how long should we allow

[bodget]

were flying into orlando the day before our cruise then hiring a car to drive to fort laudwedale.
how long should we allow for the drive? the car hire firms say they offer a shuttle to the cruise terminal,how reliable are they and do they charge?

[maxsmamma]

That's not a short drive. I'd say at least 4-4.5 hours. I don't know any firms that would drive people there. I hope others have experienced advice for you. I'd personally fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Miami is about 45 minutes to an hour a way. If this is an option, you may want to consider it.

[azkcruizers]

I would also say about 4 hours to get there. If you were to get stuck in traffic possibly more:(

Karen

[jtl513]

3.5 hrs via the FL turnpike, maybe 1/2 hr longer if you had to jump over to I-95 because of a problem. And that's at the speed limit. It's about 205 miles from the Orlando airport to Port Everglades.

[sail7seas]

If it were me and we were flying in the day before, we would make the transfer from Orlando to FLL the day before the cruise. I would have the car company pick you up at the Orlando airport and though you will be tired, go to a hotel in FLL and know you are in embarkation city. But that's just me......
I'm sure you know there were more convenient airports you could have booked into but I am sure you had your reasons for picking one hours away.

[azkcruizers]

Sail7seas

I agree! Then they would have the driving over and be able to board early!

Get the work over and be prepared for the fun:)

Karen

[AAL]

We flew into Orlando for a FLL cruise in 2006. We drove down to FLL on Saturday morning, traffic was light, and the drive took no more than 4 hours. The return to Orlando on a Wednesday, however, took about six hours because of traffic.

Flying into MCO is not the best alternative if you are crusing out of FLL. But sometimes things just work out that way. We flew into MCO because we booked mileage tickets long before we knew whether we would cruise out of Tampa or FLL, and were planning a few days post-cruise at WDW.

[English_in_Spain]

We did a pre-cruise stay in Orlando then drove down for FLL. The weather and the traffic were bad and it took us over 5 hours.

Allow plenty of time if you are sure you are going to do it on the day of your cruise.

[debnjoe1438]

Per map quest it's 3 hours and 26 minutes. This is from south Orlando just a couple of miles from the turnpike. Depending on the time of day and unforseeable occurances on the highway, it could take longer. I'm driving down next week, however that's just because I live north of Orlando. (work in south Orlando)

May I ask, Why are you flying into Orlando.

[off2ctheworld]

We just did the same thing bodget in December. Rented a car in Orlando after a week of Disneyworld sightseeing, drove on Fl turnpike morning of cruise to Ft. Lauderdale. Arrived at rental place and they were not busy as we arrived about 10:30. A worker drove us to pier and we waited until we could board-watching the people leave the ship. It worked great-just used the gps that was onboard rental car to tell us direction and roads.
After cruise we flew home out of Ft. Lauderdale.

[weelv2cruise]

were flying into orlando the day before our cruise then hiring a car to drive to fort laudwedale.
how long should we allow for the drive? the car hire firms say they offer a shuttle to the cruise terminal,how reliable are they and do they charge?

Hi bodget. The last time I drove from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale it was about an hour. I've meet several folks who have taken the shuttle and were pleased with it and they said they didn't pay a thing.

[Boytjie]

Hi bodget. The last time I drove from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale it was about an hour.

212 miles in a hour?! :eek:

[kryos]

were flying into orlando the day before our cruise then hiring a car to drive to fort laudwedale.
how long should we allow for the drive? the car hire firms say they offer a shuttle to the cruise terminal,how reliable are they and do they charge?I'm assuming you have a reason to fly into Orlando instead of directly to Fort Lauderdale? Perhaps to go to Disney World for the day before your cruise?

If that's the case, I would sooner try to grab a quickie commuter flight to Fort Lauderdale. The other option is maybe the Greyhound bus. Getting a private car hire is gonna be tremendously expensive. That's a pretty long drive from Orlando to Lauderdale. The Greyhound might work because I'm sure they have scheduled runs between Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, and if you get an early enough bus, you should have no problem whatsoever making it to the pier in plenty of time. A flight would be even better, though I don't know if that would be a cost-prohibitive option.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

Hi bodget. The last time I drove from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale it was about an hour.Huh? Many years ago, I had a jump buddy who was from the Fort Lauderdale area. He met me in Orlando once for a weekend of skydiving at a drop zone in the area (ZHills). I distinctly remember asking him how long the drive down from Lauderdale took, and he told me close to three hours. Now this guy was a skydiver ... a bit on the "extreme" side. He had a habit of "flooring it" and had the speeding tickets to show for that. If it took him close to three hours to make that drive, I'm sure it would take the average person at least that, if not more.

You sure you're not thinking of somewhere else? Perhaps between Orlando and one of the surrounding towns like Kissimmee?

Blue skies ...

--rita

[bodget]

the reason wre doing this is that we live in manchester,uk.price from mancester-orlando £650 all in.other option is drive to london for direct flight to miami - 3 hr drive or 2 flights via newark which cost more !! hire companies offering a compact for $40 1 way

[Host Michell]

Hi bodget. The last time I drove from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale it was about an hour. I've meet several folks who have taken the shuttle and were pleased with it and they said they didn't pay a thing.

That has to be a typo? The only vehicle in Florida which could do that trip in an hour is the Space Shuttle (which would take less time!). :)

I think for the OP that this is doable (I've done it when I was cruising out of FLL with a good friend who lived in Orlando -- I flew in the night before, and together we went and rented a car -- then on the day of cruise we drove to FLL and dropped off the rental, then took the rental agency shuttle to the ship).

