Staying in Orlando, sailing out of Miami!!

[nalrudaini]

Hello, and Happy Holidays 🎄

 

I'm planning a cruise out of Miami in August.  Before the cruise, we will be staying in Orlando.  

Been thinking about whether its best to spend the night in Miami or just stay in Orlando and drive to Miami in the morning.

Edited December 25, 2021 by nalrudaini

[JohninDC]

We have done both. Staying in Miami (downtown) is fun with great dining and a short taxi to POM the next morning. Left our hotel near WDW early, drive about 3.5 hours, returned the car and were on the ship by noon.

 

Your call.

Edited December 25, 2021 by JohninDC

[Corby114]

Drive down the day before and stay in either the Fort Lauderdale or Miami area. Have a nice dinner, a good nights sleep and be ready for your cruise vacation. Don’t need to get up at the crack of dawn to drive three plus hours for the two hundred forty mile ride  from Orlando to Miami.

[CruiserBruce]

I would stay in Miami the night before. Safer.

[mondello]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

I would stay in Miami the night before. Safer.

Safer? Made me laugh that Miami is safer than Orlando. I get what you meant, though. Yeah, I wouldn't enjoy a long drive into Miami the morning of a cruise. We're in Miami right now and Versailles is open on Christmas Day. Until midnight! We feasted there today. Life is good.

[Oviedo32765]

Like JohninDC, I have done both. No wrong answer really. I think it comes down to a personal preferance as to how you want to start the cruise? Start after a good nights rest in the Miami area with a short drive to the port, or after a 3.5 hour drive from Orlando.

[nalrudaini]

Thank you all for the replies 🌹

[skrufy]

9 hours ago, nalrudaini said:

Thank you all for the replies 🌹

To me, there's nothing like waking up in the warm Florida sunshine and being only 10 to 15 minutes from the port. 

[Turtles06]

Another vote for staying in Miami. Recently, we drove from Delray Beach (much further north than Miami) to Sanford (just outside Orlando) to board the Auto Train that day. Even starting farther north, it’s a crappy drive, and you need to get up pretty early and leave yourself time in case of accidents, etc.  Our schedule did not permit us to stay in Orlando the night before, but if we ever do that trip again, we will. 

[iancal]

On our last Miami cruise we drove down from Daytona Beach.   Changed our N/C car rental drop from Orlando to Miami. 

 

Left in the AM. No issues whatsoever.   Saved us lugging our bags in and out of rental or the bother of getting into a hotel room for a one night stay.

[Cruisesfun65]

We're doing this in reverse. Flying into Miami, staying 1 night, driving to Cape Canaveral, stay 2 nights then cruise. We want less airport time as possible and a stress free cruise.

Repeat after the cruise in reverse order.

[Noxequifans]

On 12/27/2021 at 2:36 PM, skrufy said:

To me, there's nothing like waking up in the warm Florida sunshine and being only 10 to 15 minutes from the port. 

Agree. My attitude is to be as close to the ship as I can the evening before. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

I love Orlando, but I'd drive in the afternoon of the day before, get a great Cuban dinner and be able to relax and not feel rushed the next day. If I lived in Orlando, I might go the morning of, but not as part of my vacation.

[CruiseFanatic223]

We are going on a cruise out of Miami in a few days and live just north of Orlando. We're driving down the day before. Its about a 4 hour drive from our house, but it just makes it less stressful and allows us to sleep in a bit more on the morning of the cruise.

[cunnorl]

      Another vote from a local. Drive down the day before, much less stressful.   

     Brightline Train is suppose to be in service late 22 or early 23. That will help. Direct from Orlando airport to Miami

[FlaMariner]

3 hours ago, cunnorl said:

Brightline Train is suppose to be in service late 22 or early 23. That will help. Direct from Orlando airport to Miami

 

We are excited for that train service to start!.....That will be a game changer for us to get from Orlando to South Florida quickly and efficiently for cruises and anything else.

[cherylnj]

Drive down the day before. Before Covid, decided to drive to Miami the day of embarkation and almost missed the ship. A 5 hour drive turned into almost 10 with multiple accidents on the Turnpike. 

[Florida Glamazon]

On 12/31/2021 at 9:52 PM, CruiseFanatic223 said:

We are going on a cruise out of Miami in a few days and live just north of Orlando. We're driving down the day before. Its about a 4 hour drive from our house, but it just makes it less stressful and allows us to sleep in a bit more on the morning of the cruise.

Same here!  We are also concerned that the infamous Miami traffic would rear it's ugly head if we would have driven from 1 hour west of Orlando to Miami cruise port.