Drive same day or stay overnight?

[sp29488]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place but just trying to get some input :)

 

 

We live only 3 hours away from the Jacksonville port. We are trying to decide if we should get a hotel and drive in the day before or since we live so close, should we just get up early and drive in the same morn.? We usually leave out of Fort Lauderdale or Miami and always drive in the day before. I'm not sure what to do. What would most of you do if you live within 3 hours of the port?

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[poobears]

If I was within 3 hours I would just drive in early the day of the cruise.

[sp29488]

Thanks Poohbears. That's what we are leaning toward right now. :)

[LisaT12]

I would just drive in that morning....unless traffic is usually a nightmare...then I might consider staying over. We live in South Jersey, about 3 hours from NY...the last 2 times we cruised out of NY, we hired a service to drive us in and pick us up....that was awesome. Maybe instead of spending the money on a hotel and food...you may want to consider a limo service. Just a thought.;) Have fun.

[okgirl]

My homeport is Galveston which is 4 hours. In the past we've always driven in the day before cause the Conquest leaves on Sunday and we just like to start our vacation early.

 

But now with the economy, we may consider driving down early on the morning the day of.......however, we usually stay at the Howard Johnson's which is less than $65 per night and has free cruise parking vs. if we go down the day of it's $70 to park at EZ Cruise. So it's kinda a wash

[lilbratt17]

We live near Dallas and cruise out of Galveston (about 5 hrs) and we always drive in the morning of. Unless you can find a hotel that will take you to the port the next morning and let you park your car for less then you can park at the cruise terminal, I would drive in that morning.

 

Have fun!!!

[bqkali]

I would drive in the day of. I would just allow twice as much time as needed just in case of unforeseen delays. If you need to be onboard by 3, that would mean leaving by 9 in your case. If you get there early you can always go onboard and enjoy your vacation earlier! Personally, I'd probably leave even earlier (7ish) to allow time for a stop along the way to break up the drive and still get there early :)

[Powriv]

drive in day of since you are so close

[sp29488]

Thanks everyone. We'll prob. leave at 6:00a.m. so we can allow time for traffic, etc. and we want to have a sit down breakfast somewhere.

 

Thanks again everyone!

[falconfan]

That is a tough one. I enjoy staying at a hotel the night before because it makes me, the driver, feel like I have an extra day of vacation. I can unwind after the drive and really relax. It is almost like having an extra cruise day for me.

[FlaKrznNubie]

Boy, wish I lived 3 hours from port....

 

You are so lucky...

 

Drive in day of (as long as your car is in good shape and you have a good map or GPS...)

[SAAdds1]

I would drive in the same day. Three hours is a short drive to me.

Our last cruise was December 2007 out of Tampa and we drove in that morning.

This summer we're taking a cruise out of Miami and we're driving to Ft. Lauderdale and spending the night. I just don't want to get up at 4am to drive that far (6 hours, including stop for breakfast) on the morning of the cruise.

[molme]

Don't know where you are driving from, but we live in middle GA and drove to Jacksonville for our cruise the same day with no problem at all. We left home about 7, stopped for breakfast and still got to the port by noon. We have driven to Port Canaveral for same day sailing on Sensation and Elation. No problem there either. Save the hotel money for more DODs.

[cb at sea]

Just drive in that morning---why spend the extra money (and have to pack for a hotel) when you're so close? If you were 5 hours or more away, then I'd do the overnight thing, but not for 3 hours!

[pgharea]

I would definitely drive in the same day. Being not to keen of flying, I drive everywhere I can. This upcoming cruise I have about a 13 hour drive, which I will do through the night and arrive at the terminal at approximately 10AM on the day of departure.

[poptart]

I would drive in the same day. Three hours is a short drive to me.

Our last cruise was December 2007 out of Tampa and we drove in that morning.

This summer we're taking a cruise out of Miami and we're driving to Ft. Lauderdale and spending the night. I just don't want to get up at 4am to drive that far (6 hours, including stop for breakfast) on the morning of the cruise.

 

 

As of now we are planning to get up at 4 and drive 6 hours to Mobile in November. We consider that a short drive (opposed to FL ports) :D:D:D

 

Of course my dh is up at 4 a.m. every day so it's no biggie to him....now if I were the driver it would be another story :eek: I'm NOT a morning person

[deepnite10]

only 3hrs?..definitely drive in..wish San Pedro and Long Beach was that

short of a drive..

 

they re a good 6 to 7 hr drive from our N.Cal home..it s a long drive but, we still do it..

 

once we we did fly..from OAK to LAX..woke up early to finish packing, have breakfast then a hr s drive to the airport..only to find that our flight was cancel d and we had to take a later flight..by the time we got to

LAX we could have driven and been there about the same time:confused: