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Driving the day of the cruise

surrocruiser

By surrocruiser,
in Ask a Cruise Question

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surrocruiser

surrocruiser

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What is the furthest distance you will drive to get to the port the day of the cruise?

 

To be specific, we are looking into doing back to back cruises in the spring and had originally planned to build a day between debarkation and the start of the next cruise. However, there are a few options where the cruise choices jump by $500-$600 more if we wait the day in between. So would it be crazy to try to get off for example a Carnival cruise in Miami and rent a car to drive to Port Canaveral to board a Disney cruise that afternoon?

 

I am aware that is is a 3.5 hour drive, we will be purchasing 3rd party insurance however I am just wondering what thoughts are on how far is too far to travel the day of the cruise.

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Algebralovr

Algebralovr

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What is the furthest distance you will drive to get to the port the day of the cruise?

 

To be specific, we are looking into doing back to back cruises in the spring and had originally planned to build a day between debarkation and the start of the next cruise. However, there are a few options where the cruise choices jump by $500-$600 more if we wait the day in between. So would it be crazy to try to get off for example a Carnival cruise in Miami and rent a car to drive to Port Canaveral to board a Disney cruise that afternoon?

 

I am aware that is is a 3.5 hour drive, we will be purchasing 3rd party insurance however I am just wondering what thoughts are on how far is too far to travel the day of the cruise.

 

I don't think that sounds crazy at all! I would try together off the ship as early as possible in Miami, since it will take 30-60 minutes to get your rental car and get on the road, but I would expect to be at Port Canaveral by 1pm or earlier.

 

Yes, people advise being there one day early, but things would have to really go horribly wrong to miss the second cruise. I think it is less crazy than flying in the day of the cruise, yet people do that all the time!

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Dcoy

Dcoy

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I live in the Orlando area and won't drive the 3 + hours to Ft Lauderdale on the same day. Only a couple of major roads between the two and one big accident can tie up the roads for hours.

 

For some unknown reason, people on 95 like to go north in the south bound lanes. :eek:

 

Don

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surrocruiser

surrocruiser

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I totally agree with not flying in the day of the cruise. I do know plenty of people who spend time at Disney and then drive to Port Canaveral the day of the cruise. 3.5 hour drive is probably the maximum I would travel the day of. It would mean we would have to be off the ship as soon as we could instead of trying to enjoy the ship til the last possible minute but there is always time spent going from an airport to a port etc.

 

For our honeymoon cruise we drove from St Pete Beach to Fort Lauderdale the morning of the cruise and were there so early because I worried. This would be a little different bc the option of leaving a little earlier would be out of our hands.

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janetz

janetz

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What is the furthest distance you will drive to get to the port the day of the cruise?

 

To be specific, we are looking into doing back to back cruises in the spring and had originally planned to build a day between debarkation and the start of the next cruise. However, there are a few options where the cruise choices jump by $500-$600 more if we wait the day in between. So would it be crazy to try to get off for example a Carnival cruise in Miami and rent a car to drive to Port Canaveral to board a Disney cruise that afternoon?

 

I am aware that is is a 3.5 hour drive, we will be purchasing 3rd party insurance however I am just wondering what thoughts are on how far is too far to travel the day of the cruise.

 

 

Check out this site. See if there are any options for you.

 

http://www.thefloridaexpressbus.com/cruise-connection-shuttle-to-cruise-port.html

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BillB48

BillB48

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That 3+ hour drive is about the max I would do on the day of sailing. In fact I do it all the time only in reverse... I live in the Port Canaveral area (Melbourne) and drive to FLL whenever I cruise from there. Leave as early as you can, find a traffic station to find out if there are any huge backups. In general, depending on day of the week, I-95 can be a bit of a bear until you get past W. Palm Beach, I usually use the turnpike for that portion. There are a number of places you can join 95... I usually do that at Jupiter. Also you have US to get around a jam and then rejoin 95.

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momoftwinteens

momoftwinteens

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Let me put it this way. I live 3.5 hours from Boston and we are still spending the night before in a hotel down there. I refuse to deal with rush hour traffic and/or any accidents or car emergencies that would potentially keep me from reaching the ship on time. That, I think, is a lousy way to start a long planned vacation!

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navybankerteacher

navybankerteacher

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A three+ hour drive in Florida on the day of your cruise should be workable. There are some who will fly in winter from Chicago, with a change in Atlanta, on the day of the cruise (who strike me as insane). I would prefer the more relaxing idea of spending the night at the port, but if the cost differential is significant, I think I'd try it.

 

I am looking at a February cruise from Baltimore - while it's an easy 4 hours on the train from Connecticut - there is no way I'd do that same day. Winter plus Amtrak equals risk.

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GTO-Girl

GTO-Girl

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To keep from paying for a hotel room my brother-in-law has driven on the day of the cruise from Atlanta to Jacksonville (5 1/2 hrs) :o........and once from Atlanta to Port Canaveral (7 1/2 hrs)... :eek:

 

My sister goes along with the Jacksonville ride, but has told him she will NEVER again do the ride to PC the same day.

 

Let's just say he's cheap........ :rolleyes:

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BEECRUISE11

BEECRUISE11

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To keep from paying for a hotel room my brother-in-law has driven on the day of the cruise from Atlanta to Jacksonville (5 1/2 hrs) :o........and once from Atlanta to Port Canaveral (7 1/2 hrs)... :eek:

 

My sister goes along with the Jacksonville ride, but has told him she will NEVER again do the ride to PC the same day.

 

Let's just say he's cheap........ :rolleyes:

 

 

If I notice correctly, you have a cruise plan on 11/3/13? Where is this cruise Port of Call? I'm looking for a last minute cruise for this time frame or the following week?

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GTO-Girl

GTO-Girl

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If I notice correctly, you have a cruise plan on 11/3/13? Where is this cruise Port of Call? I'm looking for a last minute cruise for this time frame or the following week?

 

We are doing the Western which goes to Labadee Haiti, Falmouth Jamaca and Cozumel Mexico.

 

This will be our first time on the Allure and we are very excited! I saw some pretty good prices for this cruise today. We are past final pymt so it won't help us but maybe you could snag a deal!

 

Good luck!

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BillB48

BillB48

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Does a weekend vs a weekday change things at all?

 

Weekdays the Miami-West Palm can be a bit thick... weekends, particularly on a Sunday traffic is not too bad. Between Jupiter and PC not much problem either weekdays/ends. Generally speaking on a weekday I will do the combination I-95/Turnpike and on weekends I will just stay on 95.

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