A question about driving to departurre port

Do you have any thoughts on the following.?

We have a cruise coming up at the end of October. Tampa FL is the port for the Paradise. Leaving on Saturday and returning on Thursday. After some investigation, I found I could park at the port and have shuttle service to and from the ship. The driving is at 13 hours. My thought is to drive 10-11 hours on Friday. Stay at a hotel and complete the drive early Saturday morning. And at the end of the trip, we might visit friends in Charleston SC.

Removing the cost and aggravation of flying is a goal of this plan.

Thanks for any input

I know departure is spelled incorrectly. ugh

Our drive to port in a couple of weeks is much shorter than that, and we're still planning on staying overnight nearby so your plan sounds good to me. (y)

We're sailing out of Galveston so it's a different port, but the concept is the same. :)

Sounds like a good plan, although I prefer to stay as close to the port city as possible in case of delays. If Orlando is on the way, it's only an hour from Tampa and hotels are cheap there.

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Sounds like a good plan, although I prefer to stay as close to the port city as possible in case of delays. If Orlando is on the way, it's only an hour from Tampa and hotels are cheap there.

 

 

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Yeah, we're staying an island and short ferry ride away, but we're going to get an early start that morning just in case everyone else has that idea.

If you are that close you might as well drive all the way. If you are stopping at the ten hour that will put you in the Disney area and will cost more.

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I agree with above -- Orlando is outrageously expensive, and you would still have to worry about traffic on the morning of embarkation. It would be best to drive the entire thing the day before, and then have a completely relaxing embarkation morning.

I am doing the same thing you plan, on a much lesser scale. Driving from Ocala to Port Everglades, will spend the night in Boca Raton, with a 30-minute drive the morning of the cruise. Looking forward to the slightly shorter drive the day before, the less expensive Marriott in Boca, and those last 30 minutes will fly by on the way to the port on embarkation day.

My DH and I are driving from Syracuse, NY to Baltimore in January. We are arriving the day before the cruise and staying at a hotel that will let us park our car for the duration of the cruise and shuttle us to and from the cruise port. It will be nice to not have to fly!!!

We drove from KY to Tampa in May. I would suggest using The Parking Doctors. I found them online and used them to park our vehicle and then they took us to the Port. They were absolutely amazing. The lot was very secure and monitored and the distance was maybe 5 minutes from the Tampa Port. When we disembarked they had drivers there waiting no call's had to be made or anything just jumped on the van and they took you right back to your vehicle.

We drove from KY to Tampa in May. I would suggest using The Parking Doctors. I found them online and used them to park our vehicle and then they took us to the Port. They were absolutely amazing. The lot was very secure and monitored and the distance was maybe 5 minutes from the Tampa Port. When we disembarked they had drivers there waiting no call's had to be made or anything just jumped on the van and they took you right back to your vehicle.

Thanks. This sounds very promising.

My DH and I are driving from Syracuse, NY to Baltimore in January. We are arriving the day before the cruise and staying at a hotel that will let us park our car for the duration of the cruise and shuttle us to and from the cruise port. It will be nice to not have to fly!!!

We are doing similar - Central PA to Baltimore in February. Driving the day before in case of storms, and the hotel with complimentary shuttle and parking isn't much more than port parking charges.

I would stay on the west side of Orlando so you will not have to fight traffic going into or thru the City

Do you have any thoughts on the following.?

We have a cruise coming up at the end of October. Tampa FL is the port for the Paradise. Leaving on Saturday and returning on Thursday. After some investigation, I found I could park at the port and have shuttle service to and from the ship. The driving is at 13 hours. My thought is to drive 10-11 hours on Friday. Stay at a hotel and complete the drive early Saturday morning. And at the end of the trip, we might visit friends in Charleston SC.

Removing the cost and aggravation of flying is a goal of this plan.

Thanks for any input

Don't know what route your taking or where you're coming from. Still, here is our experience.

We live in North Alabama so we enter Florida on I75.

In March 2016, we cruised from Fort Lauderdale. We spent the night before the cruise in Ocala. We forgot to check the time on the clock. Consequently, we were up an hour too early. Hell of a time finding a breakfast place open before six am. We took I75 and then the Florida Turnpike. Sure, there are tolls but they are modest and the Turnpike is a less hectic drive than I95. We arrived at the terminal around 1100. About a four hour drive from Ocala to FLL.

In March of this year, we cruised from Tampa. We also stayed in Ocala but we were better at time management. We had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel. Gassed the car at Sam's and were in the terminal at around 1130 which was a perfect arrival time. About a two hour drive to Tampa from Ocala.

The hotels around Ocala or Lake City are plentiful and very inexpensive compared to Orlando or FLL. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and were very pleased. About an hour and a half or two hours to port depending where you stay in Ocala.

Yes, we realize that some advise driving all the way to the port and spending the night before the cruise in the port city. Sure, things can happen but the chances are very remote that it won't be something you can't deal with. Flat tire? Battery? Can be fixed in a couple of hours and by our experience you can easily be in port by noon. Still three hours reserve to deal with issues.

If you're coming down I95, I would suggest taking I10 out of Jacksonville to Lake City. Lots of nice hotels there. Or, if you want to drive a bit further. Ocala is only another hour. If you plan on staying near Ocala, reserve your hotel now, There are several universities in that area so hotels can be a problem on weekends.

Questions?

I live west of the cruise port in Tampa. From Beckley, WV, it should take about 12 hours of driving time to get to Port of Tampa. You can use Google maps, but the fastest route is 95, to 10W, to 301. 301 avoids Orlando, that is a good thing. Watch the speed limits on 301, there are a few speed traps. 301 will connect you to 75S near Ocala. There are reasonably priced hotels in Ocala & also just north of Tampa. On Saturday morning you shouldn't have any major slow downs driving to Tampa from Ocala, but I would always allow extra time in case there are any accidents.

I would search for hotels in Ocala, Wildwood or Wesley Chapel. You should be able to find something convenient to 75. The cruise port is near the Ybor City section of Tampa.

Parking at the actual port is very convenient, no shuttle necessary. It is little pricier than the off site lots. There is even valet service if you want it. You prepay for parking at the port, prices can be found on their site.

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These are great replies and a wealth of information. Avoiding Orlando seems to be a common theme.

One month to go !! YAY.

Maven3.. have a great cruise next week.

These are great replies and a wealth of information. Avoiding Orlando seems to be a common theme.

One month to go !! YAY.

Maven3.. have a great cruise next week.

Thanks, you too! My favorite thing to do when sailing out of Tampa is to be on one of the top decks (highest you can get to) when the ship sails under the Sunshine Skyway bridge. You feel like you could reach up & touch it. It usually takes about 1 - 1.5 hours to get there from the port. (So if you want to be outside, plan for a later dinner that evening.) After you go under the bridge, the pilot gets off the ship & onto the pilot boat to take him back to the port.

When you are inside the ship, the bridge looks cool, but you can't feel the enormity of it all unless you are outside. It is majestic. Occasionally you will see double rainbows [emoji304][emoji304] in that area too.

Wishing you smooth sailing & lots of happy memories!

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These are great replies and a wealth of information. Avoiding Orlando seems to be a common theme.

One month to go !! YAY.

Maven3.. have a great cruise next week.

We did the valet parking at the port last March and that worked very well. A few dollars more but we felt the convenience was worth it. Pulled up in front of the port, the took our car, walked maybe 100 feet to the terminal. Then, got off the ship, they brought our car, 10 minutes tops and we're on our way.