Why I drvie

[SandG]

A few of our cruise mates from our last cruise took the train to get to their cruise. (One of the couples took it from California to NJ.) It might be a good option for those who don't like the hassle of flying but can't stand the idea of being in the car for hours on end. Sometimes Amtrak offers some good deals too.

 

Sue

[jakesmom04]

We drove to Glaveston last year are driving to Ft. Lauderdale next year with 4. With 4 of us doing the driving, gas and meals will take about 21 hours. Looking forward to it as we have great conversations and this time around we have a new cruiser with us.

[OCruisers]

Being able to drive to a port is a big LUXURY to us! :D

 

In business we had to fly very often. Still will fly if we have to do so. It's great to be able to drive to a port ... even if we spend more money (when considering cost of parking, etc. ).

 

Worth being being on our own schedule and take our time however we see fit! :)

[lady_cruiser]

I know what you mean. We have 3 dogs and no longer kennel them. We have found someone locally to house sit for us. She doesn't cost much more than the kennel. Check with your vet or pet store to see if they know someone who would be able to do it at a reasonable cost.

Our cat is no problem. Her vet charges her $10 a day. No one around here wants to board birds, not even vets. We did find a vet that would take them on a trial basis. It cost us $35 a day for 10 days because we had to board them an extra day before. And since they were closed on Sunday when we came home we had to pick them up that Monday. It cost us a total of $350 and we had to provide the food and cages.

This last time I had a friend you drove to our house everyday to feed them. This is what you call a true friend since she lives 15 miles away. And she wouldn't take any money for her trouble.

[MisterMom]

Here are some excerpts from my recent Carnival Liberty photo review on why we chose travelling by car from Atlanta to the Florida ports....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1610836

 

Even though it’s a 12-hour car trip, we prefer travelling this way as we can over pack as much and as sloppily as we want without incurring airline baggage fees. Freddy wonders below, why do 3 people need so much cr…, I mean, stuff for a week?!?

 

 

On our road trips, I have a little family travel tradition (that annoys the bejeezus out of our kids). If you’re travelling by car, I recommend visiting the site roadsideamerica.com (if the link doesn’t work, that’s roadside America (one word) dot com).

Three years ago, we visited the “World’s Largest Peanut.”

A couple years ago, we visited the “Confederate Nuclear Missile” in Cordele, GA.

[MisterMom]

Just when Derrell and Cameron thought they’d be spared another roadside attraction this year, I surprised them with a stop at an innocent-enough looking rest area on I-75S just north of Gainesville.

 

Freddy wonders why I’m taking a picture of him at a rest stop….

 

 

There’s a wall/viewing platform shaped like a giant snake!

 

 

Per the description, The design, in the shape of a snake, features … a “bunny bulge” or mid-point stopping place to enjoy a prairie view… and will prevent snakes in the prairie from entering the rest area grounds.

 

A panorama view…

 

 

There’s a retaining wall meant to represent the snake’s tongue…

 

 

Freddy enjoys the “prairie view…”

 

[MisterMom]

While we were there, this ominous looking creature showed up…

 

 

Show-off…

 

[MisterMom]

And for our return trip home....

 

We make it painlessly to our car, load up the luggage and we’re on our way. I program my Android phone using Google maps to head home. We get a “code orange/red” that there are traffic jams along the way. As we make our way, I use Google maps to find detours using back roads that parallel the interstate. Cameron is impressed and we make really good time using these back roads – we save about 1 hour and 15 minutes according to the phone!

 

However, on one of these rural Georgia back roads, the “battery not charging” light comes on. Oh, crud. Derrell gets on his phone to find an auto parts store (on the Saturday evening before Easter Sunday) and we literally coast into the parking spot before the battery dies. Long story short, Alyssa at the Advanced Auto Parts in Perry, Georgia installs a new battery, realizes we need a new alternator and contacts a reliable mechanic, Justin. Justin is in his shop this late in the evening; he installs the alternator and we’re on our way.

 

Freddy thinks he can install an alternator….

 

 

The family with our hero, Justin….

 

 

We make it home safely and actually pass some of the cars we had passed earlier that were stuck in traffic while we were saving time on back roads! We are thankful and blessed to have had such good folks to help get us home.

