How far to drive before it's not worth it...

[michiganirish]

I'm pretty much like everyone else - it's about how much time you have and how much $$ you'll not spend. We're driving for the first time but not just for the cruise. Driving from Detroit to Philly - 12 hours - sailing out of NYC. We've got a week but the cruise is only 4 days. We'll spend time with DS before and after - in this case - we like the flexibility also having a car.

[halos]

Driving TO port isn't usually an issue, it's driving home after the cruise that can be grueling.

We will drive from Maine to NY. It takes about 5.5 hours. That is the max I will drive, especially if I have to drive back.

 

I love taking repo cruises from NY. We'll rent a car and drive there. Since we control our own fate and time, we don't have to spend extra time getting to the port a night or two early, so we can just leave home early that morning. Then, after the cruise we fly home from whatever port we ended (usually Miami or NOLA). It's great :)

[mboatman]

We're driving from maryland to Floriday (2nd time), we both love road trips, so it's not all that bad for us. First cruise, we flew to Miami, not as relaxing for me.

[evandbob]

If the drive to the cruise port is further than my drive to the airport, either LGA or JFK, I fly. In other words, no drives more than 2 hrs.

[JMKreno]

My wife, myself and our daughter are planning on driving from Reno to Miami to go on a cruise just after New Years, and then fly home.

 

Total driving distance is about 3000 miles one way... :)

 

My work gives 4 days for Christmas + new Year so I would only have to take 2 days off the week before New Year and we could take 8 days to drive. We will get leave either on christmas day late or the day after. I can drive 12 hours or so without much issue (drove 8 hours a day when I was doing courier work) so I can probably make it in 4 days. So that leaves 3 full days of exploring. We will then get on a cruise out of Miami or somewhere nearby for 7 more days of fun in the sun! I would get about 3 weeks of vacation for only taking 8 days off of work...

 

We will then get a one-way flight home after the cruise.

[Alliezona09]

We live in Arizona and DH does not fly, so we drive to every port~ did Galveston last Oct, thinking about doing it again this Oct~ we'll even drive to Florida or Seattle~ he loves driving~!

[dan40]

Obviously one's attitude about driving and/or flying is just as important as the economics of the trip.

[okwriter]

Total driving distance is about 3000 miles one way... :)

 

That THUD you hear is the sound of me hitting the floor! :eek: :D

[StrangeBrew]

I would have to say 3 and a half hours 4 at the most with traffic would be my limit .

 

Wait that would mean I have 4 ports close enough to drive to .:p

[halos]

That THUD you hear is the sound of me hitting the floor! :eek: :D

I have to agree!!! I'm passed out right beside you!

 

I hate FLYING across the country...driving across would cause me to be suicidal.

[Breadman54]

We live in NW Oklahoma, so our closest port is Galveston. According to Google maps, it's +/- 600 miles (11 hours straight through), which is probably more than we'd want to drive in a day.

 

I realize everyone's tolerance for flying (or driving!) is different. And this isn't anything we're considering until after our December cruise on the Legend. :D So I'm just asking out of curiosity---how many miles/hours would you have to drive before you decide it's not worth it and just book a flight instead?

It's not worth it.I have to fly to Fla. to go on a cruise,

I drove it the first time ,never again 14 hours(868 miles) straight .

Only breaks we took was to get gas,eat and go to the

restroom.We can fly in 2 hours 15 mins.and the best part

your not tired.

[Havingfun2010]

We are a family of 4. Driving 16 hours is about the limit, which is from FL to NYC. It cost about $400.00 roundtrip with gas. If it was only two of us, than maybe flying would be break even or be worth it. Yes, we drive in one day. Next cruise, we will drive 5.5 hours. We will not leave the state of FL. We would never consider fly such short distances. Waste of money.

[dan40]

We are planning an Alaska cruise this fall. We will fly to Seattle, drive to Vancouver for a week, drive back to Seattle and take the cruise. then fly back to Fl. Barb went to school in Vancouver and has not been back in decades. So instead of a longer cruise, we'll combine the cruise with a land tour on our own. But I would drive the whole way if we could take 10 days or 2 weeks just for the drive. But our kitty cats wouldn't permit us to be gone that long. They keep a close watch on us.:eek::rolleyes:

[okwriter]

But our kitty cats wouldn't permit us to be gone that long. They keep a close watch on us.:eek::rolleyes:

 

We are cat people, too, so I understand! ;)

[max45]

I drive an 18 wheeler so jumping in the car for a long ride would not bother me that much. But, i do think your better off to allow time to and from the port. Break it up.:)

[sherX2]

When it is three hours one way to the closest airport (+parking+time to check in + time to get through security) I think the length you are willing to drive is extended. I don't mind an all day drive at all. We are retired and have plenty of time so we make the drive part of the adventure. I also like that I don't have to worry about what I can and cannot pack.

[enidcruiser]

I used to hate to drive to Texas for anything, cruising, football, basketball or friends, just hated the long drive.

