Any Canadians drive to there cruise port?

WE are considering our first cruise, and to save money we are strongly considering driving. We are thinking February 2018. According to google maps Miami and Galveston are about the same distance so we have lots of options as far as ports. Has any one else did this?

We will be leaving on WEdnesday from central Ontario, to drive to Miami. With Four adults and 2 kids, it's too expensive to fly.

This isn't the first time we've made the drive either, although this is the first time for a cruise. (We've driven down to Disney world a couple of times).

With planning, it's not too bad. We've done right through, but this time we're stopping part way. Pre-booked a hotel with indoor pool in Charlotte NC for Wednesday night. We pack snacks and things to munch on, and before we leave we put hot dog weiners in a thermos with boiling water. By the time the kids are ready for something to eat, we've got hot dogs and buns and ketchup to grab a quick bite during a gas stop!

We are also a driving family. We are driving from Ottawa to Baltimore (only a 9h drive) for the Carnival Pride this February/March.

We were debating between a 5 day cruise out of North Florida/South Carolina or a 7 day Cruise out of Baltimore, so we decided that we would rather spend the 2 extra days on a cruise than in a car even if those day will be colder.

We have driven to Texas twice to visit relatives and the kids have been fine. We have done overnight drives where my wife and I take turns driving as the kids sleep, and we have found that to work the best for our family. We made it from Ottawa to Austin in 43 hours doing that last summer. (30h of driving).

Joey

We are in Ontario as well. We have drove to Disney and it went fine. I have been looking at the Dream out of New Orleans. There are some good prices and it is a far shorter drive then to Miami according to google maps.

We drove to New Orleans from Ottawa for the first Journey's cruise. Very easy drive. Interstate all the way. If you push it you could do it in 2 days. Look for park and cruise places to save on parking costs at the port.

We aren't from Canada but live on the US side of Niagara Falls. We have done the drive to Miami many times. I would just figure in an extra day of driving if possible depending on the time of year. The quickest way is to go south through West Virginia for us, but if the weather is at all wintry, can add a lot of time to the trip. The drive down route 81 through Virginia is prone to snow/ice also, but is very pretty.

We have driven to New Orleans in February and the drive was great both ways. Just had a little rain around Nashville.

We also have a family of 4 so airfare can get pricey and we generally drive to the ports when possible.

You might also want to consider some of the cheap airlines that fly out of Niagara Falls, NY. Some have $99 each way to places like Tampa. From there you can rent a car for the final drive to Miami

We always drive. We have never had a problem, other than a screw in a tire at 3am. No matter what route you take, start watching the weather reports a few days before you leave. If bad weather is coming, leave early.

The furthest we have driven is to Jacksonville, Florida. Combined a 5 day cruise with several stops along the way. Loved Hilton Head in South Carolina.

Don't forget that there are easy ports to drive to within one day - New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, Charleston.

WE are considering our first cruise, and to save money we are strongly considering driving. We are thinking February 2018. According to google maps Miami and Galveston are about the same distance so we have lots of options as far as ports. Has any one else did this?

Just make sure that you figure hotel and food costs, along with gas when you make your decision.

We always drive. We have never had a problem, other than a screw in a tire at 3am. No matter what route you take, start watching the weather reports a few days before you leave. If bad weather is coming, leave early.

And consider changing your route. I regularly drive from NE to Florida, preferred route is I-78 across Pennsylvania to I-81 through Virginia, then into North Carolina, joining I-95 in South Carolina. This misses all the traffic and city areas along I-95 from New Jersey on down --- but there can be snow on this route all the way to North Carilona, while there rarely is any south of central New Jersey on I-95 --- so you want to remain flexible.

Once you get past the snow it is fine

We drive to TX every few years to visit family

WE are considering our first cruise, and to save money we are strongly considering driving. We are thinking February 2018. According to google maps Miami and Galveston are about the same distance so we have lots of options as far as ports. Has any one else did this?

I drove to Vancouver once, about 1100 km? from where I lived at the time, for an Alaska cruise. Really (to me) not worth any "saving" unless there are more than 2 people who would be paying airfare. We ended up paying more than anticipated in hotels and meals, and parking for the car for the time of the cruise. Add in gas, oil, wear & tear on the vehicle, and (heaven forbid) any mechanical issues :eek: .... you are the only one who can decide what works best for you but for me, I'd only drive to a port in the future if I could vacation along the way.

I do not live in Canada, but there are two active CC members I am familiar with (one of which we sail with frequently) who drive from Canada to Florida for their cruises.

....you know who you are! :D

Hi there

I mostly agree with CowPrincess. For 2 people, if the drive can't be done in a day it isn't worth it.

We are quite close to DTW so we have a lot of low cost air going south. Niagara airport as well as BUF are options for us as well.

We have driven twice to Boston for cruises to Bermuda that took about 13 hrs. I would do that again if the cost for air was too high.

We drove once to Baltimore, about 14 hrs., that is as far as I will go again for a cruise.

