Drive 6 hours to port morning of cruise?

Anyone drive 6 hours the A.M. of a cruise?

Yup, just did it a few weeks ago from northern Florida to Miami.

I did it once before. I drove from NOLA to Galveston. I probably wouldn't do it again though.

Anyone drive 6 hours the A.M. of a cruise?

Never.

I'm sure many do. It makes for a long day but you can set an early alarm and easily arrive by 11 or 12. What lots of folks recommend against is flying day of, especially if it involves a plane change, etc. In the car it takes a lot to throw your schedule off enough to risk missing the ship. Even a flat tire wouldn't be a problem only delaying you by 90 minutes, max. Now is it worth the $60-$75 room charge? Only you can answer that.

What port ? Maybe cheaper to drive in day before and get a "stay and park" package at a hotel by the pier.. vs arriving same day and paying for parking at the port.

Did once , got to Jacksonville on 95 and sat in traffic for over an hour. Got to port later than i wanted. Last time i took that chance. even though been through Jax often and never got stuck again. Guess that only happens when you are on a tight schedule. LOL

We drove Boston to Manhattan in winter once. I really don't like planning stress into vacations so I don't we'll do it again.

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I've driven numerous times from Central Florida to Miami (about a 4 - 5 hour drive) and haven't had any problems, but I am always nervous that something is going to go wrong - having major car trouble in the middle of nowhere on SR 60, running into a bad accident, or worse getting into even a fender bender myself on the Turnpike. It can take forever to get law enforcement on the scene.

I will be sailing out of Miami in October and this time I got one of the stay and park hotels near the airport. It will basically cost the same as parking at the port, and will only have to add in the cost of a taxi (or uber) to and from the port. I just want to avoid the stress and be able to relax the night before the cruise. Looking forward to it.

We drive from the Huntsville area of Alabama to Mobile, 6 hours, on cruise day. Have lunch on the Fantasy. If we are cruising out of NOLA it is only 7 hours, but we go down the day before.

Which leads to another comment. For many folks, time is precious and in short supply. But you'll see some say 'I leave 2-3 days before so I'm relaxed when I get on the boat.' That's nice for those that can. It's not practical for many (most).

We must fly when we cruise. For a Saturday departure, we fly Friday night after work. If some major storm is bearing down, we'll know and adjust accordingly but it's never been a problem. I suppose it's one advantage to living in one of the top airline markets in the world here in Chicago. There's always an option somewhere. If I was in Fargo, ND, I'd probably want more cushion.

We drive from the Huntsville area of Alabama to Mobile, 6 hours, on cruise day. Have lunch on the Fantasy. If we are cruising out of NOLA it is only 7 hours, but we go down the day before.

I've done essentially your drive from Nashville to the Emerald Coast on a Saturday morning in the summer.

B-R-U-T-A-L. With a double capital B. (n)

We drive from from San Antonio to Galveston at about 9pm the night before, stay the night in Katy, then do Katy to Galveston about 630am the day of. I would never feel comfortable leaving San Antonio the morning of the cruise, and it's less than 4 hours away. That's said, there are plenty of people who do.

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We drive from from San Antonio to Galveston at about 9pm the night before, stay the night in Katy, then do Katy to Galveston about 630am the day of. I would never feel comfortable leaving San Antonio the morning of the cruise, and it's less than 4 hours away. That's said, there are plenty of people who do.

 

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We do quite frequently. We live 2 hours south of Atlanta and we have ( the morning of a cruise) driven to New Orleans (about 7 hours), Orlando ( more than 7 hours) and Mobile (just over 4 hours). We are taking a Christmas cruise out of Jacksonville and that will be almost 6 hours.

Anytime we drive the morning of, we always park at the port. After all the driving we don’t want to hassle with a shuttle/park. Also, we are platinum, so that helps to get on quickly. Before we were platinum we always made sure to purchase Faster to the Fun if we were AM driving.

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I wouldn't drive 6 hours to a port the morning of a cruise or the day before the cruise.

I prefer planes for that long of a trip. When I lived in NY, I would fly down to MIA or FLL the morning of a cruise. Did that about 35 times give or take, never a problem and usually on board, unpacked and having lunch by noon.

Now I'm situated so that I may drive to Tampa, FLL or MIA in 2 1/2 hrs or less.

We drive from from San Antonio to Galveston at about 9pm the night before, stay the night in Katy, then do Katy to Galveston about 630am the day of. I would never feel comfortable leaving San Antonio the morning of the cruise, and it's less than 4 hours away. That's said, there are plenty of people who do.

 

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Interesting? Is this simply to avoid some rush hour issue in Houston mid morning on the day of the cruise. Because my sis in law uses that technique to get to the Emerald Coast from Nashville. The traffic is SO brutal that they'll drive into the night getting as far south as they can to beat the Saturday rush. Now admittedly that's a 8 hour run, even in perfect conditions.

We do it often, have done longer. Try to be one of first people on. Catch a buzz, take a nap (if you're lucky sleep through muster :) ) wake up for dinner and it's like you've extended your vacation an extra day!

done it several times.

I wouldn't drive 6 hours to a port the morning of a cruise or the day before the cruise.

 

I prefer planes for that long of a trip. When I lived in NY, I would fly down to MIA or FLL the morning of a cruise. Did that about 35 times give or take, never a problem and usually on board, unpacked and having lunch by noon.

We have this huge advantage with respect to air travel. Many, many, many planes flying our routes (me in Chicago). Others have 1-2 shots a day. That's limiting.

Earlier this year, we were heading to San Juan. Rooms were still very tough to come by down there and VERY expensive. Our route: MDW-MCO Friday night. MCO-SJU crack of dawn Saturday. Worked fine. :)

I've only done it once, but that was with a group, so I didn't drive. We had a charter bus and left Memphis super early and got to NOLA well before it was time to board the Dream.

My preference is to travel in the night before in case there are any delays. Plus, I get to hang out in a city and enjoy the day before my cruise.

Anyone drive 6 hours the A.M. of a cruise?

When we lived in Las Vegas we would drive the 3 1/2 to Long Beach but never the same day, always the day before. I would never risk it same day and NEVER for 6 hours!;)

We have driven overnight a few times for a Saturday departure from Port Canaveral. We leave around 9 pm Friday night and drive overnight to arrive around 6 am. Have breakfast at our favorite place and then just hang out until 11 or so. It helps save a vacation day and traffic is light.

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Would never do that by car or plane. Way to risky that if something goes wrong you missed the ship

So I'll flip this around if anyone cares to comment. How early do you leave to make any possible contingency accounted for? And if air travel, how many connections, etc. does it take because that's certainly a factor.

yes, no problem for us