Has anyone tried to drive to the port the day of? Atlanta to Port Canaveral

We drive from above Charlotte, NC to the PC, Jax, and Tampa ports. We leave anywhere between 2 and 3AM depending on the port, stop for breakfast at daybreak, and then get to the port nice and early.

 

This leaves us a built window of 6 or 7 hours in case something happened along the way.

 

Doing it this way also helps me get to sleep on the first night of the cruise (in a strange bed).

 

I also LOVE the lack of traffic issues driving at these hours. Using an app like Waze also really helps prevent getting caught up in unexpected traffic jams.

 

It's worked like a charm for the past 14 cruises. I don't see any reason to change what works.

We always drive to the port at least the day before. You never know what type of traffic you will run into.

 

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We recently went from near Atlanta (it added about 1.5 hours extra) to port Canaveral in one trip, but was the night before. It took us about 11 hours (we had our toddler with us = more bathroom breaks) and we were definitely glad we had driven down the day before!

 

 

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We drive from above Charlotte, NC to the PC, Jax, and Tampa ports. We leave anywhere between 2 and 3AM depending on the port, stop for breakfast at daybreak, and then get to the port nice and early.

.

 

That is about the only time you can get through the disaster that is Charlotte traffic.:mad: I keep my truck parked at our Charlotte terminal and drive home to Charleston in my car and absolutely HATE driving in that city.

I wouldn't do it and I drive for a living. Unless you are used to getting up that early and being up all night you could easily fall asleep at the wheel and end up in a ditch before you know what happened. It only takes a split second of micro sleep and bam, you are upside down.

We are coming from Atlanta to Port Canaveral. I always go the day before & stay over night nearby. I'm curious, has anyone tried to get up at 3AM or so & drive to the port that day with out issue?

We have FTTF with Carnival so I figured we can just drive up & walk right on :D.

 

Google Maps says it will take 7 h 20 minutes so say 8 h 30 m with stops. That means that if you leave at 3:00 AM, you will get to the ship at about noon or so. You will probably make it assuming no significant problems or holdups but you may not and you will be exhausted. Not sure that I would want to risk it or even if I made it arrive at the ship exhausted.

 

DON

I live in the Port C area and make the drive to the north side of Hotlanta (and back) several times a year, the last one in January. Normally it takes a little over 7 hours, but I don't stop often or for very long. There are two ways that I go... I-75- FL Turnpike-SR 528 or I-75 to I-10 to I-95. The second route is slightly longer distance wise, however there is no measurable difference in time. I usually decide based on what times I will hit traffic around Orlando or Jax and whether or not I want to donate to FL toll road folks. While I have rarely had a delay that would be significant enough to miss a ship, I did spend over 3 hours on 75 parked while they landed 5 helicopters just north of Wildwood. I am sure you could do what you propose without any problems, but I think you would enjoy FTTF more if you came down earlier.

I really think it depends on the length of your drive and what the drive will be like. I used to live in southern CA, so when I cruised out of Long Beach, I would drive down the day of, allowing plenty of time for the crapshoot known as the 405. It was about a 3 hour drive, so no biggie, plus I knew all of the ways to get around any traffic tangles (this was in the days before Waze). I now live in the Houston area, and although I haven't cruised out of Galveston yet, I would probably drive down the same day as well.

 

However, driving more than 3 hours? Then I look at the cost of either flying or driving in the day before. Like someone mentioned above, why do you want to start your vacation tired after such a long drive?

 

In the end, it is personal preference (isn't everything? :) ). If I think there is any reasonable chance I would be late for boarding, I'll go the day before.

There are two ways that I go... I-75- FL Turnpike-SR 528 or I-75 to I-10 to I-95. The second route is slightly longer distance wise, however there is no measurable difference in time. I usually decide based on what times I will hit traffic around Orlando or Jax and whether or not I want to donate to FL toll road folks.

I've been tempted by the I-10/I-95 route, but we pretty much just obey Google Maps. We figure that they've got enough historical data by now, and of course have the real time traffic data they're getting off most of the android phones on the roads, that they'll know best how to get us there.

 

The toll... yeah. The toll. I don't care so much about the marginal amount of money, but I don't have a FL toll pass or tag or whatever, and that is an annoyance.

We do the I-75 to I-10 to I-95 route. We took the turnpike once. The traffic and construction made us decide that the time savings were not worth it. This was a few years ago though. They might be finished with the construction now.

