Leave the day before or Early morning?

[skrufy]

Its all up to how comfortable you feel about driving. I would leave as early as you can incase you do hit some traffic snags. And I would have an alternate route planned. Our next cruise we will be leaving about midnight for the 31/2 hour drive to Miami. We will probebly use a rest area along the way.

[Saint Greg]

Matter of preference. I'm 5 hours from New Orleans and like to get within an hour of the port the day before. I could do same day but prefer to sleep a little later and have a short drive.

[Badfinger]

We are cruising out of Galveston (our first cruise) and we are about 3 hours away. We will be driving down on the morning of the cruise as well. :)

 

I assume you will be going down on I-45 between Houston and Galveston. If so, expect a traffic slow down for a while near the NASA exits. Doesn't seem to matter the day of the week or time of day. Also as your are heading for Galveston, exit 17 is the one to take to make your last pit stop...it is Buc-ee's! Great place to stop...drinks, snacks, big, clean and no waiting! Some other gas stations on the way down have a "one-hole" unisex bathroom that could take you 30 minutes waiting in line...just speaking from experience.

[PlanoDebbie]

We always like to arrive the day before our cruise. Even if we do nothing in the port city, we sleep better knowing that we won't have any issues getting to our ship in the morning.

[easyboy]

I would leave a day before. Weather and road conditions (traffic mess) are unpredictable and would not want to start a relaxing vacation with driving stress.

[alabamaprincess]

I would drive in the day before and spend the night. You never know what delays you may encounter.

[deborahjo]

Since we have to fly to any port we build in a hotel room and dinner the night before.

 

Always us to relax before boarding the ship.

 

 

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[DebJ14]

I'm sitting here going over all the details which is why I asked. I have sticky notes all over my planner. LOL!!

 

We left the day before when we cruised out of Port Canaveral but with this being a closer port for us, I thought we'd attempt to leave early morning. We live in the panhandle of Florida.

 

Any trip we've gone on, we never make it on the road until well after noon, so that was another reason for possibly leaving early morning. But yeah, it'll be just our luck that we run into some type of delays.

 

Thank you everyone!! :)

 

 

Coming across I-10 you can pretty much count on delays. We've had problems when there was an accident in the tunnel in Mobile and sat in traffic for hours. Also we have encountered construction delays and minor accidents on I-10 that had us cruising along at 30 mph. I would go the day before just for the peace of mind.

[VASOXFANN]

When we are in a short driving distance (2-4 hours) from port, we drive there early the morning of. If it's any longer than 4 hours or we're flying, we go the day before.

 

In your situation, we'd go the day of, with insurance of course.

[Eggy13]

I am going on cruise tomorrow. I am going with 46 other women. We are taking a bus from Palm Desert Ca to Long Beach. Never have had a problem. Today, though, there has been a horrible crash on the I-10. A bus and big rig crashed together. All lanes are closed westbond. 13 people were killed. It is going to take awhile to clear it up. The I-10 is really the only way to leave our area.

[simplelife]

We usually drive to or near port the day before, but for our April Conquest cruise out of New Orleans, we are considering driving from NC and staying with my cousin in Mobile the night before and driving to NOLA the morning of (about 2 hours away). This will save us a considerable amount of money that we can use to pay for drinks on the cruise.

 

 

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[Lew Port]

We have to fly to any port.

Two cruises we have flown down the day before and stayed at a hotel that provided transportation to and from the port.

The last cruise we flew the morning of the cruise and had pre-arranged shuttle service. Orlando to Port Canaveral. The shuttle service was disorganized but they got us to the ship on time. It was nerve wracking and we decided not to do that again.

In a few days we will fly to MCO, stay at a hotel that provides shuttle service and enjoy 7 days in the Caribbean . My vote is for going the day before.

[riclop]

When I put in the direction to leave from our house to get to the Port of New Orleans, it's only a 4 hour drive at the most. We plan on parking at the terminal.

 

I have us booked at a hotel @ a cost of $156 (one night) with check in time after 3 p.m.

 

When asked for check in time via Carnival, I selected 11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

 

Would it be worth it leaving the day before (to be on safe side) or leave early on Saturday morning? We plan on spending 2 days in New Orleans after the cruise.

 

I would leave the same day since you are driving.

[PoppyandNana]

We have to fly to any port.

Two cruises we have flown down the day before and stayed at a hotel that provided transportation to and from the port.

The last cruise we flew the morning of the cruise and had pre-arranged shuttle service. Orlando to Port Canaveral. The shuttle service was disorganized but they got us to the ship on time. It was nerve wracking and we decided not to do that again.

In a few days we will fly to MCO, stay at a hotel that provides shuttle service and enjoy 7 days in the Caribbean . My vote is for going the day before.

 

We always fly in the day before except last January I had the brilliant idea to fly in the day of. Don't you know they forecast heavy snow. Had to scramble to change flights and hotelwhat a nightmare. We got 16 inches the day of our original flight.

[tiger-91]

In your case, I would leave the day of, with planned arrival time of 11AM. I would park at the post-cruise hotel that offers a Park and Cruise special and Uber to the port. (Even if there is a shuttle, it will likely have left prior to 11, but you could shuttle back at end of cruise.)

