We do the same thing when we port out of Miami.

Thank you for your report. Good info.

I drive the turnpike to one of the parking lots a mile from Port Everglades and the parking lot Shuttle drives me right to our ship. $75 for one week to park. The trip is 4 hours and I make it with one tank of Gas. There are rest areas on the turnpike to get gas and food if you need to stop. My wife and I enjoy the drive.

Ditto on Brightline. We were sailing on Princess out of Port Everglades. We got a discount via Princess on Brightline that included free checked baggage from the station in Orlando to our cabin aboard the ship and a free Princess shuttle from train station in Fort Lauderdale to the ship. The trip on the train was very relaxing.

Since then we get disconnected offers via email from Brightline several times a week.

Thank you, PugMom :-)

Getting to old to subject myself to that. Going a day early is rather cheap insurance for an expensive trip.

Same here. We flew from Orlando to Boston on 7/19/24 for a 7/20/24 departure on a 35 day cruise. That was the day of the major software glitch that canceled so many peoples flights. Fortunately for us we flew on Southwest whose flights were not affected. There were quite a few people who were flying in on the day of who never made it and had to cancel. Some were able to join the cruise on the first few stops of the cruise. Some people made the cruise by rebooking their flights but their luggage never showed up. 35 days with no clothes! It was a nightmare for some.

My point of view is you're spending thousands of dollars on a cruise, to take a relaxing break from everyday life. Vacations should start the minute you lock the door of your home and start your journey. Whatever the cost to get to the ship is a fraction of the expense of the overall excursion. There are a number of options, plane, train, drive, drive and stay at a hotel the night before. The target is to come back home rejuvenated and that's not going to happen if you already are stressing the cost before you open your door.

Very true

Going on a cruise this Saturday, so the wife and I will drive to our son's house in West Palm Beach on Friday, spend the night, get up the next morning, drive to Port Everglades and my son gets the use of my BMW for a week. He shows up at the dock the morning we return and picks us up at the door. (I know, it's a special case. But I just had to post it.) :a040: