Drive 6 hours to port morning of cruise?

[HappySails4U]

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

 

We always do. Living on the edge !!:cool:

[Bobbylah]

And that is why I make sure we have a little extra cargo room in the vehicle. That full size flat tire is not going to fit in the compact spare storage area.

 

7 P's right there! Kudos.

[HappySails4U]

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.

 

 

I am amazed how many folks take a couple of extra day before and after the cruise. Really how much vacation time do you have???:cool:

[Bobbylah]

I am amazed how many folks take a couple of extra day before and after the cruise. Really how much vacation time do you have???:cool:

 

Same as most people, as many as I feel like. Taking pretty much the whole of July off to go to Italy with the wife and kids (and no I don't own my own company or work as a consultant - I am salaried like most).

[deliver42]

I live in Central Fl., and drive to any port in Fl same day. 3 1/2 hrs to FLL, 4 to Miami, and 1 1/2 to PC or Tampa. Leave about 7AM to miami or FLL, and get there in plenty of time.

[BookDragon]

I am amazed how many folks take a couple of extra day before and after the cruise. Really how much vacation time do you have???:cool:

 

Working in education has its plusses ;)

[Cafedumonde]

I am amazed how many folks take a couple of extra day before and after the cruise. Really how much vacation time do you have???:cool:

 

I am amazed too. We always push it, I guess, because we hate wasting vacation days staying at hotels pre-cruise. We are considering leaving at 6pm on a Friday and driving to arrive in Miami to cruise the next day. 13 hour drive. DH really cannot afford to take off the Friday. Not sure if we will stop and spend the night somewhere or not. Probably not, so that we have some buffer.

[pacruise804]

OP - for 6 hours we would likely drive the day before and stay at a hotel. For many cruising decisions though, it depends on your situation and comfort level. At our stage of life 7-8 nights is about the max we can schedule to be gone. If we allowed for an extra day or two on each ends, we would only be able to take 3-5 day cruises - which hold little to no interest. There are also added costs to traveling the day before. Many families find it easier to drive vs. fly even for long distances, plus hotels and restaurants. (I often hear how it is such a small cost compared to the cruise, but take all the "small" costs and you have another cruise or two before you know it;)) There is always risk in travel and you have to know your tolerance level. Our last cruise was at the end of February and we were driving 3 hours to the port. We felt the risk of winter roads was enough to make the extra day work (and hotel cost wasn't much more than parking at the port).

 

Nope, would never do it...you never know the traffic situation or even an accident (you may be a perfect driver but you have no idea if someone is wreckless or textg :mad:and hits you), would never take that chance the same day...

 

I'm curious when I see this logic: how early do you leave the hotel for the port? Most ports are in large cities and accidents and vehicle issues seem almost as likely to happen on the way to the ship that morning. If you are staying within an hour of the port, do you allow 2 hours for potential accidents - more?

 

We will sail out of Baltimore and my understanding is that I cannot enter the parking lot until after 10:30. We plan to leave home around 7 (3-3.5 hour drive, Sunday) thinking that if we arrive on time we will be good and if we hit reasonable delays we should still arrive before final boarding. Maybe I have a high risk tolerance though.

[grandmarnnurse]

Nope! We live about 6 hours from NYC, and we drove down (from Buffalo) the day before. Anything could happen to delay you. Nope—-will never take that chance. So, whether I’m driving, or flying, I plan to arrive in my port city at least one day prior.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Bobbylah]

OP - for 6 hours we would likely drive the day before and stay at a hotel. For many cruising decisions though, it depends on your situation and comfort level. At our stage of life 7-8 nights is about the max we can schedule to be gone. If we allowed for an extra day or two on each ends, we would only be able to take 3-5 day cruises - which hold little to no interest. There are also added costs to traveling the day before. Many families find it easier to drive vs. fly even for long distances, plus hotels and restaurants. (I often hear how it is such a small cost compared to the cruise, but take all the "small" costs and you have another cruise or two before you know it;)) There is always risk in travel and you have to know your tolerance level. Our last cruise was at the end of February and we were driving 3 hours to the port. We felt the risk of winter roads was enough to make the extra day work (and hotel cost wasn't much more than parking at the port).

 

 

 

I'm curious when I see this logic: how early do you leave the hotel for the port? Most ports are in large cities and accidents and vehicle issues seem almost as likely to happen on the way to the ship that morning. If you are staying within an hour of the port, do you allow 2 hours for potential accidents - more?

 

We will sail out of Baltimore and my understanding is that I cannot enter the parking lot until after 10:30. We plan to leave home around 7 (3-3.5 hour drive, Sunday) thinking that if we arrive on time we will be good and if we hit reasonable delays we should still arrive before final boarding. Maybe I have a high risk tolerance though.

 

This!

 

I am very risk-intolerant regarding the important things in my life. Missing a cruise barely registers on that scale.

[jsglow]

I travel by air frequently, say 12-15 times a year roundtrip. I have never faced a situation where I didn't arrive at my intended destination within 6 hours or so of my originally scheduled arrival. But what it takes is a little flexibility and the willingness to jump on a plane early if weather is coming in.

