Driving to Miami, parking at peir?

[98Charlie]

RE: Waze app alternate routings.

 

Yes. As I described it saved us some major aggravation by routing us off of the interstate and back on some13 miles later.

 

Charlie

 

 

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[Homosassa]

We are sailing Oceania & would like to know what terminal Oceania uses for Miami

 

Thanks!

 

 

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Sorry, this isn't specific as to the Terminal Letter.

 

We were just on the MSC Divina this week . The Divina ties up at the terminal after the Carnival ships. As we walked through the terminal on the upper level to find our gangway, we pasted the gangway labeled for Oceania.

 

Garage G is the closest parking garage.

 

And a first for us; we used a porter for our luggage when we we debarking and expected him to take the luggage to the curve in front of the terminal as has been our experience before when debarking at this same terminal. Instead he told us he would take it to Garage G (leaves the luggage at a loading area on the exit level).

 

All the porters were dong the same thing for Garage G.

[trvlgirlmq]

Unfortunately not. EZPass and SunPass/Epass in Florida are not compatible. They're supposed to be, eventually, but I haven't seen anything good on that recently.

 

 

 

You can go to the sunpass.com website and buy the transponder and have it shipped to your house. Easy to set up and either pre-load or attach a credit card to for auto fill.

 

I do agree that 95 is nothing compared to driving in LA/Inland Empire!! But it can be really bad, especially with all the construction - there are parts of 95 south that are down to 1 lane right now. I much prefer to take the turnpike.

 

The point is moot now actually. After our last long 1,000 mile each way drive we decided that paying for airfare was so worth it. I'd rather give up movies and eating out than spend 4 days on the road ;)

[tango223]

From the Port of Miami map, Terminal J is used by Oceania. It is on the opposite side of the port from all the other ships.

 

 

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Thank you!

 

 

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[Homosassa]

LOL - that's the terminal letter I couldn't remember (and I was just there yesterday.

 

And it is not on the opposite side of the port from the other ships. The ship line up for the terminals have been NCL, Carnival, MSC , Oceania and then a Celebrity if the Royal Caribbean Corporation side (the opposite side from most of the cruise lines) is full.

[98Charlie]

LOL - that's the terminal letter I couldn't remember (and I was just there yesterday.

 

And it is not on the opposite side of the port from the other ships. The ship line up for the terminals have been NCL, Carnival, MSC , Oceania and then a Celebrity if the Royal Caribbean Corporation side (the opposite side from most of the cruise lines) is full.

J has also been used by Fathom EXCEPT on March 12 when we were scheduled to depart. We pulled up to J and there was nothing! No cars, no ship, nada. I'm wondering if we had the wrong day:eek:

 

 

There was one passenger standing there and she said that the Adonia had docked at E. The passengers that had parked at the J terminal were bused back to J to pick up their cars. We parked and departed from E and returned to J. Then the busing was done back to the E parking area. All's well - - great cruise even with one "man overboard".

 

Charlie

[BIGREDIOWAN]

The point is moot now actually. After our last long 1,000 mile each way drive we decided that paying for airfare was so worth it. I'd rather give up movies and eating out than spend 4 days on the road ;)

 

This comment totally freaked me out! :')

[Organized Chaos]

The point is moot now actually. After our last long 1,000 mile each way drive we decided that paying for airfare was so worth it. I'd rather give up movies and eating out than spend 4 days on the road ;)

For the most part, our budget doesn't allow us to fly, but that's ok because I actually like driving long road trips; although, I'm not as resilient as I used to be. I used to drive 1,000 miles without blinking an eye. Nowadays my mind is gung ho, but my body, not so much. Last year, we decided to cut the trip in half (approx.) and stopped in Macon, GA. We got there in the late afternoon and it drove me nuts that we were stopping with plenty of good drive time left in the day. But I decided on that location because I knew if I had kept driving until nightfall and beyond, and there was only ~5 hours left until Ft. Lauderdale, I would've pushed on through.

