Road Trip to Florida for Carnival Cruise

[HollandAvery]

Okay, so my question is for others who may have attempted a similar feat or just for those who want to put in their two cents.

 

Anyway...

I am considering a cruise for 2016 out of Florida. Maybe Jacksonville, maybe Orlando or maybe Miami...who knows. Probably Miami though.

My question is, do you think I could safely make this trip two days before the cruise with a short overnight stop in between the days, driving from Austin, Texas? Say the ship leaves on April 23, 2016 and we decide to start our travels on April 21, staying the night and hitting the road again on the 22nd and then staying a night in whatever city we are cruising out of. (Airbnb type stuff)...will we make it? Is this crazy? We don't want to fly ($500 or so), we'd honestly rather drive because my SO just got a Hybrid and he is looking for a road trip excuse ($150 or so).

 

I feel like it's a huge risk, but I don't really know...so, opinions?!

Edited February 11, 2015 by HollandAvery

[NitsirK21]

We do the drive from Ontario Canada. Google maps says it takes about 24 hours. We leave 2 days before. So if the ship sails Saturday, we would leave Thursday afternoon and be in Florida Friday night. Sharing the drivie or stopping for a few hours at a rest stop in the car. Stayng the night somewhere on Friday night and completing the drive to port in the morning.

 

So I'd say your road trip is definately do able.

[kendracruises]

Yes it is more than doable. We live in north western Tennessee and drive to Fort Lauderdale to cruise. We do about 8-9 hours the first night and stay south of Macon, Ga the first night then stay in FLL the night before the cruise. Get up early, have breakfast and then head for the ship.

 

My parents do the trip you are talking about almost since they live south of Houston. They stay in the panhandle of Florida the first night/or Mobile and then go the rest of the way to FLL.

 

You will have a 20 hour drive on I-10 from Austin to Miami so need to do 10 hours a day driving. That would put you just east of Mobile, AL on April 21. Then Miami on April 22 and board the ship on April 23. It is all highway so that helps. If you sail out of Tampa, FLL or Orlando it will be closer and not so much driving. Spring and summer it stays light later so that helps as well.

 

What you DON'T want to do is be driving thru Florida with still more than 5-6 hours of driving the DAY you leave on the cruise. Anything can happen and you might miss the ship. Better to allow the extra day you are talking about just in case.

 

Have you considered a cruise out of New Orleans or Galveston, it would be much closer but not really cheaper.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[simplelife]

Yes, very doable. We have driven to Miami from various locations, and stayed at various places (furthest is from Springfield, Ohio stopping in Savannah, GA). We usually stop a couple of hours away from Miami the night before and finish the last part of the drive the morning of embarkation. Works for us. This summer we will are cruising out of Miami and will be visiting with friends in Pensacola first. Since it's about a 10 hour drive from there to port, we will make most of trip the day before the (Haven't made the reservations yet, but will probably stay some where between Port St Lucie and West Palm - hotels get more expensive the further South you go) We'll get a good night's sleep, and finish the last couple of hours the next morning.

[k2excursion]

Easily! I have done it many times, from Oklahoma. Port Canaveral 3 times, Miami twice, & Ft Lauderdale once. We always do it like you said: 2 full days of driving, arriving close to the port the night before the cruise. PC is nice, with it being 3 hours closer than Miami. For us, our varying midway points have been Montgomery, Eufala AL, Atlanta, & Tallahassee. 2 or 3 drivers rotating, limited stops & keeping them short, usually the non-drivers are fixing lunch & eating as the other one drives, then we alternate. Early start the first day. Almost every time, we are getting to the midway point hotel by around 6:00pm, to Port Canaveral mid-afternoon or Ft Lauderdale area around 6:00. So we have had time to spare.

[minnesotamamafish]

I'm not familiar with the drive from Austin, but from what the others have said it sounds easy enough.

 

I know how you feel about the flights being too expensive. We are driving from Mpls to Miami at the end of the year. We were planning on staying the first night in Atlanta and next in Miami before the cruise. We switched to staying in Orlando instead of Atlanta. It will be a long drive but doable with four drivers, and worth it to stay in Orlando for NYEve!

