The Cost of Getting From Port Canaveral to Seattle

Hello, Billfolders! I am back from my week on the JoCo Cruise. We spent the week on Royal Caribbean’s luxurious Freedom of the Seas (pictured), and I have so much personal-finance-related data to share with you.

Expect multiple posts from me this week on how much I spent, how much I “saved” by “denying myself treats,” and whether I spent more, or less, than I did on last year’s cruise.

But before we get into all of that, let’s take a look at how much money I spent just to get myself from the cruiseport in Port Canaveral to my apartment in Seattle.

I already know I am not going to like this number.

Shuttle, Port Canaveral to Orlando International Airport: $16.50

I paid $33 for a round-trip shuttle to/from Port Canaveral back in January. This was the return half.

Taxi, Orlando International Airport to nearby airport hotel: $14.09

Once I arrived at the airport, I immediately got into a taxi to take me away from the airport so I could spend the afternoon with friends, hanging out by the pool and checking the bajillion emails we’d all received during our week without internet.

Yes, I could have stood uncomfortably in the airport pickup zone, watching busses arrive and breathing diesel fumes, until a complimentary airport shuttle arrived. That would have been the smart financial decision. But if I had waited around for the airport shuttle, I would have ended up in the wrong place; I discovered while in the taxi that we were meeting up at a different hotel than the one I had anticipated.

So maybe this was the right choice after all? Who knows. When you are coming off of a week-long trip where you have eaten more desserts and consumed more dessert-flavored adult beverages than you should, and also slept less than the recommended 7.5 hours advocated by your Fitbit because the Freedom of the Seas arrived in port at, like, six-thirty in the morning, there are no right choices. There are the choices that get you towards the least physical discomfort the fastest.

There are also 21 hours standing between me and my own bed. I am going to spend more money than I care to, just so I can avoid thinking about that.

Lunch with friends at airport hotel: $15.73

As far as airport hotel restaurants go, it was pretty good.

Iced coffee and donut at airport hotel coffee shop: $6.27

At this point there are thirteen hours standing between me and my own bed. Thirteen is an unlucky number that can only be cured with caffeine and sugar.

Shuttle, airport hotel to Orlando International Airport: $0, plus $1 for tip

Spending a day at a hotel was much better than spending the day at the Orlando airport. I was able to go through all of my emails and get a head start on Monday’s work, under the assumption that I will be just as tired on Monday as I am right now, so I might as well power through. (Since I’m writing this on Sunday but most of you are reading it on Monday, assume that I am just as tired. Right now.)

The hotel detour technically only cost me the $14.09 taxi anyway, since I would have still bought lunch and a snack at the airport. Clearly the smart choice here.

Bag check, Orlando International Airport: $25

Yay.

Dinner, Orlando International Airport: $11.73

Because I have to eat, and I also have to buy an enormous bottle of water to take on the plane. I know they give you water for free, but they don’t give you enough of it. (I also regularly spill that little glass of water on myself and/or my seatmate, so I prefer not to have to deal with it.)

Purse snacks, Orlando International Airport: $12.05

Because I’m going to have to eat again in the next seven hours.

Alaska Airlines Flight 19, MCO-SEA: $355.10

I spent $710.20 on a round-trip flight, so this represents the MCO-SEA half.

What do you usually pay for a direct cross-country flight? I always feel like flights are “too expensive,” but this also seems like a reasonable price, considering that I am flying across the country diagonally.

Ride, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to apartment: $0

Two friends who were also on the JoCo Cruise (and on the same Alaska flight) gave me a ride back to my apartment. I arrived home at midnight Seattle time, or 3 a.m. Orlando time. My 21-hour day—and my spending—will be over as soon as I give you the final tally:

Total cost: $457.47

Was it worth it? Am I happy or unhappy with this number? I don’t know. I have lost all sense of what numbers mean, and what it “should” cost to spend the day traveling diagonally across the country, and I am going to sleep. I will leave it to all of you to tell me whether you would have spent your money in the same way.

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