 

It allows us to see more of the country. Granted, a lot of times there isn't much to see, but that's ok. For our next cruise, we're taking members of my wife's family. They want to take their passenger van and ride together, so we'll have more drivers and should be able to go straight through to Miami. Even if we ended up taking two vehicles, we could still switch out. I wouldn't mind flying now & again, but we'd have to do a lot more saving to account for it. Not to mention my wife & son don't really care for flying. With our large group going this time, there's no way we can fly because they can't afford it either (they have 2 more kids than we do).

[fatpaul]

Like Organized Chaos, I too like driving and I do most of my driving off the freeways, intentionally. My 2013, Ram 1500 just registered 90k and my wife's 14 Prius had about 65k before she upgraded to the fancy 2017 Prius. We didn't buy them to look at them[emoji600] So much to see off the main roads and since we're retired, we have the time.

 

 

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[Passing Lane]

You have a choice to make driving! When you reach Fort Pierce it will be Turnpike or I 95. I 95 from Palm Beach to Miami closes about 3 times a week due to crashes and has heavy traffic. The turnpike has about 1 crash a week and is not as heavy on traffic, except rush hour. The turnpike turns into I 95 at the Dade County border, however you can use the Sunpass lane. I take the ride south many times, as I live in Florida! My suggestion is to use the turnpike to Miami Dade. Then put on your NASCAR outfit, including helmet, mount a machine gun on your hood and take the SunPass lane! It is the quickest and safest! Safe some ammunition for the return trip.

 

 

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[Lido_Deck]

My wife and I and our kids are driving from Des Moines, IA on May 12th and 13th to Miami for our cruise on the Vista that leaves on the 14th. We've never driven down, but the airfare was a little too high for us to stomach with taking our children. I've read some threads about parking at the pier and most say to park right at the Miami pier parking. I reserved some parking to what I thought was the pier, website was miamiportparking.com, but it appears this isn't at the pier and is a short shuttle ride, approximately 10 minutes away, and is located at 8300 NW 7th Avenue in Miami. Has anyone parked at this location? It looks like it's called JetPort Park and Ride Center and I want to make sure it's okay before I go leaving our vehicle there for a week. It says there is security on site and they will provide us a shuttle ride to the pier. Just wanting to make sure as my wife might hurt me if something happens to her Tahoe! j/k ;) Thanks in advance.....

 

Can I give you some outside the box ideas?

 

Let's talk about the return first...You can pick up a full size car from Enterprise in Miami on May 20th, keep it for an entire week, drop it in Des Moines for $55.30...TOTAL...including all taxes and fees and unlimited mileage. And whatever the model of the car is, I promise you it will get much better gas mileage than your Tahoe, especially if it's a 4 WD. I know because I drive one. The bonus with this deal is you can keep the car up to 3 weeks at that rate, save money on gas driving around town back home and avoid putting more miles on the Tahoe. Now that rate is picking up at a non-airport location because if you pick it up at MIA it will cost you a lot more in extra taxes and fees. I think this return plan is a no-brainer. Now we just need to get you down here.

 

My first thought would be to drive from Des Moines to Nashville, leave the Tahoe and fly from there. On Saturday, May 13th you can fly nonstop on Southwest from Nashville to FLL for $72 per per person departing at 5:05 PM arriving at 8:15 PM. If you fly on Thursday, May 11th you can get a nonstop schedule of 1:55 PM departure and 5:05 PM arrival for $72. I'll be doing this same thing this month when I go back to Missouri for a couple weeks (only I was lucky enough to get a $57 fare from BNA to FLL). I pick up the car tomorrow, keep it for 3 weeks, drive to Missouri for a couple weeks, drive to Nashville (where I used to live), visit some friends, drop the car at BNA and fly back to FLL on May 2nd. That way I avoid over 900 miles of driving including the worst part of the drive...Atlanta.

 

Now...If you leave the Tahoe in Nashville, you can drop the rental car in Nashville and drive the Tahoe home, but...At that rental rate I would take the car back to Des Moines and drive it for a couple more weeks.

