How far do you drive?

[TaylorMace]

We live in a small town in VA. Flying out of our town is crazy expensive. Driving to a bigger city and then flying is full of headaches. We have tried both in the past. We are cruising out of FLL on Feb 9th and we found a great deal on a 1 way flight home.

 

However, for the trip down to FLL we are DRIVING 15 HOURS. Are we crazy? We have flown down day of 2 times before and the last time the weather made us very neverous. My friend and I have talked the wives into the drive. We have not figured out any of the details of the drive yet. So I have a few questions.

 

Question 1 - Are we crazy?

 

Question 2 - Any tips on 1 way car rental?

 

Question 3 - Any tips on car rental drop off?

 

Question 4 - Would you leave early enough on Friday to get a Hotel in FLL or should we just leave Friday evening, drive all night and rest when we get on the ship? (We can't leave too early because we are already asking a lot of the Grandparents to keep the kids for 8 nights.

 

Question 5 - Would you consider driving like 10 hours Friday - get a Hotel then finish the drive Sat morning?

 

Any ideas and experiences are appreciated.

[sewut]

We live in SE Kansas. We have to drive at least 12 hours to Galveston, NOLA, or 14 to Mobile. We have been known to drive 2 1/2 DAYS to Florida, but when we did that, we went on a second cruise that we bought with points to make it all worthwhile. Flying is just no fun anymore.

[smtcan]

Our choice would be to arrive at the cruise port the night before because that builds in some time for delays. We have driven from Southern Ontario to Fort Lauderdale for a cruise (two and a half days driving), and always plan to spend the last night close to the ship. Traffic and weather can cause hold ups so a last minute arrival would be stressful. We usually book into a hotel that allows us to leave our car for the duration of the cruise, so I have no advice on car rentals.

Sheila

[matj2000]

We stopped flying about 3 years ago because of the prices, service, TSA and the all around hassle.

5 years ago the 4 of us could fly round trip, non-stop for less than $900.

Now it is over $2400, for connecting flights, bad times, long lines, groping, and no luggage.

We can drive our nice car round trip for around $350 and we can bring as much baggage and crap as we like.

We have mad 3 trips from Houston to Florida(FL, Miami, Canaveral), its about 14-16 hours each way.

If you have 2 drivers you can do it in one shot.

If I were you I would just drive your own car round trip instead of a rental and one way flight.

One way rentals are very pricey sometimes...

[Treven]

What about taking a train?

[Nebr.cruiser]

Being from Nebraska, we normally have to fly and we are usually able to use FF miles.

 

A few years ago we did drive home from Galveston (about 20 hours; we stupidly did it nonstop), but we had driven to the McAllen area precruise to see parents who were wintering there, so we accomplished two trips in one--kind of.

[rdsqrl]

Three years ago, I was without my beloved convertible for nearly two months while it underwent major cosmetic repairs (thanks to thieves who cut a "sunroof" into the ragtop . . . ). I was scheduled for a one-way cruise FLL-LA during that time, and since I had to have a rental car anyway, I looked at a rental including a drop-off in Florida, as my car would be ready by the time I flew back from California. The drop-off charge was obscenely high. It was cheaper to fly (first class, no less) to Florida and rent a second car there for the few days I was there pre-cruise.

 

If you could find a cheap one-way fare, wouldn't it be a cheapx2 round-trip fare? Or maybe drive to a cheaper air gateway and find a park-n-fly package at a hotel near that airport?

 

And always, always, always go in the day before. On the above-mentioned trip, I went down four days early because of the impending arrival of Snowmaggedon 2009. But even if the bad weather isn't in your town, that plane could be coming from a town with bad weather and then the dominoes start to fall . . . Even if you're driving, get into Ft. Lauderdale the day before.

[PunkiC]

It is an $8.00 cab ride from our home to the dock in Seattle, but most of those cruises go to Alaska, which we have done 5 times. We do sometimes take cruises from our home port to Vancouver, and then from Vancouver to SoCal.

 

Other than that, on the west coast, we cruise out of California (either SFO or LAS) and flying there from Seattle is far easier and cheaper than driving. Our other two cruises this year have been from San Juan, Puerto Rico and South Hampton where driving was, obviously impossible. :)

 

Our next booked cruise is out of Galveston, we will fly there, and the next we are contemplating commences in Beijing. I suspect we will have to fly to get there as well. Fortunately, we have lots of miles and can usually get award tickets.

 

Life is good.

[Jasperdo]

My wife and I live near Seattle, Washington. And most of our cruises have left from Los Angeles. We always drive there. It's a 1200 mile trip, and it takes us two full days. We both have relatives in Southern California, and we combine the cruise with visits with them. We prefer that to flying. But we also enjoy taking long road trip vacations, so driving to the cruise makes sense to us.