But... consider this, the drive takes 11 hours then you park and you are there. :)

If you Fly.... From where you are, you have to get to Will Rogers, check baggage, wait on the plane, fly, maybe stop in Dallas, then fly some more, then you have to get from Hobby or Bush to Galveston, on time, worry about luggage making it and that takes extra time and worry. :(

If you drive, after the cruise, when you get off the ship, get in your car and go!!! :D

Your time is what is important to you, what is it worth?

When I lived in Ok we drove to Galveston for the cruise, if we cruised out of Florida, then we flew, it took too long to drive.

Enjoy the cruise whatever you do.

[Muumuu]

We now live in NW South Carolina. I have cruised out of all ports in Fla and out of NY. Have always driven. Some may think me crazy but I have a horrible fear of flying,

My husband was very patient and was ok with the drive. We are from S Fla so we often drove down to Miami. Just doesn't seem like much to us.

Well now I have booked for Europe and must fly. Should be interesting. Daughters say they will either drug me or fill me up with booze for the flight.

[Ilovepj]

We live in Virginia Beach, Va, and once we did fly, but we try to make our vacation as long as possible, so we always drive around 13 hours, but we stop over night, have a nice dinner out, go to bed, get up go for a nice breakfast, and finish trip. My father in law lives about 10 miles from port canaveral, so we visit, and leave car there, and he takes us to port, and then picks us up.

 

So we enjoy the extra 2 days going and coming, to extend our vacation.

[alansfreed]

We're from Pittsburgh, and a couple years ago we did an Alaska cruise out of Seattle. We checked the airfare, and I did some math to see what the difference would be if we just drove (2,500+ miles each way).

 

The difference was actually *very* little (factoring in hotels, meals, etc.), so we drove. It gave us a great opportunity to visit some awesome sights along the way, like Yellowstone, the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, etc. Thankfully my daughter, who was 8 at the time, is very tolerant of long drives... and I have a Prius which makes the gas a bit more affordable.

 

Our ship arrived back in Seattle on a Sunday morning, and my wife had to be back to work that Wednesday, so we hauled butt to get back by Tuesday night (we got home by 8:00 Tuesday night).

 

I dunno... I just don't like the hassle of flying nowadays. I love to pack however much whatever I want, and be in charge of my own destiny, I guess. I've had the Prius since 7/7/07, and we have driven through 46 states with it so far.

 

We're doing a Hawaii cruise in a few weeks... and we'll actually set foot on a plane again for this one. If my car wouldn't get really, really wet on the drive to Honolulu, we'd probably consider it :)

[halos]

We are planning an Alaska cruise this fall. We will fly to Seattle, drive to Vancouver for a week, drive back to Seattle and take the cruise. then fly back to Fl. Barb went to school in Vancouver and has not been back in decades. So instead of a longer cruise, we'll combine the cruise with a land tour on our own. But I would drive the whole way if we could take 10 days or 2 weeks just for the drive. But our kitty cats wouldn't permit us to be gone that long. They keep a close watch on us.:eek::rolleyes:

Isn't that funny? I would have never guessed you were a 'cat' guy.

 

When we had cats, they HATED when we left the house. I would have my parents come and house sit for us (which they enjoyed because we had a really nice pool back then) and even though the house had people in it, my cats would PEE on my bed when we went on vacation.

 

We are now dog people, needless to say....

 

sorry for the hijack. To get this back on topic, I will add that my cats also detested being in the car driving ANY distance ;)

[brooklynfc]

I live in VA and we are planning on driving to Miami this June. My mom has never flown and she doesn't really care to. According to Mapquest it is 14 hours. My GPS says 16 hours if we go around toll roads (I don't do TOLLS, they make me nervous.)

 

We are going to do a straight drive. No stopping. We are coming in a day early before the cruise though just in case we have any delays.

 

I've only ever driven 7 hours straight before, by myself.

 

Here is my deal. I'm actually REALLY excited to drive down with my mom. I'm REALLY excited to spend that extra time with her with no distractions, no worrying about bags, flight times, security, her panic attacks b/c she is over stimulated etc. Just me and my mom driving together on our first vacation with only the two of us. I'm going to cherish the PITB moments and the good ones too.

[imsulin]

I hate driving two hours to the nearest airport! And back!

 

I drove ONCE to a port in Florida (eight hours each way) ONLY because it was a last-minute cruise over Christmas, and r/t air was really high. Hated it. Never again.

[cruiserbryce]

all depends on you...we are within 1.5 hours of multiple ports..but if you dont have that option then you have to way cost and convinience

[dan40]

Isn't that funny? I would have never guessed you were a 'cat' guy.

 

When we had cats, they HATED when we left the house. I would have my parents come and house sit for us (which they enjoyed because we had a really nice pool back then) and even though the house had people in it, my cats would PEE on my bed when we went on vacation.

 

We are now dog people, needless to say....

 

sorry for the hijack. To get this back on topic, I will add that my cats also detested being in the car driving ANY distance ;)

 

 

I had a cat a long time ago that got very angry if left alone for any long period of time. He would defecate in each sink throughout the house and pack it down into the drain so that you could not see it,,,,,,,,,,,UNTIL you ran water in the sink and found his disgusting commentary! He was a brilliant animal and except for his punishment for abandonment, he was lovable.