 

As far as parking the Tahoe in Nashville, I'm sure one of the airport hotels would let you leave the Tahoe there while you are gone on the cruise and return. All you would have to do is spend the night in the hotel the night before you fly to FLL.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Lido_Deck

[Valley Girl of VA]

We have driven many times and prefer to stay at a hotel the night before and get free parking. The only thing we had to pay for, other than our room, was the short cab ride back to the hotel after the cruise

 

 

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[BIGREDIOWAN]

We have driven many times and prefer to stay at a hotel the night before and get free parking. The only thing we had to pay for, other than our room, was the short cab ride back to the hotel after the cruise

 

 

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I'm assuming there are plenty of cabs around? I've never paid attention before because we've always flown down and done the transfers back to the airport.

[Tiembiay]

I'm assuming there are plenty of cabs around? I've never paid attention before because we've always flown down and done the transfers back to the airport.

 

 

All the cabs you could want. And some you don't. They are everywhere.

 

 

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[Organized Chaos]

A few in this thread have talked about how crazy I-95 is. I'm not talking about heavy traffic, either. NASCAR was mentioned at least twice and another one jokes about machine guns & helmets. There's no way to put this lightly, but are you Floridians a little soft when it comes to interstate driving, or what? Granted, I haven't driven I-95 regularly like some of you down there do, but I really didn't find it to be anything like you're describing. Except for when we got into, or close to, Ft. Lauderdale. But even then it was just heavy traffic, none of this speed demon craziness I keep reading about. I don't know, maybe I've just experienced some serious interstate insanity that makes what you describe seem pretty ho-hum.

 

 

All the cabs you could want. And some you don't. They are everywhere.

Thanks for the laugh. :') To the OP, yes, somewhere right outside the terminal there will be a line of eager cabbies waiting for a fare.

 

A lot of people recommend uber, but I live in a very rural area where that's practically non-existent. If it were, they'd probably show up on a tractor...pulling a plow. ;p I'm not going to download the app and set up an account just to use it one time to get a ride back to hotel parking after a cruise. But someone, I believe in this thread, said they paid $13 for a 10 minute cab ride from the terminal to their off-site parking garage. Seriously, it costs $13 for a 10 minute cab ride?? Again, I'm country folk...never been in a cab in my life.

[harripa]

Actually we've found the best option to be renting a car for the drive down. We swing through the port to drop off bags and then go to the rental car agency. They provide a shuttle, $15pp, to cruise. Return is similar and I don't have to put 1000s of miles on my car or worry about parking.

 

 

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[Tiembiay]

A few in this thread have talked about how crazy I-95 is. I'm not talking about heavy traffic, either. NASCAR was mentioned at least twice and another one jokes about machine guns & helmets. There's no way to put this lightly, but are you Floridians a little soft when it comes to interstate driving, or what? Granted, I haven't driven I-95 regularly like some of you down there do, but I really didn't find it to be anything like you're describing. Except for when we got into, or close to, Ft. Lauderdale. But even then it was just heavy traffic, none of this speed demon craziness I keep reading about. I don't know, maybe I've just experienced some serious interstate insanity that makes what you describe seem pretty ho-hum.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the laugh. :') To the OP, yes, somewhere right outside the terminal there will be a line of eager cabbies waiting for a fare.

 

 

 

A lot of people recommend uber, but I live in a very rural area where that's practically non-existent. If it were, they'd probably show up on a tractor...pulling a plow. ;p I'm not going to download the app and set up an account just to use it one time to get a ride back to hotel parking after a cruise. But someone, I believe in this thread, said they paid $13 for a 10 minute cab ride from the terminal to their off-site parking garage. Seriously, it costs $13 for a 10 minute cab ride?? Again, I'm country folk...never been in a cab in my life.

 

 

I am a native Floridian, a rarity in these parts. I reject the notion that any of our traffic woes are to be blamed on the natives. We drive just fine. What we do have is a huge snowbird contingent that brings driving habits from varied areas where things are done a tad differently. We don't give a damn how it's done up north. Here, keep your slow posterior in the right lane, if someone needs to get in your lane, let them. Alternate when merging. A little courtesy goes a long way. And, turn off your blinker. No one cares that you may turn left, tomorrow. And, the biggest thing. Stay off the roads at rush hour if you are not a working resident.

