"Kennedy Space Center Shuttle" vs "Kennedy Space Center Day Tour (afternoon arrival)"

[Sizzlechest]

Apparently there are two excursions for Kennedy Space Center offered:

 

"Kennedy Space Center Shuttle" - 6 hours and is self-guided

 

"Kennedy Space Center Day Tour (afternoon arrival)" - 5 hours and includes a tour guide. Costs $10 more.

 

Which would you do and why?

[Clarea]

I'd do the latter, as it supposedly goes to areas that the public tour does not.  At least that is what they told us.

[Dayman9966]

We did the complex and the regular shuttle to the launch pad area.  Honestly, we loved the place, but the shuttle was really boring and about 45 minutes long.  We will be doing the regular tour again and I think there are places online you can get tickets for $46pp.  The space shuttle and the rockets and the main building are amazing!!

 

 

[Sizzlechest]

7 minutes ago, Dayman9966 said:

We did the complex and the regular shuttle to the launch pad area.  Honestly, we loved the place, but the shuttle was really boring and about 45 minutes long.  We will be doing the regular tour again and I think there are places online you can get tickets for $46pp.  The space shuttle and the rockets and the main building are amazing!!

 

 

 

I'm trying to parse what you wrote. Are you saying you would do s tour done by the space center instead of the cruise line? Why else would you be buying your own tickets?

[Dayman9966]

1 minute ago, Sizzlechest said:

 

I'm trying to parse what you wrote. Are you saying you would do s tour done by the space center instead of the cruise line? Why else would you be buying your own tickets?

We are sailing out of Port Canaveral in June and flying in the day before.  We will be going then and getting our own tickets.  Very sorry, I didn't realize the OP was talking about a tour through the cruise line.  

[Dayman9966]

You can easily do this on your own.  It's about $46pp plus $25 for the behind the scenes tour for "restricted" areas and Is about 10-15 minutes from the port, so an Uber should be pretty cheap.  Just saying, it may cost about $50+ less per person booking yourself.

[Sizzlechest]

6 minutes ago, Dayman9966 said:

You can easily do this on your own.  It's about $46pp plus $25 for the behind the scenes tour for "restricted" areas and Is about 10-15 minutes from the port, so an Uber should be pretty cheap.  Just saying, it may cost about $50+ less per person booking yourself.

 

I'm all for doing it myself, but the costs seems to be pretty close unless you have a large group of people. Right now it costs about $94 pp. I've seen people quoting prices a lot higher. (Not RCL, but other cruise lines.)

[Capt_BJ]

uberx around $30 .... XL $44 ....... today's price

[1025cruise]

I had the same predicament last year. I ended up with the shuttle. Basically its transportation and admission. For two people, I found the cost fair versus DIY. My understanding is that the guided tour goes straight in, plus they make sure you see everything. We didn't get a chance to do the IMAX film due to time. 

[Zendeck]

We did this about 7 years ago and we had small children.  We did the self guided,,,,go at our own pace...short attention spans!  I recall the tkts being expensive and after we went I saw on the Disney Boards that some people check in with their local congresspersons and sometimes get free tkts.  Not sure if times have changed.....but wanted to throw it out there if you wanted to try. 

 

Have fun. 

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, Sizzlechest said:

Apparently there are two excursions for Kennedy Space Center offered:

 

"Kennedy Space Center Shuttle" - 6 hours and is self-guided

 

"Kennedy Space Center Day Tour (afternoon arrival)" - 5 hours and includes a tour guide. Costs $10 more.

 

Which would you do and why?

Perhaps our port day on our RCI October Snowbird cruise is different......Our cruise planner offers 3 KSP options.

 

An 8 hour completely guided tour...$83.99 7:30am-3:30pm....We have chosen this one and have booked and rebooked 4 times so far to get the better price....finally in April got it for $79.99pp

 

A 6 hour tour self guided $79.99 (WOW same price we got the 8 hour guided tour for)

 

And an afternoon 4 hour tour $67.99

 

Very happy at the price and tour we've ended up with...it pay to check the cruise planner often.

[SimplyMarvie]

It depends on your feelings about tour guides and space. When we went I was with three space-obsessed little boys and my husband the physics geek -- they knew what they wanted to see, and didn't want to be held up by anyone trying to tell them anything. We ran from place to place, climbed on rockets, got to spend as long as they wanted with exhibits and had a fantastic time. 

