Would you drive?

[big aft]

We just moved to Ft Myers and will be taking a Dec cruise out of Ft.Lauderdale.....since its only a 2 1/2 hr drive should be just leave early

on departure day or drive in and stay a night early?

 

I think parking fees for 7 nights would be a wash if we could find a hotel

with parking included.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks

[Colo Cruiser]

We just moved to Ft Myers and will be taking a Dec cruise out of Ft.Lauderdale.....since its only a 2 1/2 hr drive should be just leave early

on departure day or drive in and stay a night early?

 

I think parking fees for 7 nights would be a wash if we could find a hotel

with parking included.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Not only would I drive but I would be in trouble as I would be on a cruise every other week. :D

[Barbie075]

What time does your cruise leave or more importantly what time is the latest check-in??

[big aft]

Its the Crown Princess on Dec 4th...........like to check in early...ship leaves at 5 I think.

[BosoxI]

We just moved to Ft Myers and will be taking a Dec cruise out of Ft.Lauderdale.....since its only a 2 1/2 hr drive should be just leave early

on departure day or drive in and stay a night early?

 

I think parking fees for 7 nights would be a wash if we could find a hotel

with parking included.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks

 

We were at our place in Estero and were tempted to fly via Atlanta, using our free flight credits. Then DW got the bright idea of renting a car and driving. $54 and 2 1/2 hours later, there we were at the airport drop off. Upon our return we flew to our permanent home, so no car was needed. Point is, we had no problem and saved abot $70 by not using a hotel. Based on the ease of driving, that would be my recommendation.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Just me but I would probably just drive in that day---2 1/2 hours isn't very far. But if you have never been to the Ft. Lauderdale area it might be fun to come in and see the area the day before.

[westview1]

I live about the same distance from NYC and drive in the morning of the cruise and park. If it is a wash between the hotel room and the parking, I would go with parking at the port. It's just one less part of the equation for me.

[sherman931]

Just get on I-75 south to I 495 and drive right into Port Everglades and on to the parking garage. Piece of Cake. :D

[paul929207]

Two and one half hours is easy to do well before the time you meed to be at the ship. So it comes down to personal choice and any other things you might have at home.

[trvlcrzy]

DH and I just returned from Ft. Lauderdale (from Emerald Princess). Our drive is a bit farther than yours, but...

 

Parking at the Port's parking decks: $15/day for a standard-sized vehicle, and $19/day for an oversized vehicle (requiring more length or height).

 

There are other options for parking nearby.

 

We ended up spending the night before at the Comfort Inn on Stirling in Hollywood, FL. We were allowed to leave the car there for the week at no charge, and they shuttled us to/from port for free.

[spunkie4]

We cruise from Ft. Lauderdale several times per year. We always drive down the day prior, although we could easily drive on the same day.

 

There is a Hampton Inn near the port that has a stay and cruise package. This means you can leave your car there, use their shuttle and call them when you return to port.

 

We no longer use this service since we stay in Tamarac at the Hampton Inn in that area. We have discovered we would much rather have our car at the port and not be dependent on the shuttle.

 

Hope this helps. You will discover you can cruise much more now that you are in Florida.

[blazerjan]

DH and I just returned from Ft. Lauderdale (from Emerald Princess). Our drive is a bit farther than yours, but...

 

Parking at the Port's parking decks: $15/day for a standard-sized vehicle, and $19/day for an oversized vehicle (requiring more length or height).

 

There are other options for parking nearby.

 

We ended up spending the night before at the Comfort Inn on Stirling in Hollywood, FL. We were allowed to leave the car there for the week at no charge, and they shuttled us to/from port for free.

 

We are staying at the same Comfort Inn on Stirling Road in November, however, we were told we would be charged $6 per day to leave our car there during our cruise... still a bargin over the port parking fees but I was wondering how you managed to park for free?

[happy cruzer]

I would drive the morning of. I do not particularly like hotels/motels having stayed in many for business. To me it is a hassle to research the hotlel, find it once in the city, have an overnight bag for the hotlel, arrange for dinner and breakfast at the port city, take a shuttle or some transport to the ship, and the transport after the ship.

 

We just drive the morning of (leaving alot of time for traffic etc.) park near the ship and board for the cruise. Others do it differently, that's my humble opinion.

[GeezLouise1]

We just moved to Ft Myers and will be taking a Dec cruise out of Ft.Lauderdale.....since its only a 2 1/2 hr drive should be just leave early

on departure day or drive in and stay a night early?

 

It is a very easy drive through Alligator Alley. We've driven to Lauderdale from Naples twice, to board ships the same day. We did have rental cars though, not sure about any hotel/parking savings you might find. Best wishes.

