berly369

I am so glad I found this thread, I thought I was the only one who planned months in advance. Not a day goes by that I don't read or talk about our cruise. Cruise departing April '05 (booked in June '04) flights booked in July '04 -pre cruise hotel booked August'04 and so on...... my dh just wants me to handle everything and is not part of the decision making at all. Reading the posts for Cruise Critic is great for information and great laughs. It's comforting to know that there are 'fellow' planners out there. Its been over 10 years since our last cruise (started family, went back to school etc.) and now that our daughter is 10, and we are double incomes, I am starting to think CRUISE-CRUISE-CRUISE. We haven't even gone on this one and I am planning where we will go next. I like the idea of highlighters for the daily planner, and lanyard for seapass card. Keep the ideas coming!!!!

Berly369, I can understand wanting to get down to FLL a day early if there is something you want to do in FLL, but really the drive down in the morning is not bad at all, we do it all the time. We live in Orlando, leave at around 7 am, and we're at the port with the car parked and in line by 11 am. There will be MUCH less traffic on I-95 or the Turnpike on a Saturday morning than there will on a Friday afternoon/evening. Even getting across Orlando on I-4 on a Friday is a nightmare! I'd say enjoy your extra day in Orlando, enjoy the attractions and the fireworks, the restaurants, I-Drive and the SHOPPING (don't miss the Mall at Millenia - right down I-4 from IOA), and head over on Saturday morning! Also, if you get the chance - eat at Emeril's over at Universal City Walk and don't miss Margaritaville!

 

Just MHO!

 

TinaLee

Thanks Tinalee for the advice, I really do want to spend as much time in Orlando as possible. We don't know when we will be back there, since we are travelling from Vancouver,B.C. Leaving on Saturday morning when the traffic is quieter sounds alot better to me than Friday rush hour. On the other hand,we wanted to look around Fort Lauderdale before the cruise on Saturday, so we are really undecided on what to do. What is the weather usually like in April??? Will some schools still be on spring break on April 09th????

berly369 - just an FYI: Orlando is in the middle of the state of Florida, and not on the coast. It is about a 4-HOUR drive from the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale ports. Also..."Universal Studios" (Islands of Adventure) is very SEPARATE from "Walt Disney World's "Magic Kingdom." They are two separate theme parks, and are not related.

 

Universal has: Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

 

Walt Disney World has: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studiios, and Animal Kingdom.

Thanks Imsulin, but we are very aware of where Orlando is and that Disneyworld is separate from Universal. We are already booked in the Royal Pacific Resort for 4 nights and hope to have time to see the Magic Kingdom. We will drive down on Friday to Fort Lauderdale and stay somewhere there-haven't booked anything yet. My dh travels to Orlando every year on business, so he knows the area very well.

Thanks everyone for your response, I think I will keep to my original plan and leave on Friday to Fort Lauderdale. This will leave only 3 days to see Universal/Islands of Adventure and the Magic Kingdom. (Monday is a write-of since we do not arrive until Monday after 7pm) I want to be relaxed and stress free for the cruise and driving down on the Saturday morning sounds like a risk to me. My dh has been to Orlando before so he wants to rent a car and show us I-Drive and whatever else we have time for. I was thinking of staying at the Hyatt Pier 66, since it is so close to the pier, but not to sure if anything is around the hotel to walk to. (restaurants, shopping etc.) I know there are lots of posts on FLL hotels, so maybe I will go back and see what the majority are saying is the best place to stay.

As a side note--Our prayers are with everyone who lives in Florida and hope everyone is out of harms way.

I am a little confused by the driving distance from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale. Mapquest says it is a 3 hour and 17 minute drive, but some posters have said it is 35 minutes away. We are arriving 5 days prior to the cruise to spend some time in Orlando before driving down to the port in FLL. Our original plan was to arrive on Monday night and drive down on Friday for the Saturday departure, but now I am wondering if we can spend the extra day in Orlando and drive down early Saturday morning (April 9th/05). Also for the 3 of us is it worth renting a car or paying for a limo/car service??? Any help would be appreciated.