 

 

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[BIGREDIOWAN]

Here's my issue with renting a vehicle. I really don't know for sure what I'm going to get. I know it'll be more MPG friendly than our Tahoe, but our Tahoe does have navigation, actually just realized this last night but certainly not necessary with our smart phones, and a factory installed DVD player. I'm not sure if the rental vehicle will have DVD or not, but I was going to hook up a gaming system for our boys in the vehicle to help pass the time, like any kids these days they're addicted to technology. And folks have mentioned the miles we'll be putting on our vehicle and agree that it's a lot of miles. We bought our Tahoe used, it's a 2011 LTZ with just about every option you can get and it only had right around 50,000 miles on it. At this point it should have anywhere from 80k to 100k based on 12k to 15k a year for miles so we're way under that. We'll still be under 60k miles when we get back so we're doing okay there. It just seems like a hassle to have to worry about dropping a rental vehicle off the morning of the cruise, get a ride back to the port, then upon return get a ride back to the rental car place, rent another vehicle, get back on the road, etc. It probably isn't and I'm probably thinking it would be more a pain that it really would. I'm also guessing you can rent a vehicle with DVD installed in it, but just not sure. And when I've looked at rates online through Enterprise they seem to want a small fortune to rent a vehicle for a few days and want to upcharge me for leaving it in Miami. I'll drive that same vehicle back if you want..............keep your upcharge! lol

[jcg4550]

This has turned into an interesting thread with some good ideas..

 

 

 

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[Organized Chaos]

Here's my issue with renting a vehicle. I really don't know for sure what I'm going to get. I know it'll be more MPG friendly than our Tahoe, but our Tahoe does have navigation, actually just realized this last night but certainly not necessary with our smart phones, and a factory installed DVD player. I'm not sure if the rental vehicle will have DVD or not, but I was going to hook up a gaming system for our boys in the vehicle to help pass the time, like any kids these days they're addicted to technology. And folks have mentioned the miles we'll be putting on our vehicle and agree that it's a lot of miles. We bought our Tahoe used, it's a 2011 LTZ with just about every option you can get and it only had right around 50,000 miles on it. At this point it should have anywhere from 80k to 100k based on 12k to 15k a year for miles so we're way under that. We'll still be under 60k miles when we get back so we're doing okay there. It just seems like a hassle to have to worry about dropping a rental vehicle off the morning of the cruise, get a ride back to the port, then upon return get a ride back to the rental car place, rent another vehicle, get back on the road, etc. It probably isn't and I'm probably thinking it would be more a pain that it really would. I'm also guessing you can rent a vehicle with DVD installed in it, but just not sure. And when I've looked at rates online through Enterprise they seem to want a small fortune to rent a vehicle for a few days and want to upcharge me for leaving it in Miami. I'll drive that same vehicle back if you want..............keep your upcharge! lol

There's been a couple people here who have found some very good rental deals for you, but I've never seen anything like them. One person said your trip back home would be a special low rate for leaving FL and they quoted something like $55. Another had mentioned driving out of Nashville and quoted a rate around $70-75 and being able to keep the vehicle for three weeks. I don't understand how they're finding these rates. I'm over 300 miles south of you in IL and when I try to schedule a mock rental, it's always several hundred dollars. And yes, an upcharge if I try to make it a one-way trip. If there's a secret to car rental, I sure would like to know. ;)

 

We got lucky last year. At the time, my wife's employer was offering a rewards points system as a perk for part of her job. We were able to use those points to rent a minivan for the entire Ft. Lauderdale round-trip. Incidentally, that van came with a DVD system, but the stupid remote to control the DVD player wasn't in the van :rolleyes: and it didn't work without it. Our son was content with his iPhone, iPad, & 3DS so we didn't worry about it. Her employer doesn't do that rewards system anymore, so we'd be paying for a rental out of pocket this time. So I'd love to find some of these special deals. For now, her family members that are going with us want everyone to go in their big passenger van, but I'd like to be prepared with a backup plan just in case that doesn't work out.

 

I am a native Floridian, a rarity in these parts. I reject the notion that any of our traffic woes are to be blamed on the natives. We drive just fine. What we do have is a huge snowbird contingent that brings driving habits from varied areas where things are done a tad differently. We don't give a damn how it's done up north. Here, keep your slow posterior in the right lane, if someone needs to get in your lane, let them. Alternate when merging. A little courtesy goes a long way. And, turn off your blinker. No one cares that you may turn left, tomorrow. And, the biggest thing. Stay off the roads at rush hour if you are not a working resident.

