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Regal 4/8 - Port Everglades - stay overnight prior to cruise or drive in early?


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Living in Denver we always flew in the day before, but now we live in Jacksonville and it's about a 4.5 hour drive. Watching every penny, wondering if we should try to find a hotel that allows you to park for the week or if we're better off getting up early and driving directly to the pier and parking at the terminal? I'm not sure if there are hotels that offer free or low cost parking? I found Park&Go parking at about $9/day.

 

Also, how early can we board (we aren't in a suite or Elite). Any tips appreciated :D

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Living in Denver we always flew in the day before, but now we live in Jacksonville and it's about a 4.5 hour drive. Watching every penny, wondering if we should try to find a hotel that allows you to park for the week or if we're better off getting up early and driving directly to the pier and parking at the terminal? I'm not sure if there are hotels that offer free or low cost parking? I found Park&Go parking at about $9/day.

 

Also, how early can we board (we aren't in a suite or Elite). Any tips appreciated :D

 

You most likely will be able to board at noon so there would be time to drive there that morning.

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If you are feeling lucky, you could drive on the day of the cruise. but I think that you are taking a chance.

Another poster mentioned the traffic variables you may encounter on the drive to the pier.

My DH are very familiar with driving I 95 along the coast of Florida since we have been vacationing snowbirds for the past six years.

It can be a stressful drive from Jacksonville to Ft Lauderdale.

I would much rather get into the area of the cruise the day before.

You would not want your cruise vacation spoiled by something that would hold you up from meeting the ship.

Also, passengers may board around noon,but people line up for processing at least an hour before.

With that in mind, you would need to start your drive around six in the morning.

That could make for a very long day.

Hampton Inns near the airport can have good rates with parking included.

I hope you enjoy your cruise .

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We typically head over the night before and stay in a hotel where we can leave the car for free and take a shuttle to the port. It may be slightly more expensive than simply driving in the "day of" but there have been times when the highways have been closed down due to bad accidents. Most recent that I can recall was on Alligator Alley in November when SUV ended up in the canal upside down drowning all passengers. Things have also happened on I75 to shut down the road and it's just piece of mind not to have to deal with it. We often get to all of our ports at least a day in advance whether in US or overseas but to each his own. We used to wing it but typically don't now. We actually enjoy time in FLL and Miami as we love some of the restaurants there.

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Living in Denver we always flew in the day before, but now we live in Jacksonville and it's about a 4.5 hour drive. Watching every penny, wondering if we should try to find a hotel that allows you to park for the week or if we're better off getting up early and driving directly to the pier and parking at the terminal? I'm not sure if there are hotels that offer free or low cost parking? I found Park&Go parking at about $9/day.

 

Also, how early can we board (we aren't in a suite or Elite). Any tips appreciated :D

I would drive down the day before. I95 can be have some heavy traffic. With a car you can stay at a hotel, such as in Plantation, which will have lower rates. Some hotels near the pier may have their spring rates by on April 7th. Some hotels do have parking.There may be charges. Consider that when you disembark you will have to get back to your car by taxi or Uber. If you use Park&Go they have shuttles. You probably will also want to get moving to home right away and not waste too much time getting to your car. There are so many hotels in the area, you really have to start searching the internet.

If you arrive at the pier around 11am you should be on board before 12:30.

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There are area hotels that do a parking deal. I saw them when looking for my hotel, but didn't pay attention as I didn't need one.

 

OK, worst case...you have heavy traffic or car trouble on the way and miss the cruise. Was that worth the cost of an overnight? Hotel costs vary, and can be very reasonable. I'd MUCH rather be there, get a good night of sleep, and have a 10 minute shuttle or Uber ride to the port in the morning than be up early and worrying about traffic on the day of...

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We live in The Villages and always come down the night before. Have had luck getting good overnight rates through Value Trips and we then park the car at Park N Go. Like the security of leaving our car there and there are no hassles with hotel shuttles which are always overcrowded and overpacked and stop at every pier to drop off passengers. Park N Go is a great option with dedicated vans delivering you right to your ship. You get a discount if you reserve ahead of time.

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Coming down the day prior is of course always the easiest and safest but if saving money is important and you can't find a hotel that will include parking for the cruise then you can certainly drive down the day of.

 

Having a daughter that lived in Jacksonville, it's a drive we know well. We had a longer drive because we are down in Miami. Out of all the drives, there was only one that ended up taking them forever to get down here and it was because of out of norm all day pouring rain and accidents. They still made it down here in 6 1/2 hours and they had to stop because they had an infant in the car. That would have been 5 hours 45 minutes to the port.

Leave Jacksonville early!

Don't forget for a good portion of the drive there is both 95 and the turnpike heading down here.

 

For hotels that include parking in the Fort Lauderdale area, head over to Florida boards. If you search, you will find lots of hotels that include this. I know off hand that both the Embassy Suites and the Renaissance both of cruise parking packages. There are also plenty of hotels over by the airport that have parking included.

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We actually drove down from Jacksonville two weeks ago for our cruise out of Port Everglades on the Regal. We left about 6:00 that morning and made it just fine. BUT, this was on a Sunday. The traffic was very light and we drove right to the port and were on the ship by noon. I'm not sure I'd risk it on the other days of the week. My brother routinely drives I-95 from Jacksonville to Miami and he said Sunday morning would probably be fine for us, but the other days, not so much. We parked at the terminal. Getting in was a little hectic (we hadn't driven there before), but we had an early walk-off time getting off the ship and were in our car and on the way home in no time.

