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what would you do?


luv4u859
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Ok me and my mom are trying to plan another cruise. For my first and second one I flew to Miami and sailed from there. My mom is thinking of sailing from Baltimore to avoid the cost of flight, hotels, cars & etc.

 

Would you continue to sail out of florida or other cruise ports you have to fly to and pay 600-700 for cruise

 

or

 

Would you try a cruise out of Baltimore which we can drive to, which would take 2 hrs 15mins and pay over a thousand for it?

 

Going out of Miami and all the other fees we had to pay it totaled over 1000 anyway, so it kinda makes sense to leave from Baltimore.

 

We can only travel in the summer due to us both being teachers so I already kno the prices go up during that time.

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I personally prefer to cruise from ports that are within driving distance. I also like to sail from different ones so I would give Baltimore a try.

 

Yeah I wouldn't mind driving to a port and I kinda like the Baltimore cruise itinerary, just seeing that price tag :eek: but I know it would be worth it.

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Itinerary, cost, and ease of travel. Those are the 3 I go by.

 

If Baltimore did not have the itinerary, I would travel IF cost was acceptable.

 

If I have to make more then 1 layover to get to a port to get on the ship, I look elsewhere.

 

If the Baltimore ship/ships have what you want, go for it. Why pay and spend the time on trains, planes, or automobiles when you do not need to.

 

I am spoiled. I live in Central Florida. I have Port Canaveral, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, or even Jacksonville within hours (5 or less) for a drive and have the Caribbean and Bahamas covered. Have been to most of the islands I want.

 

Only thing left for me is Southern Caribbean with Aruba as a stop. We did have to catch a flight up to Philadelphia for a New England cruise in 2005. Was well worth it. Had a cruise out of Puerto Rico all set up for last Thanksgiving but had to cancel it due to issues that cropped up. I dreaded that flight. Ended up making a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale instead, but to different ports.

 

O well, it is not the destination in most instances, it is the adventure getting there....:cool:

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Ok me and my mom are trying to plan another cruise. For my first and second one I flew to Miami and sailed from there. My mom is thinking of sailing from Baltimore to avoid the cost of flight, hotels, cars & etc.

 

Would you continue to sail out of florida or other cruise ports you have to fly to and pay 600-700 for cruise

 

or

 

Would you try a cruise out of Baltimore which we can drive to, which would take 2 hrs 15mins and pay over a thousand for it?

 

Going out of Miami and all the other fees we had to pay it totaled over 1000 anyway, so it kinda makes sense to leave from Baltimore.

 

We can only travel in the summer due to us both being teachers so I already kno the prices go up during that time.

 

I agree with Mysticks1 (different ports) but after my experience sailing out of New Jersey, I am hesitant to cruise northern ports. It depends on the time of year. If it's in July or August, I would try but any other time it's likely too cold. I don't like spending days of my cruise in a winter or spring jacket waiting to get to the warm weather.

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We have had this dilemma several times, as we live in New England ... with three kids.

Once, it was actually cheaper to pay for five flights and cruise out of Tampa then to cruise out of NYC.

But this past year, the cruise out of NY, while more expensive than Florida proved to be less expensive when you figure flights.

 

There is so much more to consider ... transportation to and from the airport, airport parking, time to travel, etc.

 

The best thing this past year was getting off the Splendor in NY at 8am and being home by 11:30. That for me, was awesome.

 

I would look at the itinerary first, total expenses second. The Pride is a great ship, this may work out well for you!

 

catrin

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Ok me and my mom are trying to plan another cruise. For my first and second one I flew to Miami and sailed from there. My mom is thinking of sailing from Baltimore to avoid the cost of flight, hotels, cars & etc.

 

Would you continue to sail out of florida or other cruise ports you have to fly to and pay 600-700 for cruise

 

or

 

Would you try a cruise out of Baltimore which we can drive to, which would take 2 hrs 15mins and pay over a thousand for it?

 

Going out of Miami and all the other fees we had to pay it totaled over 1000 anyway, so it kinda makes sense to leave from Baltimore.

 

We can only travel in the summer due to us both being teachers so I already kno the prices go up during that time.

 

We deal with this everytime we get ready to book. We also only cruise in the Summer and live in Jersey. So far, I've opted to travel to Florida for every cruise.

 

The prices out of Baltimore do pretty much balance out the cost involved with traveling to Florida, but the Pride itinerary is totally unappealing. The Splendor is expensive during the Summer and even with all the expenses of traveling to Florida, it's still cheaper unless we opted for inside cabins. 8 days....2 kids with an inside cabin. No way. I would love to drive to a port instead of flying, so I feel you OP.

 

If you don't mind Pride's itinerary, go with it. I've heard good things about her.

Edited by cruizinisthebest
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I live in NY, but I prefer to travel to Florida or San Juan to cruise. I do not care for the itinerary and too much sea days for me. If you like the itinerary out of Baltimore and its works out better for you go for it.

 

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Forums mobile app

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I am sailing out of Baltimore for that reason this year. I cannot justify the additional price to fly the five of us to Florida before cruising. I also want to try Baltimore before Carnival pulls out in October.

 

Another perk when driving to the port is the ability to pack more as we do not have to worry about what we pack due to flying.

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Me living in Ft Lauderdale literally 15 minutes from port I can't imagine paying for a plane ticket to get on a cruise ship so if you are 2 to 3 hours away from a port I would do it with no questions asked.

 

well you are lucky to be not so far from a cruise port that has multiple ship options. I live in NJ and the ports that are close to me in Baltimore and New York. I like the other options of going out of places in Florida, only Miami so far, and being able to go to different Caribbean ports. The ports for Baltimore cruise are either Orlando, been there a million times no feeling of wanting to go back and the Bahamas which I have been before to.

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We deal with this everytime we get ready to book. We also only cruise in the Summer and live in Jersey. So far, I've opted to travel to Florida for every cruise.

 

The prices out of Baltimore do pretty much balance out the cost involved with traveling to Florida, but the Pride itinerary is totally unappealing. The Splendor is expensive during the Summer and even with all the expenses of traveling to Florida, it's still cheaper unless we opted for inside cabins. 8 days....2 kids with an inside cabin. No way. I would love to drive to a port instead of flying, so I feel you OP.

 

If you don't mind Pride's itinerary, go with it. I've heard good things about her.

 

You seem like you have the same exact situation as me when it comes to cruising. Yeah I think I would prefer to go out of ports in Florida or New Orleans. Just for an interior on the pride was 1,055.10. My mom even said that was very expensive.

 

Also I have only sailed 3 and 4 days, not sure if I am ready for a 8 day cruise. I have also heard great things about the Pride to.

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well you are lucky to be not so far from a cruise port that has multiple ship options. I live in NJ and the ports that are close to me in Baltimore and New York. I like the other options of going out of places in Florida, only Miami so far, and being able to go to different Caribbean ports. The ports for Baltimore cruise are either Orlando, been there a million times no feeling of wanting to go back and the Bahamas which I have been before to.

 

Exactly. I would book the Pride in a heartbeat but that itinerary killed it. I've been to the Bahamas probably a half dozen times and the area of Port Canaveral/Cocoa Beach even more. The conveience of not having to fly is great but you don't typically save on the total cost of the trip for Summer sailings. And unless you are excited about the Bahamas and/or don't mind 8 days on the ship (I think I would) you are headed due South.:p

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

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