nalrudaini Posted December 25, 2021 #1 Share Posted December 25, 2021 (edited) Hello, and Happy Holidays 🎄 I'm planning a cruise out of Miami in August. Before the cruise, we will be staying in Orlando. Been thinking about whether its best to spend the night in Miami or just stay in Orlando and drive to Miami in the morning. Edited December 25, 2021 by nalrudaini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohninDC Posted December 25, 2021 #2 Share Posted December 25, 2021 (edited) We have done both. Staying in Miami (downtown) is fun with great dining and a short taxi to POM the next morning. Left our hotel near WDW early, drive about 3.5 hours, returned the car and were on the ship by noon. Your call. Edited December 25, 2021 by JohninDC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corby114 Posted December 25, 2021 #3 Share Posted December 25, 2021 Drive down the day before and stay in either the Fort Lauderdale or Miami area. Have a nice dinner, a good nights sleep and be ready for your cruise vacation. Don’t need to get up at the crack of dawn to drive three plus hours for the two hundred forty mile ride from Orlando to Miami. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted December 25, 2021 #4 Share Posted December 25, 2021 I would stay in Miami the night before. Safer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondello Posted December 25, 2021 #5 Share Posted December 25, 2021 1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said: I would stay in Miami the night before. Safer. Safer? Made me laugh that Miami is safer than Orlando. I get what you meant, though. Yeah, I wouldn't enjoy a long drive into Miami the morning of a cruise. We're in Miami right now and Versailles is open on Christmas Day. Until midnight! We feasted there today. Life is good. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Oviedo32765 Posted December 26, 2021 #6 Share Posted December 26, 2021 Like JohninDC, I have done both. No wrong answer really. I think it comes down to a personal preferance as to how you want to start the cruise? Start after a good nights rest in the Miami area with a short drive to the port, or after a 3.5 hour drive from Orlando. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalrudaini Posted December 27, 2021 Author #7 Share Posted December 27, 2021 Thank you all for the replies 🌹 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skrufy Posted December 27, 2021 #8 Share Posted December 27, 2021 9 hours ago, nalrudaini said: Thank you all for the replies 🌹 To me, there's nothing like waking up in the warm Florida sunshine and being only 10 to 15 minutes from the port. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Turtles06 Posted December 27, 2021 #9 Share Posted December 27, 2021 Another vote for staying in Miami. Recently, we drove from Delray Beach (much further north than Miami) to Sanford (just outside Orlando) to board the Auto Train that day. Even starting farther north, it’s a crappy drive, and you need to get up pretty early and leave yourself time in case of accidents, etc. Our schedule did not permit us to stay in Orlando the night before, but if we ever do that trip again, we will. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iancal Posted December 28, 2021 #10 Share Posted December 28, 2021 On our last Miami cruise we drove down from Daytona Beach. Changed our N/C car rental drop from Orlando to Miami. Left in the AM. No issues whatsoever. Saved us lugging our bags in and out of rental or the bother of getting into a hotel room for a one night stay. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisesfun65 Posted December 30, 2021 #11 Share Posted December 30, 2021 We're doing this in reverse. Flying into Miami, staying 1 night, driving to Cape Canaveral, stay 2 nights then cruise. We want less airport time as possible and a stress free cruise. Repeat after the cruise in reverse order. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Noxequifans Posted December 31, 2021 #12 Share Posted December 31, 2021 On 12/27/2021 at 2:36 PM, skrufy said: To me, there's nothing like waking up in the warm Florida sunshine and being only 10 to 15 minutes from the port. Agree. My attitude is to be as close to the ship as I can the evening before. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeepCalmBearOn Posted January 1, 2022 #13 Share Posted January 1, 2022 I love Orlando, but I'd drive in the afternoon of the day before, get a great Cuban dinner and be able to relax and not feel rushed the next day. If I lived in Orlando, I might go the morning of, but not as part of my vacation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseFanatic223 Posted January 1, 2022 #14 Share Posted January 1, 2022 We are going on a cruise out of Miami in a few days and live just north of Orlando. We're driving down the day before. Its about a 4 hour drive from our house, but it just makes it less stressful and allows us to sleep in a bit more on the morning of the cruise. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunnorl Posted January 2, 2022 #15 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Another vote from a local. Drive down the day before, much less stressful. Brightline Train is suppose to be in service late 22 or early 23. That will help. Direct from Orlando airport to Miami Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlaMariner Posted January 2, 2022 #16 Share Posted January 2, 2022 3 hours ago, cunnorl said: Brightline Train is suppose to be in service late 22 or early 23. That will help. Direct from Orlando airport to Miami We are excited for that train service to start!.....That will be a game changer for us to get from Orlando to South Florida quickly and efficiently for cruises and anything else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherylnj Posted January 15, 2022 #17 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Drive down the day before. Before Covid, decided to drive to Miami the day of embarkation and almost missed the ship. A 5 hour drive turned into almost 10 with multiple accidents on the Turnpike. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida Glamazon Posted January 26, 2022 #18 Share Posted January 26, 2022 On 12/31/2021 at 9:52 PM, CruiseFanatic223 said: We are going on a cruise out of Miami in a few days and live just north of Orlando. We're driving down the day before. Its about a 4 hour drive from our house, but it just makes it less stressful and allows us to sleep in a bit more on the morning of the cruise. Same here! We are also concerned that the infamous Miami traffic would rear it's ugly head if we would have driven from 1 hour west of Orlando to Miami cruise port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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