Should I drive the whole 18 hours?

[loyola00]

CeBlake,

 

Can you post when you get back about the pros/cons with your driving experience? We are booked on the Allure later this year and are thinking about driving from Maryland to Fort Lauderdale.

 

Also have 2 kids and only have 2 drivers, but are trying to figure out where to stop and rest on the way down. If we do it I was planning on leaving at 6pm so it would run into the kids bed time. I figure we can either drive through or stop once we hit the 12 hour mark driving.

 

The ship leaves on a Sunday so we were thinking about leaving Friday to have time built in for weather issues and to rest up after the drive. Definitely looking at driving straight back when we return since ship disembarks early.

[Ceblake]

CeBlake,

 

Can you post when you get back about the pros/cons with your driving experience? We are booked on the Allure later this year and are thinking about driving from Maryland to Fort Lauderdale.

 

Also have 2 kids and only have 2 drivers, but are trying to figure out where to stop and rest on the way down. If we do it I was planning on leaving at 6pm so it would run into the kids bed time. I figure we can either drive through or stop once we hit the 12 hour mark driving.

 

The ship leaves on a Sunday so we were thinking about leaving Friday to have time built in for weather issues and to rest up after the drive. Definitely looking at driving straight back when we return since ship disembarks early.

 

I sure will!

[Ceblake]

I haven't read all that has been said on this thread, so I may be repeating someone. I would recommend making it a 2-day drive & stop somewhere in South Carolina. Use tripadvisor to find a decent cheap motel. It's just a place to sleep anyway. I have been able to find many good motels for around $40-$50 throughout the country, that aren't bug infested nor a hub for drugs, etc. I don't have to always stay at a Hilton or Marriott. Sometimes, Motel 6 works great. Plus, bring your own food that you've bought from the store. Bring a cooler for drinks that you buy from the store. Eat out once a day at the most, and keep that cheap as well. No reason to sit down for fine dining on a road trip. Fast food will work.

 

Depending on your car's gas mileage, the cost of gas could be as little as or even less than 10 cents a mile. Wear & tear & value of the car lost (if you buy new) would be anywhere from 15-35 cents a mile, so that 56 cents I saw earlier is on the high end, or it's taking into account more expensive cars & bigger vehicles that get worse mileage. My little Honda Fit is about 24 cents a mile, including everything. For most people, it would be more than that, especially if you have to take a larger vehicle. Even if you do, at the airfare you have, it will still be much cheaper to drive, especially if you play it smart with food & motels.

 

Taking the extra day going & coming will make it more enjoyable. On my last cruise, it was about a 19-hour drive to the port. It was never a thought to do all but a few hours in just 1 day. We did the drive in 2 full days. My first Florida cruise, we didn't do it too smart. To try to save money, we switched off driving & sleeping, trying to cover about 18 hours worth of driving in 24 hours. We were able to do it without any problems, but we wouldn't do that ever again.

 

To recap, I was debating on driving the whole 18 hours between 2 drivers leaving very early and staying overnight in Jacksonville. My brother and his family of 7 are going as well, but were not going to leave until 3 in the afternoon. They wanted us to get a head start, so we could stop if we needed to for the night. Going back and forth, we decided to follow them the whole way, getting us to FL around 9 a.m. We now have 6 drivers and neither my dad or myself have to drive "overnight". So hopefully mostly everyone will get 8 hours of sleep (give or take a few times waking up for stops or stretches), and that leaves 10 hours awake while in the car.

 

I don't see any of us having any problems. We all plan on rotating between cars for a different scenery and conversation. Plus my nephew is 9 and him and my son love watching movies and playing games on our smartphones.

[k2excursion]

Problem with stopping in South Carolina is that you would still have a nine hour drive to Fort Lauderdale -- meaning a very, very early start or risk missing ship. Anything north of Jacksonville would be a problem. An 18 hour drive straight through would mean leaving home no later than seven PM the evening before to arrive by one PM on embarkation date (you need to leave a little wiggle room) -- and you would start the cruise dragging.