[saltypeer]

Wow.....you have opened my eyes. Being a UK resident i always assumed that you guys in the USA would use planes like we use public transport. Just jump on and go anywhere. I felt a little hard done by when i had to drive around 5 hours from home to Port of Southampton, but i will complain no more.

 

Some of the distances and time that you guys are willing, or have to, drive just to enjoy a cruise holiday is unbelievable. It is a damning indictment for flight costs that you have to drive.

 

Even driving 5 hours means i need to make a couple of rest stops along the way.

 

Pete

[caribill]

Some of the distances and time that you guys are willing, or have to, drive just to enjoy a cruise holiday is unbelievable. It is a damning indictment for flight costs that you have to drive.

 

 

It is not just the flight costs.

 

It is also the hassle of our friendly TSA security whose main goal seems to be keeping airplanes safe from bottled water. (for an example of TSA effectiveness

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/14/tsa-detains-sick-girl-on-grounds-tested-positive-for-bomb-residue/ )

 

It is also being crammed into the planes with very little leg room.

 

It is also being subject to unreliable plane schedules due to weather in other parts of the country.

 

It is also the airlines luggage limitations.

[smtcan]

We are not averse to flying. Most of our family are in Europe so we fly to see them a couple of times a year. Sometimes we can combine a visit with a TA cruise, but we fly at least one way. We drive to Florida when we book a last minute cruise, because then, if flights are available they are either at ridiculous times or astronomically expensive. The Caribbean is not our preferred destination, so we do not plan ahead to go there, but sometimes we feel the need for some sunshine in the winter and look for a last minute bargain. We try to make the drive part of the holiday, but it is easier to do that on the way down when the weather is improving than on the way back when we are concerned about running into snow.

Sheila

[paul929207]

We live in a small town in VA. Flying out of our town is crazy expensive. Driving to a bigger city and then flying is full of headaches. We have tried both in the past. We are cruising out of FLL on Feb 9th and we found a great deal on a 1 way flight home.

 

However, for the trip down to FLL we are DRIVING 15 HOURS. Are we crazy? We have flown down day of 2 times before and the last time the weather made us very neverous. My friend and I have talked the wives into the drive. We have not figured out any of the details of the drive yet. So I have a few questions.

 

Question 1 - Are we crazy?

 

Question 2 - Any tips on 1 way car rental?

 

Question 3 - Any tips on car rental drop off?

 

Question 4 - Would you leave early enough on Friday to get a Hotel in FLL or should we just leave Friday evening, drive all night and rest when we get on the ship? (We can't leave too early because we are already asking a lot of the Grandparents to keep the kids for 8 nights.

 

Question 5 - Would you consider driving like 10 hours Friday - get a Hotel then finish the drive Sat morning?

 

Any ideas and experiences are appreciated.

1. Maybe a little. :)

2. Check around with the different companies. Also any of you work for a company with a discount code?

3. You can drop your luggage at the cruise terminal, drive to the airport (less than 5 miles), drop off car and take their free shuttle to the terminal.

4. I would leave as early as possible. Probably try to get within 2 or 3 hours, but 5 would be ok.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

With the cruise port 500 miles away we only ever fly, but with the cost of a ticket being £14, one day, the taxi to the airport costs more,

 

low cost airlines may be flying buses but at these rates you can not go wrong.

 

 

yours Shogun

[whitecap]

We live in a small town in VA. Flying out of our town is crazy expensive. Driving to a bigger city and then flying is full of headaches. We have tried both in the past. We are cruising out of FLL on Feb 9th and we found a great deal on a 1 way flight home.

 

However, for the trip down to FLL we are DRIVING 15 HOURS. Are we crazy? We have flown down day of 2 times before and the last time the weather made us very neverous. My friend and I have talked the wives into the drive. We have not figured out any of the details of the drive yet. So I have a few questions.

 

Question 1 - Are we crazy?

 

Question 2 - Any tips on 1 way car rental?

 

Question 3 - Any tips on car rental drop off?

 

Question 4 - Would you leave early enough on Friday to get a Hotel in FLL or should we just leave Friday evening, drive all night and rest when we get on the ship? (We can't leave too early because we are already asking a lot of the Grandparents to keep the kids for 8 nights.

 

Question 5 - Would you consider driving like 10 hours Friday - get a Hotel then finish the drive Sat morning?

 

Any ideas and experiences are appreciated.