We went once to Norfolk. That was 16 hrs. and is too far for me to do again.

Much closer for me would be Bayonne or one of the New York ports, only about an 8-9hr. drive, but I haven't seen a cruise yet that fit our schedule and budget. Even if I had found something from there, the cost of parking might have made it unreasonable. It costs almost nothing to fly there and you arrive in an hour. I can't justify spending a day driving each way.

Definitely with 3-4 people you can save quite a bit especially if you have to fly out of a CDN airport.

It's funny considering that Americans can save quite a bit if they are flying to Europe and can fly out of a CDN airport.

It's always important to check out all your options and decide what makes sense for you.

have a great trip

We live in British Columbia so driving to Florida for our cruise wouldn't make sense but even if we could I wouldn't do it I like to get home when my vacation is over and having a long drive a head of me plus the chance of bad roads would not be a fun way to end my glorious cruise vacation

We live 2 hours west of Toronto. We have driven to Boston and Baltimore for cruises. I would like to do a Florida drive once, but it just doesn't make sense for the 4 of us when airfare is so cheap out of Buffalo or Detroit. For a little over a thousand bucks for the 4 of us for flights, I just can't see doing the drive.

I'm not Canadian, but I took a cruise last fall that started in Quebec City. You should just drive there if you want to drive to a cruise port. ;) :D

We drove from London to Miami for a cruise stopping overnight at a hotel. Not my favorite thing to do but we are glad we did it. Myself and the kids prefer to fly - that being said we are driving to Baltimore for our next cruise. Hoping this trip is better!

We have driven the GTA to south Florida route many times over the years. It made economic sense for us vs. flying because there was 5 of us. If you choose to drive always check the weather before hand and be prepared to change your route. Also in making your decision be sure to factor in all the costs of driving, i.e. the gas for the 5,000 kms round trip, hotel and food costs for the four days of travel (2 days if you drive straight through). As others have said, look into flying from Detroit, Buffalo, or Niagara Falls. We once found a great deal from Pittsburgh at spring break.

From Ottawa we have driven to NYC and parked at the pier. It is a 7.5 hour drive from here.

It wasn't really the cost savings, but all the hassle at the airport.

You have to arrive early to hurry up and wait. Customs, security, then cabbing it from the bus station that is La Guardia,. The time savings is minimal.

I would not drive to anything further than Baltimore. Too much "togetherness" for my liking. Then again, I have boys.

Driving down wouldn't be bad, but driving back would seem like forever.

We did two March break cruises from NYC, they were awesome! One March break cruise, we went from Burlington Vermont to San Juan. We saved $700 per person over an air Canada flight. That's a lot of cash for a family of four.

One March break cruise, we went from Burlington Vermont to San Juan. We saved $700 per person over an air Canada flight. That's a lot of cash for a family of four.

Did you mean $700 for all four of you?

$700 per person is unreal. When we took our Liberty cruise from San Juan last year, it was $550 CDN per person from Toronto, and that was cheaper than Buffalo or Detroit. Was Air Canada the cheapest flight from Ottawa?

I know Ottawa has weird connecting flights to anywhere, so Montreal would have been a better choice. Return flights from Montreal to San Juan this March break, even booking it this late, are selling for around $750 per person CDN right now.

Similar timed flights from Burlington are actually more expensive. Add in the extra driving, hotel nights, it increases the cost.

I guess you just have to shop around for the best options available to you at the time.

There would be 6 of us going. 5 of us flew to florida for $1000 back in 2011. Now we have an extra person. We are planning very early for a cruise in 2018 in january or febuary. You can't price flights that far out. We are just being prepared to drive if it makes sense. We will take into account gas hotels food, and the extra few days we would need off of work to make our decision

We live in British Columbia so driving to Florida for our cruise wouldn't make sense but even if we could I wouldn't do it I like to get home when my vacation is over and having a long drive a head of me plus the chance of bad roads would not be a fun way to end my glorious cruise vacation

Totally agree...we are in Winnipeg and driving would be our last option. However, there are only two of us...so I get that flight costs can really add up. We are almost always able to get good prices on flights, sometimes out of Canada and other times we cross the border(2 hour drive) and catch flights out of the US.

The idea of driving long distances in winter conditions, before we hit milder temps., is something we choose not to tackle.

There are just the two of us as well so you are right that does make a big difference on the cost of flights. We had thought about flying to Seattle and taking advantage of cheaper flights from there but with the weak Canadian dollar there is no point but we will certainly be watching for seat sales to Orlando

There are just the two of us as well so you are right that does make a big difference on the cost of flights. We had thought about flying to Seattle and taking advantage of cheaper flights from there but with the weak Canadian dollar there is no point but we will certainly be watching for seat sales to Orlando

Fortunately for us it is still usually cheaper even with the exchange to fly out of Grand Forks, ND. We are limited to where we can fly though; only Las Vegas, Orlando, and Phoenix.