 

Oh my goodness! I must not have been clear with what I was saying there. The suggestion I was meaning to say was to stop in South Carolina at the end of Day 1 of driving, then drive onto Ft Lauderdale on Day 2, and then get on the ship on Day 3. That 9-hour drive to Ft Lauderdale would be the day before getting on the ship. Cheaper (but still decent) hotels than what you might normally get make this not a bad option at all.

 

It sounds like the OP knows what they are doing and should be fine with their plan, based on what they're saying. But I would never do it the way they have planned. My suggestion was more for how I would want to do it. 2 days of driving, then get on the ship the 3rd day.

Edited March 13, 2014 by k2excursion

[sheba2008]

Four days? What are you talking about? I'm going to Florida, not California! The car of 7 just did the drive to Disney 3 weeks ago and last year and the year before and the year before......

 

And again like I posted earlier have always traveled to Florida when I was little with 2 drivers. We have 6 drivers and most of the driving is over night when my little one and the other ones who can't drive are sleeping.

 

How many times do you think I have to stop to eat? Once for dinner and breakfast in the morning. Of course we stop for bathroom breaks and stretching. But we are talking about less than a day here!

 

Ceblake, wow you created a special commented tread ;)

You got all sorts of comments (even some about flying, you don't wanna do)

People just stick to her question and keep you're other comments to yourself.

Ceblake I wish you and you're family safe trip to the cruiseship (and back home) and a amazing cruise!!!

 

P.S : writing in English is difficult for me, sorry for wrong spelling. :D

[Ceblake]

Ceblake, wow you created a special commented tread ;)

You got all sorts of comments (even some about flying, you don't wanna do)

People just stick to her question and keep you're other comments to yourself.

Ceblake I wish you and you're family safe trip to the cruiseship (and back home) and a amazing cruise!!!

 

P.S : writing in English is difficult for me, sorry for wrong spelling. :D

 

Well thank you very much! And you did a fine job writing in English.

[zippyjet]

I know I'm eight years late to this thread. I live in Baltimore also. Only time we drove to Florida (Miami Beach) was back in 1969! 

My beloved dad was the only driver. We actually took 2 nights to make the long haul.

Day 1: Including stops...Baltimore to South of The Border (kitschy tourist digs but still worth a go see) eight hours give or take. 

Day 2: SOB to Jacksonville including stops six hours which included checking out Savannah, GA.

Day 3: Jacksonville to Miami Beach was six hours but the Florida Turnpike seemed like an eternal schlepp. I-95 wasn't complete back then. My sister and I were 8 and I was 12. 

Several years we took the Auto Train. If you stick to riding in a coach train seat it was not to pricey. Just remember, driving from Baltimore to Lorton, VA (AT) with our notorius traffic could take up to 2.5 hours. Figure 90 minutes with no traffic a rarity. Then, from Sanford, FL. to FLL area figure four hours.

I'm blessed that I work in the airline industry. With its perks, I'm able to cruise. Sadly, my beloved parents never got the chance to take a cruise.

By now, you've hopefully had many cruises under your belt and have the ins and outs to a science. (Including getting from home to the ports in the Sunshine State.

And for anyone driving to and from please realize dembarkation day can be a drag (tiring) I'm a night owl so, I either fly right home or stay overnight on Miami Beach for a last bit of vacation fun. 

Please share how your drive's went.

On 3/4/2014 at 8:44 PM, RSLeesburg said:

 

Have you priced out the Auto Train from Lorton? It might be more expensive than driving, but less than flying.

 

[rkacruiser]

15 hours ago, zippyjet said:

Please share how your drive's went.

 

Sailing from Florida, I prefer to drive, but, sometimes fly.  A variety of driving routes for me:

 

Dayton to Chattanooga on I-75 with an overnight in Chattanooga accompanied with a delicious dinner.

Chattanooga to Orange Park, Florida on I-75 and I-10 with an overnight in Orange Park and another delicious dinner.  (The restaurant in Orange Park has now closed.)

Orange Park on I-95 to wherever on the East Coast of Florida that is my destination.  This is my favorite route.  I have tried variations that have included the Florida Turnpike as well as US 27 when I needed to spend a few days in the Orlando area.  