 

I've just been researching and booking our hotels and want to give you a heads up. Research "temporary sunpass sticker or toll-by-plate." There are quite a few toll roads in Florida. I was unfamiliar with this and found a wealth of information.

 

Good luck on your decision and enjoy your cruise!

[pauleydm]

Leaving two days early is sufficient time...no worries.

[jb456]

Your not crazy, easily doable! We drive from Canada to our vacation home in lauderdale all the time.

 

Consider starting off driving at night (less traffic) - we normally leave around 11pm, drive through the night and day, then stop at hotel. Next day we finish off the 8 or so hours.

 

Yea if your coming through the Orlando area it is much easier taking the toll road down to Miami.

 

If the welcome center in Florida that you would be hitting is anything like the one we hit when we cross over from Georgia into Jacksonville then make a quick stop there and check the vending machines.. They have vending machines that sell the "sun pass" for the tolls.

[SeaPA1]

Surely doable, especially with multiple drivers. 30some years ago, I drove with two buddies from Tampa to San Antonio, solely to go to a couple of NBA playoff basketball games. We left at lunchtime Thursday & drove straight through, taking shifts behind the wheel. Got there Friday morning, slept a bit, went to the games Friday & Sunday, then drove home.

 

It was crazy, but also one of my best young-adult memories.

[denrusk]

Keep this in mind, you still need to make that drive home after the cruise. Driving there is no problem as you are on your way to a cruise, coming home is a different story. It is not a fun way to end a great trip!

[emtnmare2]

I'm not familiar with the drive from Austin, but from what the others have said it sounds easy enough.

 

I know how you feel about the flights being too expensive. We are driving from Mpls to Miami at the end of the year. We were planning on staying the first night in Atlanta and next in Miami before the cruise. We switched to staying in Orlando instead of Atlanta. It will be a long drive but doable with four drivers, and worth it to stay in Orlando for NYEve!

 

I've just been researching and booking our hotels and want to give you a heads up. Research "temporary sunpass sticker or toll-by-plate." There are quite a few toll roads in Florida. I was unfamiliar with this and found a wealth of information.

 

Good luck on your decision and enjoy your cruise!

 

 

I live in MN also. Have thought of driving to NO. But when I think of spending 4-5 days on the road. It's a no go for me. At times I am sure envious of people that have a 6 hour or less drive to a port. :p

[Du vent dans les voiles]

Okay, so my question is for others who may have attempted a similar feat or just for those who want to put in their two cents.

 

Anyway...

I am considering a cruise for 2016 out of Florida. Maybe Jacksonville, maybe Orlando or maybe Miami...who knows. Probably Miami though.

My question is, do you think I could safely make this trip two days before the cruise with a short overnight stop in between the days, driving from Austin, Texas? Say the ship leaves on April 23, 2016 and we decide to start our travels on April 21, staying the night and hitting the road again on the 22nd and then staying a night in whatever city we are cruising out of. (Airbnb type stuff)...will we make it? Is this crazy? We don't want to fly ($500 or so), we'd honestly rather drive because my SO just got a Hybrid and he is looking for a road trip excuse ($150 or so).

 

I feel like it's a huge risk, but I don't really know...so, opinions?!

 

We often drove from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale before moving to Louisiana and from Lake Charles LA we drove to Orlando too.

If I 10 doesn't scare you :( you can make it in two days. Just be sure to plan getting in FLL the night before so if something happens you still have few more hours in the morning the cruise leaves.

 

Josée

[minnesotamamafish]

I live in MN also. Have thought of driving to NO. But when I think of spending 4-5 days on the road. It's a no go for me. At times I am sure envious of people that have a 6 hour or less drive to a port. :p

 

We did NO in 20 hours with stops with a 11 and 17 year old. It's not the easiest on the body, but worth it to us to save the airfare. We could not afford to cruise but every few years if we added airfare. Not acceptable! We time it so we can arrive to the hotel at first available check in time so we can relax by the pool and decompress before the cruise actually starts.