Most of what you wish for is pretty common sense stuff in regards to interstate drivers. Not that it's always that common, it's not. But that last thing, in my opinion, goes a little too far. Everyone has a right to get where they're going whenever they want to go there, whether they are working residents or not. Let's not forget, as annoying as tourists can sometimes be to the locals, tourism dollars afford your state a lot of nice things that you probably wouldn't have otherwise.

[Tiembiay]

There's been a couple people here who have found some very good rental deals for you, but I've never seen anything like them. One person said your trip back home would be a special low rate for leaving FL and they quoted something like $55. Another had mentioned driving out of Nashville and quoted a rate around $70-75 and being able to keep the vehicle for three weeks. I don't understand how they're finding these rates. I'm over 300 miles south of you in IL and when I try to schedule a mock rental, it's always several hundred dollars. And yes, an upcharge if I try to make it a one-way trip. If there's a secret to car rental, I sure would like to know. ;)

 

 

 

We got lucky last year. At the time, my wife's employer was offering a rewards points system as a perk for part of her job. We were able to use those points to rent a minivan for the entire Ft. Lauderdale round-trip. Incidentally, that van came with a DVD system, but the stupid remote to control the DVD player wasn't in the van :rolleyes: and it didn't work without it. Our son was content with his iPhone, iPad, & 3DS so we didn't worry about it. Her employer doesn't do that rewards system anymore, so we'd be paying for a rental out of pocket this time. So I'd love to find some of these special deals. For now, her family members that are going with us want everyone to go in their big passenger van, but I'd like to be prepared with a backup plan just in case that doesn't work out.

 

 

 

Most of what you wish for is pretty common sense stuff in regards to interstate drivers. Not that it's always that common, it's not. But that last thing, in my opinion, goes a little too far. Everyone has a right to get where they're going whenever they want to go there, whether they are working residents or not. Let's not forget, as annoying as tourists can sometimes be to the locals, tourism dollars afford your state a lot of nice things that you probably wouldn't have otherwise.

 

 

The statement to stay off the roads at rush hour is meant to cover the gamut of snowbird inconsideration. If you have free time all day, go places then, not rush hour when working people need to get home. Also, get your tee times on weekdays, leave the course available to working people on weekends. Same with women booking hair and such on Saturday. Grocery shop during business hours. Go to matinee movies and performances. How about your dinner out a bit earlier? Heck, most snowbirds go to bed early anyway. Just asking for a little thoughtful courtesy. During bird season, we can't even have dinner out without a two-hour wait time.

 

 

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[LMaxwell]

The statement to stay off the roads at rush hour is meant to cover the gamut of snowbird inconsideration. If you have free time all day, go places then, not rush hour when working people need to get home. Also, get your tee times on weekdays, leave the course available to working people on weekends. Same with women booking hair and such on Saturday. Grocery shop during business hours. Go to matinee movies and performances. How about your dinner out a bit earlier? Heck, most snowbirds go to bed early anyway. Just asking for a little thoughtful courtesy. During bird season, we can't even have dinner out without a two-hour wait time.

 

 

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I live here too. Yes, rush hour traffic sucks, and restaurants are busy all winter, but, are you kidding????

[BIGREDIOWAN]

There's been a couple people here who have found some very good rental deals for you, but I've never seen anything like them. One person said your trip back home would be a special low rate for leaving FL and they quoted something like $55. Another had mentioned driving out of Nashville and quoted a rate around $70-75 and being able to keep the vehicle for three weeks. I don't understand how they're finding these rates. I'm over 300 miles south of you in IL and when I try to schedule a mock rental, it's always several hundred dollars. And yes, an upcharge if I try to make it a one-way trip. If there's a secret to car rental, I sure would like to know. ;)

 

We got lucky last year. At the time, my wife's employer was offering a rewards points system as a perk for part of her job. We were able to use those points to rent a minivan for the entire Ft. Lauderdale round-trip. Incidentally, that van came with a DVD system, but the stupid remote to control the DVD player wasn't in the van :rolleyes: and it didn't work without it. Our son was content with his iPhone, iPad, & 3DS so we didn't worry about it. Her employer doesn't do that rewards system anymore, so we'd be paying for a rental out of pocket this time. So I'd love to find some of these special deals. For now, her family members that are going with us want everyone to go in their big passenger van, but I'd like to be prepared with a backup plan just in case that doesn't work out.

