Allure then Freedom... how easy to do?

[Daghis]

With the Promenade cabin sale, we decided to extend our cruise vacation next fall by adding Freedom of the Seas after our Allure of the Seas cruise. Allure returns on Sunday in Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) and Freedom departs that same Sunday up in Port Canaveral (near Orlando).

 

Theoretically, this should be fairly straightforward. Get off Allure of the Seas nice and early, get a rental car (Avis apparently opens at 8 AM, so we should be able to get an early start), drive three hours to Port Canaveral, drop off the rental car, take shuttle to the port, check-in and board the ship.

 

Now, for those who may have done consecutive cruises where there are a few hours of driving in between, how well does it work in practice?

 

Another thought... is there sufficient time to do laundry between the cruises? I think it might be possible, but adding that in probably makes the schedule too tight.

[rwdnj]

We did the same with Indy and Freedom. like you said, pretty straightforward but our Freedom cruise left the following day. Piece of cake. Would do it again in a heartbeat. Should have time for laundry, barring and other problems.

[molly361]

It is very doable but not sure about the laundry part. That might make me a bit nervous, unless you know for sure of a laundromat close to the port. Too close for my comfort zone:)

[Clarea]

I agree, should be easy to do. You should be able to get a rental car earlier by going to the airport. I'd also put off doing laundry until I was in the Port Canaveral area, just in case there are traffic issues on the road.

[Daghis]

I agree, should be easy to do. You should be able to get a rental car earlier by going to the airport. I'd also put off doing laundry until I was in the Port Canaveral area, just in case there are traffic issues on the road.

That's a very good idea. I hadn't considered the idea of getting off the ship even earlier and heading to the airport to pick up the rental car. They're generally open there at least at 5 or 6 AM (if not 24 hours). With self-disembarkation, we could get a car quite early that morning.

 

If we do that, we could be in the Port Canaveral area by 10 or 11 AM and have plenty of time to do laundry. I do see there are a couple laundromats (according to Google Maps) in the Cape Canaveral area.

[carbon]

What promenade sale, I must have missed it, when do you sail?

[Langley Cruisers]

What promenade sale, I must have missed it, when do you sail?

 

His cruise dates are listed in his signature.

[Daghis]

What promenade sale, I must have missed it, when do you sail?

I found out about the sale on these cabins in this thread. There are several dates in September, October, November, and December 2014 on Freedom of the Seas (all Western Caribbean itineraries) that are available at $369/person (plus taxes and fees).

[riclop]

Go for it and enjoy!!!

[Merion_Mom]

With the Promenade cabin sale, we decided to extend our cruise vacation next fall by adding Freedom of the Seas after our Allure of the Seas cruise. Allure returns on Sunday in Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) and Freedom departs that same Sunday up in Port Canaveral (near Orlando).

 

Theoretically, this should be fairly straightforward. Get off Allure of the Seas nice and early, get a rental car (Avis apparently opens at 8 AM, so we should be able to get an early start), drive three hours to Port Canaveral, drop off the rental car, take shuttle to the port, check-in and board the ship.

 

Now, for those who may have done consecutive cruises where there are a few hours of driving in between, how well does it work in practice?

 

Another thought... is there sufficient time to do laundry between the cruises? I think it might be possible, but adding that in probably makes the schedule too tight.

 

Marc, I just did this with Oasis and Freedom, giving me the day in between.

 

I am assuming that you are "over" the whole get-there-early-because-it's-your-first-day-of-the-cruise thing.

 

If so, then both the travel and the laundry are possible.

 

I used Thrifty, and their office in Fort Lauderdale is just at the entrance to the port. It is literally the first building outside the gate.

 

Use self-disembarkation/express walk-off.

 

Three hours drive. Get the Sun Pass/Easy Pass option on your rental car.

 

The local laundromats all sound a little sketchy, if you read their reviews.

 

One thing that I found useful: I dropped off my bags at the port and THEN took the car back and returned on their shuttle bag-free. Much easier.

[Daghis]

Thanks for the tips!

 

I'm pretty much "over" boarding as soon as I can. I still like it, but in a case like this, I'd much rather have clean clothes and board at 1:30 PM rather than a bunch of dirty clothes and get on the ship at 11:30 AM. :)

[SRQfireman]

Marc, I just did this with Oasis and Freedom, giving me the day in between.

