Planning our first long range cruise! Any suggestions or comments?

Start planning with the big picture. How long do you have for the cruise and you've already said it's NY to Miami. Hundreds of places to stop and see, so start selecting what places are tops on your desired list. We normally would cruise only every other or every third day. So, let's say you have 60 days and decide to cruise every second and third day then you have perhaps 25 places you can stop and explore. Narrow it down to 25 along the way. Leave more for next time or the return trip. Make choices in each area. For instance, you might choose between Beaufort, Morehead City and Ocrecoke. Do you choose to only overnight near New Bern to get an extra stop in later? Look at the attractions each stop has to offer. Examine your interests. I am addicted to lighthouses. Perhaps with you it's train museums or could it be Navy. If others with you, select for all interests. For instance, Charleston offers incredible architecture and beautiful gardens. It has great restaurants and antiques and collectibles.

It can be an easy cruise if you don't push it on bad weather days, don't travel every day, and don't make days too long. I also know nothing about your experience. There are times you'll do balancing acts. For instance, you may choose to cruise 12 hours to reach a destination where you want to spend the next three entire days. You've perhaps determined you want to average 6 hours every other day, which is 3 hours per day, but if you achieve that by 12 hours covering 4 days or 3 hours only covering one, then fine. Sometimes 3 hours may be perfect. There's the next town you want to see, but arriving at 10:00 or 11:00 AM will give you all the sightseeing time you need on the same day. You know what you need to average but let your desires lead you to how to spread that average.

A great link for distances is this:

https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/publications/docs/distances.pdf

No site for cost as it varies by boat and what you do and you need to figure out how to determine that yourself. Are you going to use the nicest marina or anchor? Are you going to eat on board or check out a five star restaurant? Are you going to just walk the area or rent a limo and go to the opera? Are you only going to free tourist sites or visiting the most expensive? Are you going to go at your most economic speed (likely about 6 knots) or a bit faster?

You're combining elements of boating and sightseeing, but don't treat this trip like a delivery captain would, which is go as fast as possible and see nothing along the way.

Can't make any recommendations because of the same reasons listed in the 2 previous posts. You could do the trip in 10 days or take a year. I would however, recommend downloading Navionics on your phone or tablet, pay the $49 (I think) subscription and play around with the auto route function and cross reference your daily destinations with the Waterway guide or online searches of the areas. If you set up the Navionics app with your boat's fuel consumption at cruise speed, and put in a realistic average fuel price (think $6ish), it will calculate your fuel costs. That would give you a start with your trip budget. Have fun, enjoy the trip!

The Aquamap app is a great tool for planning. I don’t remember the exact cost but to me it is a bargain. Enjoy your trip.

While not everyone may cruise in this manner, your advice is so welcome. Not my cruising grounds but as one new to cruising this is such a welcome post. Cheers!

Just off the top of my head, if you're planning to run only 5 to 6 hours per day, knowing that you shouldn't go more than displacement speed....well, likely you shouldn't leave the ICW once past Cape May. Heck, at that speed and limited block of time, you'll need a couple of days just to get to Cape May from NY.