 

Yeah, everytime I check online I'm getting hundreds of dollars to rent a rental car for three days. I'd need to pick it up the day before we leave, May 11th, due to us leaving early on May 12th before the rental car places are even open. The savings on gas won't offset that cost and if it's the same it doesn't make sense anyways.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

To the folks that have driven before am I missing anything when I'm figuring trip cost here? Gas, hotels, parking, and food. I'm comparing some flights into Orlando to what we'll spend through Allegiant Airlines and that total cost is fairly close to what I'm figuring. I'm figuring $540 for gas, $200 for hotels minus the one we are staying in Miami as we'd be staying in a hotel regardless, $140 for parking at the port, $300 on food as we'll take some stuff on the way down with us to curb the cost some. So I come to a cost of $1,180 for the trip down.

 

The flight I'm finding flies into Orlando late at night on the 13th of May so we'd just pick our rental car up there, change our hotel reservations to Orlando and then drive to Miami in the morning. Rental vehicles through Allegiant's website are about $50 for that long of a rental. The only thing we'd have to do is figure out a ride from the port back to the rental car place upon our return to drive back to Orlando for our flight back to Des Moines. For the roundtrip and the rental to Miami it's coming up to $1,086. If I'm not missing anything I may change to this flight with that cost. Maybe I'm figuring too high for driving...........

[bottomfeeder]

To the folks that have driven before am I missing anything when I'm figuring trip cost here? Gas, hotels, parking, and food. I'm comparing some flights into Orlando to what we'll spend through Allegiant Airlines and that total cost is fairly close to what I'm figuring. I'm figuring $540 for gas, $200 for hotels minus the one we are staying in Miami as we'd be staying in a hotel regardless, $140 for parking at the port, $300 on food as we'll take some stuff on the way down with us to curb the cost some. So I come to a cost of $1,180 for the trip down.

 

The flight I'm finding flies into Orlando late at night on the 13th of May so we'd just pick our rental car up there, change our hotel reservations to Orlando and then drive to Miami in the morning. Rental vehicles through Allegiant's website are about $50 for that long of a rental. The only thing we'd have to do is figure out a ride from the port back to the rental car place upon our return to drive back to Orlando for our flight back to Des Moines. For the roundtrip and the rental to Miami it's coming up to $1,086. If I'm not missing anything I may change to this flight with that cost. Maybe I'm figuring too high for driving...........

Well, you don't seem to have any additional meals figured in to your flying cost, but that would be minor. I can't speak to your estimates for fuel, etc.

 

There are a lot of toll roads in the Orlando area but offhand I don't know if you would be taking them if you fly to Orlando or if you'd be taking them should you drive the whole way. Not a major expense but might make a slight difference between the options depending on route.

 

I can tell you that I lived in Iowa City for many years, and for about a year I drove back and forth between Iowa City and the Sarasota FL area as I was in process of moving/prepping house in Iowa for sale/etc.. My drive let me stay on 75 all the way to my town in FL whereas to go to the Ft. Lauderdale area you have to head to the other side of Florida and get on 95, and of course I started an hour and a half or so east of you in Iowa...but it was not a fun drive! I would either start early morning from Iowa City and stay one night on the way, just north of Atlanta, and get to my FL house early evening the next day...or I would take off a bit early from work and start around 3 or so from Iowa City and stay near the KY/TN state line and then have a very long slog the next day. Your drive would be at least 3 hours longer than mine, and generally if you have kids in the car with you then you'll need to make more stops...I stopped just a couple times a day to fill gas, use the bathroom and get food at McDonald's or Wendy's right off the interstate, and otherwise just drove.

 

All of that to say that I'm not sure I'd want to do that drive before and after a vacation. You'll be exhausted by the time you get to board your cruise, and you'll lose all your relaxed vibes from the cruise during the trip back. If the cost is anywhere close to fly, I'd definitely choose that option. :)