Sept Sailing- Drive or Fly?

[dreamer17555]

So I have a quick 4 night booked on DCL out of FLL in Mid Sept. We are traveling from NC. Driving is 11.5 hours (but closer to 13 hours with brief stops). We could also fly (nearest airport is 90 mins away) but I am wondering considering it is prime hurricane season would you fly or drive?

Driving is a bit exhausting but does give a lot more flexibility incase we need to head down early due to weather.

We would fly in the day before but there is only one non stop and it leaves in the afternoon so if something happens it would be very late drive to still make it. Also due to luggage cost the airline we would book is Southwest.

Cost isn't the only factor but driving is obviously cheaper but again that is a long drive and I am the only driver.

What would you do?

 

[bbn1122]

My family has driven to PC many times from NJ. This is always a two day trip.

In fact DH and me are planning to drive this Feb 25 to Fort Lauderale port.

My husband has a respiratory issue which makes walking with oxygen a challenge these days. So, getting thru the airport and the hassle of on and off the plane etc., is not appealing. He loves to drive and that does not cause any discomfort.

So, we will do like we did in 2022 to PC, we will make it a 2 day trip down and stop within an hour or two from the port the night before.

Now we have two drivers so it makes it much easier.

I too like the flexibilty of driving. So, I would drive. I like driving and have driven 11 straight hours just recently.
But, of course its your call. My 3 Cents!!

 

[RedHead0186]

What sailing are you on? We're on the Sept 16 4-night Magic cruise out of FLL.

We are flying (from the midwest). We're flying Southwest so have the flexibility to change our flights if we need to head down a little early (and already planning to get there two days in advance).

 

[Mommb]

I have never driven to Florida from North Carolina, so I don't know the effects of bad weather, but I'm guessing that if there is a storm that is bad enough to cancel airline flights, it will be bad enough that you don't want to drive through it either.

When a storm is predicted to be bad enough to affect flights, airlines will typically allow passengers to change their flight with no penalty. If you're flying Southwest, you can change your flight with no penalty anyhow. A flight that is has stops would still take less time than driving, so if you had to make a change, you could still arrive in time for the cruise. However, if you can't get a flight into Florida at all, changing the flight won't help.

My other concern with doing a long drive during hurricane season is that if the cruise is cancelled or changed, you won't know until you are already en route. When I had a Disney cruise cancelled in October 2016, we got the cancellation notice in late afternoon 2 days before the cruise. On the other hand, if your cruise leaves as scheduled but is extended due to a storm (which has happened), having a car by the port will be easier than changing an airline flight.

Most likely, you won't be affected by a hurricane. But you do need to consider what you would rather do if you are -- rebook flights or drive around a storm.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

That is a hard call. Around 11-12 hours is the kind of drive time where I would rather have a flight, especially if it's a direct flight. I do prefer the convenience and flexibility of having a car though ... not just during hurricane season, but anytime. But then if you're the only driver that is a long way. If you can split the drive over 2 days, I would probably lean toward that. If not, I would probably lean toward flying.

 

[Clarkson U]

Drive - spend the night in St Augustine and see some sights and finish the short drive the next morning.

 

[CamColt]

We have driven MA to WDW or Pt Canaveral (even once to Miami) quite a few times. We recently did MA to Ft Lauderdale straight through. Given those drives my opinion may be skewed but with the advantages to driving, if I could do it in 13 hours I would rarely fly.

 

[tidefan]

So, just got back from a stay at WDW and a quick 4-night Virgin Voyages cruise out of Miami. Did the 13+ hour drive back home to Alabama. Two days later, we decided to fly from ATL to FLL for our August Disney Magic sailing. Even though ATL is a 3 hour drive, it sure beats 13-14 hours each way...

(NOTE: we would go out of BHM, but it is much cheaper to fly out of ATL)

 

[auntlynne]

My drive to Orlando is about 12 hours, which seems long. But I don’t have a great route that doesn’t involve back roads or the mess that is Atlanta traffic.

I find that flying is so much easier if I am tired, which I often am on disembarkation day when you have to get out of the room by 8. I never get home that same day when driving; it’s just tiring (I drive solo).

I haven’t had the flying issues that others have experienced (where’s the wood to knock on?). And my airport is 20-30 minutes from my house, with family doing the drop-off (so no parking fees). So that’s easy. Always a plane change in ATL and paying Delta fares. But then only 1.5 hours to FL.

I did drive to Tampa for a flight in December. Stopped halfway (didn’t leave until after lunch). Got a good rate at Tampa hotel with included parking for 14 night cruise. And stopped at the same halfway point going home.

…for me, it comes down to a balance of cost (extra hotel, parking at airport and port) and expectation of possibilities (driving fatigue, waiting for flight or drive time to airport; for some, weather disruptions).

Hurricane forecasting is pretty good - we see the formation as it comes across the Atlantic. Within days of your cruise, it seems unlikely that you are unaware of potential weather.

In a car, you have the option to have your pre-cruise hotel stop farther from the port and find a possibly better rate than staying in an expensive port town. As @Clarkson U suggested, something like St Augustine.

I would aim for driving to somewhere within 4 hours of Fort Lauderdale, making it not a single long day of 13 hours driving. You actually may end up going all the way home on the return.

If it were me, I very possibly would drive.

But do you need more than a carry-on for just a 4-night cruise? Is there a closer airport that comes close to airfare cost of SW if you take in cost of extra gas and airport parking? If so, take that into consideration.

If weather wasn’t a consideration, what would you do?

Have you ever driven to PC for a cruise? How was that?