I feel for everyone...

Who doesn't live close to the port that they are sailing from. Being that I live in Florida the closest port is 30 minutes away and the furthest is 4 hours. I now am realizing what all of you go through in booking flights, hotels, and planning things to do for a few days precruise. I'm finally getting to Alaska this summer, and it's never really crossed my mind how much extra expense, time and energy goes into all this planning. First it's finding the right flight at times that work, then accommodation for the time in the departure city, figuring out how to get around, where to eat, and a litany of other things that come up along the way. I now understand why getting to your cruise is such a big deal to you all with everything involved. For me its always been pick a date, find someone to watch my dog, pack and show up at the port. This is really daunting making sure you're getting the best price and accommodations to fully enjoy your vacation. I just want to let you all know who don't live within reasonable driving distance to a port, that I, a spoiled Floridian now feel your pain.

Having said that I'm gonna go book a quick last minute deal for next to nothing and hop on a ship this upcoming weekend to take my mind off all this planning. WHY? Because I'm a spoiled Floridian who only lives 30 minutes from a port :D just kidding I gotta wait just like the rest of you.

Finally a Floridian that understands what most of us must do..

you will feel my pain then coming from Scotland.

We have to fly Scotland , down to England and then to Florida .

They all need to connect, then on the return journey too.

We need to set off and fly the day before the cruise and stay overnight.

We need a hotel and transfers , both from airports and hotel to ship.

We never worry about where to eat as we just go find somewhere if hungry, as flying sometimes makes you feel stuffed and bloated, sometimes it's just a snack before bed, the sooner you go to sleep the sooner "sail away day arrives" lol lol

It's very very stressful. Many times going through all the checks and customs and immigrations. It makes you exhausted by the time you arrive at the ship.

Travelling that far for 7days is not worth it so it has to be a 10night cruise.

It all adds up to a very expensive holiday so you want everything to go smoothly and be stress free.

you will feel my pain then coming from Scotland.

We have to fly Scotland , down to England and then to Florida .

They all need to connect, then on the return journey too.

We need to set off and fly the day before the cruise and stay overnight.

We need a hotel and transfers , both from airports and hotel to ship.

We never worry about where to eat as we just go find somewhere if hungry, as flying sometimes makes you feel stuffed and bloated, sometimes it's just a snack before bed, the sooner you go to sleep the sooner "sail away day arrives" lol lol

It's very very stressful. Many times going through all the checks and customs and immigrations. It makes you exhausted by the time you arrive at the ship.

Travelling that far for 7days is not worth it so it has to be a 10night cruise.

It all adds up to a very expensive holiday so you want everything to go smoothly and be stress free.

Flying over the big pond is definitely an experience! When I flew to Europe it was exhausting. Luckily I had a TA set up the entire trip so it was mostly worry free(other then car service not being at the airport when we arrived). I also agree it's not worth that long of a flight for just 7 days. I did 18 days in Europe the last time because of that reason. Luckily I'm extending this trip to Alaska 3 days to make it a 10 day trip with time in Seattle before the cruise begins. I agree about not wanting to eat after a long flight, but I feel like on day 2 in Seattle I will be pretty hungry so I'm looking up good places to dine then. Every time I've ever flown anywhere its been a land vacation of some sort. This is an entirely now experience flying to get on a ship when I can see them while driving over a bridge a lot of the time.

We loved the food in Seattle. We ate in Ivars seafood bar. The steak melted in your mouth and the seafood was amazing. Seattle is a great lace to visit and we will go back again but 2days over a weekend was not long enough for us to see all there is to see. Pikelace market was also great. The tower and the gardens etc. just needed much more time there.

you will feel my pain then coming from Scotland.

We have to fly Scotland , down to England and then to Florida .

They all need to connect, then on the return journey too.

We need to set off and fly the day before the cruise and stay overnight.

We need a hotel and transfers , both from airports and hotel to ship.

We never worry about where to eat as we just go find somewhere if hungry, as flying sometimes makes you feel stuffed and bloated, sometimes it's just a snack before bed, the sooner you go to sleep the sooner "sail away day arrives" lol lol

It's very very stressful. Many times going through all the checks and customs and immigrations. It makes you exhausted by the time you arrive at the ship.

Travelling that far for 7days is not worth it so it has to be a 10night cruise.

