driving over the day of or day before?

[ca859093]

We live on the west coast of Florida Tampa- St Pete. My question is should we come over the morning of the cruise, or come over the day before? Anyone from over here have this experience?
Our cruise is in November and there are 6 of us traveling.
Any advice?
Thanks

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

you can leave out the morning of the cruise since you are so close or you always could leave you on the day before get a hotel room close to the port and relax for the day and on cruise day make the 3-4 mile run to the port. looks like your cruise is close to ours. hope this helps

 

[goofygal1975]

I live in the St. Pete area. I"ve never cruised Disney (yet), but have cruised out of that port. A group of us(all adults) drove up the morning of(9/01). We had to pick up people in Tampa also. We did make it in plenty of time, but I was driving and was stressed since I'd never made that drive before. We took I-4 and got off at our normal exit to get to Disney (right after the power pole Mickey Ears!) and took the Port exit. It was at least another hour from that exit to get to the port.

When we(my ds and I) cruise on the Wonder next year I hope to stay at Disney the night or two before, then only have a 40 minute drive to the port. If we end up not doing Disney, we will hopefully drive up the night before and stay real close. That way I won't have to deal with the stress of the I-4 traffic/construction!!

Either way will work. Hope this helps!!

 

[ca859093]

Originally posted by goofygal1975
That way I won't have to deal with the stress of the I-4 traffic/construction!!

:

That was my concern, was the I-4 traffic, I don't want to be caught in it. What time of morning did you leave?
Thanks for the advice.

 

[tstobb]

We drove up the day of our cruise in February from Fort Myers and when we go in July, we're driving up the night before. I4 was actually the easy part, even with the construction - it was 75 that was a mess. What should have been a 4 hour drive turned into over 6 so it took the better part of the 1st day (and a bunch of refills of my beer mug ) to get relaxed.

 

[ivanova]

if you can afford it, I recommend driving over the night before and staying in a hotel near the port where you can relax.

 

[seastar]

We just got back from the May 23 Wonder. We live in St Pete and we drove over the night before. We stayed at the Radisson for $79 and we parked in their lot so we saved the $40 it would have cost us to park at the port. We had a reservation for the first shuttle at 10:30. It was all very quick and organized.

The morning of the cruise was very relaxing. We packed a small bag with all the items we would need at the hotel so we would not have to bring in all our luggage.

If possible, I would recommend you stay over the night before as this is a great way to start your vacation.

 

[kcashner]

We drive a lot farther....but we always come in the day before. I use Priceline to get a cheapie hotel room (usually under $35) for the night, and have no worries about missing the boat. 2 port area hotels offer a free parking/free shuttle deal with an overnight stay--the Radisson and Quality Suites (you leave your car in the Radisson lot either way). Parking at the port is $10 per day. However, the port authority lot is fenced and monitored, while the Radisson is an open (less secure) lot.

Technically, Priceline rooms are for 2 people....however, most hotels are "children free" and have no problem with kids in the room. I always call ahead and make sure we have a room with 2 beds (Priceline can give you a king room).

I know you're close....but car trouble, bad traffic, etc. can still happen.

 

[goofygal1975]

Originally posted by ca859093
That was my concern, was the I-4 traffic, I don't want to be caught in it. What time of morning did you leave?
Thanks for the advice.

I had to pick up two people in Clearwater, I think we left clearwater around 9-930. Then in tampa we had a bit of a delay with someone packing still, So i think we were on the road by 10-1030am.

If I were to drive up the same day this trip, I'd leave by 830 or 9am. It should take about 2 1/2 - 3 hrs to drive(this includes the growing traffic on I-4!)

I really hope to stay over the night before, though, just so I don't have to worry about anything!!

 

[SQUIGGLE]

We are just 1 hr 38 min south on I-95; but we drive up the day before. Don't want to take a chance on I-95 being closed; then trying to find an alternate.
I also agree with the above once you are there you can relax a bit.

 

[ca859093]

Thanks for the responses. I guess we will go up the night before. I am just to worried about the commute. I think we would get there in time. But you really can't control I-4
So off now to find an inexpensive hotel.