 

I've been tempted by the I-10/I-95 route, but we pretty much just obey Google Maps. We figure that they've got enough historical data by now, and of course have the real time traffic data they're getting off most of the android phones on the roads, that they'll know best how to get us there.

 

The toll... yeah. The toll. I don't care so much about the marginal amount of money, but I don't have a FL toll pass or tag or whatever, and that is an annoyance.

That's a very long drive! We only live 4hours from Fort Lauderdale, but we enjoy leaving the afternoon/evening before and spending the night half way there. I'm so excited the day before that it's fun to start the cruise a bit early. Last year we had car trouble on the way, so it was very good to have that night and the next morning to sort it out.

The toll... yeah. The toll. I don't care so much about the marginal amount of money, but I don't have a FL toll pass or tag or whatever, and that is an annoyance.

Okay, that's not going to be true much longer. We just ordered Peach Passes, after confirming with both FDOT/Fla Tpke and the Central Florida Expressway Authority that Peach Passes work on their highways and expressways. (As a fringe benefit, someday soon, they promise, they'll work in the northeast.)

 

I still might try the I-10/I-95 route to Port Canaveral, though. (The Peach Passes are still going to be good for our trips to Orlando.)

I've been tempted by the I-10/I-95 route, but we pretty much just obey Google Maps. We figure that they've got enough historical data by now, and of course have the real time traffic data they're getting off most of the android phones on the roads, that they'll know best how to get us there.

 

The toll... yeah. The toll. I don't care so much about the marginal amount of money, but I don't have a FL toll pass or tag or whatever, and that is an annoyance.

 

Actually I need clarify the I-10/I-95 portion... on the west side of Jax I use the I-295 by pass, (I-75 to I-10 to I-295 to I-95) much better than taking I-10 all the way to I-95. Without the Sunpass transponder for the turnpike, the lines to pay the toll can be a bit of a PITA. It seems they have cut back the amount of manned booths enough so that you are almost assured of a line. Before I had the transponder and waiting too long in line I asked the toll taker if this was a charge to drive on the road or a parking fee. He was not amused.

 

One other thing that I always consider in which route is what fun things are going on up in Daytona... like the 500 or some "fun" thing. Last week was Bike Week and at least once during Bike Week I-95 was shut down for a few hours because of a fatal bike accident. At those times 95 and Daytona are best avoided.

 

They are both good choices, so whatever you are comfortable with:)

That is about the only time you can get through the disaster that is Charlotte traffic.:mad: I keep my truck parked at our Charlotte terminal and drive home to Charleston in my car and absolutely HATE driving in that city.

 

Yeah, we hate driving home because we usually hit the beginning of afternoon rush hour in Charlotte. I usually go around the west side of the lake to get home during that time.

 

It's not a bad ride from FLA until we're in the last 30 miles from the house. Ridiculous!

Without the Sunpass transponder for the turnpike, the lines to pay the toll can be a bit of a PITA.

Luckily, we've remedied that, now.

 

One other thing that I always consider in which route is what fun things are going on up in Daytona... like the 500 or some "fun" thing.

Now that you mention it. While born here in the Deep South, my spouse spent the teenage years on the east coast of Florida, and that developed the desire to return to some of the restaurants there. I don't remember which one (Funky Pelican maybe?), but there was one that we've made plans to visit twice now, once on a drive from Boston to Orlando, and once on a drive from Atlanta to Port Canaveral, and both times we punted it due to a rerouting due to traffic on I-95. That'll be another reason to take that route.

60 minutes away is our limit. Anything else and we do not chance it.

 

 

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I'm in Pensacola, so from me to South Florida is quite a trek in one day, doable but a good drive. It's pushing it really close and hard to drive from Atl to Port Can. On cruise day.

 

 

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Our cruise out of Tampa in December we are driving down the day before. We have already decided to fly if we sail out of Miami or Canaveral/ Laderdale

 

 

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We have driven to Norfolk and Charleston from North Carolina on the morning of a cruise. Both were under 5-hour drives. I wouldn't want to risk anything longer. We left ourselves plenty of time to call for roadside assistance if needed.

 

We had a flat tire on the way back from a cruise where we drove to Fort Lauderdale. It ended up costing us a couple of hours. I'm glad it did not happen on the way down, although we did the trip in two days, spending the night near Port Saint Lucie--about 2 hours from the port.