not parking can pull up, unload and leave. The building itself is not open house: JAXPORT states the terminal and its berth are a restricted area under Florida's Seaport Security Act, and only ticketed passengers for that sailing, cruise staff and JAXPORT operations go inside.
Parking: One secured, open, on-site lot immediately beside the terminal, patrolled by JAXPORT security around the clock. A passenger vehicle is $17 per day with tax included, which JAXPORT prices out as $68 for a four-day cruise and $85 for a five-day. An oversized recreational vehicle — anything taking two regular spaces — is charged at double that, $136 and $170 for the same two cruises. Reservations are neither needed nor possible: JAXPORT stopped taking new prepaid parking bookings on Monday, June 22, 2026, and says the lot does not sell out. Bring a card. The parking page says the terminal takes credit cards only and no cash, while the older cruise FAQ still says cash or major credit cards are accepted, and of the two the parking page is the one JAXPORT updated. Free parking is available only under Florida Statute 316.1964, and JAXPORT is specific about it: a standard disabled placard or plate is not enough on its own — the vehicle must be carrying the permit holder and must also either be fitted with adaptive equipment, or display a Florida Disabled Veteran plate, or display a Florida Toll Exemption permit.
Check-in tips:
- Arrive inside the appointment window on your documents. JAXPORT publishes no general boarding hour for this terminal
- Carnival check-in typically opens about 14 days out, Norwegian about 21. Two lines, one building, two sets of rules
- There are no lockers here. JAXPORT states that no storage is available to cruise passengers
- Debarkation: JAXPORT says self-assist starts around 7:15 am and general debarkation around 10:15 am
- Lost luggage at the terminal goes to Intercruises on (904) 704-1667, not to JAXPORT
- Left something aboard a Carnival ship instead? That is Carnival on 1-800-929-6400
JAXPORT Cruise Terminal parking & drop-off at JAXPORT Cruise Terminal →
Getting to the Port
Driving & Parking at the Terminal
The default here, and the port is built for it. Every route funnels through one exit: JAXPORT's own directions say to take Exit 41 for Heckscher Drive (FL-105) from either I-95 or I-295, east from I-95 and west from I-295, then follow the cruise signs onto August Drive. The lot is a single open, secured area immediately beside the terminal with no assigned spaces, lit and patrolled by JAXPORT security around the clock, and the walk from car to check-in is short enough that nobody sensibly drops bags first.
Cost: $17 per day for a passenger vehicle, tax included — JAXPORT prices a four-day cruise at $68 and a five-day at $85. An oversized recreational vehicle, meaning anything that takes two regular spaces, is $34 per day, $136 for four days and $170 for five. Payment is on arrival: the parking page says credit cards only and no cash, though the older cruise FAQ still says cash is accepted, so bring a card either way.
From Jacksonville International Airport (JAX)
JAX is 12 miles from the terminal, JAXPORT's own figure, and a 20-25 min drive on I-295. Allegiant, American, Delta, JetBlue, Silver, Southwest and United all serve it, which is a real airport's worth of nonstops for a port this small, and the airport sits a mile west of I-95 at exit 363-B. There are no rental car counters at the cruise terminal, so a car collected at JAX has to go back to JAX rather than to the pier.
Cost: Fares are not published. JAXPORT names its franchised operator and its phone numbers rather than a price, and neither the taxi nor the shuttle rate appears on any JAXPORT page we read.
Taxi and shuttle to the terminal
JAXPORT contracts a franchised taxi service that runs taxi, mini-van and shuttle trips between the cruise terminal and Jacksonville International Airport. Its Transportation to Terminal page publishes (904) 222-2222 for a taxi and (904) 338-9595, option 2, for shuttle and special-needs transportation. Its older cruise FAQ publishes a different pair — (904) 999-9999 for taxi and (800) 258-3826 for shuttle — so if one number does not connect, the other is JAXPORT's too.
Cost: Not published. JAXPORT gives no fare, no flat rate and no shuttle price on any of its cruise pages, so ask the operator when you book rather than budgeting from a guess.
Rideshare (Uber and Lyft)
Both operate in Jacksonville and both will run to Dames Point. What you should not assume is a quick pickup on the way home: the terminal is inside a working cargo port off Heckscher Drive with no residential area around it, so a car is coming to you from the city rather than circling nearby, and everyone disembarking wants one in the same forty minutes.
Cost: Not published — rideshare pricing is dynamic and neither JAXPORT nor either app publishes a Jacksonville terminal fare, so we do not quote one.
Where can I park for a Carnival Elation cruise?
The sourced rate is above, in Getting to the Port.
Still weighing where to leave the car?
Nearby Restaurants
Metro Diner
The original 1992 Metro Diner on Hendricks Avenue, before the chain existed
$First Watch
Daytime breakfast and lunch on Riverside Avenue, open at 7am seven days
$European Street Cafe
A San Marco sandwich counter and beer hall that has been feeding Jacksonville for four decades
$$Hawkers Asian Street Food
Small plates from across Southeast Asia in Five Points, built for a table that cannot agree
$$Nearby Hotels
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Holiday Inn Express & Suites Jacksonville - Blount Island
The only hotel within a couple of miles of the terminal, on New Berlin Road in the same cargo-port corridor
Residence Inn by Marriott Jacksonville Airport
Airport Road extended-stay where every suite has a kitchenette and the hot breakfast is free seven days a week
Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Jacksonville Airport
Next door to the Residence Inn on Airport Road, with a free hot buffet and an outdoor pool at a lower tier
WoodSpring Suites Jacksonville East 295 Cruise Port
A bare-bones extended-stay on Dames Point Crossing where every room has a two-burner stove and a full-size refrigerator
Local Tip
Carnival Elation usually sails Jacksonville year-round on four- and five-day Bahamas cruises, and every one of them leaves from the JAXPORT Cruise Terminal at 9810 August Drive on Dames Point. Terminal parking is $17 a day with tax included — $68 for a four-day, $85 for a five-day — and since June 22, 2026 there is no reservation to make; JAXPORT says the lot is ample and does not sell out. Bring a card, because the parking page says no cash. There is no general boarding hour to arrive at: JAXPORT tells passengers to come during the arrival appointment window chosen in Carnival's online check-in, which typically opens about 14 days out.
Other Ships Sailing from JAXPORT Cruise Terminal
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