 

My DW and I always drive from our home in Virginia. We live on the coast near Williamsburg. It takes about 15 hours total but we stop at the 10 hour mark and spend the night, then continue on the next day to Ft. Lauderdale. We then spend the night in Ft. Lauderdale, hitting the wine store, grocery store etc. The drive is long but easy as you go straight down I-95. Beats the hassle of flying. We have checked the train but that was too expensive, over $1,000 round trip versus driving, about $700 (gas, food and lodging) and you can pack as much as you want.

[donh1]

We live in a small town in VA. Flying out of our town is crazy expensive. Driving to a bigger city and then flying is full of headaches. We have tried both in the past. We are cruising out of FLL on Feb 9th and we found a great deal on a 1 way flight home.

 

However, for the trip down to FLL we are DRIVING 15 HOURS. Are we crazy? We have flown down day of 2 times before and the last time the weather made us very neverous. My friend and I have talked the wives into the drive. We have not figured out any of the details of the drive yet. So I have a few questions.

 

Any ideas and experiences are appreciated.

 

If you have the time I would do it in two nights. Drive about 10 hours to Ormond Beach/Daytona and stay in a hotel near I95 (hotels are $60-$70) and then drive the remaining 4 hours the next day and then stay in one of the may hotels offering free parking and shuttle service. http://www.stay123.com Done this numerous times only adding an additional day because we start in Canada. It is very nice to arrive in Fort Lauderdale in plenty of time to enjoy the hotel and holiday mood. This Schedule seems to build in extra time should there be delays.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Wow.....you have opened my eyes. Being a UK resident i always assumed that you guys in the USA would use planes like we use public transport. Just jump on and go anywhere. I felt a little hard done by when i had to drive around 5 hours from home to Port of Southampton, but i will complain no more.

 

Some of the distances and time that you guys are willing, or have to, drive just to enjoy a cruise holiday is unbelievable. It is a damning indictment for flight costs that you have to drive.

 

Even driving 5 hours means i need to make a couple of rest stops along the way.

 

Pete

 

Flying or using the bus system or trains in Europe is so much easier than in the US, depending on where you live, of course. Distances are so vast--we could drive 5 hours and still be in Nebraska--and public transportation almost non-existent. We have to drive 2.5 hours just to get to Omaha, which is not a major airport, so non-stop flights are few and far between.

 

There are only a very few buses that go either short or long distances, outside of cities, and only one train that goes across Nebraska; Amtrak, not cheap or convenient and again, 2.5 hours just to get to the depot. No cheap airlines like you have in Europe, at least that serve our area.

 

We regularly drive 15+ hours to our son's in Montana, sometimes in one day, sometimes with an overnight because there are literally no other options that are feasible. (2.5 hour drive to Omaha, $750+ flight cost, pp,then he has to drive 2 hours to pick us up? Not worth it.)

 

Usually flying is the best option, even if it does mean a whole day spent driving to the airport and flying. When we were in England we loved how you could catch buses that went from town to town, and cheaply at that.

[Mom33]

We have a 16 hour drive between NJ and Florida and always stop after 8-10 hours when we visit family.

You will be very tired after the second day and I would advise staying at a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. This way you can arrive at the pier refreshed for your cruise.

We live in Florida now and live 4 1/2 hours from Ft. Lauderdale and always arrive a day ahead. Have a great cruise.

[boone2]

Wow.....you have opened my eyes. Being a UK resident i always assumed that you guys in the USA would use planes like we use public transport. Just jump on and go anywhere. I felt a little hard done by when i had to drive around 5 hours from home to Port of Southampton, but i will complain no more.

 

Some of the distances and time that you guys are willing, or have to, drive just to enjoy a cruise holiday is unbelievable. It is a damning indictment for flight costs that you have to drive.

 

Even driving 5 hours means i need to make a couple of rest stops along the way.

 

Pete

My family all live in the UK. After listening to us and our cruising adventures my BIL and SIL decided to take a cruise last year from Southampton They live in Yorkshire and took the train down. They loved the cruise but will not cruise again as the trip to Southampton was too long and arduous. Couldn't believe it, what we would give to be able to have a "local" port. Everytime we cruise we have to fly somewhere. My SIL is so upset about it

Terry

[Paula_MacFan]

We live in SE Kansas. We have to drive at least 12 hours to Galveston, NOLA, or 14 to Mobile. We have been known to drive 2 1/2 DAYS to Florida, but when we did that, we went on a second cruise that we bought with points to make it all worthwhile. Flying is just no fun anymore.

 

We live in Central Kansas, and also drive to Galveston to cruise. On the way down we typically stop somewhere for the night to break up the drive. But on the way back, we do it all in one shot. Try to get off the ship by 7:30am and get home by late evening. It's a long day, but as someone else posted, flying is just a hassle. Too many restrictions on luggage, it costs too much, and schedules are unreliable. Plus for us, we'd have to drive to KCMO or Wichita to get on the flight, so by the time we do that, get there early, possibly have a connecting flight, we might as well just drive all the way. I like being in charge of my own schedule, not at the mercy of the airline.

