Port Canaveral - ideas?

[rabbitcruiser]

My SO and I are taking the Norwegian Spirit from NYC to FL/Bahamas, leaving March 5th. The first port of call is Port Canaveral, FL. Can anyone shed some light on this port? There are a few shore excursions, but I don't want to rush to Orlando and back. Is there a nice beach/stuff to do near where the ship docks? TIA!

[TrentS]

There's really not enough time to do anything in Orlando, I'd save that stuff for a land based trip.

 

Cocoa Beach is very nice, just south of Port Canaveral. Ron Jon's Surf Shop is fun... http://www.ronjons.com/DisplayContent.aspx?ContentID=39&MenuGroup=2&SelectedItem=4

 

Kennedy Space Center is also very close, that's a fun and interesting day... http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

[ginamaddog]

rabbit, the kennedy is awesome....we actually were there to watch a launch....

[augie]

What do you like/want to do?

 

Unfortunately, the port isn't situated where there are a lot of options within walking distance, but there are a lot of different things within a fairly short drive;

 

Beaches - Shepard Park is on the south side of the mouth of the port, Cocoa Beach proper is further south. The Cocoa Beach Pier is a place where you can combine beaches, food, and some souvenir shopping.

 

There is a family fun park with min-golf, go-karts, etc. just south of the port on A1A.

 

The Merrit Island Wildlife Refuge and Kennedy Space Center are both a little further inland.

 

And if you take SR520 west all the way to the St. John's River you can visit the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp, where you can eat alligator tail and take a ride through the marshes of the river on an airboat.

 

So, it depends a lot on how much trouble and time you want to take, and what you're most interested in.

[augie]

For some reason this didn't scroll to the top, so...BTTT!

[mickeymotto]

rabbit, the kennedy is awesome....we actually were there to watch a launch....

 

We were considering doing the KSC tour too. Glad to hear it was great. Do you know what is the best way (taxi,shuttle,etc) to get there from the port and how much it costs? There is a big price difference if I booked through the cruise line vs. on our own. (neither include transportation to & from) so I figured we would go on our own. Anyone suggestions/tips?:)

[patrickc]

We did Grandeur this past Fall & had a day in Port Can.. we did the excursion to Sea World-- we were the only people that went! It was perfect amount of time.. not quite enough time for Universal or Disney. Maybe look into Sea World-- really is a nice park-- Anheuser Busch runs top notch.-- they had a show with birds, dolphins, whales, aerialists-- it was better than "O" in Vegas and this full day excursion was 1/2 the cost of Tix for that! have fun

[trex-de]

We have been on the Dawn and went to Disney both years. Took the bus and arrived about 10 am at the front gate. Six to eight hours at the park was fine. We are planning to do it again this year.

 

Have fun!

[www]

My SO and I are taking the Norwegian Spirit from NYC to FL/Bahamas, leaving March 5th. The first port of call is Port Canaveral, FL. Can anyone shed some light on this port? There are a few shore excursions, but I don't want to rush to Orlando and back. Is there a nice beach/stuff to do near where the ship docks? TIA!

 

Check out http://www.cocoabeach.com for some ideas!