Astoria: Renting a car and heading south for some scenery. In port 9am to 6pm.

Is this a crazy idea? Is there enough time? Looking into stopping at Cape Meares Lighthouse, Haystack Rock, Seaside and Cannon Beach. Has anyone done this? What was your route and time table. Scared to miss the ship. How long should I allow for picking up the car and to dropping it off. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Had this all planned out, ship never stopped there as seas were too rough in late September. Depends how far you want to go

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Most importantly - book nothing unless it's refundable. Astoria is a port that is missed due to weather more often than most, and your sailing is late enough to be at risk of large storms causing horrible seas at the Columbia Bar that a cruise vessel just isn't going to risk.

But assuming you dock on time, with no customs/immigration concerns you can expect to be off the ship fairly quickly. Even if you weren't in the car and off until 10am, you have more than ample time to do all that you suggested (except possibly Cape Meares). We've driven to and around the area a few times from Portland, and off-season like your visit will mean very little other traffic - whereas peak summer on a nice sunny weekend there can be nose-to-tail cars cruising along below the speed limit for miles at a time.

You can probably assume that Google's estimated drive time will be reasonable - but you need to factor in your own ability to drive on curvy, relatively narrow roads as well as the occasional 'get stuck behind farm machinery/RV/truck/numpties and not safe to overtake them for a mile or three' periods. While in theory it should only take 2 hours to the lighthouse from the pier, you need to factor in your planned stops, lunch, and unplanned 'look at that view quick pull into the next scenic viewpoint!!!' stops.

Even if you're rational enough to not be worried about flat tires/mechanical issues - the very low risk stuff - I'd suggest aiming for a return time of no later than 4pm so that you have an hour in case of issues plus 30mins to drop car and get back to ship by all-aboard time. Actually I'd suggest aiming for 3pm and then if all goes to plan go visit the excellent Maritime Museum, Astoria Column etc. - while if the proverbial brown stuff hits the fan you'll have factored in enough padding to handle it.

Personally I'd skip the loop around Tillamook and back up to Cape Meares - instead maybe spend a little extra time looking for resident Gray Whales along the coast which hang around until the December southward migration. Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach is on the '24 best spots' list that is staffed with volunteers to count migrating whales, and a little further south is another of these stations just off 101 before Neahkahnie beach. From here to Cape Meares adds a whole hour as the road has to loop inland around Tillamook bay - maybe loop around at Garibaldi and back up via Barnesdale if you don't want to be repeating the entire coastal drive, this would be 3 hours total drive time and nice amount to allow for lunch and a couple of hours sightseeing.

I'd head south right away and do the stops on the way back - so that your Cannon Beach stop will be early afternoon, ideal for lunch at Mo's Chowder. This way you'll have a very good idea how your schedule is holding when you stop in Seaside (which IMO is only useful for touristy knickknack shopping). Maybe you'll have time to hit Fort Clatsop on the way back.

If Cape Meares is a Must Do for you (and it is a pretty spectacular setting even if the lighthouse itself isn't much to look at now) you should still have plenty of time, but you're looking at over 4 hours driving before any stops are factored in so there's less padding. Good whalewatching spot too - but don't hang around too long!

Renting a car and driving south will let you experience the beauty of the Oregon coast. We visit this area frequently during the year and last month drove from Astoria south to Cannon Beach just for the views of the sea stacks (ie, Haystack Rock) and surf.

An easy day would be to plan a leisurely drive south as far as Cannon Beach, with stops at Seaside and the various ocean viewpoint parks along the way. You'll be able to see sea lions, seals, water birds, and perhaps whales from the viewpoints. Take your time and enjoy the views.

Seaside is a fun resort type small coastal town with a great boardwalk along the beach. There's a monument to Lewis and Clark who used the area as a source for salt. Stop and buy some saltwater taffy - Seaside is known for it.

From Seaside, drive south to Ecola State Park. There's an entrance fee, but is well worth the $ and short drive through the trees into the park.

http://www.cannon-beach.net/recreation/cbecola.html

Next stop is Cannon Beach, a smaller town than Seaside, but a favorite for locals. Park near Haystack Rock and explore the tidepools and views of the headlands and sea stack rocks. If you enjoy art galleries and interesting small bistro style cafes, Cannon Beach is good for a stroll.

Next, drive a bit further south (about 1 mile) to Arcadia Beach. It's a state recreation site, with a usually uncrowded parking lot and easy short trail down to one of the best walking beaches along this area of the coast. You'll see more rocks and perhaps a local doing some fishing - fun to watch the saltwater surfcasting. We've spotted whales in this area, so good luck with the binoculars.

If your day is sunny, this itinerary is lovely and the scenery spectacular. If your day is rainy, you will still have the amazing roadside viewpoints, the experience of the coast, and two good small towns with covered walkways for a bit of a stroll.

http://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=135

We did not really plan out our journey in too much detail in advance. We were a diverse multi-generational group of family with quite varied interests and really enjoyed the day out.

While I chose to walk over to the rental agency, I did take the shuttle from Enterprise back to the ship. While others had headed out much earlier than us and it sounded like they tried to fit in a bit too much for the short time, we had an excellent day stopping in Seaside briefly and even enjoying a quick shopping stop at the Seaside outlets where they had a Helly Hansen outlet that was unique for us.

We really enjoyed Cannon Beach where we stopped for about an hour before heading over to their Police Department to pick up a Handicapped Accessible beach pass for our rental Jeep. We had no idea, but found that those holding a valid HA parking permit were able to get a pass to drive right out onto the beach for access to the Haystack Rock. This allowed for a great photo opportunity prior to heading back toward Astoria. (you did need to sign a series of waivers to gain the pass access)

I would certainly do a similar excursion the next time I am in the region.