 

Returning home, I will drive to Savannah, Georgia on I-95, overnight at one of the airport hotels with dinner at Sam Snead's Restaurant.  Then, (I don't accurately recall the Interstate numbers), I'll drive to Macon, connecting with I-75, another stopover in Chattanooga, and then on to Dayton.  

 

Another route was a Christmas visit with relatives in Greenbelt, Maryland followed by Amtrak's Silver Meteor to Fort Lauderdale.  The car remained in Maryland.  Silver Meteor back to Washington for another brief visit with my relatives and driving back to Ohio.  Liked that as well.

 

Once tried a route that went East from Dayton and connected with I-79, maybe I-77, into the Columbia, South Carolina area.  Connected with another interstate that got me to I-95 and then to Florida.  

 

Most recent experience was my usual route to Fort Lauderdale as I described above.  After the cruises, I booked the Auto Train to Lorton for a visit with my Maryland relatives.  Then, a nice drive home to Dayton with an overnight in Fairmont, West Virginia.  A excellent dinner at a local Italian restaurant that I have discovered was the reason for the stopover at Fairmont.  

 

I am fortunate to having so many driving routes to try to take.  

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

We returned to Autotrain this year for our March-April trip to Sanibel - largely because of outrageous car rental costs in FL.  I have family in DC area, so can visit with them, then spend the night at the motel just across I-95 from Lorton station.  The train ride is comfortable (in bedroom) but the wait to board - and to get car after getting off - eats a lot of time. Also, I -95 from CT to DC area is an obscenity, and that intersection of I-495 with I-95 just south of DC is like a giant having dropped a plate of spaghetti - and there is a further long drive from Sanford to Sanibel.   While it is nice to have our own car, flying and renting wheels is so much easier/quicker.  The only way to drive all the way from CT is to head for the Cuomo NY Thruway bridge across the Hudson, take 287 around Northern Jersey, then 78 into PA, joining 81 near Harrisburg , down through the Shenandoah Valley, then 77 until joining 95 again in South Carolina.   That route is over 100 miles longer than 95 all the way - but easily an hour shorter driving  over all because of much less traffic - and beautiful countryside.  We do it in 3 days driving - first night in Lexington, VA (where my sons went to school) then either Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA second night — those stops make the trip worthwhile in itself.

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

that intersection of I-495 with I-95 just south of DC is like a giant having dropped a plate of spaghetti

 

I experienced that confusing mess of roadways and signs trying to get to Greenbelt, Maryland after leaving the Auto Train in Lorton.  I became confused, took a wrong exit, and ended up in downtown Washington without knowing for sure where I was and how to get to where I needed to go.  Thank goodness for my little blue Onstar button!  

 

I liked the routing you outlined.  As you said, the drive through Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina is scenic and usually not a difficult drive.  

[navybankerteacher]

6 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I experienced that confusing mess of roadways and signs trying to get to Greenbelt, Maryland after leaving the Auto Train in Lorton.  I became confused, took a wrong exit, and ended up in downtown Washington without knowing for sure where I was and how to get to where I needed to go.  — 

Yes - that deadly Springfield interchange where going north on I-95 from Lorton you tango with the DC Beltway (I-495)  - which gives you the choice of going around the east side of DC or the west side of DC - and I-395 which drags you without warning into central DC -there are so many lanes and ramps that you have to be well positioned in advance to have any chance of getting where you want to go. The same thing happened to me a few years ago.

 

It was a hell of a way to start my six hour drive up to CT.

[zippyjet]

59 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Yes - that deadly Springfield interchange where going north on I-95 from Lorton you tango with the DC Beltway (I-495)  - which gives you the choice of going around the east side of DC or the west side of DC - and I-395 which drags you without warning into central DC -there are so many lanes and ramps that you have to be well positioned in advance to have any chance of getting where you want to go. The same thing happened to me a few years ago.