[K1200S]

I understand the extra day(s) of vacation needed for some of you to drive. Being retired that is a non issue for me. If I haven't by now I will shortly have stopped at just about every exit on I95 between Raleigh and Port Canaveral at one one time or another.

[sept10dsm]

Ok maybe im crazy but this will be our second roadtrip i live in california and driving to fort lauderdale in july for our cruise . I did price flying and driving is cheaper by about 1000. I have the biggest fear of flying only flew once last october to hawaii the worst turbulence ever, so no will never fly again.

 

The only reason i priced air was just to see the price difference even if it was way cheaper i still will drive.

Funny but we live in NJ and love that cruise out of LA on Princess to hawaii and the south Pacific. We have talked about doing the drive!! We have driven cross country for road trips 6 times for National Park visits so not saying without priOr experience of the drive! Have driven to FL about 30 times! Dive only for us esp with all the horror stories coming out of Airports anymore

[dacsmom]

I am driving to Port Canaveral from Charleston and plan to get there the day before. I do not like to drive but the airfare was ridiculous. Last year we took Amtrak to Tampa and that was the best way to travel. It was cheaper in the long run and so easy. This time I am going to take a few extra days after the cruise to get back home and I wanted my own car.

[sept10dsm]

I am driving to Port Canaveral from Charleston and plan to get there the day before. I do not like to drive but the airfare was ridiculous. Last year we took Amtrak to Tampa and that was the best way to travel. It was cheaper in the long run and so easy. This time I am going to take a few extra days after the cruise to get back home and I wanted my own car.

 

Savannah GA and Saint Augustine FL are 2 really neat places to visit and not far off 95!

[shaggyofwv]

On our August cruise on Freedom there will be 5 of us in one vehicle driving to Port Canaveral. I guesstimate the fuel cost to be $200 roundtrip and another $70 for lunches. I priced out airfare from RDU to MCO and the least expensive was Southwest coming in at $1500 rounttrip. I much rather keep that $1200+ in my pocket. Flying would only save about 2hrs from home to hotel in Port Canaveral which is really nothing. I don't have to put up with airport security, I can take wahtever I want and not worry about being over weight or buy new luggage because out current luggage is airline over sized. There are those that say I have to factor in wear and tear on the vehicle. I say no I don't because that really only matters when I go to sell it, the fewer the miles the more it is worth. I buy a vehicle to get me from A to B and the miles don't matter.

 

 

We always drive to our cruises. We have cruised out of Port Canaveral, Florida twice, Cape Liberty, NJ once, Miami once, and in two weeks we will be cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I don't and won't even consider flying. I love to drive and enjoy being able to get there at my own pace.

[3CatsInMA]

I can't wait to try it later this year! For the first time we are cruising out of NJ, which means we can drive there in about 2 hours. When we fly, we are lucky to be wheels up 2 hours after leaving home!:mad: It always seems like the first day on the ship is wasted because we're so exhausted from travelling...we are really looking forward to a more relaxed beginning to our cruise in September!!!:D

[sept10dsm]

We always drive to our cruises. We have cruised out of Port Canaveral, Florida twice, Cape Liberty, NJ once, Miami once, and in two weeks we will be cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I don't and won't even consider flying. I love to drive and enjoy being able to get there at my own pace.

 

Same here. Only the AK cruise was by air and an italy/ greece years ago. We are even thinking of driving to CA for a neat hawaii/ south Pacific cruise! I have driven to CA on 3 of our 6 cross country trips so have already done the drive just not for a cruise!

[KellyJean]

I have only flown to a port three times and I was traveling alone - twice to Miami and once flew into Orlando. When I am traveling alone, it is usually cheaper for me to fly.

 

The past two cruises have been out of Port Canaveral and I have been traveling with one other person. In these cases, it has been cheaper to drive and is what we will do in September. I said on the way home last year "next cruise we're flying" because the drive home seemed to be 3 times as long as the trip down. There would have to be some SERIOUS low air fares to pop up to get us to fly to Orlando.

 

I like driving to the port also so I don't have to worry about what I can/can't pack, baggage fees, etc.