 

I am assuming that you are "over" the whole get-there-early-because-it's-your-first-day-of-the-cruise thing.

 

If so, then both the travel and the laundry are possible.

 

I used Thrifty, and their office in Fort Lauderdale is just at the entrance to the port. It is literally the first building outside the gate.

 

Use self-disembarkation/express walk-off.

 

Three hours drive. Get the Sun Pass/Easy Pass option on your rental car.

 

The local laundromats all sound a little sketchy, if you read their reviews.

 

One thing that I found useful: I dropped off my bags at the port and THEN took the car back and returned on their shuttle bag-free. Much easier.

 

I sure hope it had wheels :D :eek: :)

[notsomadhatter]

Haven't done this type of back to back, but I would. If you can practically get off the ship before the 8am Avis opening then you could hit the airport rental car desk, just know the line there may be longer to pick up. 8am really should be a fine time to start. Price out both options and include cab fare in your calculations.

 

I have made this drive many times (not cruising) and it's a pretty easy one.

 

Not so sure about laundry although I agree that I would wait to do it until you got to the PC area in case of delays. The two extra hours on the ship might not be more important than the laundry but making the ship is! :)

 

Good luck!

[G85 SS]

Plenty of time. Once you rent a car, Port Canaveral is about a 2 and a half to 3 hour drive north from Port Everglades on I-95.

 

Sunday traffic is fairly light so the most difficult part will be getting out of Port Everglades. Getting into Port Canaveral is such a piece of cake.

 

About Laundry, you could even set aside something to wear on the final day for Allure. Pay and have your laundry done on Allure the day before you disembark. That way you have all clean clothes in your suitcase ready for Freedom.

[KG1924]

Plenty of time. Once you rent a car, Port Canaveral is about a 2 and a half to 3 hour drive north from Port Everglades on I-95.

 

Sunday traffic is fairly light so the most difficult part will be getting out of Port Everglades. Getting into Port Canaveral is such a piece of cake.

 

About Laundry, you could even set aside something to wear on the final day for Allure. Pay and have your laundry done on Allure the day before you disembark. That way you have all clean clothes in your suitcase ready for Freedom.

 

I think this is a GREAT idea!!! One of the best parts of being on vacation is not having to do the chores you normally have to do :p That way you can take your time getting off the ship and getting up to Port Canaveral.

 

I also agree w/ dropping off the luggage and then dropping off the rental car. We've done this on our last 2 out of Port Canaveral and it is the quickest way. The rental places are usually a mad house up there between 9-11 due to people getting off the ships and the people dropping their cars off on their way to the ships. So if you leave Port Everglades around 9-10ish and stop for lunch on the way you should avoid that as well. Have fun....i'm VERY jealous!!!

[Cruise a holic]

With the Promenade cabin sale, we decided to extend our cruise vacation next fall by adding Freedom of the Seas after our Allure of the Seas cruise. Allure returns on Sunday in Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) and Freedom departs that same Sunday up in Port Canaveral (near Orlando).

 

Theoretically, this should be fairly straightforward. Get off Allure of the Seas nice and early, get a rental car (Avis apparently opens at 8 AM, so we should be able to get an early start), drive three hours to Port Canaveral, drop off the rental car, take shuttle to the port, check-in and board the ship.

 

Now, for those who may have done consecutive cruises where there are a few hours of driving in between, how well does it work in practice?

 

Another thought... is there sufficient time to do laundry between the cruises? I think it might be possible, but adding that in probably makes the schedule too tight.

You are brave! We are sailing in Jan on the Celebrity Silhouette out of Ft lauderdale, then the day we arrive back the Allure. Just have to get to another pier!

[leaveitallbehind]

Thanks for the tips!

 

I'm pretty much "over" boarding as soon as I can. I still like it, but in a case like this, I'd much rather have clean clothes and board at 1:30 PM rather than a bunch of dirty clothes and get on the ship at 11:30 AM. :)

 

Marc I'm sure you could always call lantzwr - sure they'd be happy to let you do your laundry at their house. ;):D