Ncl Epic port canaveral

[Binturong]

I'm using National. I've got National Exec status, and you can pay for a midsize and get a full or bigger in the Exec Aisle. I normally use Hertz, but they were much more expensive.

 

I'm parking the car at the hotel overnight, and dropping it back off in the morning at the port lot before 11am. They've got a free shuttle to the port. I may drop my wife & kids off first if it looks like a madhouse. :D

 

 

Thanks for the tip!! There are ten of us.... so I just booked a 15 passenger van, one way, MCO to CC, then back upon our return. Including taxes and (estimated) fuel and tolls ... $26 per person round trip.

[Binturong]

Not sure why, but I do not have permission to start a new thread. So I'm posting this question here....

 

We are sailing Epic out of Port Canaveral December 23. We have signed-in and selected our "arrival time." However, the Boarding Document says that boarding begins at noon. So... what time can we expect to board the ship?? Does "arrival time" only concern arrival time at the port, and has nothing to do with when we board? Seeking PC veterans to clear this up...

 

This my first cruise out of PC. And only my second cruise. So, consider me a "rookie cruiser," and expect more questions!!

[Binturong]

Not sure why, but I do not have permission to start a new thread. So I'm posting this question here....

 

We are sailing Epic out of Port Canaveral December 23. We have signed-in and selected our "arrival time" (10 AM). However, the Boarding Document says that boarding begins at noon. So... what time can we expect to board the ship?? Does "arrival time" only concern arrival time at the port, and has nothing to do with when we board? Seeking PC veterans to clear this up...

 

This my first cruise out of PC. And only my second cruise. So, consider me a "rookie cruiser," and expect more questions!!

[shanet60]

Just got back from port canavrsl. We stayed at the raddison and took their shuttle. Decent hotel, easy shuttle there and back

[katiecat]

Not sure why, but I do not have permission to start a new thread. So I'm posting this question here....

 

We are sailing Epic out of Port Canaveral December 23. We have signed-in and selected our "arrival time" (10 AM). However, the Boarding Document says that boarding begins at noon. So... what time can we expect to board the ship?? Does "arrival time" only concern arrival time at the port, and has nothing to do with when we board? Seeking PC veterans to clear this up...

 

This my first cruise out of PC. And only my second cruise. So, consider me a "rookie cruiser," and expect more questions!!

 

If you arrive at 10am you will probably board the ship an hour or a little more later. You will be one of the first to board though.

[Justaddvodka68]

If you arrive at 10am you will probably board the ship an hour or a little more later. You will be one of the first to board though.

 

I totally hate waiting around so I don't bother going until 12:30 or 1 & I can always walk right on. No lines, no waiting.

 

Fir the OP, we have spent many vacations in Cocoa Beach/Pt. Canaveral. Have a time share. It's worth it to come in the day ahead. Book a beach hotel & enjoy a morning at the beach before boarding!

[Binturong]

It's worth it to come in the day ahead. Book a beach hotel & enjoy a morning at the beach before boarding!

 

Thanks for the tip. We arrive the evening before, and are staying at Residence Inn right down the street.

 

However... we have a party of 14 boarding.... the kids (teen/early 20s) will wanna get on early. They will not want to hang at a hotel room, or go to a chilly north Florida beach for just one or two hours. While I would love to relax and board later, I'm also OK with going with the kids.

 

We are all counting down the days to December 23 ....

Edited November 8, 2016 by Binturong

[RanchoDeluxe]

Thanks for the tip. We arrive the evening before, and are staying at Residence Inn right down the street.

 

However... we have a party of 14 boarding.... the kids (teen/early 20s) will wanna get on early. They will not want to hang at a hotel room, or go to a chilly north Florida beach for just one or two hours. While I would love to relax and board later, I'm also OK with going with the kids.

 

We are all counting down the days to December 23 ....

 

Hey! Hey! Hey! Let's get it right - a (potentially) chilly Central Florida Beach. :D

 

signed: a native

[Atlgator]

Sailing out on the Epic in March as well. Plan on flying into MCO the day of the cruise and taking a shuttle over to Port Canaveral. After the cruise, taking a shuttle back to a hotel in Orlando and flying out the next morning due to a lower cost flight.

 

May look into a rental car for the Canaveral to Orlando leg of the trip.

[pooh/tigger]

We always arrive in the port city the night before the cruise. In the case of the Port Canaveral, we flew into Orlando and stayed at an airport hotel the night before the cruise. (We sailed in April 2016. The Spirit was sailing the same itinerary as the Epic will). On the morning of the cruise, we took the free hotel shuttle back to Orlando Airport (MCO) around 9:30 a.m. and caught the NCL transfer from the airport to PC.

 

It's about an hour's ride in full size motor coaches from MCO to PC. We got boarding group numbers and as we got on the motorcoach, the driver took our suitcases and that was the last we had to deal with them until they showed up in our stateroom.

 

wrt the Epic Thermal Suite, it is one of the best in the fleet IMHO. Large windows in the sauna so you can watch the ocean as you "cook". An outdoor balcony on the aft of the ship (not found on any other ship). It was the first large thermal suite that NCL built and it was well done.

 

Enjoy the Epic, we have sailed on her 5 times in the Caribbean, Europe, and the Mediterranean.

 

Have seen the "stay at airport hotel and use NCL transfers" on here but couldn't find the answer to this question. Maybe I missed it. Wouldn't be the first or last. :-)

When you board the coach and get your group number, is there a special line for these folks when you get to the port to check in and avoid standing in long lines?

Since you have done this, please explain a bit further.

Thinking this may be a good option for parents and their friends instead of standing in long lines.

 

Thanks