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Living in Denver we always flew in the day before, but now we live in Jacksonville and it's about a 4.5 hour drive. Watching every penny, wondering if we should try to find a hotel that allows you to park for the week or if we're better off getting up early and driving directly to the pier and parking at the terminal? I'm not sure if there are hotels that offer free or low cost parking? I found Park&Go parking at about $9/day.

 

Also, how early can we board (we aren't in a suite or Elite). Any tips appreciated :D

 

It's sunday morning. I would drive.

 

Leave at 06:00, and expect to arrive 11:00

 

You have a four hour cushion for any delay.

 

Once you get to Ft. Pierce, you can use the turnpike as an option, if needed.

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We actually drove down from Jacksonville two weeks ago for our cruise out of Port Everglades on the Regal. We left about 6:00 that morning and made it just fine. BUT, this was on a Sunday. The traffic was very light and we drove right to the port and were on the ship by noon. I'm not sure I'd risk it on the other days of the week. My brother routinely drives I-95 from Jacksonville to Miami and he said Sunday morning would probably be fine for us, but the other days, not so much. We parked at the terminal. Getting in was a little hectic (we hadn't driven there before), but we had an early walk-off time getting off the ship and were in our car and on the way home in no time.

I’m planning on driving from New Smyrna Beach on a Saturday to Port Everglades very soon. Will leave at 7 a.m. and park at the terminal. I’ve never done this before, so any advice would be appreciated. We are going to do early walk off at end of cruise and start a long drive north.

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April 8 is a Sunday, so I would drive the morning of. If you plan to leave quite early, say 5 or 6 AM, you give yourself some leeway. If all goes smoothly and you arrive too early, stop somewhere for a nice breakfast. No point in wasting money on these overpriced FLL hotels.

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Oh no, stiffed? What happened?

 

Off the top of my head I can't remember the Hotel but it wasn't a Motel 6. They had a room and cruise park package and delivered us just fine for the cruise. But when we got back, I called several times and they said they were on their way. After an hour I got ticked and called PO'd. They said to grab a taxi and they would reimburse us. So 10 minute cab ride for $35 and we get over there. The shuttle was parked out front under the awning but just an apology and money for the cab. We have an 18 hour drive home so delays aren't helpful. So we left and wife posted a comment on their Facebook page and we got a call within an hour. They since have discontinued the pickup service and now charge for the ride over. That's fine, just let me know up front. So since we found Park N Go, we park there every time. I booked ahead, saved a couple of bucks and this upcoming trip includes 1 free day of parking we've earned.

 

**** I just checked my records and we stayed at a Hampton Inn.

Edited by golfb4cruzing
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We are also on this cruise and will be driving down to the port from the Vero Beach area. This takes us about 2 hours on a Sunday. Be aware that that weekend is the Tortuga Music Festival, a huge three day country music fest right on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale. The major headliners are on Saturday but on Sunday there is music beginning around 1:30 so there may be extra traffic. Check their website. If you decide to stay at a hotel, you may want to stay further north, like the Palm Beach, St. Lucie or Stuart area where the hotel prices may be cheaper for that weekend. We always use Park N Go and they are wonderful and much cheaper than the port garage. It is advisable to make advance reservations for Park n Go, either on the internet or by phone, especially on busy weekends.

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April 8 is a Sunday, so I would drive the morning of. If you plan to leave quite early, say 5 or 6 AM, you give yourself some leeway. If all goes smoothly and you arrive too early, stop somewhere for a nice breakfast. No point in wasting money on these overpriced FLL hotels.

 

 

 

This sums up my response quite nicely! And for us for a seven night cruise we would just park right at the pier in the covered garage. Easy Peasy and no shuttle buses!

 

 

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This sums up my response quite nicely! And for us for a seven night cruise we would just park right at the pier in the covered garage. Easy Peasy and no shuttle buses!

 

That's what I would do, because I like to leave as quickly as possible when the cruise is over.

 

For the "I always arrive a day early" -- seems excessive for a 5 hour drive.

If you always drive in a day early, after 10 or 12 cruises, you have spent enough

on the extra hotel night that you could have had a free cruise.

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I have been debating this with myself since I booked my next cruise in June. Just north of Tampa it 5 1/2 hours for the way I drive.

 

Used to do what Princess called "Love Boat Connection" then when they stopped that it was just directly with "cruise connection" who sold the route to Encore bus line. They were bad so starting driving day of.

 

Last few years drove over day before and loved it.

 

Next cruise leaves on Saturday and I am not sure I want to use an extra vacation day. I also don't care about getting on the ship early. Don't want to deal with lines. So thinking I would rather get there later and walk right on.

 

I think I will drive over the day of the cruise.

 

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We've driven down from North Carolina twice for cruises. The first time we stopped in the Port St. Lucie area. Last month, we spent the night near Vero Beach. The first time, there was a big delay on I-95 near Boca Raton the morning we were heading to the cruise port. We ended up driving the last 25 miles or so via US-1. We still made it to the ship in plenty of time.

 

I think there are alternate routes to get around any major tie-ups on the Interstate. There are plenty of ways to find out about major accidents, too.

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We used to live in Ponte Vedra Beach and always drove down the day of the cruise. We left around 6 AM and always made it on the ship by noon. There are alternative routes once you get farther south so the risk is minimal for highway related delays.

Now we live in South Carolina so we are forced to drive the day ahead and always stay in Port St. Lucie the night before. Hotels are not usually over priced there and it is less than a 2 hr. Drive to the port.

Wish we still lived in Ponte Vedra. When we drive home now we are only half way when we pass the exit to Ponte Vedra Beach.

 

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