Because I was concerned about potential problems, traffic, etc. though, we were on the road to FLL by 6:00 AM on the day of the cruise, for a 5 PM sailing. If you rent your car the night you land in Orlando, and get up and on the road at the crack of dawn on your cruise day, I think this is quite doable. People from all over Florida drive in day of cruise to FLL or MIA.

[floridafolks]

I live in Orlando and grew up in Ft. Lauderdale. The trip could be done in well under 4 hrs without speeding.---but if there is a wreck on the turnpike or something like that it could be more. Weekdays will be busier than on sat or sun morning. Depending on when you arrive you could drive on to Ft. Lauderdale that evening or maybe part way--like to Palm Beachthen sleep in and get a good nights sleep. If you decide to drive on the day of the cruise- I agree that you should get up very early. It is a very easy drive - very straight forward, so you won't get lost. But traffic accidents could cause problems.
good luck and enjoy the cruise.
PS I think that the 1 hour had to be a typo!!

[weelv2cruise]

212 miles in a hour?! :eek:

Your right, I have to back the truck up here...I was thinking Port Canaveral. Ft Lauderdale is definintely about 3 to 4 hours depending on traffic. We usually take the turnpike and it usually flows well. Sorry about that!

[readytocruiseagain!]

I think the OP is saying "hire" a car which is what she/he would say in the UK, but to us in the US it would mean "rent" a car.

I too would go the day before if possible.

[debnjoe1438]

Hi bodget. The last time I drove from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale it was about an hour. I've meet several folks who have taken the shuttle and were pleased with it and they said they didn't pay a thing.

:confused: An hour, how in the heck did you make it from Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale in an hour? :eek:

[debnjoe1438]

I'm assuming you have a reason to fly into Orlando instead of directly to Fort Lauderdale? Perhaps to go to Disney World for the day before your cruise?

If that's the case, I would sooner try to grab a quickie commuter flight to Fort Lauderdale. The other option is maybe the Greyhound bus. Getting a private car hire is gonna be tremendously expensive. That's a pretty long drive from Orlando to Lauderdale. The Greyhound might work because I'm sure they have scheduled runs between Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, and if you get an early enough bus, you should have no problem whatsoever making it to the pier in plenty of time. A flight would be even better, though I don't know if that would be a cost-prohibitive option.

Blue skies ...

--rita
The Grey Hound bus will stop at EVERY little town between Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.:(

[pompey86]

Hi Bodget, Have you tried Virgin or BA, they have got a sale on at the moment , I got a good deal for LHR to Miami for April , I know its not Manchester , but i didnt check any other than London airports , perhaps it would be worth a try, I know Hal do transfers from various Florida towns and cities , i think its with a well known bus company, i read somewhere in the brochure about it, i have friends in Fort Pierce and they can get a coach from there, anyway please enjoy your cruise.:)

[maxsmamma]

Per map quest it's 3 hours and 26 minutes. This is from south Orlando just a couple of miles from the turnpike. Depending on the time of day and unforseeable occurances on the highway, it could take longer. I'm driving down next week, however that's just because I live north of Orlando. (work in south Orlando)

May I ask, Why are you flying into Orlando.

I live in suburban Chicago, and I always add an hour to mapquest. I don't think they take into consideration traffic conditions. That's why I said it was likely closer to 4 hours

[kryos]

The Grey Hound bus will stop at EVERY little town between Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.:(Aren't there express runs, in addition to the local ones?

That would seem to me to be a popular route, so it should have express service, with only limited stops, too. At least, I would hope so.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

That has to be a typo? The only vehicle in Florida which could do that trip in an hour is the Space Shuttle (which would take less time!). :)

Oh, I don't know about that. LOL ... one could hop on over to Kissemme and have a chat with the folks at Warbird Adventures. They could run you over in one of their T-6 trainers probably in about an hour, and throw in some aerobatics for good measure too! :)

Blue skies ...

--rita

[Oceanwench]

The turnpike is a breeze.
We lived in Fort Lauderdale and had season passes to Disney World, so we were frequent commuters.
It always ran about 3.5 hours.
We never took I-95. Horrible road.

[kryos]

Your right, I have to back the truck up here...I was thinking Port Canaveral. LOL ... or the camper maybe? :)

Blue skies ...

--rita

[timothy998]

Southwest Air has flights that would be about $190 USD/person...it just depends whether you want to save the money and drive to FLL after the long flight, but the $40 rental car is a very good deal in comparison...we've been known to do the same thing into Tampa instead of flying into Ft Myers. I know that the rental car companies have a shuttle from the FLL airport to the cruise pier. We're on your same cruise, I believe.

[bodget]

look forward to meeting everyone off c.c. it will be nice to be on an english speaking boat (in a round about sort of way l.o.l.) as our last 2 cruises have been with mainly asian and italians.were hoping to visit florida so a recki on the roads and driving in general will come in handy

[weelv2cruise]

:confused: An hour, how in the heck did you make it from Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale in an hour? :eek:

I was driving my other vehicle--the farreri :D

[jtl513]

I was driving my other vehicle--the farreri :DI guess they're a heckuva lot faster than Ferraris!!

[weelv2cruise]

I guess they're a heckuva lot faster than Ferraris!!

You bet ya! ;)