How far are you willing to drive for your departure port?

[wife2b]

Just curious-

 

When we cruise our departure port is usually FL and we always fly there. I'm looking into a cruise that departs out of Miami. It's about a 17 hour drive and we have family/friends in each state along the way that we would love to visit. I'm thinking a road trip might be in the works ;)

DH thinks the drive to Miami sounds like it could be fun with visiting family, old friends from college and seeing landmarks and such along the way but he thinks the drive back after such a relaxing vacay will be miserable. We are exploring all of our options (rental car, one way flights, etc) and also trying to find what is most cost efficient yet still convenient & fun :).

 

Has anyone driven this far to their departure port? Any thoughts?

 

Thanks!

[sparks1093]

Just curious-

 

When we cruise our departure port is usually FL and we always fly there. I'm looking into a cruise that departs out of Miami. It's about a 17 hour drive and we have family/friends in each state along the way that we would love to visit. I'm thinking a road trip might be in the works ;)

DH thinks the drive to Miami sounds like it could be fun with visiting family, old friends from college and seeing landmarks and such along the way but he thinks the drive back after such a relaxing vacay will be miserable. We are exploring all of our options (rental car, one way flights, etc) and also trying to find what is most cost efficient yet still convenient & fun :).

 

Has anyone driven this far to their departure port? Any thoughts?

 

Thanks!

 

We drove from Vermont to Miami twice. Given the cost it would have taken to fly us there (family of 7) it was less expensive.

[LemurCat]

I did NJ to Miami. I'm a roadtripper by nature and used to doing 12+ hour drives. If you have good company and a comfortable ride, I'd say yeah. (The good company part is very, very important.) Just be warned, Florida is a much longer state than you think.

[firefly333]

I drove 24 hours each way to FL once, but my Dad fell and it took me a day and a half to drive home and he was all upset. I now fly in case I need to get home faster :(

 

I would willingly drive otherwise.. but now cruising solo too, its cheaper to fly.

 

I love to drive and dont mind long distances by myself driving. I used to drive to Dallas every year when I lived in Boca/S. FL... but then started to fly instead just because it became cheaper to fly.

 

I would drive only if I had several people with me at this point and it wasnt cheaper to fly.

[frazzledrazzle16]

We've driven for the majority of our cruises... From Chicago to Florida its usually a 20+ hour drive. In fact, we're driving out tomorrow to spend a week at WDW before we board the Dream on the 29th! :D

[JenLOverbey]

Drove from Dallas to New Orleans last August. The drive there was fun - cruise excitement and all.... Drive home was a butt woopin'.

[Alliezona09]

We drive everywhere~ DH doesn't fly. So far we've only driven to Galveston TX from Phoenix AZ, which is about 1200 miles and 19 hours. DH wants to do a cruise out of FL next year and we'd drive there and that would be about 2300 miles!

[Tapi]

We draw the line at 7 hours. If it's anything longer than that, we fly.

 

About the drive, on or last cruise the drive back actually felt less hectic and quicker than our drive down.

 

One piece of advice: Try to have at least one day off at home before returning to work. It's nice to have that day to recover from the drive, unpack and settle back into reality...

[sewut]

We always drive to port. It just isn't fun to fly anymore. I fly from Tulsa to Roswell, NM every year to see my dad, and there has been a delay every time. I don't want to chance missing a cruise. We usually cruise in winter and a storm could wreak havoc on flights. Our closest ports are 12 hours away, and we have driven two days to go to Florida for a cruise. We figured if we were going to drive that long we should take two cruises, so we did!

 

Sewut

[firefly333]

Drove from Dallas to New Orleans last August. The drive there was fun - cruise excitement and all.... Drive home was a butt woopin'.

 

Im your neighbor, Richardson. I drove twice this year to Mobile to Elation. Its the furthest port I can drive to in one day. So, I have decided this is as far as Ill drive to a port.

 

If I have to add a 2nd night hotel to the mix, it usually is cheaper to fly.

[vermonter16]

We live in Virginia. We will drive to anywhere on the east coast - anywhere in Florida. We are driving to Port Canaveral in a few weeks - that's about a 14 hour drive but we would drive to the further southern ports if we had a cruise going out of there as well.

[Topo Gigio]

Amtrak?

[carbreylynn]

We drove OKC to Galveston, about 9 hours, but now we fly, I HATE driving!

 

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

[LemurCat]

Amtrak?

