ever fly into fort lauderdale or daytona beach for Fantasy cruise?

[iambrink]

We are headed back to Port Canaveral for NH April vacation and as with always, flights are very expensive for the dates i am looking to book. I was curious and checked out prices to Fort Lauderdale and the price is almost half! This would really be a stretch and I am not sure i am even considering it, but it got me thinking if there are others with experience of using one of the other airports for their Fantasy cruise. It kind of makes my head spin thinking about the additional planning like transfers and hotels when i know Orlando and that process so well. Does anyone out there have any past experiences to share?

 

[Shanti]

We are headed back to Port Canaveral for NH April vacation and as with always, flights are very expensive for the dates i am looking to book. I was curious and checked out prices to Fort Lauderdale and the price is almost half! This would really be a stretch and I am not sure i am even considering it, but it got me thinking if there are others with experience of using one of the other airports for their Fantasy cruise. It kind of makes my head spin thinking about the additional planning like transfers and hotels when i know Orlando and that process so well. Does anyone out there have any past experiences to share?

Are you aware that Fort Lauderdale is more than a 3-hour drive to Orlando?

 

[bumbershoot]

Daytona is close, but as Shanti mentioned, Fort Lauderdale is a bit of a drive! FLL is totally doable, though; we did a "side to side" set of cruises where we disembarked a Royal cruise in FLL, got a car, and drove up to board Dream in Canaveral. If going into FLL I wouldn't do a transfer; I would just rent a car and drive up the coast.

 

[Sytrace]

You could also look into flying in and out of Sanford airport and getting a rental car
Whether you fly into FLL or Sanford, or even Daytona, you would still want to rent a car for the easiest transport options.

 

[pdizzle27]

I also considered that, but by the time I was actually ready to book, the difference wasn't as much. Here is my 2 cents. It may be a 3 hour drive, but Orlando is a 45 minute drive. Therefore, you're really looking at a 2 hour and 15 minute difference in drive. That's the equivalent of a medium distance drive in Los Angeles rush hour traffic. For the amount I would have saved on 3 tickets, I think it would have been worth it.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Don't forget you'll have to do all that driving on the way home, too. We love our cruises, but are always ready to be home quickly afterwards. Just something to consider. Unless you're thinking of extending your trip? But hotel will cost extra too (when factoring savings ).

 

[Barbydoll8]

I live near Tampa airport and the drive to Canaveral is about 2 1/2 hours. Lots of people fly in there cause it's sometimes cheaper too and then drive. Just another option.

 

[jrabbit]

We did a funky "back to back" cruise with Disney. Sailed out of Miami and returned there on the Wonder, rented a car for 3 days and explored the everglades, and went up the west coast of Florida, then crossed at Tampa, through Orlando to Port Canaveral where we Sailed on the Dream.

another time we sailed out of Miami, we went to WDW after the cruise. That was only about a 3 to 3.5 drive.

I don't think that I would fly into FLL or MIA on the day OF your cruise and drive up. So depending upon the price of a hotel room, and the price of the flights, your savings would vary. But the drive is not a bad one up the east coast between FLL/MIA and Port Canaveral.

 

[iambrink]

Unfortunately i do realize that FFL is a 3 hour drive...i am fairly certain i don't want to do that, but just looking at options...I may consider TPA...i priced that out as well and it was still cheaper than MCO. I just the idea of passing right by Orlando to go to Tampa. when you factor in all the things many of you have mentioned, i really find it hard to consider anything but MCO. I just don't want to pay these premium prices. I will keep looking at prices and pull the trigger soon. I appreciate everyone's in put...gives me more to think about!

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

Jacksonville is another option to price. We booked it one time then were able to change to a closer airport on Southwest.

 

[Bree]

I live 25 minutes north of FLL. We are taking a cruise out of PC in March and will be driving up the night before and staying in a hotel. Even being only a 2.5-3 hour drive away from port still makes me nervous about driving there the same day as the ship sails.