It all adds up to a very expensive holiday so you want everything to go smoothly and be stress free.

Living in Belgium I know the pain of flying to USA for a cruise, but I am adicted (see below) so cruising is my way of a vacation now.

Sheba2008 :)

It's no problem for us for a few reasons.

We wanted to go to Puerto Rico anyways, so we figured what a great way to start off on our cruise. Spend 3 days there first, then hop on the ship.

The bonus to that, and the 2nd reason was the flights to Puerto Rico were cheaper than they are to Florida, from Mpls. :D

The last reason was that leaving from San Juan got us started closer to the Caribbean, allowing a nice 7 day southern Caribbean cruise.

Husband won't fly which reduces the options a bit.

We have been from Rome and this time it is Venice.

We live in France so we take a train. Get to Venice and have a week or two, get back and have another week or two.

No point in going all that way for nothing:D

We leave on the 18th for a Venice departure the 28th. Trains going booked but not open for sale for the return. Lovely. Longer in Italy.

Try flying over from Australia! 14 hours to LAX then another 5 hours to Florida. :eek:

Oh! Hang on a minute, I don't have to do that to cruise to gorgeous tropical islands. I just have to drive for 20 minutes to the Sydney cruise terminals and hop on a ship that's cruising to the South Pacific. :D:D:D

I keep telling my sons they need to invent a Star Trek type transporter so we could get to our cruise ports more easily. But so far, no dice. :)

Australia was the most interesting - the idea of losing (or gaining) a whole day was definitely interesting. Our last cruise was to Great Britain but we only had one long flight since we did a B2B with a transatlantic with stops in Norway, Iceland, etc. ending up in NY.

we are flying to OZ and Tasmania next year. So will be experiencing the Gain 2lose 2 days in travelling. Long long flights for us from Scotland.

Scotland to Dubai , to maybe Singapore if we really have too, to Melbourne, to Tasmania. Then the same back again.

It means we lose nearly a week of our three weeks holidays just in travel time.

We loved the food in Seattle. We ate in Ivars seafood bar. The steak melted in your mouth and the seafood was amazing. Seattle is a great lace to visit and we will go back again but 2days over a weekend was not long enough for us to see all there is to see. Pikelace market was also great. The tower and the gardens etc. just needed much more time there.

Come back soon!

i would love too but loads of travelling to do before we get back there in about 5yrs time.

Lanzarote in April.

Cruise the Caribbean in November.

Next year it's Australia and Tasmania.

Then it's the Mardi Gras cruise and Mexico.

So I guess it's gonna be a while but it's a definite that we will go back there.

I am constantly being bombarded with amazing inexpensive cruises out of Florida, Unfortunately I am on the West Coast, and the airfare is more than the cruise!

When we flew to Australia, we flew Air Tahiti Nui and laid over in Tahiti both ways. It was a pleasant way to break up the trip.

Add to the US domestic plans, our nearest airport is 88 miles, so many times we have a pre-flight hotel night if we have early flight, as well as the pre-cruise hotel night in port city.

We always have a connecting flight, at least one way, even if the port is Houston. Florida departures have time difference besides length of flights.

My husband has mobility problems and cannot walk long distances so he always requires airline wheelchair escort booked ahead of time. This means I have to make sure the connection times between flights are much longer than the minimums often given.

OP is right that it is all a hassle. But well worth it once we are aboard ship.

I will agree there is a lot of added expense and planning when you do not live near your cruise port. I will also say that the added planning is part of the excitement in planning a trip. The worst is the expense but planning a trip is big for me.

I will also say that if possible we will take a train to our cruise port. This lengthens our trip and also adds to the excitement in planning a trip. I figure if I am going to take a trip I will make it as long as I can and enjoy my time as much as possible.

I do hope you enjoy your Alaskan cruise. It is my favorite.

While I am not particularly enjoying this February in New England, and I am not happy about having to fly to a cruise port when I do cruise, I still enjoy life - and I feel for people who might live, say, within ten miles of any Florida cruise port - especially from May though October. The hassle of a flight perhaps two or three times a year is bearable - but six months or so in South Florida's warm season would be the far greater hardship to me.

We travel to see the world. We have a cruise port (Charleston) about 3 hours from us. We have sailed from there one time. We prefer places like Rome, Athens, Cape Town, Singapore, Sydney, etc.

