Do you drive to your cruise?

[navybankerteacher]

We live in New York and are very fortunate to have three cruise ports within a twenty minute cab ride or less. Otherwise we fly to Europe or perhaps Florida to pick up a ship.

 

Jonathan

 

We live within an hour of those three cruise ports, but are dismayed by the dismally narrow selection of lines and itineraries available. Considering the size and disposable income of the population within easy driving range, it is surprising how little choice there is.

[my3guys]

We are driving to Port Canaveral for our cruise in June. But when we cruised out of Miami last November, we flew.

 

We figured since we are driving 14+ hours (with a halfway stop in South Carolina and the always obligatory visit to South of the Border), and since we are already there, we would spend a week at Disney/Universal before our cruise. After our week at WDW, we are driving to my in-laws' house in Palm Bay (one hour away from PC) and leaving our car there.

 

We live ninety minutes from Baltimore and hope to cruise out of there one day soon. Just waiting for the right ship and/or itinerary.

Edited August 4, 2015 by my3guys

[SPacificbound]

We do not drive to any port.

Edited August 4, 2015 by SPacificbound

[JawjaFatBoy]

We drive. Being just a few miles from I-16 and only 80 miles from Savannah and I-95, even Miami is easy to drive to. Plus I like to pick up odd, unusual or just hard to get liquors in some of the ports and a few are not "airline friendly.":p

 

On the long rides like Miami though, we hit spots along the way that interest us and generally aim to hit our hotel late. We also plan ahead to leave the car at the hotel and take a taxi or shuttle to the port to avoid the crazy parking fees.

 

For ports like Charleston, Jacksonville and Port Canaveral, we just leave early enough to hit the port by lunch and trade off the parking fee for the hotel stay.

[navybankerteacher]

We are driving to Port Canaveral for our cruise in June. But when we cruised out of Miami last November, we flew.

 

We figured since we are driving 14+ hours (with a halfway stop in South Carolina and the always obligatory visit to South of the Border), and since we are already there, we would spend a week at Disney/Universal before our cruise. After our week at WDW, we are driving to my in-laws' house in Palm Bay (one hour away from PC) and leaving our car there.

 

We live ninety minutes from Baltimore and hope to cruise out of there one day soon. Just waiting for the right ship and/or itinerary.

 

Yes --- South of The Border --- worth a stop; but it is such a circus, it somehow reminds me of that post-apocalyptic trading post in "Road Warrior - Beyond Thunderdome".

[BTromboneFrack]

We are from mid Michigan, and we have done both. This year, we have the time, but it will still be a 24 hour trip over two days. Was thinking about snow storms when we decided to drive, but flew last year and ran into a big storm on the way home. Delayed our flights and landed in a different city -- so driving is just as much of a risk. Should work out this year cost wise -- gas is supposed to drop below $2.00 a gallon by Christmas.

[annestis]

Trying to decide between eastern and western Caribbean as far as the beaches and clear water?

[You Me & the Sea]

We flew from MD to San Juan (no choice there :D) but drove for our others. MD to Miami with an overnight at the NC/SC line was the longest, but most fun! This time we're driving from NC to Port C.

[Keith1010]

If you like to drive than by all means do so but allow sufficient time to do the trip and if it was me I would plan to arrive the day before.

 

Keith

[dorisis]

Even if you drive, it should include 1 night prior to the cruise in a hotel near the port city. Preferable a park and cruise hotel. Parking at the piers is more expensive.

[Marywillowhill]

We don't fly so driving is our only option. I got used to it when we always traveled with our 5 kids and buying 7 plane tickets was not an option. Now that is just the 4 of us we still drive to Florida twice a year from Pa(1000 miles) My Husband won't pay all the money up front for plane tickets. I don't think it's that much cheaper anymore to drive. But it is nice to have your car and not worry about the weight of your bag etc.. But I do dread it that long drive. I swear the last hour feels like days!

P

[sparks1093]

Does anyone drive to their cruise? I know a lot of people who live in the port states do, but what about those who live farther away?

I am crunching numbers for our next cruise and it seems like it would be much cheaper. We have about a 19 hour drive to Miami from where we live, but I love driving and I love road trips, so I wouldn't be against it.

How far have you driven to a cruise and would you say it's worth it?

 

We have driven to every cruise so far, including two departing from Miami (we live 8 miles sout of the Canadian border). If I could figure out a way to drive to San Juan next October I would:).

[sailing canary]

The assumption here is that all cruisers are within driving distance of a US port. Some of us have no option - have YOU heard of anyone doing a transatlantic crossing by car?? :D

[SadieN]

We brave the Los Angeles area public transit system to get to the ship for anything longer than a three day cruise in Long Beach.

[my3guys]

Yes --- South of The Border --- worth a stop; but it is such a circus, it somehow reminds me of that post-apocalyptic trading post in "Road Warrior - Beyond Thunderdome".