 

We did rent a full size suv through bid your own price on Priceline so we had plenty of room. And because we drove I could pack as much as I wanted. (Of course, DH didn't like that perk!) ;)

 

I understand it's not for everybody, but we appreciate that we can drive so we can afford to cruise. And I dream of moving to Florida someday...! :)

[jb456]

We did NO in 20 hours with stops with a 11 and 17 year old. It's not the easiest on the body, but worth it to us to save the airfare. We could not afford to cruise but every few years if we added airfare. Not acceptable! We time it so we can arrive to the hotel at first available check in time so we can relax by the pool and decompress before the cruise actually starts.

 

We did rent a full size suv through bid your own price on Priceline so we had plenty of room. And because we drove I could pack as much as I wanted. (Of course, DH didn't like that perk!) ;)

 

I understand it's not for everybody, but we appreciate that we can drive so we can afford to cruise. And I dream of moving to Florida someday...! :)

 

Cheapy airline Spirit flies direct from Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale. Looking at random dates just for fun there are some dates $83 each way.... checked bag fee is $30 each way -- but if you continue to watch their site for deals each day sometimes you can get flights for $48 each way (then plus bag fee) --- we use them often from Canada (well it's a short drive 50 min across the border to USA where the airport is). Best price we ever paid was $68 round trip for direct flights -- (then plus bags of course) --

 

Just an idea for you for future cruises :)

Edited February 11, 2015 by jb456

[minnesotamamafish]

Cheapy airline Spirit flies direct from Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale. Looking at random dates just for fun there are some dates $83 each way.... checked bag fee is $30 each way -- but if you continue to watch their site for deals each day sometimes you can get flights for $48 each way (then plus bag fee) --- we use them often from Canada (well it's a short drive 50 min across the border to USA where the airport is). Best price we ever paid was $68 round trip for direct flights -- (then plus bags of course) --

 

Just an idea for you for future cruises :)

 

Thank you for your comments. I always check every airline out of MSP just in case, but have yet to find it worth it. And I continue to check every month just in case prices go down enough to make it possible.

 

Just out of curiosity I just checked Spirit again. It would be $1230 plus checked bags for 5 of us. Definitely not possible! Driving is $235 for gas plus food. Plus $85 extra hotel room on drive down. Huge difference!

 

I will continue to check them in the future in case we get lucky enough to get those $68 fares. :D Wish me luck!

[simplelife]

Keep this in mind, you still need to make that drive home after the cruise. Driving there is no problem as you are on your way to a cruise, coming home is a different story. It is not a fun way to end a great trip!

Airline travel is rarely pleasant either, especially if your flight is delayed and you're stuck in the terminal. At least with car travel you control when you will stop etc. We usually plan something nice on the way back to continue our vacation - a really nice hotel or restaurant stop, meeting with friends who live along the way, etc.

[John&LaLa]

Seems easily done, we did Huntsville, AL to Tampa in one day and that included going through Atlanta. On a side note, I'm not that sure that a long high speed trip is what a hybrid is designed for. I thought they were more efficient in stop and go traffic.

[LHT28]

We drove from Houston to Miami but we did stop in St Augustine for a few days

But it depends on how long you like to drive in a stretch

 

it is close to 1400 miles from Austin

[mellibee]

We drive from Overland Park, KS to Port Canaveral. We usually leave on Friday if the cruise starts on Sunday. We usually stop around Macon or Valdosta, GA Friday night and then Saturday night is spent in Port Canaveral. As long as you are spending the night before embarkation near the port, you should be fine. :)

[denrusk]

Airline travel is rarely pleasant either, especially if your flight is delayed and you're stuck in the terminal. At least with car travel you control when you will stop etc. We usually plan something nice on the way back to continue our vacation - a really nice hotel or restaurant stop, meeting with friends who live along the way, etc.

 

 

You got me there! It's just not fun however you go home from a cruise!