For those who drive south to Port Canaveral

[100AcreWood]

A friend recently booked her first cruise (DCL). They are planning to drive to Savannah and stay to split up the trip (we are in NC). I have never thought about doing this for fear of getting into a traffic jam and missing the cruise. What do you do? Drive all the way or take a break 1/2 way there?

 

[pyramid2000]

I drive from NJ and break up the trip, but we still get to the port a day early. One time we did drive to Georgia the day before departure and went from Georgia straight to the ship, but we stopped maybe 10 minutes outside of Florida so we only had a couple of hours in the morning. How long is your total trip?

 

[CBadger]

We drive east from Texas and it is about 13 hours. We drive 8 hours the first day and 5 the second day. We woke up early on embarkation day and go there around 12 which was plenty of time in case of trouble on the roads.

 

[haj697]

We live just outside of Charlotte, almost to the SC state line. We always drive the majority of the way the day before. We've stayed anywhere from Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach and Titusville.

 

[Woodmnky]

We drive from NC as well. I am not comfortable driving at all on the day of the cruise as I am too worried about something happening. We usually leave after DH gets off work on Thursday. Stop in Savannah (really Port Wentworth or Pooler at a hotel right off of I95) and then drive the rest of the way on Friday if we are sailing on Saturday.

On our last couple of WDW visits we have driven it straight through. I am too chicken to chance having to drive 10 hours the day before a cruise however.

 

[jmomm]

We are traveling from NC as well- we will drive it the day before, and stay in a hotel that night.

 

[WhenUWishUponA5tar]

Jmomm we are driving from NC aas well the day before the cruise. What part of NC are you in? We sre in the Lumberton area just north of the SC border. And when is your cruise?

 

[zoom8942]

our 1/2 way paoint is Columbia, SC. We stop for the night(8 hours) and drive the rest of the way the day prior to the cruise and stay in Cocoa beach. Not taking the chance. You never know when you may have car trouble or bad traffic I am NOT missing that boat!!!!!!

 

[ilovetexas]

I'll drive up to about 2.5 hours the day of a cruise but no more. The ONE time I did that, we almost missed the ship. If it hadn't been delayed due to weather, we would have been driving back to GA in a very bad mood.

Savannah is outside of my comfort zone if cruising out of Port Canaveral.

 

[MouseMomx2]

We usually drive straight through from MA to FL. We leave super early in the morning and take turns driving. On some trips we stop in southern NC, but usually we just keep going.

 

[momof2n2]

We drove from evening-to-evening from NY. Have accommodations in FL overnight prior to cruise.

 

[100AcreWood]

Last October we drove 9 hours (10 with breaks) all day the day before the cruise and stayed at the country inn and suites at cape canaveral. I am also nervous about missing the boat if we split up the trip. It sounds like I'm not paranoid and we should stick with our same routine this October.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[WallDisney]

We have driven to Port Canaveral twice from NC and split the drive. We drove to St. Augustine, six hours from our home in NC. The drive from St. augustine is only about two hours to Port Canaveral. This has worked really well for us because we feel rested and don't have a long drive the morning of the cruise.

 

[lbgraves]

We live 11 hours away in NC also. The kids always traveled better when we left around noon [because they aren't counted absent if they are taken out of school after 11:30] and drive 7-8 hours. We stay around the GA border and get up early the next morning to continue. We always go to WDW before the cruise for a few days so we head to DTD the first day and spend the afternoon there, then after dinner watch Wishes from somewhere outside the park.

 

[lealea42]

I am driving from NC (Fuquay Varina) & we're planning on leaving Friday when I get off (gotta get peoples payroll done), stopping in the Savannah area that night, driving to Titusville Saturday & spending the night as our cruise sets sail that Sunday. Any suggestions for a good, clean hotel in the Savannah area?

 

[RHSTigerMom]

I am driving from NC (Fuquay Varina) & we're planning on leaving Friday when I get off (gotta get people's payrolls done), stopping in the Savannah area that night, driving to Titusville Saturday & spending the night as our cruise sets sail that Sunday. Any suggestions for a good, clean hotel invite Savannah area?

There's a nice Holiday Inn Express right on the river, Bay Street, I think. Lots of good restaurants within walking distance.

 

[karmacats]

A friend recently booked her first cruise (DCL). They are planning to drive to Savannah and stay to split up the trip (we are in NC). I have never thought about doing this for fear of getting into a traffic jam and missing the cruise. What do you do? Drive all the way or take a break 1/2 way there?