And this is why I always tell people there is no way I could ever move to Florida, I would be constantly broke spending money on cruises!

Our only family vacation that wasn't a cruise was still driving so I didn't have to deal with flights, but after that it made me never want to do it again! When we drive down to Florida in the past it has been on off times, so we just drove until we were to tired and found the next hotel to stop at. With 2 kids, eating can't be scheduled, or rest stops for driving so we always just winged it and it worked out at least!

My next goal really is a Hawaii sailing in 1-2 years. This would involve flying mainly because my grandmother just recently told me she always wanted to see Hawaii before she died when I was telling her about how the Vista was sailing to Palermo and I would have loved to taken my grandparents on that cruise because that is where my grandfathers family is from. Alas an estimated $15,000 in airfare alone for 6 people is really not doable for me.

My closest port is Baltimore which we will be sailing out of the first time this August and even that is about a 5 hour drive. I like Florida itineraries better but we got a dog last year which is a lot different than just having cats! Not only do I have to budget for us as a family, I need to budget about $50 a day for his boarding in a "suite" because the times we have left him over night in one of their crates, he doesn't eat. I am hoping having an actual room to himself w/o wired will help. Driving to Florida would make my $350 kennel costs into $550 and that is a lot of DOD's or an excursion! Plus I get to get back to my sweet puppy sooner because I am already worried since he hasn't spent more than 24 hours w/o me since he was 8 weeks old.

The bonus to that, and the 2nd reason was the flights to Puerto Rico were cheaper than they are to Florida, from Mpls. :D

 

The last reason was that leaving from San Juan got us started closer to the Caribbean, allowing a nice 7 day southern Caribbean cruise.

I was thrilled to read this because I always assumed flights to Puerto Rico would be out of the question. It opens up all kinds of possibilities we hadn't considered before, so thank you!

While I am not particularly enjoying this February in New England, and I am not happy about having to fly to a cruise port when I do cruise, I still enjoy life - and I feel for people who might live, say, within ten miles of any Florida cruise port - especially from May though October. The hassle of a flight perhaps two or three times a year is bearable - but six months or so in South Florida's warm season would be the far greater hardship to me.

True - been there at various times of the year and for various reasons; and still can't figure out what is the allure of "Swamplandia."

Between shuttle to the airport, pre flight hotel & meals, flights, pre-cruise hotel and meals, associated gratuities, and then reverse to get back home, the actual cost of the cruise is negligible. Probably less than 30% of our cost for a trip. Each time we cruise in the winter, it has to be 10 or more days just to feel that we are getting a bit more value for our travel expenses. We never even attempt last-minute bookings for cruises. We need to do all we can to align the stars just to get away, even with 8 or 10 months' planning :)

We also live in the uk and have to take a long flight and stay in a hotel the night before the cruise but it is worth it as love Miami and cruising from there.:):)

We do live an hour's drive from the Port of Los Angeles, and most of our cruises have been from there. Our last three cruises have been the Hawaiian RT and fortunately we really enjoy the itinerary, but these are only offered between late September and early May. We haven't done a coastal yet, but they tend to be short cruises (7 days or less) and often include Ensenada, which is a port I dislike. So maybe one time when the ship goes north to Vancouver, maybe this would be a cruise for us. Not fond of Mexican Riviera or Baja cruises and have done these. Not really any options unless we go from LA on a Panama Canal cruise (hubby isn't interested).

The cruises on our dream list all involve long and expensive flights.

Personally, if we lived in Florida, I would get tired on Caribbean cruises.

For the OP, an Alaskan cruise is very worth the logistical troubles. You'll see.

I wasn't trying to gripe or anything making this post, I too enjoy traveling and seeing the world. From a young age I was very fortunate to have parents wanting to show me what this world has to offer with all the different cultures. I was just expressing how I am now empathetic to the people who don't live near the embarkation port. I'm very much excited for my upcoming Alaskan cruise and would gladly look over flights, review hotels, and read about the embarkation city for things to do all the time if I could. I just never really thought about all these additional parts of cruise travel before since I live so close to so many of the ports that people are always flying into. I have dealt with all these things for land based vacations and always just figured it into part of the vacation but just for cruises it has never crossed my mind.