 

An example: I was scheduled on a late afternoon flight to Las Vegas when a snowstorm was bearing down on Chicago. The web based computer couldn't figure a workable alternate. But with 2 changes of plane I did and literally walked the booking agent through it needing to get to the airport for a departure in 90 minutes. I was on one of the last planes wheels up as the snow was falling. But I got in the system. And arrived basically on time after a long day. Again, that only works from big cities like Chicago with many options. And a cruise is a special situation where the ship isn't waiting so that needs to be taken into consideration.

[Djptcp]

Would never do more than a 3-hour drive to the port on the morning of sailing. Friends of ours living in different cities only 2.5 - 3 hours from Port of Tampa missed the ship because of a huge traffic tie up on I-75 and they had left early enough to be in Tampa by 11am. The drivers called Carnival while stuck in traffic and after they missed the ship, they were able to cruise on other ships a few weeks later without penalty. We have witnessed many hours long traffic stops on I-75, I-95, and I-4 in Florida. Sometimes you just can't get off and take alternate routes because you are literally stopped and it may take an hour or two just to get to the next exit.

[dmdiver]

We've done a 5 hour drive to Galveston multiple times. Had one time when traffic in Houston was stopped due to a wreck & ended up driving through town. It delayed our port arrival, but still made it in plenty of time. We usually are on the road between 6 & 6:30am.

 

One thing that we did once, was drive partway, stay the night, then finish up the trip the next morning. It was a lot more relaxing to get up & have a leisurely breakfast. We were not as worn out at supper as we tend to be when we drive in the day of the cruise.

 

I guess it comes down to whether the cost of a hotel night is worth the extra rest. For some, it is - for others, it's not.

[Luvsparties]

I travel by air frequently, say 12-15 times a year roundtrip. I have never faced a situation where I didn't arrive at my intended destination within 6 hours or so of my originally scheduled arrival. But what it takes is a little flexibility and the willingness to jump on a plane early if weather is coming in.

 

An example: I was scheduled on a late afternoon flight to Las Vegas when a snowstorm was bearing down on Chicago. The web based computer couldn't figure a workable alternate. But with 2 changes of plane I did and literally walked the booking agent through it needing to get to the airport for a departure in 90 minutes. I was on one of the last planes wheels up as the snow was falling. But I got in the system. And arrived basically on time after a long day. Again, that only works from big cities like Chicago with many options. And a cruise is a special situation where the ship isn't waiting so that needs to be taken into consideration.

 

We fly out of Chicago as well and usually have no problems and can adjust to fly out and miss storms, etc. (most recently had to do that to make a concert in Vegas). But several years back we were on the runway when there was the fire at the FAA tower. Had to wait forever to get our luggage off the plane, rent a car and drive straight through to NY to make our cruise the next day. Ugh. Now if we have the vaca time to spare, we go a couple days early.

[jazzydiver]

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

 

I misread this as "northern Florida to Maine". In six hours??? :'):'):'):')

[NWACruiser]

I prefer to stay near the port the day before the cruise. If I am flying in, I plan on arriving the day before. I am skeptical of leaving on a flight the afternoon of disembarkation.

 

But, we have a cruise scheduled in August and will drive up to Port Canaveral from Pompano Beach the morning of the cruise. I am hoping Saturday morning I-95 traffic is light enough to not have many delays.

 

For the Journeys cruise in January, we are arriving in Orlando the day before. We will use Carnival shuttles to transfer between the airport and Port Canaveral. We are flying out the afternoon of disembarkation. Hopefully the weather holds up that January and there are not many flight delays.

[zqvol]

I would have no problem making a six hour drive on the day of a cruise, but I would make plans to arrive no later than three hours prior to all aboard. This leaves plenty of time for contingencies. I would also make sure that I knew alternate routes, and made sure that traffic would not be delayed due to construction.

[beachbum53]

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

 

No. The closest port for us to drive to is Baltimore, and it's about a 6 1/2 - 7 hour drive. I'd prefer to drive the day before and stay at a hotel over night to get a good night's sleep before starting our cruise.

[salvagegirl]

No we have not. Might have to in the future but it wouldnt be my first choice. We normally drive the day before, get a park and cruise hotel. Most of the time for what you will pay to park at port you can get a hotel with shuttle to and from. That way we can explore the area the day before or morning of the cruise, have a nice breakfast and then at leisure go to port. Mobile is out favorite for doing this

[wwcruisers]

Interesting thread. This just came up, with a 'girls' cruise' that I'm planning next year. From Puget Sound, it's an easy half-day drive to Vancouver (our embarkation point) -- and my DH has generously volunteered to get up early and drive us up there. However, as, my cruise-buddy pointed out, we could encounter car trouble along the way, or grid-lock at the border. So, just to play it safe, we'll drive up a day ahead of time, and spend the night in a hotel near Canada Place. IMHO -- vacations should be as stress-free as possible!:cool:

[45014]

Never!

You just never know when there will be a delay. Example, we had a 6 hr. Drive to our daughters house, and because of traffic delays and such, it took us 11 hours. I would not want to take a chance on a cruise,

YOU JUST NEVER KNOW!!