We usually drive straight through from the DC area. It's about a 14-hour trip (12 hrs of actual driving, plus a couple stops for meals and gas).

On the rare occasions we do stop partway, we try to stay at the Comfort Suites off of Exit 3 (on route 95) in GA. It's only a couple miles from the GA/FL state line - I think it's another 3 hrs or so to the cruise port (or to WDW, if you take 95 to 4). I am normally a complete hotel snob, but this particular Comfort Suites is nice enough that I'm happy to stay there for a night.

Personally, I'd be worried about making it to Port Canaveral from Savannah. One accident on 95 and you've missed your cruise. If they do it, make sure they get trip insurance!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I am driving from NC (Fuquay Varina) & we're planning on leaving Friday when I get off (gotta get peoples payroll done), stopping in the Savannah area that night, driving to Titusville Saturday & spending the night as our cruise sets sail that Sunday. Any suggestions for a good, clean hotel in the Savannah area?

Hello Fuquay!! We are in Apex, right around the corner.

Only one of our 4 DCL cruises went out of PC, (although 2 ENDED at PC) and honestly, I can't even remember WHERE we spent the night before. Since I am originally from Orlando we do the drive there frequently (we are heading down on Friday, actually). The halfway point is Savannah and when I drive by myself I always stop there. There are tons of hotels at the airport exit. I would not recommend going all the way into Savannah as it takes more time and is more expensive IMHO.

But, to the OP, I would drive farther than Savannah the day before a cruise. I would want to be closer to PC not only to avoid a potential cruise-killing traffic jam, but also to be able to get on the ship sooner. At the very least I would want to stay just south of JAX city center so you don't have to drive through downtown JAX in the morning. There are lots of hotels off of I95 and Baymeadows.

But if you can push it a little further another good stopping point is Daytona or Ormond beach area. Very short drive from there to PC and lots of hotels off 95, especially near I-4. Just a short drive in the morning to PC. Be warned, Daytona can be a little scuzzy, IMHO. Again, this comes from growing up in Orlando -- Daytona was the beach we went to when I was older, in college and could drink. PC was family vacations, more family friendly. Ormond beach is a nicer suburb just north of Daytona.

There are a lot of threads on here about spending the night and parking at a park and cruise hotel in PC to save on parking at the port. I can't be sure but I think you can save a little on a hotel outside of PC, then spend the money to park at port. I believe the local hotels in PC jack up the price to include parking the night before cruises. We did park at the port and I was glad we could just get off and go, vs. more messing with transfers and luggage, etc.

BTW, word of warning: I do recall getting off the ship, in my car and driving back up to NC...And we stopped for lunch somewhere along the way and my kids were like. "I'll have the mac'n'cheese and the chicken nuggets" and I was like, "We aren't on the cruise anymore kids, you have to choose ONE entree because its not free anymore and Mommy ain't paying for TWO,". ;-)

 

[NC_Tink]

Another North Carolinian here -- Holly Springs. Hello Fuquay and Apex neighbors!

We typically drive straight through if we manage to leave home by or before 9am -- typically into Cape Canaveral (or Orlando) area for a late dinner. But, I have teens who can handle sitting in the car all day When they were younger, and we had to stop more often for potty breaks, we split the ride into two days -- usually doing the longer drive on the 1st day and only leaving a two - three hour drive on day 2.

 

[ptcbass]

I am driving from NC (Fuquay Varina) & we're planning on leaving Friday when I get off (gotta get peoples payroll done), stopping in the Savannah area that night, driving to Titusville Saturday & spending the night as our cruise sets sail that Sunday. Any suggestions for a good, clean hotel in the Savannah area?

The Pooler exit is also the exit for the airport and shopping so it is more expensive and busy. If you don't want to drive to Brunswick I would recommend staying at the Port Wentworth exit. A lot less trafficand better hotel prices. Also if you like southern food Sweet Tea Grill behind the truck stop is really good. Just a word of caution (this probably goes for everywhere now days), make sure you don't leave any valuables in your car. I wouldn't want to risk your ID or anything else valuable getting stolen. I live in Savannah and car break in's are very common.

I would recommend driving futher if you can though. I-95 is at a stand still due to wrecks all the time. I would hate for something to happen and you miss your ship.


Shout out to all of you in NC!! I used to live in Asheville and have family in Sampson county too.