 

It was a hell of a way to start my six hour drive up to CT.

welcome to the club. As a life long Marylander I get to drive these "funderful" stretches of highway. Road construction, sporadic closures routine. I live in Baltimore and driving on I-695 to work at BWI, I kid you not while en route signs said road debris. We all crawed at 20 mph for three miles. Would you believe, a truck dropped a load of...wait for it Broccoli and Cauliflower florets across four lanes!

Years back on I-95 north heading upstate towards Aberdeen and Havre De Grace six goats played highway roulette and got across all north and south bound lanes. Never a dull moment.

Regarding Lorton, VA...when driving to or from the Autotrain from Baltimore or Washington pick your poison. You can go West towards the GW PKWY, Dulles toll road through the Northern VA. suburbs or go around East and South over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The latter during off peak times seems quicker and shorter than going West around the Northern VA. suburbs. From where I live to get to the Autotrain a solid hour fifteen minutes without traffic. With traffic, hurry up and wait. If I had to be at the AT depot at 1400, Ideally I'd leave home 1130 hours. No later than 12 noon. Never know what waits on our wacky roads...Broccoli /Cauliflower florets anyone?

[rkacruiser]

18 hours ago, zippyjet said:

Broccoli /Cauliflower florets anyone?

 

🤣    Forgive me for laughing, but I did.  Mashed Broccoli and Cauliflower might provide a slippery surface for awhile.  

 

The D.C. area traffic is very challenging.  My two Nephews were raised in Greenbelt, Maryland.  After one graduated from UGA, he decided he had no desire to return home and headed to Anchorage where his family and he happily reside.  While I don't look forward to driving in the D. C. area, my experiences have not been as bad as driving on I-95 in Miami.  I will never, ever do that again!  

[zippyjet]

6 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

🤣    Forgive me for laughing, but I did.  Mashed Broccoli and Cauliflower might provide a slippery surface for awhile.  

 

The D.C. area traffic is very challenging.  My two Nephews were raised in Greenbelt, Maryland.  After one graduated from UGA, he decided he had no desire to return home and headed to Anchorage where his family and he happily reside.  While I don't look forward to driving in the D. C. area, my experiences have not been as bad as driving on I-95 in Miami.  I will never, ever do that again!  

 

Glad I got you laughing. I-95 Miami should be a theme park horror ride. A fat guy driving like bat or hippo out of hell ingesting a meatball sandwich and screaming Maricone! Maybe he was looking for love on the interstate. I I could have talked to this manatee of a man I would tell him I'll send some road runover broccoli and cauliflower florets.

 

[navybankerteacher]

14 hours ago, zippyjet said:

 

Glad I got you laughing. I-95 Miami should be a theme park horror ride. A fat guy driving like bat or hippo out of hell ingesting a meatball sandwich and screaming Maricone! Maybe he was looking for love on the interstate. I I could have talked to this manatee of a man I would tell him I'll send some road runover broccoli and cauliflower florets.

 

I-95 is just a mean damn road.   Driving north from the DC area you hit one of its dirtiest tricks - around Christiana, DE there are a lot of signs showing I-95, which the innocent driver will think is the way to proceed to the northeast — but instead of taking you (logically) to the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike, it leads you through Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia before meandering back to join the NJ Turnpike somewhere in central Jersey. Similarly, heading south through Jersey, you want to ignore the I-95 signs near Florence , which will lure you back through Philadelphia and Wilmington - adding close to an hour to your trip.

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I-95 is just a mean damn road.   Driving north from the DC area you hit one of its dirtiest tricks - around Christiana, DE there are a lot of signs showing I-95, which the innocent driver will think is the way to proceed to the northeast — but instead of taking you (logically) to the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike, it leads you through Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia before meandering back to join the NJ Turnpike somewhere in central Jersey. Similarly, heading south through Jersey, you want to ignore the I-95 signs near Florence , which will lure you back through Philadelphia and Wilmington - adding close to an hour to your trip.

 

I wonder what route a car's navigation system would show.  In my previous Buick, the routing that was supplied when I asked for it, most of the time was not the most efficient route to get from point A to point B.  I have not used the system in my new Buick enough to know what it would recommend.