Jacksonville FL

Jaxport's Dames Point Cruise Terminal, at 9810 August Drive, currently receives ships. It is about a 15-minute drive from downtown and still closer to the airport. Height restrictions mean most bigger cruise ships cannot berth there, so the city is looking to build, and has planned, a new cruise port.

A taxi transfer from Jacksonville airport takes about 15 minutes and costs $30. Parking costs $15 a day.

Bring a printable map with you.

On the scenic St. Johns River, Jacksonville is a thriving port town and one of the Southeast's major cultural, commercial, industrial and financial centres. As the largest U.S. city by land area, it offers many attractions and recreational opportunities.

Its predominant waterfront provides easy access to boat cruises, riverfront boardwalks, fish camps and offshore fishing. Sports fans can follow the NFL Jaguars and college football's Gator Bowl Classic, while golfers have several premier courses, including The Players Championship Course (TPC) in Ponte Verda.

Jacksonville Zoological Gardens, local museums and historical sites are all options, while the golden sand of Jacksonville Beach is only a short drive away.

The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida, was founded in 1961 after Ninah Cummer's death, when she bequeathed her gardens and personal art collection to the new museum. It later expanded onto property owned by Ninah's brother-in-law, yet retains her original garden designs and part of her home with its historic furnishing. The museum and gardens draw 130,000 visitors annually.

MOCA Jacksonville is a private nonprofit visual arts educational institution and a cultural institute of the University of North Florida. It serves the community and visitors through exhibitions, collections, educational programs and publications that build understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art, particularly work created from 1960 to the present.

Because Jacksonville is large and low density, and many destinations are not within walking distance of one another, a car is essential to experience it fully unless you want to spend a great deal of time waiting for buses. At 758 square miles, it is the largest city on mainland USA.

The official U.S. currency in Jacksonville is the United States dollar (symbol: $), with ATMs everywhere.

Visa and MasterCard, along with other major credit cards, are widely accepted even for purchases of only a few dollars; in some situations, they may be the only way to pay. Overseas visitors should remember that goods and services can seem cheaper than they are because taxes and gratuities are rarely included.

Most states levy sales tax from 2.9% to nearly 10% of the retail price, with 4-6% typical. Apart from gasoline and, in most states, alcoholic beverages consumed on-premises, it is almost never included in posted prices; it is calculated and added when you pay.

Tipping is widespread and expected in America. Americans may debate the right amounts and who should receive them, but the generally accepted standard rates are:

• Full-service restaurants: 15-20% (This is often the wait(ress)'s only income. Leave tips in cash or add them to the credit card slip.) Note: Few restaurants add an automatic service charge; if one does, decide how much extra to tip. Check your bill!
• Taxi drivers, hairdressers and other personal services: 10-15%.
• Bartenders: a $1 tip suits an inexpensive drink, while 15% applies to the total.
• Bellhops: $1-2 per bag, with a $3-5 minimum regardless.
• Jacksonville hotel doormen: $1 for every assisted bag, and $1 when they call a cab.
• Tour guides: depending on tour length, size and overall guided-tour quality, $5-10 per person for half day tours or less, and $10-20 per person for longer tours.
• For private car & limousine drivers, allow 15-20%.
• For hotel housekeeping, give $1-2 per day during long stays, or at least $5 for a very short stay (optional).
• Food delivery, including pizza, generally merits $2-5, perhaps more for very large orders.

The U.S. has no official language federally, although English is overwhelmingly the everyday standard. A number of states have named English as their official state language. Spanish is also official and widely spoken in New Mexico; French is official in Louisiana and Hawaiian in Hawaii, but neither comes close to English in use and both are official mainly for historical reasons.

Emergency number: 911.

In major metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles, drugstores and supermarkets often operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Department stores, shopping centers and most other large retailers commonly open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, with shorter Sunday hours, generally 11 a.m. or noon to 5 or 6 p.m. They tend to stay open on holidays, except the most important ones, including Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, when stores are generally closed.