Do you normally arrive the day prior to sailing?

[mollynmax]

The Port of Galveston is 52 miles from our driveway, but we ALWAYS drive down, and stay the day before. You can NEVER estimate the traffic/construction/etc. on I-45 South (the dreaded Gulf Freeway)!!! Much more relaxing, and we get to have a great seafood dinner at Gaido's the night before! Plus, a relaxing breakfast at the hotel, and then a peaceful shuttle ride to the cruise terminal. We stay at the Holiday Inn Resort, and they have free parking during your cruise, and free shuttle to the terminal! Sure beats stressing out!

[AtSeaWithChris]

Am I the only one ghat comes in the day of? Granted a few times we have left from new York, which is about a 30 minute drive, but every other time we have always flown down the day of, so far had no issues. With my schedule, we just can't take n extra day off to fly down early. Granted we are usually flying direct from ny to florida, so lots of flights on lots of airlines and lots of airports. 20+ cruises, haven't missed one yet.

 

Direct flights are MUCH better

 

 

Sent from my wonderful iPhone 5 using the fabulous Cruise Critic app.

[JMAE]

If we are flying we get to the location at least the day before. If we are driving the same day as the cruise.

Edited January 1, 2014 by JMAE

[sfpen66]

We live in Arizona. So if we are cruising the Caribbean, we fly the day before. If we cruise from the West Coast we can drive.

[readytotravel44]

We have to fly to reach most ports so generally, especially in the winter we give ourselves a day's cushion. Our friends from the UK just gave themselves a 2-day cushion and needed both days as they were stranded in Philly for 2 nights due to "mechanical" delay in London. They were just a few hours away from missing their San Juan departure with us. Luckily, the ship didn't leave until 10 pm and they got in a bit after 6 pm.

[The4Cruisers]

We leave our house around midnight the night before and drive to the FLA ports. With restroom, fuel, and breakfast stops, we have plenty of time built in for unexpected delays.

 

Nightime traffic is very light, family sleeps, I get to listen to music and enjoy the drive. The last time we went, I set cruise control in Charlotte and never braked until the first rest stop in Florida. Gotta love it!!!

Edited January 1, 2014 by The4Cruisers

[JustCruiseMe]

We are flying in the morning of this time because we don't have a choice with DH's work but the flight is a direct flight the first one of the morning at 7am and is a 2 hour flight so I am figuring (hoping) we have some wiggle room if something comes up.

[christmas]

We are 45 minutes from Galveston so we drive the day of. We are 5 hours from New Orleans so most of the time we go the day before.

[HardToPort]

We live about 5 -5 1/2 hours from Baltimore. We are looking at the Pride at some point next year, mainly b/c we don't have to worry about airfare. Since we will be parking at the port (I have done a lot of reading that is it in excellent port with ease of parking right next to/near the dock) would you drive it the same day and save the extra $ on hotel and food the night prior? We are early risers...even with school out my DS and DH are up at 6 am. So we could get on the road by 6 am easy and get up there in plenty of time. Just wondering how many other folks do this.

 

Hi 1Day,

I'm about 8 hours from Baltimore. Cruised from there twice. Drove once, flew once. Always go night before and have crab cakes and a seafood dinner.

 

No anxiety and it gets the vacay off on the right foot. Any potential issues with traffic, car or weather and I have time to come up with alternatives.

 

The peace of mind of a hotel room far outweighs the cost to my way of thinking.

 

Whichever you choose, I hope you have a great trip.

 

Cheers!

HTP

:cool:

[UTVolsFan4Life]

We are about 5-6 hours from Port Canaveral depending on which route that we decide to take. On our last two cruises, we have left out on a Monday which made it really easy to finish packing on Saturday. Get up on Sunday and be on the road by 8-9 AM'sh. This way, we are in no hurry. If we need to stop, we stop and it's a more pleasurable ride down. We choose a hotel that offers a package deal on the parking and shuttle service so we save a ton of money as compared to port parking.

 

For our next cruise, we are going to be what I call cutting it close. The ship leaves out on a Saturday and I have to work a half day on the Friday before and my wife has to work until 4 PM or later. Our current plan is to leave as soon as she gets off work so that gives us maximum time to get to the port. This means we have to drive at dark and since it will be getting late I will feel rushed and therefore it will not be a comfortable drive.

 

My recommendation has always been to get to port the day before the cruise. I don't like going into a vacation being rushed if I can help it. A nice easy transition works best for me. I can get to the hotel by 3PM to check in, get the room setup for the night, head to watch the ships sail away with my dinner, come back to the hotel and get ready for the next day, and then just relax.

[mzloolue]

It depends.

 

We used to sail from Mobile a bit.

It was a pretty easy drive and we could leave really early in the morning and get there by 2 or 3.

If we had to work the day before, it was still doable.

And kind of cool to go on a five day cruise, but only be gone from home for four days... kind of like a time warp.

 

That said, I would rather be there a day early and get on the boat early in the day.

It is more relaxed.

 

Now we mostly sail from New Orleans.

We leave after work and drive to about McComb or Hammond, then stop for the night and drive into New Orleans in the morning.

Edited January 1, 2014 by mzloolue
c

[Sugar67]

We fly in from Canada so we ALWAYS arrive a day early. This winter we already have had over a metre of snow :eek: so that extra day is a cushion. Paying for a hotel room for an extra night is just another form of insurance for me and besides, that gives us one more day of vacation!

[golfadj]

We leave our house around midnight the night before and drive to the FLA ports. With restroom, fuel, and breakfast stops, we have plenty of time built in for unexpected delays.

 

Nightime traffic is very light, family sleeps, I get to listen to music and enjoy the drive. The last time we went, I set cruise control in Charlotte and never braked until the first rest stop in Florida. Gotta love it!!!

