Driving from NC

Hi everyone.

This is my first cruise. I was wondering if anyone ever drove to Miami from NC. We are on the NCL Escape departing 09.23.17.

Should I fly or drive?????

Teri

Hi I have drove to Miami and FLL a few times for cruises and we live 50 miles west of Nashville. I give myself at least 2 days to get there. There are a few hotels in Miami that let you stay and park your car for the cruise. We are driving to Port Canerveral before our Oasis cruise on Sept 24. Hope this helps.

Personally, I would fly. Miami is a long way from NC, and that's a whole lot of driving. Factor the cost of gas and wear and tear on your vehicle and you may find that flying actually costs less.

A couple of reasons you may want to drive:

• You have a suburban and 5 kids
  
• You want to buy a ton of stuff on the cruise and it won't fit in luggage and/or is expensive to ship
  
• You are afraid to fly
  
• You have a ton of time and would enjoy breaking each way into a two or three day trip and see the sights, stay in a hotel at night and relax, etc.
  

The BEST plan is to fly in the day before, get a hotel near the port and get in the cruise frame of mind in South Florida. On the return trip I usually fly back same day. If flight is in late afternoon, I grab a shuttle to airport as soon as I disembark, pick up a cheap rental car, and go sightseeing around Miami for the day.

We drove from charlotte, nc to ft Lauderdale. We stopped in Savannah on the way down for the night and then drove the next day to have a leisurely hotel check in and dinner. I95 is a bear! We drove straight home (stopped in Savannah to drop my brother and his kids at their car for them to head to TN) and we headed in to charlotte before dinner. We did self disembark at 630am.

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Were in NC and chose to fly to Miami because coming back from a great vacation is bad enough without having to drive that many hours to get home.

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2-day drive each way, gas, hotel, parking, etc. compared to flights -- I'd chose to fly if the fares were good.

If it is 2 of you, flying would probably work better and be easier and more relaxing. If there are many of you, driving will be much cheaper. Also can you all get enough time off to drive? Adds more days to the trip. Those type of factors we don't know.

We live live in Leland NC( just across river from Wilmington) & have drove to Port Canaveral 2 times.The ride down is not that bad except when you get to Jacksonville,after you pass Jacksonville it not that bad.We take I95 all the way It takes about 9hrs with 2 pit stops for gas & bathrooms.We stay in a hotel the night before but drive straight back coming home.

However the trip to FLL takes 11 hrs plus stops so I think I flying down to the Harmony.Its not the ride down its the ride home I dont like

We frequently drive to Ft. Lauderdale from Columbia, SC.

Take 1-95 and spend the night a couple of hours away to break up the trip.

Would do the same if going to Miami. :)

When we lived in Myrtle Beach and had our home on Cordova Road (right across from the Embassy on 17th) we never flew down because we always had so much crap to bring.

If we left early enough, say 5am, we would miss rush hour traffic on I 95 in Jacksonville and South Florida (barely) and would pull into our house 10 1/2-11 hours later in time for happy hour at Quarterdeck.

Drive is not bad at all.

I was married on a cruise ship, so I had no choice but to drive from NC to Miami...I did it all in one day...8am and got there around 10pm. We stopped to stretch and eat, but it's still a long drive. I think it really just depends on how much you love/hate driving. I would rather save the money, bring as many suitcases as I want, and know I have a vehicle at all times....but my husband has a bad back, so he wants to fly on our next trip. Can you possible stop in Daytona and finish the drive the next morning?

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I hate driving but airfare is outrageous during Christmas so we are driving to Port Canaveral from VA 11 1/2 hrs and flying back home. It's DH and I and two teenagers. Not looking forward to the drive. Weigh your cost and do what's more economical for you.

We always drove when we lived in Raleigh! We always stopped in Jacksonville on the way down but drove straight back. I like that we can bring what we want, the bags can be over weight, and once your off you are on your way. Not sure I want to worry about flying in the winter. Best solution we came up with was to move to Florida!

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