 

If you don't know a whole lot about the space program and want to learn, a guide might be better. If you know it and want to dig in, you may be better on your own.

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, Ashland said:

Perhaps our port day on our RCI October Snowbird cruise is different......Our cruise planner offers 3 KSP options.

 

An 8 hour completely guided tour...$83.99 7:30am-3:30pm....We have chosen this one and have booked and rebooked 4 times so far to get the better price....finally in April got it for $79.99pp

 

A 6 hour tour self guided $79.99 (WOW same price we got the 8 hour guided tour for)

 

And an afternoon 4 hour tour $67.99

 

Very happy at the price and tour we've ended up with...it pay to check the cruise planner often.

Sorry I meant KSC not KSP surprised I didn't mistakenly put KFC 

Edited April 30, 2019 by Ashland

[Capt_BJ]

last I read the free tix thru congressman is kaput ..... when it got mentioned on a few sites like this requests went up HUGELY and the waiting time became years and/or supply for a year was exhausted fast so they stopped all together

[babchia]

I took the guided NASA tour (full day) from the ship early in 2018.  In short, the advantage of this excursion is if the government security monitors the passengers offloading the ship, and agree no additional screening is necessary, then the tour bus will take you directly to the building by the Vehicle Assembly Building were you can see the launch pads in the distance, and a Saturn V mounted horizontally inside a building (plus more) and you do NOT have to go through security at the front gates of the Kennedy Space Center, then walk across the 'theme park' to another bus that would then take you to the same building with the Saturn V (saving about 30-60 minutes of your time).  While the tour is guided, I found that as long as we notified the guide and found out when and where to meet up for the bus ride back to the ship from the main 'theme park', then we could go out on our own.  (In fact, much of the excursion was 'on our own' with meetups at various times to see some of the things together 

 

Be aware it appears most of the buildings that you can visit consists of a pre-show that sets up what you are about to see, then you can continue in and see what is inside.  (The pre-show for the Atlantis was really good.)  However, if you want to bypass this pre-show, you can usually go through the exit or store and see what is inside, if you want to rush through.  Just keep in mind that if you rush through, you will miss some really interesting presentations and shows.

 

Don't forget to touch the moon rock in the building with the Saturn V.

 

Jim

[Zendeck]

1 hour ago, Capt_BJ said:

last I read the free tix thru congressman is kaput ..... when it got mentioned on a few sites like this requests went up HUGELY and the waiting time became years and/or supply for a year was exhausted fast so they stopped all together

😡..... we should have communicated in code!!! Lol

[Sunny AZ Girl]

5 hours ago, Ashland said:

Perhaps our port day on our RCI October Snowbird cruise is different......Our cruise planner offers 3 KSP options.

 

An 8 hour completely guided tour...$83.99 7:30am-3:30pm....We have chosen this one and have booked and rebooked 4 times so far to get the better price....finally in April got it for $79.99pp

 

A 6 hour tour self guided $79.99 (WOW same price we got the 8 hour guided tour for)

 

And an afternoon 4 hour tour $67.99

 

Very happy at the price and tour we've ended up with...it pay to check the cruise planner often.

Same here!  We figured that by the time we pay for admission, the guided tour and transport we were better off with the RCI tour at $79.99.  Now the price is back up to $83.99 pp.  I keep checking.  I doubt if it will go lower than what we paid, but you never know.  BTW, we usually do a port on our own or with a private tour, but sometimes the cruise line will surprise us with a better price (that happened to us this past fall when the Key West Conch Train actually was $10 cheaper than booking on our own, with pick up right at the ship).  Other times, convenience wins out, such as the post cruise tours for us with airport drop-off,  when we are flying out the day of the cruise.  

 

 

[Sanz]

The OP is arriving in the afternoon. We chose the tour last May because of our afternoon arrival.The Space Center was just about closing for the evening when we went back to port and we were not sure how crowded it would be. We had previously visited Kennedy 3 times and spent full days there. We found the tour enjoyable and relaxing. We were with another couple who had never been there. They enjoyed the tour too.

[Dayman9966]

On ‎4‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 12:08 PM, Capt_BJ said:

uberx around $30 .... XL $44 ....... today's price

Shocked at those prices, and you are correct.  11 minutes from the port and they charge $37......A taxi would be cheaper, hahahaha!