Thinking of driving to Oasis cruise in Port Liberty, NJ from central Fla. Am I crazy?

[atgood]

4 hours ago, spintowin said:

How bad of a drive is it? Will 24 hours be plenty on a weekend for a Sunday embarkation? Thoughts?

From Orlando, a professional driver can do this in 18hrs or less with two gas/bathroom stops.  The key is to get around the DC beltway before 6:00am.  This is not the type of drive most people would enjoy. 

[mavo68]

😂😂 We actually are leaving tomorrow for our Allure Cruise Sunday. We live in Central PA. The way airlines are I wouldn’t dare right now. 

[maureencruiser]

29 minutes ago, spintowin said:

This would be next weekend, the 21st for the 22nd Oasis sailing. Originally from SoCal. Retired 2 years ago and am in central Fla now. 

 

Probably too risky.  Best bet, designate me as your roommate and then you cancel and I'll go.  You would have wanted it that way. 🤪

[Sunshine3601]

24 minutes ago, spintowin said:

This would be next weekend, the 21st for the 22nd Oasis sailing. Originally from SoCal. Retired 2 years ago and am in central Fla now. 

Expect a lot of summer traffic and a lot of road work along the way.  Seems like everywhere has construction going on this summer.

 

   If you dont want to fly to the test cruise then maybe make it a fun road trip. 

You could leave FL thursday evening, drive thru the night and get a hotel room friday, then repeat and drive thru Friday night.  Then repeat for Saturday. 

 

What time do you need to arrive at the port?

[Sunshine3601]

6 minutes ago, maureencruiser said:

 

Probably too risky.  Best bet, designate me as your roommate and then you cancel and I'll go.  You would have wanted it that way. 🤪

And me too as I'm about 2 hrs away from bayonne🤩

[Travelling2Some]

We used to drive NYC to Disney in 18 hours straight through with 2 drivers.  We were young, we had a van and we had 5 little kids so airfare for 7 people was a deal breaker.  We would put the kids to sleep on mattresses at 9 PM and head out.  Good memories:)  We'd have breakfast is the Carolinas and change drivers.  I HATE I-95.  The traffic is awful and the scenery non-existent.  But timing is everything.  If you don't mind driving through the night on a weekday and have two drivers it is doable.  I would fly if at all possible because, unless you like to drive, it is significantly stressful and only makes financial sense for a group.

[maureencruiser]

7 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

And me too as I'm about 2 hrs away from bayonne🤩

 

So, it's settled then!  I'll see you there! 🥴

[spintowin]

Makes sense. Will look at refundable airfare due to covid testing.

[Sunshine3601]

14 minutes ago, spintowin said:

Makes sense. Will look at refundable airfare due to covid testing.

Call air2sea/choiceair see if they are offering any special prices since it is a test cruise.    I hear they are offering free parking at the terminal so maybe you can get discounted/refundable airfare thru a2s.  Doesnt hurt to try!

[spintowin]

Will do. Thanks

[Merion_Mom]

3 hours ago, hancock said:

Parking at Cape Liberty is $25 a night.

 

3 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

Now, that is crazy!  😄

 

It's $40 at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.  😲

[Merion_Mom]

2 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Where did OP say that it would be next week? A couple of us have asked when it would be but there was no response.

 

1 hour ago, spintowin said:

This would be next weekend, the 21st for the 22nd Oasis sailing. Originally from SoCal. Retired 2 years ago and am in central Fla now. 

 

See?  Merion Mom knows things.  😄 

[ZoeyVictoria]

For me, the drive home would be a much bigger deal than the drive to the cruise.  Seems to take twice as long when there isn’t a cruise ship waiting at the end of the drive.

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

It's $40 at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.  😲

I think the last time I parked there (June 2000) it was $20. 

 

And I think the last time I parked at Cape Liberty (Oct 2018) it was also $20.

[mabt]

I don't see why this is crazy.  People do this in the other direction all the time.  I live 7 hours north of New York, and floods of people from my area drive to Florida every winter.

 

It's a long drive, and most would plan an overnight stop, but people do it for lots of reasons.  Usually to save money, but also because they don't like to fly, want their own vehicle at the destination, want to take more stuff than they can reasonably pack for a flight, or sometimes just because they like driving.  My family (almost) always flies, but I don't think choosing to drive is crazy at all.

 

JMO.  You asked.  😀

[OZ.]

9 hours ago, spintowin said:

Ok, maybe I'm not that crazy after all.

 

New question, would I be ok with a return flight leaving Newark at 1:30 pm?

I would think so.

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by OZ.

[jean87510]

15 hours ago, spintowin said:

How bad of a drive is it? Will 24 hours be plenty on a weekend for a Sunday embarkation? Thoughts?

not sure of where you are located at in Florida but I would rather fly in rather than that drive or train.  I have done all 3 and it's not fun.  The flights are not bad going into EWR from either FLL or MCO.  You can get some directs via FLL on United.  