 

Wow after about 3 hours gotta get out of the car for awhile.

[Lace]

The only time we have flown in the day before is for a sailing out of San Juan. Our previously sailing, it was such a long travel day, with such a late sailing, we were all exhausted.

 

Getting in the day before made for a pleasant sail away relaxing day. And then it rained just as we pulled out.

[My1Day.com]

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

Thank you for your comments, suggestions and opinions. I can see both sides and I guess for us the main thing will be if we can find a hotel within the Baltimore area that are not within the same price as the port will charge us. I know there might be cruise & stay hotels..but the port looks so easy that I want to hit the road when we return and not wait on a hotel shuttle to bring us to our car.

I do like the fact of making the vacation seem longer by going the day prior and no stress on the road 5+ hrs before we hit the ship.

[golfadj]

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

Thank you for your comments, suggestions and opinions. I can see both sides and I guess for us the main thing will be if we can find a hotel within the Baltimore area that are not within the same price as the port will charge us. I know there might be cruise & stay hotels..but the port looks so easy that I want to hit the road when we return and not wait on a hotel shuttle to bring us to our car.

I do like the fact of making the vacation seem longer by going the day prior and no stress on the road 5+ hrs before we hit the ship.

 

At times we would not wait on hotel shuttle just take a cab to the hotel so we can get an earlier start home.

 

have had to wait as much as an hour for the shuttle and just dont have the patience for it.

[nitro2448]

We always get to the port city at least one day prior to the cruise, but our closest port for driving is 10 hours away. If we are flying in there's no way we would risk flying the same day as the cruise.

 

 

GO MIZZOU!!!!!!!

[michelle1836]

We live about 5 -5 1/2 hours from Baltimore. We are looking at the Pride at some point next year, mainly b/c we don't have to worry about airfare. Since we will be parking at the port (I have done a lot of reading that is it in excellent port with ease of parking right next to/near the dock) would you drive it the same day and save the extra $ on hotel and food the night prior? We are early risers...even with school out my DS and DH are up at 6 am. So we could get on the road by 6 am easy and get up there in plenty of time. Just wondering how many other folks do this.

 

if you are looking to save the money then definitely drive to Baltimore that morning. that is, providing weather wont be a factor. shouldn't be much traffic on a Sunday.

[vacruizer]

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

Thank you for your comments, suggestions and opinions. I can see both sides and I guess for us the main thing will be if we can find a hotel within the Baltimore area that are not within the same price as the port will charge us. I know there might be cruise & stay hotels..but the port looks so easy that I want to hit the road when we return and not wait on a hotel shuttle to bring us to our car.

I do like the fact of making the vacation seem longer by going the day prior and no stress on the road 5+ hrs before we hit the ship.

 

Check out near the airport or even out in northern VA if you just want to be closer in the next morning. We are about 4 1/2-5 hours away from Baltimore driving from SW Virginia. Too much risk to me driving in the day of - you never know what traffic in the DC or Baltimore areas will do and you don't want to have no cushion in case of car trouble.

 

I've been able to find really reasonable rates at BWI - have stayed at both the Marriott and the Westin there for less than most of the "cheaper" brand hotels were. They are more business type hotels and really lower their rates on the weekends sometimes. I like the Marriott better, but the Westin is fine, too, if you find a good deal on it.

 

We've always parked at the port so we can hit the road quickly upon the return rather than waiting for a cab or shuttle to take us back to a hotel. That's let us get home by noon-1pm which makes the transition back to work the next day easier.

Edited January 1, 2014 by vacruizer

[Sparky2]

We live about 5 -5 1/2 hours from Baltimore. We are looking at the Pride at some point next year, mainly b/c we don't have to worry about airfare. Since we will be parking at the port (I have done a lot of reading that is it in excellent port with ease of parking right next to/near the dock) would you drive it the same day and save the extra $ on hotel and food the night prior? We are early risers...even with school out my DS and DH are up at 6 am. So we could get on the road by 6 am easy and get up there in plenty of time. Just wondering how many other folks do this.

 

We cruise the last two weeks of January and fly to FL from Detroit. We never know what the weather will be like at that time of year.

 

It's nice flying in the day before and having a relaxing dinner before cruising the next day.

[WAHMto5]

We always arrive the day before for that " just in case" moments;)

[funinthesun1964]

I would rather arrive the day before, but in some instances it just isn't possible. Work schedules and must-do's get in the way. We have flown to port city on day of cruise twice, and luckily had no problems.

 

When we drove to Baltimore, we did go a day early. We wanted to stop off to visit relatives on the way. We found a hotel, too that would let us leave our vehicle for the week and provide transportation to and from the port for us. That was nice.

[halos]

We live about 5 -5 1/2 hours from Baltimore. We are looking at the Pride at some point next year, mainly b/c we don't have to worry about airfare. Since we will be parking at the port (I have done a lot of reading that is it in excellent port with ease of parking right next to/near the dock) would you drive it the same day and save the extra $ on hotel and food the night prior? We are early risers...even with school out my DS and DH are up at 6 am. So we could get on the road by 6 am easy and get up there in plenty of time. Just wondering how many other folks do this.

 

If driving into port, we drive in that day. (Used to do this when we lived in ME and sailed out of NY or Boston)

When flying, we always fly in at LEAST one day prior.

[Butterbean1000]

We always fly in the day before after a close call on our first cruise. We also use that extra day to meet up with other couples we may be cruising with. It gives us a bonus day of vacation.

[JimAOk1945]

It's a good idea to arrive a day or two early if at all possible. Not only will it alleviate stress but give you an additional day or two added on to your vacation. :D

 

Happy Cruising!