gorgotron

11 hours ago, slidergirl said:

 Honestly, there isn't anything around Port Canaveral worth killing 2 hours of time.  You could walk to Rusty's for a late breakfast/early lunch.  I think you could walk to the Exploration Tower and look at the exhibits (one about my friend's father's cruise line is there), go to the top and look at your ship in the harbor.   Check out the launch dates for various rockets at Cape Canaveral - if one is your departure day and the launch time works, you can watch it from the area.  OR, take an Uber across the road to Southern Charm for late breakfast/early lunch.  OR, take an Uber to the Publix down the road and load up on stuff you would want on the cruise.  

 

But, me - I'd be reading my Kindle and listening to music with my noise-cancelling headphone.  2 hours isn't that much time.

Sounds about right

If OP wants, could uber to a salon and get pampered before the cruise, go to the mall and stroll around for a bit (it's always pretty dead so it's nice and peaceful), maybe catch a movie. Jetty park is fun but it's out in the sun. Cannot think of much else, hope you have a good cruise nontheless!

I was also confused -- Thanks for clearing that up! :)

My mistake, I meant to quote you before. I need some more :hot-beverage: or a :beer-mug: if amalia's buying!

Happy cruising all!

Never. Park. Off. Site. Miami.

 

Learn it. Live it.

So very true, Miami has some really rough areas. And it sucks because parking at the Port is so expensive. Hotel with shuttles is a much better deal.

Anyone have experience with http://www.safecruiseparking.com ? Interesting name but not sure how I feel about it yet :confused:

And who might we be talking about?

Go Port Canaveral

Wow, that fog is no joke. Hope it starts clearing out soon

They rock, and it looks like they've improved a lot since I first used them. Check out there reviews on tripadvisor, google, and facebook. They had some bumps around this time last year but they've made some changes and the reviews show that. Best of luck!

The Rustic Inn - Ft.L

 

 

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I second this, it's one of our fave's when we come into ft lauderdale.

If you're by Las Olas there is a ton of fantastic dining choices. Yolo, Louie Bossi, American Social, anything you could be craving

Oasis and Epic both dock at terminal 1, epic took about 2 hours to self debark and Oasis was roughly 1 hour. Best of luck.

https://www.goportcanaveral.com/

They sell packages with all that included for a great price and plenty of hotels to choose from. Give them a call they can help set up multiple rooms and everything.

And if you just need transportation from MCO to the port it's only $14.50 per person

Orlando is prob best for 3 days prior. It is a massive city with so much to explore and enjoy. Cocoa Beach and Cape area also but most of it can be done in a day or two. If you're looking for a deal check out https://www.goportcanaveral.com/ they can customize their packages which all include cruise transportation, for example I stay at the Embassy suites and got return use for after the cruise. You can call and ask for more nights, get a quote to price compare and see what works best for you. They've got quite a list of Orlando hotels.

Family did one such a long time ago and also have been on plenty of cruises, especially summer cruises usually on Carnival where there was a quinceanera's. It's a ton of fun, the night clubs are always packed with the parents/adult family members and the teen clubs get full too. Cruises are a great way to celebrate

Playalinda is about a 4 miles stretch of beach with 11 parking lots that have beach access and rest room facilities in the parking lots. The most northern parking lot is where the nature lovers hang out. I usually stick with Lots 1, 2, and 3 and have not seen any nudists because the Park Patrol usually comes by every so often and will issue citations because it isn't really allowed. make sure you bring everything you will need because there are no vendors out there. Here's a link with additional information.

 

If you look South from the beach, you will see part of the launch facilities of the Kennedy Space Center. The attached photo was taken from the beach access to Lot 3. Depending when in November you visit, SpaceX might be launching the SpaceX Falcon Heavy. If so, the beach will be packed. Here's a link to the launch list.

 

Stop at the Visitor Center to pick up a map of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and ask the rangers what's happening that day. They will give you idea of the migratory birds sighted along Black Point Wildlife Drive or Biolab Road and if you will see manatee at Haulover Canal.

 

Launch Photo of United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 Aug 18, 2017

 

Wow, fantastic photo and information. We have discussed stopping by here also but really have been turned off by the thought of the nude beach. That looks great and will have to plan to check it out soon

Rated usually go up around this time of year. Best time to get parking in any of these ports is towards the end of springtime. https://www.parkbytheports.com/cruise-parking/index.html is still at $5.99 per day https://www.cruisefriendly.com/cruise-parking/port-everglades-cruise-parking shows a few other companies but it looks like some of the prices are a bit outdated

The Hilton in Cocoa Beach is beautiful. Right up there with the best hotels in the port. DW and I just got back from a weekend trip on Majesty of the Seas, we booked a package with Go Port Canaveral at Hilton. https://www.goportcanaveral.com/fly-snooze-cruise/orlando-airport/hilton-cocoa-beach/ Having used them 3 times before, the service just gets better everytime. The price includes everyone in your party, with all transportation from airport to Hilton, a night at Hilton, shuttle to cruise the next morning and shuttle back to airport after the cruise :D

We ate at Florida Fresh Grill which was a quick walk away, but the options for food in the area are vast. Grill's is delicious, Squidlips, Fishlips, Rock the Guac, so much.

