Port arrival time?

[lesliejaykat]

This will be our second cruise (last one was over 10y ago). We will be pushing it to get to port as we are driving down that morning. If we arrive at 2 or 2:30 for 4:00 departure will that be enough time? It makes me nervous.

[asuero]

Yes that's more than enough time. You'll be fine...

[lizardhowson]

It all depends on when you are driving, where you start from and how long a drive.

 

It's not uncommon to have road construction, traffic accidents or stopped traffic delay you for an hour or more.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We can help more if you tell us where you are starting from, what port you are cruising out of, and day of week (and date, for holidays etc.)

[vwrestler171]

They want you there before 2:30 usually so they can get the final manifests to the authorities. I would get there a cpl hours earlier. Hope for no traffic problems as well.

[riclop]

This will be our second cruise (last one was over 10y ago). We will be pushing it to get to port as we are driving down that morning. If we arrive at 2 or 2:30 for 4:00 departure will that be enough time? It makes me nervous.

 

You already missed a meal.

[springs741]

This will be our second cruise (last one was over 10y ago). We will be pushing it to get to port as we are driving down that morning. If we arrive at 2 or 2:30 for 4:00 departure will that be enough time? It makes me nervous.

 

If you are asking if arriving at the port at 2 or 2:30 for a 4:00 departure is an acceptable time, then , yes.

 

I would be nervous is you are cutting it this close driving any distance. If it were me I would find a way to leave earlier if coming down the night before is not possible.

 

As posted above it would help if we know what port, where your trip is originating (Atlanta?) and what day of the week you are traveling. All of these things factor into your travel time.

[You Me & the Sea]

I'd be nervous and would shoot for no later than 1 pm. That way if you run into any delays (car problem, construction or accident traffic, etc) you have a cushion.

[love my grandkids]

I would never plan to get there that late. Who knows what can happen to cause a delay and than you misse the ship,

[Havingfun2010]

If you arrive at 2:31, you are too late, and could be denied boarding. Must arrive 90 minutes prior.

 

My rule of thumb, is to arrive at 11:00 for any cruise when driving. My worst case would be to allow at least 2 hours for issues. Could be a flat tire, speeding ticket, traffic delay of any kind.

 

So push yourself to a 12:00 arrival at the latest and give yourself that cushion. That goes the same for any trip, including airports.

[RuthlessBoss]

This will be our second cruise (last one was over 10y ago). We will be pushing it to get to port as we are driving down that morning. If we arrive at 2 or 2:30 for 4:00 departure will that be enough time? It makes me nervous.

 

Cutting it close, too close for my comfort. I'd leave the night before, hop into a cheap motel along the way and complete the journey the next morning. You have absolutely no wiggle room. All we know is you are from Atlanta.

[lesliejaykat]

Thanks everyone. We are trying to do a last minute cruise for our 10y anniversary and found one leaving thursday 8/27 out of Port Canaveral. We are on the southside of Atlanta and it will take us 7h to get to the port. We would gladly leave earlier in the morning or the night before, but we are really pushing it to get the grandparents to watch the kids four our trip as is. Our plan was to the put the kids on the bus at 6:45 and get on the road. We would pack a lunch and eat on the road and only make one gas stop (might not need it). We are on the southside of the city so we don't have to go through that city traffic. We do have about 45m of some back roads and 2 lane highways until we get onto 75S (Griffin for those that are familiar). There wouldn't be any traffic on 75S unless we hit an accident or roadwork. So, if we cruised along without any hiccups, that would put us there at 1:45. I just don't know if we could make this work.

 

We actually haven't purchased the cruise yet and was going to book tonight. There is another option out of MIA we could do but we would have to redeem 40k FF miles to do it. There is also the issue of if there are any flight delays. Ugh.

 

Decisions decisions.

Edited July 27, 2015 by lesliejaykat

[singbluesilver1]

It's really pushing it to get there that close

 

Did you check charleston is it closer

[lesliejaykat]

It's really pushing it to get there that close

 

Did you check charleston is it closer

 

ohhhh! that's an option. Checking now! I believe it's only 5 h or so from us...

[skittl1321]

Do you have a neighbor the kids could do a 1 night sleepover with to get to school the next day? (Or maybe even one you could drop them off at 6:00 an get put on the bus? That at least buys you an extra 45 minutes...)

 

That would be cutting it too close for me. I try to plan enough time to change a tire, for instance, and still get there with a bit to spare.

[lesliejaykat]

Do you have a neighbor the kids could do a 1 night sleepover with to get to school the next day? (Or maybe even one you could drop them off at 6:00 an get put on the bus? That at least buys you an extra 45 minutes...)

 

That would be cutting it too close for me. I try to plan enough time to change a tire, for instance, and still get there with a bit to spare.

 

Yeah. I'm thinking about this. I might be able to get my Mom or my sister to come over and wake them up and put them on the bus. They are just 15m away. We don't have a whole lot of other kids in the neighborhood. If we got on the road at 6 that would put us there at 1 without stops.

 

I checked the Charleston cruise and it's $250 more total. The Port Canaveral cruise is a really good deal!