Florida resident driving to Port Everglades - Day of or day prior to cruise?

[CunucuMom]

We live ~5 hours away from PE and trying to decide if we should leave home first thing the morning of embarkation and head straight for terminal parking or drive to Fort Lauderdale the night prior and stay in a nearby hotel then drive to the terminal close to our boarding time.  I'm guessing less stress going the night before but hoping the experienced cruisers may have some pros/cons (or horror stories) to share.

[JohninDC]

We have done Orlando to Miami the morning of a cruise without issues. Going the day before will be less stress, but also more expensive. Your call!

 

[hrhdhd]

We live in Central Florida and prefer to drive to around West Palm Beach the day before. That was more appealing when hotels by that airport were ~$100-125.

 

We have driven a couple of times day of, but I am stressed out the whole way. 😬

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I would drive three to three and a half hours the day before.  That will give you a much cheaper hotel, a less stressful drive and easy drive the day before, and allow you to not leave that early the morning of and still get to the port as early as you would like.

[bajathree]

When cruising out of FLL/MIA I always drive the night before. Like mentioned...you can use it to your advantage by choosing a less expensive location staying a little further from PE but only have a short drive the day of.

[Saturngrl]

We live in Central Florida.  It's much less stressful for us to drive to a hotel in South Florida the day before, versus leaving the house before 6:00 a.m. on Embarkation Day.   Yes, it's more expensive, but then again, we get to start our vacation a day early!  

[Pyrate13]

Another central FL here but unlike many of the other posters, we drive to Miami the day of without issue. We pay enough to cruise without paying more for a hotel we really don't need. But that's just us.

[GSuitesailing]

On 5/30/2023 at 4:31 PM, Pyrate13 said:

Another central FL here but unlike many of the other posters, we drive to Miami the day of without issue. We pay enough to cruise without paying more for a hotel we really don't need. But that's just us.

Having never driven to the port of Miami, what is parking like? Any tips?

[JohninDC]

4 hours ago, GSuitesailing said:

Having never driven to the port of Miami, what is parking like? Any tips?

Parking at POM is covered, convenient (garages are about 100 yards from check-in) and secure.  Also expensive ($25-28/night depending upon how long your ship is gone).  Parking anywhere else in Miami is not suggested by any of the locals.  You might look at two one-way car rentals, leave your car at home, and avoid any parking fees.  

[Pyrate13]

What John said, he beat me to it.😄 There is uncovered parking lots as well.

[FlaMariner]

With Brightline expanding to Orlando, we are going to eliminate our trip down the day before and instead take the train the morning of embarkation.

 

https://www.gobrightline.com

[voljeep]

4 to 4.5 hour drive - we have done both.  When we started out of PE, we 'always' drove down day of - left at 6:00am (no problem for us) direct to terminal at 10:30 drop off bag(s), park, and get in line.

 

then one time on a short 4-5 day cruise, I had the bright idea to say - hey, let's drive down the day before, get a nice hotel (Hilton Marina), still leave early, eat lunch at Southport Raw Bar, check in, relax, go to pool bar, get drinks and an app. Just treat it as a day added to cruise. 10 minute drive max, including drop off bags and park. Publix, Total Wine, Walgreens - all close by

 

then one time we did 2 days early...on a 3 day cruise - may have been SKY v2.0

 

now the only question is 1 day or 2 - never the day of - and been holding steady at 1 day before

[GSuitesailing]

On 6/1/2023 at 5:28 AM, JohninDC said:

Parking at POM is covered, convenient (garages are about 100 yards from check-in) and secure.  Also expensive ($25-28/night depending upon how long your ship is gone).  Parking anywhere else in Miami is not suggested by any of the locals.  You might look at two one-way car rentals, leave your car at home, and avoid any parking fees.  

Thanks much for the information.

[Cienfuegos]

If you do decide to drive the day before, You can shop around for hotel rates in Stuart (about 70 miles from Fort Lauderdale, 100 miles from Miami) to the West Palm Beach-Delray Beach area (about 40, 70).

 

Vero Beach (about 150 miles from Miami) always has competitive prices. Lots of newer hotels.

[Tryingtocruise]

We live on the west coast right off of I-75 and always go to Miami the day before.  I'm terrified of getting caught in a backup on Alligator Alley and not having an alternate route available.  We stay at the Airport Hilton, find Cuban food for dinner and then head to the port in the morning.  A little more expensive but much more relaxing.

[Rothko1]

I concur with the idea of driving down but then stopping in the Port St. Lucie/Hobe Sound/Jupiter area.  You'll have less expensive options for a hotel, and the drive the next day shouldn't be a hassle, and you have the choice of taking I-95 or the Turnpike down the rest of the way depending on traffic conditions.

[JMA]

We also live on the Gulf side of Florida and have driven twice to Ft Lauderdale and Miami on the morning of the cruise. But because this next cruise departs on a Friday and we have heard horror stories of accidents on Alligator Alley, we have booked at FLL hotel for Thursday night. We will feel much more relaxed, knowing that we don't have to take a chance being stuck in traffic.

[BoozinCroozin]

It really depends on you and car reliability. If it were me, I would get up at 3AM (normally am anyway), hop in the car, and get down there the morning of. Pick up breakfast on the way, relax in the car, and head to the ship.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Longest we've done morning of is 2.5 hours, Orlando to Jacksonville.  I don't think I'd go longer than that. 

[he5makba]

We live on the gulf coast near the Tampa area. If we sail out of Port Canaveral then we drive the same day since it is about a 2 hour drive. Everglades and Miami we drive the day before. Not risking trying to make it when the drive is 4-5 hours to the port.

[hrhdhd]

6 hours ago, he5makba said:

We live on the gulf coast near the Tampa area. If we sail out of Port Canaveral then we drive the same day since it is about a 2 hour drive.

Wow, that's fast. From east Orlando, it takes me a good two hours to get to Tampa and surrounding areas, given the bottlenecks on I-4. Add another 45 minutes to PC.

Edited June 9, 2023 by hrhdhd

[Trainer]

I live in the Sarasota area near I75.  We have always driven to PE same day.  It’s about 3 hours and we leave early enough to allow for delays.  I’ve done this at least a dozen times and so far, fingers crossed, no real problems.  I try to get good prices on the cruise so I don’t want to spend more on an expensive hotel.