[beach bunnie]

We live near Daytona -- about 4 hours. We have driven in the day of the cruise with no problem. We have also rented a car for the drive. It was less than parking.

[RockinRobin]

Friends of ours used the cruise connect bus service to shuttle from Sarasota to Ft. Lauderdale and said it was very nice. Try http://www.connect2cruise.com and see if this will work for you. There may be other shuttle services out there, too.

[1 HappyCruiser]

We have a place close by to you & have always used the cruise connection bus to get there. The price has gone up to $80 P/P or $70 P/P if you can get a group rate so I suppose it is a little more expensive than driving considering gas, tolls, hotel or parking charges but it is convenient leaving from Daniels Pkwy & Rt 75. They leave at around 8 AM which means you'll be among the first to board the ship. Coming home you can stay on the ship until the last minute as they don't arrive until around 10:30 - 11:00 and there's usually not many places to sit at the terminal. We normally arrive back home before 2 PM. If you drive, of course you could be first to leave the ship & get home by 11 AM so it definitely would be faster but to us it's not a big concern since we're never in a rush anyway.

[consmarci]

Just got back from the Emerald. We drove 4 hours from our home on Saturday and spent the night at the Springfield Suites in Dania. They kept our car for free for the week and shuttled us over to the port for free on Sunday morning. Very easy. It cost us 8pp to get back to the hotel to retrieve our car! It was a good idea for us, as we wanted to board as close to noon as possible. Although we never sleep too well in a hotel the night before a cruise. I guess it is the adrenalin. If I were you, I'd drive in the morning of...get a good night sleep and enjoy being one of the first on the ship!

[uppitycats]

I'd probably drive. Right now it takes us 1-1/2 hours to get to the nearest airport..another hour to be on the ship would be easy.

[davy jones]

We just moved to Ft Myers and will be taking a Dec cruise out of Ft.Lauderdale.....since its only a 2 1/2 hr drive should be just leave early

on departure day or drive in and stay a night early?

 

I think parking fees for 7 nights would be a wash if we could find a hotel

with parking included.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks

 

I drive from my home for NYC cruises. It's about a 2 hour drive to either pier. If you leave in the 9 to 9:30 range, you don't have to get up early and you are still there for early boarding.

 

Even though parking is pricey in NYC (~$20 per day), it works because there are usually four of us. Cost wise, it still beats the bus. I like having some control and the ability to walk from the ship to my car and head directly home without having to wait for busses and shuttles. Last week, we did self disembark and were home before 10 AM.

[big aft]

Thanks for all the advice...........both of us have stayed in many,many hotel rooms for business and since it is an easy drive, we will do that the day of.

 

Thinking about the cruise will make the drive go quickly!!!!!

 

Great thoughts from all!!

[Woobstr112G]

We live about 80 to 85 miles north of the port of Los Angeles (San Pedro). In February we will be driving down and are lucky enough to have a friend who lives about 5 miles from the port. She will not only be storing our car for us, but will be giving us a ride to the dock as well.....:):):)

 

Bob

[RickEk]

For our upcoming New Year's cruise on the Crown Princess, we're planning on flying to Fort Meyers, meeting up with the rest of our party who live there and then taking the bus (didn't it used to be called "The Love Boat Express"?). :) It may be more expensive, but much more relaxing...

[Dietemann]

Friends of ours used the cruise connect bus service to shuttle from Sarasota to Ft. Lauderdale and said it was very nice. Try www.connect2cruise.com and see if this will work for you. There may be other shuttle services out there, too.

 

We have used the Cruise Connection bus from Venice, FL several times. If you book through Princess you get a slight reduction from the fare which shows on their website. The only drawback is that you'll have to take a taxi or get a friend to go to/from their pick up point. The coaches are very comfortable, the driver makes at least one rest stop on route and you also get to watch a movie to help kill the time.

[trvlcrzy]

We are staying at the same Comfort Inn on Stirling Road in November, however, we were told we would be charged $6 per day to leave our car there during our cruise... still a bargin over the port parking fees but I was wondering how you managed to park for free?

 

Our room rate was based on a cruise package. We signed a document when we arrived that indicated the per day charge, and I looked at DH with that questioning look... the employee quickly wrote a zero in for the total. I found the website on the Ft. Lauderdale board... and it was a different site for the same hotel than from the one DH found using a search engine. I'm trying to find the link again...

 

ETA...

Found the link

7 day park and cruise

http://www.comfortinnfla.com/ft_lauderdale_airport_hotels.html