cruise ships return to Port Canaveral

[Jeanne55555]

Hi, I hope someone can give me some advice. My family and I are going on our first cruise on R.C. Freedom of the Seas, May 2-9th. The ship returns @7:00 to Port Canaveral. We are flying Continental. Our original return flight to Newark was at 2:45. Continental just changed the time of our flight (on their own) to 5:15. Now I'm wondering what we are going to do in the Orlando Airport area for ten hours. We already paid for R.C. transfers back to Orlando airport when we get off the ship. If any experienced cruises/travelers can advise me I would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! :confused:

[PattyG12]

Cancel the transfers. Rent a car at the port and go to City Walk at Universal ... We did this in October. We shopped a little, had lunch and looked around a little and leisurly headed over to the Orlando airport. the car rental cost a little less than the transfers and we had our own time to do what we wanted.

[Jeanne55555]

Thank you for the good advice. I was actually thinking of doing just that. But, we do not know our way around Florida at all and my husband probably would be worried that we wouldn't find our way to the airport in time for flight. I was thinking of maybe keeping the transfer as it is and hanging out close to the airport, but I really don't know what' around.

[GORDONCHICK]

There may be a post-crusie excursion that would still get you to Orlando but you'd do something else before being dropped off at the airport.

 

As far as renting a car and finding your way around, the people of Orlando are very helpful when it comes to giving directions because tourism is huge there. You can get step by step directions from the internet after you've determined where to rent the car from. Map out directions to your destination/distraction and then map them from there and keep several copies with you. With a family, this option is definitely the most economical even if you have to pay a drop off fee for the car (when renting in one location but returning the car to another city). And you could have your pick of what you'd like to see or do. Just plan on doubling (or more) the time your mapping instructions say it will take to get to the airport just for comfort.

[silentbob007]

There's not really much to do near the MCO airport ... I've done the 10 hour wait as well (while sick). It was not the most fun thing to do. Renting a car is probably the best option and will probably cost less than the transfers you would be canceling. My suggestion would be to rent a one-way car from someplace in Cocoa Beach like Budget, picking up their free shuttle, and heading off to Universal or Downtown Disney. Even if you give yourselves plenty of time to get to the airport and wait, you should probably get 4-5 hours of time to explore one of these areas. Either do online directions, rent a GPS, or buy a Florida road map (or rip the pages out of a road atlas you might already have).

[NCTribeFan]

Check out the "I Work in Port Canaveral" thread on the Florida Departures board (sub-forum of the East Coast Departures board). I got lots of great info there before I last sailed from Port C.

 

We flew down very early a day before, rented a car from Avis, stayed at the Radisson, dropped the car off the next morning and were shuttled to the port. Did the same coming back. Spent the day visiting the surf shops and just relaxing.

 

When we (finally) got to the airport, there were a couple of our tablemates who had been sitting there for about 12 hours. Had I know they had a late flight, they could've hung out with us and split the cost of the rental car.

 

It was cheaper, even for just 2 people, than the shuttle, and we could do what we wanted, when we wanted.

[Cuizer2]

Hi, I hope someone can give me some advice. My family and I are going on our first cruise on R.C. Freedom of the Seas, May 2-9th. The ship returns @7:00 to Port Canaveral. We are flying Continental. Our original return flight to Newark was at 2:45. Continental just changed the time of our flight (on their own) to 5:15. Now I'm wondering what we are going to do in the Orlando Airport area for ten hours. We already paid for R.C. transfers back to Orlando airport when we get off the ship. If any experienced cruises/travelers can advise me I would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! :confused:

 

Cancel the RC transfer and rent a car. Use the car to store your luggage and go to one of the many attractions in Orlando. When I was there I had a late flight out and I spent the day at Sea World.

[MrsPete]

Cancel the transfers. Rent a car at the port and go to City Walk at Universal ... We did this in October. We shopped a little, had lunch and looked around a little and leisurly headed over to the Orlando airport. the car rental cost a little less than the transfers and we had our own time to do what we wanted.

I think the idea of renting a car is an excellent suggestion.

 

But instead of Universal, I'd suggest that you visit Kennedy Space Center (very near Port Canaveral) or Cocoa Beach (free) or just some little places like Ron Jon Surf Shop and the manatee place in Port Canaveral. A water park like Wet and Wild would be fun.

[PattyG12]

If you don't have your own GPS system, most of the rental places will rent you one. We brought ours from home and used it to get all around Orlando until we were ready to go to the airport.

[Bamagal in FL]

Hi, I hope someone can give me some advice. My family and I are going on our first cruise on R.C. Freedom of the Seas, May 2-9th. The ship returns @7:00 to Port Canaveral. We are flying Continental. Our original return flight to Newark was at 2:45. Continental just changed the time of our flight (on their own) to 5:15. Now I'm wondering what we are going to do in the Orlando Airport area for ten hours. We already paid for R.C. transfers back to Orlando airport when we get off the ship. If any experienced cruises/travelers can advise me I would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! :confused:

 

You probably don't really have 10 hours to kill by the time you actually disembark, get loaded and get on the road. Typically OIA security is NOT swift (even domestic) so I say go ahead to the airport. Better safe than sorry. Maybe delay your shuttle pick up to be one of the last ones off the ship so you won't feel rushed but still have plenty of time.

There are shops and plenty of places to eat in the terminals.

[JanineM]

You can either rent a car or do an excursion. There are tours to Kennedy Space Center and Air Boat Rides. They'll get you to the airport by about 2:30 pm.

 

But if you rent a car it's very, very easy to get from Port Canaveral to the airport. You could decide to spend the day at Cocoa Beach then head out to the airport mid-afternoon. Honestly, I'm totally challenged by highways and it is a straight shot out 528 from the beach to the airport. An hour max from sand to airport!