Am I crazy, off the ship in Tampa, board a different cruise in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale?

[LB_NJ]

We have a cruise out of Tampa in January and we are thinking of going on another cruise the day we get back.  However, the cruises we are thinking of doing are out of either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.  We will have our own car parked at the Tampa cruise port so we would just get off the boat and drive.

 

Is this crazy?

[FOPMan]

It’s about a 4.5 hour drive in light traffic.

 

it might be a little faster to fly, if you only have carryons, have TSAPre or Clear, and have a good airport parking solution.

 

Have fun!

[rkacruiser]

As long as you get as early of a start off your ship and from Tampa as possible, I think it is possible to do.  Traffic concerns could be an issue, but as long as you are at your pier in  Miami or Fort Lauderdale at least 90 minutes before sailing time, you probably would be OK.  

 

Personally, I would try to book a cruise from Miami or Fort Lauderdale that sails the day following your arrival back into Tampa.  No need to rush to get off your ship in Tampa, have an overnight in one of the port cities with a pleasant dinner, and provide a bit of extra time in case traffic is an issue and/or you have car trouble.  

[Corby114]

It's an easy four to five hour ride from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale or Miami. If the ship docks at 6:00AM and you carry off your luggage at 7:00AM you should make it. One accident on Interstate 75 and you may watch the ship in South Florida sail without you. Is there any possibility of leaving the first cruise on Saturday in Tampa and hopping on the next sailing on Sunday from South Florida.

[LB_NJ]

I can't seem to find a cruise that leaves the day after we get back.  It sounds like south Florida is a bit iffy.  Would Port Canaveral be realistic or still iffy?

[CruiserBruce]

Almost exact same question just down the board:

 

 

[FOPMan]

It’s about a 3 hour drive across the state, so a bit shorter. There can be traffic from Tampa to Orlando. If you go onto  817 by Disney and take the toll road to the airport (and onward to  Canaveral, you shouldn’t see a whole lot of traffic.

[LB_NJ]

Thanks for the input.  I think we will just keep the one cruise we have booked.  Maybee spend 2 nights in Savanah on the way back.

[Corby114]

Tampa to Port Canaveral is a more realistic scenario. The three hour ride adds a cushion in case of bad weather, a brush fire or a traffic accident. Try to be one of the passengers that disembarks early to add extra time on your ride from Tampa to Port Canaveral.

[bajathree]

Getting off a ship in Tampa and trying to catch a same day sailing out of Miami or FLL is not something I would suggest. Port Canaveral is doable as long as you can debark the ship in Tampa early. Only caveat may be a delayed arrival into port of Tampa due to fog which during Jan is always a possibility.

Edited August 14, 2022 by bajathree

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

I can't seem to find a cruise that leaves the day after we get back

 

On what day does your Tampa cruise return?  If a Saturday, there will be many cruises out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale on Sunday.  If a Sunday, there might be some short cruises on Monday out of either port as well as Port Canaveral.  

[hrhdhd]

22 hours ago, FOPMan said:

It’s about a 3 hour drive across the state, so a bit shorter. There can be traffic from Tampa to Orlando. If you go onto  817 by Disney and take the toll road to the airport (and onward to  Canaveral, you shouldn’t see a whole lot of traffic.

Just a note: it's SR-417, not SR-817. 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Port Canaveral would be very easy to do same day.

[LuckyStar]

On 8/13/2022 at 12:42 PM, LB_NJ said:

We have a cruise out of Tampa in January and we are thinking of going on another cruise the day we get back.  However, the cruises we are thinking of doing are out of either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.  We will have our own car parked at the Tampa cruise port so we would just get off the boat and drive.

 

Is this crazy?

I think it sounds fun.  It will be a trip to get over to the new port but you should be fine on time. 

[mnamor]

We've cruised out of Tampa a few times.  On one occasion, the fog was so bad that we could not enter the harbor and actually had lunch on the ship.  Quite a few people missed their flights.  Just something to consider.