The Pier isn't far either, with even more restaurants and live music. The Hilton is in a great location for all the attractions, I HIGHLY recommend it.

I agree! I also agree with the earlier poster that said not to miss Palm Beach. The drive on A1A between Palm Beach and Hillsboro Inlet is very nice - lots of massive (I originally typed 'big' but that doesn't do most of them justice including one on the Hillsboro Mile that was the most expensive home for sale in the USA at a time - for $175,000,000!) homes, lots of ocean views in Palm Beach County including public beaches and parks, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center and turtle rescue in Boca Raton (free, $5 donation requested), etc. If you get as far south as the Hillsboro Inlet you might as well stay on A1A since its only another 30 minutes to Fort Lauderdale and en route you'll pass the new, and very much improved, central beach and pier (that's in the process of being replaced beginning next year) area in Pompano Beach and the quaint town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea with nice restaurants, beach and pier.

Gumbo limbo is a must if you've got kids! last I heard is that they renovated the area recently. It's been a couple years since I've been able to go but it's always been a great stop.

Thanks for that info. Do you know of any drive/snooze/park/cruise packages that are actually in Port Canaveral. Would prefer not to stay in Orlando. Will be here in October.

 

Macy

They've got a good amount of hotels in Cocoa Beach. All their snooze park cruise packages are here https://www.goportcanaveral.com/snooze-park-cruise just plug in your dates and amount of people

https://www.goportcanaveral.com/snooze-park-cruise/hilton-cocoa-beach/ is a great one. It looks like they have more Port Canaveral inventory on Fly Snooze Cruise, like at Homewood Suites. Also, Titusville isn't too far away and they've got a nice bit of hotels in that area as well. In any case, give them a call they have always been very helpful over the phone for me.

S Ocean Drive has a ton of public parking and tons of great food options and bars. You got Sardelli for italian, Sugar Reef grill for some seafood/caribbean cuisine, ^^ Taco shack for some great mexican food, GG's waterfront bar. Just a ton of great options in that area.

When are ya heading there and how many people?

https://www.goportcanaveral.com/snooze-park-cruise/hyatt-place-orlando-airport/2-People/1 - $122 for 2 people with complimentary Park n Cruise parking

Or

https://www.goportcanaveral.com/snooze-park-cruise/hampton-inn-orlando-airport-gateway-village/2-People/1 $130 for the same.

Both nice, I did the hyatt place before and I always enjoy it. Hampton Inn was just added to their list, will probably go with them later this year

We've used them a few times with a hotel stay too. The location is perfect, the customer service is great and the free valet (i dont know if they still offer this) was amazing too

Magnets, fav is a crab from Nassau. Each leg has another magnet so we put it on the front door to hold all sorts of notes in the morning :)

Flip Flops. I wear them a couple times on vacation. I should decorate the wall with all of them as they show the country visited.

Fantastic thread, I have not had too many issues. Hopefully I havn't been the issue! One time we were under the kids club on the Oasis but by the time we were in bed the club had already been closed for hours.

Is there a complete list of all the rooms per ship to avoid?

We're planning 10/10:30.

 

 

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Sailed recently with Epic, honestly the worst embarking and disembarking I've ever dealt with. I believe going earlier would be the better bet. We arrive at 12:15 and didn't get on the boat until about 3pm

Had a very similar experience as OP. Food was great, workers were nice, enjoyed the ship but it was lacking some features/entertainment. Only 3 shows, 1 costs money, the other just being a dance, and lastly the third was a drag show, overall disappointed. Kids enjoyed it, especially the slides, but there were only like 2 small pools to get into. Childcare hours are similar to Royal Caribbeans, but they still were inconvenient hours.

Don't let my experience put a damper on your vacation, went with wife a DS3 and DD8, everyones experience is different. Hope you have better luck and a wonderful trip!

Just went on the Norwegian Epic last month, and Port Canaveral is a different beast of a port. Takes about an hour drive from MCO and a lot more with traffic. Ever since the 2 megaships came in the traffic has been insane, it took between 2-3 hours just to board.

I highly suggest coming in a day early, way too much money spent for the vacation already to risk the chance of missing the boat because of a flight delay or traffic. We booked a fly snooze cruise with Go Port Canaveral, third time using them, and we won't sail from that port without their services. Theyve also got standalone transportation deals too, look them up! Best of luck

Miami Marriot or the Hilton, can get a great price depending on the day

Or for cheaper but also good quality, convenient, and good price, Springhill Suites.

I first got to cruise when I was about 11 years old, way back on navigator of the seas. I don't think their is a bad choice of cruise in Port Canaveral to be honest.

You've got Disney (expensive, but wonderful for any kid)

Carnival which has awesome pools, slides, and a ton of other kids

Royal Caribbean which is great for families but not as many kids? Has ice skating rink and great shows

Norwegian has some very cool slides, bowling alleys, game rooms, etc. Main downfall is smaller rooms compared to the rest:(