[saltypeer]

My family all live in the UK. After listening to us and our cruising adventures my BIL and SIL decided to take a cruise last year from Southampton They live in Yorkshire and took the train down. They loved the cruise but will not cruise again as the trip to Southampton was too long and arduous. Couldn't believe it, what we would give to be able to have a "local" port. Everytime we cruise we have to fly somewhere. My SIL is so upset about it

Terry

 

Tell your BIL & SIL that it is only recently that we have decided to try driving to Southampton. We actually live in what used to be known as 'North Yorkshire' so not too far from your relatives.

 

Research on the net and then testing it.....we found a nice hotel in Southampton that is reasonably priced and has a supermarket nearby (very short walk). Drive to hotel taking a rest stop when needed. We then get a cab from the hotel to port the next day costing around 12GBP. Parking at the hotel is 5GBP per night.

 

So all in all, it has opened our eyes to driving to meet the ship. No luggage restrictions either.

 

Pete

[logan25]

Our furthest drive to a cruise port thus far is 11 hours (9.5 hours Day 1, 1.5 hours Cruise Day). Didn't seem bad, except the long drive at the end. I still work for a living so it cost me a day for travel on either side, which arguably is not much different that flying, what with the 3-hour drive to the airport and buffer arrival time before a flight and luggage collection from the carousel.

 

I'd have to give some serious thought if it was 15 hours though. I would certainly look at my options. Is there no "nearer" city flight destination for cheap and then take up the drive from that point in a rental car?

 

That being said, if I chose to make the drive, we would break it into around 12 and 3-hour drives. Leave at 7-8 a.m. Day 1 and arrive at stopping point around dinner. Then have just a smaller piece to drive on Cruise Day.

[TaylorMace]

THanks Everyone for all of the replies. It is nice to know so many people do drive and to get some new ideas to think about. We are having dinner tomorrow night with the other couple we are traveling with to set the schedule for the trip. They all love that I read on CC all the time and share the stuff that I learn.

[LHT28]

If driving straight through ..yes a bit crazy

We drive from north of Toronto Canada so we do take a couple of days to get to Miami

 

Flying usually ends up costing pretty close to the same as driving by the time we pay parking & hotels along the way

 

I prefer to fly getting the stress over with in one day ;)

 

Ymmv

[Algebralovr]

I've driven to one and flown to one. We live about 2 hours from St Louis the nearest airport.

 

In Dcember 2010, we drove to Mobile, Al, about 12 miles non-stop. We left on Friday night when we got off work, and drove all night,taking turns napping. We had interstate about 2/3 of the way. US Hwy 2 lane the rest. We had three drivers, and made a stop every 3 hrs or so, usually at 24 hr Walmarts for a snack and break. We left about 6 pm, got there about 8am, and napped in the line waiting to get into the parking garage until they started letting us in about 10:30am. There were four of us, and we went out of Mobile because of the one day drive. We were a bit tired on the embarkation day, but were fine the next day. The drive home was easy after a full sea day from Cozemel to rest up.

 

In Feb of 2012 we flew. I paid way too much for a shuttle service to drive us to the airport, but it was a splurge. We paid about $400 each for airfare for the two of us, but we had a direct flight StL to FLL. It would have been about an 20 hr drive one way, and we only had Friday to travel on the way for a Saturday sailing, and got one Saturday night to recover Sunday before work on Monday. Traveling each way was considerably shorter than flying would have been.

 

We also flew the whole family to Disney World at about $400 each because of timing. We were flying out of different cities (StL for 3, Kansas City for 1) but all returning together. Again, a direct flight at 6:30 am meant we still had most of a day to play at WDW. We took a late flight home, meaning we again had lots of play time. The only bad part was the drive one starting at 11pm or so.

 

My rule is that if I cannt drive it in a day, about 12 hrs driving time, and four or fewer are going, I will probably fly. When last I calculated, the 1310 miles from my home to the Port of Miami each way would cost me nearly $1400, not including hotels for a night or two and food on the road, not to mention the time and tiredness getting there. I also have limited vacation time and want to use it for fun, not driving.

 

Depending on where in VA you live, I would check on Amtrak to get there as well as driving or flying. We, sadly, can't really get there from here in a reasonable time for a decent cost. Amtrak from StL to Miami is more then flying and two days time because of the direction you have to go (StL to Chicago, Chicago to DC, DC to Miami). But it may work for you.