[Happy ks]

The furthest from home I want to drive is 4 hours, anything more than that and I prefer flying.

 

Driving from CA to FLA? Forget it. It would take at least 3 10-15 hour days and the cost would be upwards of $1100 just for the fuel. Add in the cost of hotels, wear and tear on the car (I don't include food as we would eat anyway) and you have a final cost of over $2000 for the drive (for both ways). I'm figuring .40 per mile X 2 ways, hotel X 4 nights.

 

The wear and tear on the body, forget it. Flying is hassle enough, driving is an absolute nightmare for me, unthinkable. Not only that, but add another week to the trip with driving.

 

I've driven as far as Texas from CA in the past and it was pure torture for me, never again. I wouldn't even want to take a train that far...get me there in hours on a plane instead of endless days of driving :eek:

[Cruisin Kay D]

We live in Tennessee and drive to Florida quite often. In last 5-6 years we have driven to cruises more than flying. I get the hotel discount books at the rest areas and find a good deal on hotels enroute. We don't have to worry about luggage weight, or paying baggage fees. The morning of boarding a ship, I pack a bag of stuff to leave in the car like our traveling clothes for past couple days. We can make suitcases as heavy as necessary. At Ft. Lauderdale we use a ParkNFly/Cruise lot to leave the car. We have Wyndham timeshare and usually stay in one in either Orlando or Ft. L. the night before the cruise.

Road trips are so much fun and alot to see enroute!! Good bonding with family members, when we bring our grandkids.

In a couple weeks we will bring dear granddaughter & 4 of her girl friends in our Suburban to Port Canaveral. Got to get an XM radio in it however. Our other car is a sedan with XM, which is so wonderful to listen to!!!

When we sailed on the NewEngland-Canada cruise out of New York City, we drove from Tenn. to Baltimore airport area -- we left our car at a hotel near airport and took Amtrack train into NYC!!! Our parking cost $2/day as compared to astronomical prices in NYC!!

Obviously our 2 cruises out of SanJuan+transatlantic+3 Alaskan+Rhine River cruises had to be done using airlines!!! Also our most recent "through the Panama Canal" cruise was using air.

Even with rising gas prices, the airline prices are going up even more plus all airlines except SW are charging to check baggage!!!

[rummenroman]

Since they haven't built a canal from an ocean to Colorado Springs we really have to fly.

 

We could drive, but the people that annoy me while flying I will more than likely never see again. I do think after driving that distance I might cause my better half to pack up and leave! I don't drive well in regards to others on the road. Yes flying is a pain, but it sure beats the alternative!

[Gilgo Surfer]

I agree with others who have said that they would drive to port only if it was a three or four hour drive or less. Driving for a day or two when you can get on a plane and be there in a few hours is a huge waste of time IMO.

[read52]

I love living 45 minutes from Baltimore port. We have also taken a bus from DC to Port Liberty and plan to do it again next Easter.

[BillOh]

We are driving from MICHIGAN to Fort Lauderdale in December because of airfare costs. Saving us approx $2,500.00 for 8 people. Actually looking forward to it. More relaxing, it's really a simple drive down I-75. One hotel stay on the way down and 1 hotel stay while in Fort Lauderdale. Driving is great!

 

We made the trip from Columbus to Tampa, 14 hours and it was actually fun, but that was for a 5 day cruise and it made for 7 days. I couldn't take the time to do it for a 7 day cruise.

[fischymom]

We live in Nebraska and the amount of time we would have to take off from work to drive there, added in with the cost of diesel, lodging, food, etc would make it way costlier than the flight.

[PLEIKU68]

When we sail out of Tampa I usually drive, weary 23 minutes from driveway to ship. No overnights. :eek::eek::eek:

[bus man]

I guess I'm lucky, because I'm happy either way; I love driving, and I love flying. Our first cruise was out of Baltimore, which took all of 20 minutes to drive to from our home. But all the rest have been out of Florida, and the bottom line for us has been that it's simply easier and more time-effective to fly. And while it's cheaper for a family of 4 to drive, I'm blessed with 2 kids who love flying; so I'd rather they be happy and get there quickly, rather than endless hours of "How much longer? It's taking too long!" as I-95 unspools monotonously before us.