As an aside, I honestly don't know why RCCL did not have these test cruises with passengers who live near the ports.  What about the covid testing and if positive?  Will RCCL arrange for the quarantine?  Isn't it less expensive to pick locals?  I live about an hour and 15 minutes from Cape Liberty.  I don't know if I would even want to bother with the hassle of driving 18 hours for a free cruise.  Regardless, enjoy your cruise and keep us posted on your trip.  

[dasi11]

I plan to drive to Bayonne from Jacksonville in mid October.  We drive up north often.  We plan to drive 12 hours the first day and stop with family in Bethesda.  Then on to family in central Jersey.  We board the ship together with our Jersey family.  We always pack our meals and stop at rest areas.   We take our time to Bethesda with a stop every 1.5-2 hours to stretch and hit the bathroom.  It is a long ride but if you do it mid week, it is no big deal.

 

[Joseph2017China]

So from Orlando, it should be no more than a 16 hour drive, add three stops and it will be 18-19 hours.  I would drive from Florida to NJ all the time and always did it in the same day.  Assuming you have two drivers in the car, it is certainly not crazy.  Driving has a lot of advantages, especially if you have the time to make stops, and explore.  When people ask how I can do it, I just say why can't you?  There is no reason why a person can't drive, it is just a matter of opinion.  Now, I also have flown to Asia a few times, and those flights are 14 hours non-stop.  

 

Driving to the airport, arriving over 2 hours early, waiting in lines, having a layover, getting off at an airport, renting cars, driving to final destination.......is also not the most fun experience either.  My last flight was a 10 hour process which saved me only a few hours.  

 

I would fly, but it is mostly for choice now that I only want "fast" trips to the area and have no desire to be like an outcast, and forced to show medical records every place I go within my own country

[Keksie]

If at all possible I would drive.  Flying is no fun anymore and flights are cancelled left and right.  A friend just tried to get from NW Florida to Pittsburg.  Her flight on Monday was delayed so much that her connector in Boston would have been missed and no other flight was available so she would have been stuck in Boston overnight.  Her replacement flight on Tuesday left of time but her connector in Chicago was delayed and then cancelled.  Southwest cancelled all remaining flights that night.  Today she is to fly to Cleveland and her husband will pick her up, drive by the Pittsburg airport to get her luggage (which made it on Monday) and then home.  

[long4acruise]

1 hour ago, jean87510 said:

As an aside, I honestly don't know why RCCL did not have these test cruises with passengers who live near the ports.  What about the covid testing and if positive?  Will RCCL arrange for the quarantine?  Isn't it less expensive to pick locals?  I live about an hour and 15 minutes from Cape Liberty.  I don't know if I would even want to bother with the hassle of driving 18 hours for a free cruise.

Agree!  This so-called sweepstakes test cruise entry leaves a lot of questions about the process, last minute decisions, notifications, etc.

[cruisinfanatic]

15 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

You live in Southern California, will be in central Florida next week, and want to drive to Bayonne from there?

 

<shudder>

 

Yes, it can be done.  24 hours straight at a minimum.  (I had a friend visiting me in Philadelphia from the Orlando area and a storm warning came up, cancelling flights, so she got a rental car and drove straight through.  As I recall, that took her 22 hours, and it's not quite 2 hours for me to Cape Liberty.  But she is young, and could stand that drive.)  

24 is way over what it takes

[edspec]

I don't see what the big deal is.  You get in the car, you sit, and you drive.  DH, DS, and I just drove from Sacramento to Phoenix last month for a medical trial.  12 hours one day, hospital visit the next, than 12 hours home.  Not especially fun but there are worse things.  A couple of years ago we had a bad experience at DFW, so chose to drive home instead of flying.  It was a long, long, day and night, but I had a work appointment for the next morning so we did it.  

Besides, as a previous poster said, flying is miserable right now.  I will say it has been miserable for quite awhile.  I'm old, I remember when you used to be served meals and snacks, and often the flights weren't full.  

[boscobeans]

17 hours ago, spintowin said:

How bad of a drive is it? Will 24 hours be plenty on a weekend for a Sunday embarkation? Thoughts?

In 2004 I did Orlando to Schenectady N.Y. in 22 hours straight driving on July 4th.  

11:00 am to 9:am the following morning.

 

It was a lot more fun a few years earlier when I did it in 3 legs and then I didn't feel like I had been run over by a truck..  LOL

[Tatka]

We drive from MA to Florida once a year. 22 hours straight (so it should be less for you) We do not drive to the port directly, but to So Flo and stay in hotels for 1 night.  We leave at 5 pm and arrive by 3 pm next day... I would plan to drive so you are passing Washington DC at night.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Tatka