 

I, personally, would rather chew my own arm off that ride Amtrak for anything.

[sparks1093]

I, personally, would rather chew my own arm off that ride Amtrak for anything.

 

Gee, tell us how you really feel:D.

[Jpod]

We drove from Philly to Ft. Lauderdale 21 hours straight through a few years ago, and made one stop to sleep on the way home. It worked well as we stayed at a hotel the night before the cruise that let us park for free and had a shuttle. We didn't spend extra time there other than the overnight since the kids only had the week off for spring break.

Next summer we're sailing out of Tampa and we'll drive again, but we'll go a few days early to spend some time in Tampa since it's summer time and no school to rush back for.

I prefer driving since you are no longer dependent on the timeliness of the airlines, you don't have to watch where you pack which items, or how many bags, or if one goes a pound over the weight limit when you stuff the souvenirs in.

I find it very enjoyable to spend time in the car with my family as it gives us time to catch up, and watch the world go by, without rushing and crowds.

[frednsb]

I live in East Central Florida and have five cruise ports within easy dirves. Port Canaverla is 45 minutes away, Jacksonville just 75 minutes, Tampa one hour forty-five minutes, Ft. Lauderdale 3 hours, and Miami four hours. I can find all the cruises I want here.

I am blessed!

[firefly333]

Amtrak?

 

If you live on the east coast this works .. but if you need to go west.. it takes days!!! yes days to get home.

 

I think it was Amtrak I looked at.. 2 1/2 days via chicago and the rates were as much as flying.

 

I could not find a good price 3/26 and was looking for a alternative, bus or train.. well train is out.. bus was better, but it got in just before midnight and I would have had to catch a taxi a long way to get home and the late time bothered me.

 

I am spending the extra night in Tampa and flying after all.

 

I think it really depends on how many in your family if driving is a better/cheaper alternative. For solo it just does not pay to drive.

[TEK6202]

We have been driving the northern ny to florida trip for years. We take our time and enjoy the trip.It's nice when we shop,we don't worry about getting our purchases home.We stuff them in the trunk.It takes about 24 hours for us to get to Miami.:)

[cec311]

We drove 4 hours to Charleston this past Memorial Day and were considering driving to Miami next April. I was able to get R/T tickets on southwest for $350.00 total for both of us (kiddie is staying home this time) so we're a flying this time. Miami would be about a 15 hour drive.

[Duzzy]

I also love road trips. Last fall when there was seven of us, a road trip was in order from Pittsburgh, PA, area to Disney World. However, in January when Mom and I cruise, we're flying. Found a decent deal on flights; so, I booked it. I haven't flown in years. Figured I would like to go up into the great blue again!

[tiggerman101]

I am really not willing to do the driving. I live in Atlanta so it is a short subway ride for me to get to the airport. It really is pretty painless since Atlanta is such a major airport and you can get just about anywhere from there. We drove to Jacksonville twice and the third time we cruised out of there we just flew. We figured by the time we paid for gas, parking, etc it was just easier to hop on the plane. I am doing a Christmas cruise on the Conquest out of NOLA with my whole family. They are all driving. My parents told me to just ride with them. I opted for a flight. I can spare the $160 vs 15 or so hours in a car.

 

I understand the economics if you have a large family. Most of the time it is just my partner and I and we would rather just hop on a plane.

[bguppies]

We live in Charleston, so I will drive 25 minutes downtown.

 

Jacksonville is just under 4 hours, Port Canaveral is about 6 hours and Tampa is about 7 hours.

 

Those we are good with driving to.

 

We went out of Fort Lauderdale once and it would take an INCREDIBLE deal to get us to drive to FLL or Miami for a cruise.

 

Like someone said before, the drive down was long, but the excitement of the upcoming cruise made the miles pass faster.

But the drive home after a long cruise was exhausting and seemed twice as long.

 

We decided then, never again.

 

Bill

[andie1969]

We HATE driving, hate it! Anything over 6 hours is torture to me, so we fly most everywhere. However, we are crusing out of Charleston in Feb., so making the 12 hour drive from Ohio. I think the drive down will be ok since we're stopping for the night in Charlotte to visit some friends, but that drive home is going to suck.

[Tapi]

I live in Atlanta so it is a short subway ride for me to get to the airport...

 

Hello from a fellow Atlantan! (well, kinda, Peachtree City)

 

I see that you are sailing on the Allure of the Seas in 2 days. Have an awesome time. We truly enjoyed that ship.