 

Also, regardless of where you park, consider taking another suitcase full of clothing to wear in New Orleans for your post-cruise stay, and leave it in the car during your cruise. That way you maybe don't have to worry about laundering on the ship.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

As most have said here it really is just personal preference.

 

We live in North Georgia and always drive to our cruises. With that being said, we always drive down the day before and spend the night prior to sailing either in the port city or one only 45 minutes to an hour away. It's piece of mind for me and I'm usually stressed out from packing for everyone or if we leave the kids home, stressed from being sure I have all the arrangements made for them that need to be done.

 

I might suggest looking for a hotel a little cheaper though - surely you can find something even if it is 30 minutes or so out of New Orleans.

 

Good luck in whatever you decide and have a terrific cruise.

[jwjax]

Would it be worth it leaving the day before (to be on safe side) or leave early on Saturday morning? We plan on spending 2 days in New Orleans after the cruise.

 

My vote is also....leave a day early if at all possible!:)

 

We have only driven on the day "of" twice. 1st time, the forests in the NE part of FL were on FIRE! The trip (normally 2 and 15mins) took 5 and a half hours. We just made it in time to board....:)

 

The 2nd time, we hit a traffic backup of 3 hours due to a major accident ahead. This time we made with just enough time to board without rushing.

 

After the 2nd trip we have always left the day before, and stayed close to the port.

 

We also always left the day before a cruise when flying to a port.

[mroden2699]

Luckily I live just south of Houston, 45 min from the Galveston port :)

[FloridaMommyof3]

Now you guys are making me rethink everything. I live in Central Florida and cruising out of Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, 11/20. It's a 4 hour drive and was going to leave early Sunday morning, but these posts are making me question that decision.

[FLSteve11]

Now you guys are making me rethink everything. I live in Central Florida and cruising out of Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, 11/20. It's a 4 hour drive and was going to leave early Sunday morning, but these posts are making me question that decision.

 

I think from Central Florida you should be fine. I would check traffic reports the morning of. You have 2 major ways to get there (Turnpike and I-95) so if one is blocked you can go down the other. Heck, you could even go down 27 if you had to and catch I-75/595 to go in from the west if need be. I would just leave eeeearly though, to make sure.

 

This is presuming no major issues going on, like a big forest fire or tropical storm, in which case you know the day ahead and can head down early if need be to get in the area.

[debster11]

For me personally, I would only travel day of if I lived within an hour of the port, otherwise as other people stated, the stress wouldn't be worth it. Whatever you decide, have a great cruise.

[FloridaMommyof3]

I think from Central Florida you should be fine. I would check traffic reports the morning of. You have 2 major ways to get there (Turnpike and I-95) so if one is blocked you can go down the other. Heck, you could even go down 27 if you had to and catch I-75/595 to go in from the west if need be. I would just leave eeeearly though, to make sure.

 

This is presuming no major issues going on, like a big forest fire or tropical storm, in which case you know the day ahead and can head down early if need be to get in the area.

 

 

Yes - thanks you are right there are several routes, and on a Sunday barring a major accident it should be ok. We have FTTF so I was planning on leaving my house before 7. I've checked parking and it will cost $90 at the terminal and to get a hotel the cheapest I've seen for something decent since it's right at Thanksgiving week is over $200 a night. I'd rather spend that $100+ on something else other then an overnight (with an extra days clothes to pack ... lol).

[h_blond2]

I would leave the day before. Better safe than sorry.

[Mr & Mrs Happy]

Hi y'all.

 

The hubster stated we will leave here about 4 a.m. (no later than 5 a.m.) Saturday (day of cruise) to give us some breathing room.

 

We'll be leaving from the Pensacola headed west on I-10 to New Orleans.

 

I always pack 1 or 2 days in advance. I have a planner which is covered in sticky notes. I also have a paper pinned by our keys to remind me to check the planner...lol.

 

If we arrive to the port too early, do they allow you in to just sit in your car?

[Kechin Yer Eye]

I assume you will be going down on I-45 between Houston and Galveston. If so, expect a traffic slow down for a while near the NASA exits. Doesn't seem to matter the day of the week or time of day. Also as your are heading for Galveston, exit 17 is the one to take to make your last pit stop...it is Buc-ee's! Great place to stop...drinks, snacks, big, clean and no waiting! Some other gas stations on the way down have a "one-hole" unisex bathroom that could take you 30 minutes waiting in line...just speaking from experience.

 

Just a couple weeks back from our road trip to Galveston from Kansas City. We seen several signs on the way down for Buc-ee's, we all talked about what a Buc-ee's might be, then on the way back home from the cruise we stopped at one. OH MY WHAT A PLACE. No other restrooms could compare the rest of the trip home!

 

And to the op, we went a day early........for my own piece of mind. So thankful that we did, Dallas traffic was HORRIBLE! Huston was bad, but not anything like Dallas......and we went thru Dallas between 6:30 -8:00am on a Saturday. It was so bad, we cut over to 35W right after Houston so we could avoid it on the way home.