Flying into Tampa and Cruising out of Miami

[Livabeth]

Hi all

 

Has anyone flown into Tampa the day before your cruise, but cruised out of Miami?  If so, how was the drive over to Miami?  Would you do it again?

 

Thanks. 

[love to cruz]

We live just outside Tampa. Having lived in So. California most of our lives, we feel the drive is very pleasant. Take I75 all the way down to Naples and go east on Alligator Alley. It is about a four and one half hour drive. Avoid getting to Fort Lauderdale after about 4:00 to avoid the heavy traffic.

[thinfool]

1 hour ago, love to cruz said:

We live just outside Tampa. Having lived in So. California most of our lives, we feel the drive is very pleasant. Take I75 all the way down to Naples and go east on Alligator Alley. It is about a four and one half hour drive. Avoid getting to Fort Lauderdale after about 4:00 to avoid the heavy traffic.

I agree with this...with the caveat that a wreck on I-75 could turn a 4 1/2 hr drive into an all day, missed cruise event.

Edited December 27, 2018 by thinfool

[TruckerDave]

Why would you even consider this?  You can fly into either MIA or FLL and be within an hr of the POM.  If you were flying into Tampa and staying a few days prior then ok, but flying in then driving right to Miami makes no sense. 

[CruisingAlong4Now]

Just drove a portion of I-75 today. it's mostly a two-lane road in each direction. A small accident on the side of the road effectively made the road un-usable. Added over an hour to a short trip from Ocala to Tampa.  I would NEVER do this before a cruise. It's also boring most of the way.

 

Fly into a Florida east coast airport and save yourself a long boring, possibly very delayed, drive. West Palm Beach; Fort Lauderdale, Miami, etc/ 

[sumiandkage]

Ocala to Tampa is the utter worst stretch of I-75, IMO. Between the perpetual road construction, the utter stupidity of fellow drivers, and the occasional rogue roadside emu... (I'm serious about the emu- it's Florida for you) I actually think it gets better once you get south of Tampa and headed toward Miami. . 

 

 

[horseymike]

fly into mia- fll . don't take the worst of it.

[Joseph2017China]

On ‎12‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 9:49 AM, thinfool said:

I agree with this...with the caveat that a wreck on I-75 could turn a 4 1/2 hr drive into an all day, missed cruise event.

Or you can use your GPS and use an alternative route.  They are leaving the day before, so this would be fine. 

[FlyerTalker]

My only thought to this question is.....why??

 

It's like flying into Dallas for a cruise from Galveston.

[PRNole47]

Unless you need to spend time in Tampa, either fly to MIA or, if you must drive from Tampa, go the day before to ensure timely arrival for check-in and departure. As has been posted before, even a small accident on 75 can close the road for many hours (if there's a fatality, it can close for over 8 hrs) and you won't always find an efficient alternate route, GPS or not, along many stretches of the road. Forget some mishap along Alligator Alley (the straight line stretch on 75 from Naples to FLL/MIA). There's no real alternative there. Again, I'd fly into the airport nearest the cruise port or take one of the puddle jumpers TPA-MIA. It's under an hour.

[snookerrich]

On ‎12‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 7:40 AM, Livabeth said:

Hi all

 

Has anyone flown into Tampa the day before your cruise, but cruised out of Miami?  If so, how was the drive over to Miami?  Would you do it again?

 

Thanks. 

Do it all the time,live in Tampa rent a car at the airport an leave it at Ft. Lauderdale or Miami airports.Nice drive interstate until you get to the airport.We always leave the day before. Good luck

[dabear]

I wouldn't do it. We spend the winters in Naples. From Tampa, . if you can't get a good fare in FLL or Mia then consider RSW and take I-75 would take 1 1/2 hours to FLL. In season traffic from Tampa south is very heavy & if an accident , will take much more.

[gotta cruise again]

Deleted my reply as as after posting, noticed the original query is from 2018.

Edited January 19, 2020 by gotta cruise again