 

I visited there a few times as a kid on our way from Virginia to Tampa to see our cousins. Yeah, it's pretty "kitschy" but my boys love it. We always stop for ice cream and later go to the top of the sombrero. It's become somewhat of a tradition for us since we drive to Orlando every couple of years to see Mickey.

[lah66]

We are from West Michigan and have driven twice to Bayonne to cruise in September and October. We will do this for a third time this October. It takes us about 11 hours to reach Parsippany where we can get a hotel room through Hotwire for usually around $70 a night. We drive the remaining 30 minutes to Cape Liberty the next morning.

 

We saw cheap airfare a month or so ago and debated flying, but then we would not have that beautiful fall drive across Pennsylvania and through the Poconos! I think we drove the first time to save some money (probably $300-$400), but now we enjoy the drive too much to fly. And we always go to the Beer Mapping Project and find a wonderful microbrewery for our lunch stop! So much fun!

 

I don't think we would ever be brave enough to drive to FL in the winter. The idea of a 24 hour drive is too stressful when bad weather can be a factor!

 

Lauri

[ladygal4.4]

Our drive is 10 hours to Florida from TN. with the kids, it's just too expensive to fly

[clackey]

The only time that we fly is when I have enough airmiles. Otherwise, we drive to Galveston or New Orleans. Drove to Mobile twice when Carnival sailed from there. It is about 600 mile to either of the three.

[ScottsSweetie]

I live in the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

 

We have driven to Mobile & Charleston (about 5 hours away), Tampa (about 7 hours), Port Canaveral (8 hours or so), Ft. Lauderdale (about 10 hours), Miami (11 hours), and Galveston 3 times (about 13 hours). These times are all with no stops, so add in meals and potty breaks (and sometimes a 2 day drive).

 

Both DH & I grew up taking road trips with our families, so we have always done it ourselves. One of our most fun trips was to Galveston to cruise with all 4 of our kids, and our last trip to Galveston with our 2 youngest (19yr twin boys) with a New Orleans visit en route.

 

We've only flown for cruising to L.A. and San Juan.

 

And, we have yet to sail out of either Jacksonville or New Orleans, both relatively close ports.

[gi_pam]

We've flown and driven. We're at that distance where it's a heckuva long drive, but still doable and worth it when there are 4 of us (20+ hours, so 2 long days...I have a coworker who drives from here to Orlando every winter in one long stretch though :eek: )

 

We don't live near an airport with a direct flight to anywhere, so a flight would involve either a 2 hour drive to a bigger airport, or a change of planes after the first, very short leg leaving from our teeny little airport.

 

We're about 6 hours from Bayonne, and we drove there for our Celebrity Summit cruise. Even for a 6 hour drive, there is no value added in flying (see above...), it takes at least 6 hours to get anywhere by plane from here.

 

We've driven to Florida (20 hours or so to Port Canaveral) - but that was an "epic" Florida vacation, not just a cruise. Disney, the cruise, then a few more days in Orlando. The cost of flying then renting a car for the land part of the trip made driving worth it.

 

We're planning on driving for our Christmas 2016 cruise. We have the time and 4 plane tickets, baggage, taxis, etc just makes it more reasonable to drive. I'll keep an eye on flight prices, but it won't cost more than $1000 to drive (gas, meals, hotels), so I don't think I'll find airfare to FLL or MIA for $250 pp at Christmas time.

 

DH and I have flown to Florida for 2 cruises, but that was when we lived farther away (33 hours).

 

We flew to Seattle for our Alaska cruise, but the rest of the family drove from Manitoba (23 hours or so).

 

We did fly to Singapore for our Asian cruise... :)

[O2Cool]

We drive! The extra baggage fees for me to fly would cost more than the cruise. I follow the idea that I would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Our drive is only 4 1/2 hours and we enjoy the trip. The free parking for us, due to my Husband being a disabled Vet does not hurt.

[kelkel2]

My husband did the math last night using the flights for this upcoming cruise vs. driving to miami, he said it would be about $150 cheaper to drive. But I think he didn't add in baggage fees come to think of it. These flights are Delta and they have a $25 each way per person baggage fee. He personally think's it's such a small savings it may not be worth it, but I'm one of those people who loves a road trip so I really was thinking more of thinking it would be an experience too. I would plan to spend the night in Miami the night before our cruise. I would plan to arrive mid day morning friday for a saturday cruise. If anything happened we would have time to allow for problems.

[DocF]

We drive rather than fly any time it is possible. Flying today resembles a highway bus full of drunken college students for the level of comfort and service.

[GUT2407]

Well since I live about 2 1/2 hours from the Port I always drive. But even so try to go the night before at least.

[TruckerDave]

I was just looking at this last week when I was home. (I drove across the Ravenel bridge and saw the CCL ship in port on my way to my sisters house). I figure I am about a 10 min drive (maybe a tad more depending on traffic) from the Charleston port. and less than 6 hrs from both JAX and Port Canaveral. (Tampa is even within a "easy" drive). I guess I picked a good place to relocate to. :D

 

{keeping in mind I drive for a living and driving 10 hrs a day is not that big of deal to me. :eek: )