Is Port Canaveral Worth a stop?

[RandomUser123]

For cruises out of New York (or other east coast cities where applicable) can NCL stop having Port Canaveral stops? Does anyone actually like that stop? Cocoa Beach is overrated. Disney is too far away so trying to do that in 1 day with the bus ride up and back is not worth it. If you like NASA stuff then it might be worth it but other than that why bother even having this stop?

[Laszlo]

Nope

[GA Dave]

As someone who lives in the southeast, I agree.  I would much rather have a stop in Charleston, SC than Canaveral.  But I do not know if that would be an option for NCL. I know Carnival has Charleston as an embarkation port.

[RHilla619]

Personally, I don't mind it as first time cruisers venture off and those with kids head to Disney, so the result is a nearly empty ship for those who opted to stay on board! Extra sea day in my book, which I prefer.

[SeaShark]

31 minutes ago, RandomUser123 said:

For cruises out of New York (or other east coast cities where applicable) can NCL stop having Port Canaveral stops? Does anyone actually like that stop? Cocoa Beach is overrated. Disney is too far away so trying to do that in 1 day with the bus ride up and back is not worth it. If you like NASA stuff then it might be worth it but other than that why bother even having this stop?

 

You are making the assumption that NCL is stopping in Port Canaveral for your benefit.

 

They don't.

 

The stop in Port Canaveral is where they load supplies/provisions on the ship. Much less expensive for them to do it there than to do it in New York City. It is doubtful that they would discontinue the stop.

[cliffd64]

You know, it's what you make of it...  

 

One approach:  Look at it as a stationary sea day...  you will most likely have the ship to yourself while everyone else is off on excursions.  Plenty of chairs by the pool, no crowded bars or lines at the buffet and restaurants.

 

My wife and I have had the luck to know people who live nearby who could come and pick us up and take us out for lunch or to other sights to see.  

 

Alternatively, you could do a bit of research and see what else off ship is available other than what you mentioned.  There are no shortages of things to do in that area.  Check out the port of call section of the forums for more ideas 🙂

[dexddd]

Part of the problem is when they get into port.  Most times are now like noon or one thus making it an undesirable stop.  They used to get in early like 7 a.m. so you could actually take advantage of a full day there.  I get that they stay later but for places that close early like KSC that doesn't help. 

 

We actually did a 6 day out of NYC with a stop there arriving 7 a.m. and the stops the other ships are doing on a 7 day.

[Momofpuppy]

Check out Grills Restaurant.  You will have to take an NCL bus or a taxi as it is across the port from where the cruise ships dock.  Try the shark bites (when available)  I do not like fish but love their shark bites.

[softl]

My upcoming Bliss cruise is stopping in Canaveral. I'm planning an airboat ride. Something I probably would never do otherwise.

 

If I had my choice, I rather stay at sea for the 7 days..

[shof515]

2 hours ago, GA Dave said:

As someone who lives in the southeast, I agree.  I would much rather have a stop in Charleston, SC than Canaveral.  But I do not know if that would be an option for NCL. I know Carnival has Charleston as an embarkation port.

 

Charleston port can not fit a Breakaway/Breakaway plus class ship and there is currently a ton of NIMBY in the Charleston area that caused some issues with Carnival

[Heckah]

31 minutes ago, softl said:

My upcoming Bliss cruise is stopping in Canaveral. I'm planning an airboat ride. Something I probably would never do otherwise.

 

If I had my choice, I rather stay at sea for the 7 days..

 

We did that a few years ago.  It's a great excursion.

[Gershep]

We don't bother to get off the ship.

[GA Dave]

55 minutes ago, shof515 said:

 

Charleston port can not fit a Breakaway/Breakaway plus class ship and there is currently a ton of NIMBY in the Charleston area that caused some issues with Carnival

That's a shame, because Charleston is an awesome place to visit.  They say we have the same problem taking in big ships here in Savannah, which I cannot understand since we get some of the largest container ships in the world in our cargo port, which is actually upriver from the cruise port!  We had the 13,092-TEU Neopanamax containership Cosco Development, which is 100 feet longer than the newest US aircraft carrier, come here in 2017, and it had no issues with the draft of the river and fitting under the bridge.  Don't understand why the BA ships would not fit.

[Paul Bogle]

PC was our first stop sailing from NYC in February 2013. We rented a minivan and spent the day at Blizzard Beach waterpark at Disney. The day was beautiful in the low 80's. The waterpark was very lightly attended. We felt like we had the place all to ourselves. We arrived before opening at 10:00 and stayed until 3:00. Five hours was more than enough for a good time. There were seven of us, five adults and two kids.

 

The next two stops were Nassau and Freeport. We enjoyed our day in each but PC was definitely our favorite stop on that cruise. Sailing from NYC in winter we prefer the longer itineraries to the eastern Caribbean. 

[shof515]

30 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

  Don't understand why the BA ships would not fit.

from what i noticed in both Charleston, Bar Harbor and some of the Alaska ports is the issue is the amount of passengers these ships have. BA class class have a capacity of around 4,000 people. That is alot of people that is only there for a day or so.   Here is a article of Charleston folks complaining about an a bigger carnival ship that holds an extra 1,000 people: https://abcnews4.com/news/local/carnival-sunshines-arrival-in-charleston-raises-environmental-congestion-concerns

It seems these type of ports do not have the proper infrastructure and logistics to manage larges crowds very well. 

Then there is another issue with the ship pollution and how it affects air quality

Edited October 1, 2019 by shof515

[YankeesFan4Life]

Not my favorite.  We took an Uber to Ron Jon's, went to Cocoa Beach for an hour, bought some shirts and went back to the ship...Not much to do

[Arzeena]

Yes it's worth a stop to us.

 

[mking8288]

YMMV, it's how and what you make (the "most") out of it - NCL can sail from NY and get into PC by 7 or 8 a.m. sailing at/near 20+ knots.  Lately, they don't run down the coast at full speed as it used to do that (burn less fuel.)  Miami was the 4th. port stop in the old, "old" days (Dawn & Jewel) with Nassau being just a 1/2 day stop. 

 

Upcoming December "Gem" sailing has an overnight PC stop, in at 12 noon - staying overnight - sailing onward to GSC/Nassau the following evening at  9 p.m. as it is 8 nights/9 days itinerary.   

 

@Arzeena - Hi ... guess which sailing yours truly are going to be on next (hint: hint - above)  Pls say hello to AJ for us - Susan has her 6 months followup & clear of everything 👌

[Beer Belly]

Boss Lady and I were discussing the same thing for our upcoming cruise. We will likely stay on the ship and enjoy what it has to offer.

[BNBR]

11 hours ago, mking8288 said:

YMMV, it's how and what you make (the "most") out of it - NCL can sail from NY and get into PC by 7 or 8 a.m. sailing at/near 20+ knots.  Lately, they don't run down the coast at full speed as it used to do that (burn less fuel.)  Miami was the 4th. port stop in the old, "old" days (Dawn & Jewel) with Nassau being just a 1/2 day stop. 

 

Upcoming December "Gem" sailing has an overnight PC stop, in at 12 noon - staying overnight - sailing onward to GSC/Nassau the following evening at  9 p.m. as it is 8 nights/9 days itinerary.   

 

@Arzeena - Hi ... guess which sailing yours truly are going to be on next (hint: hint - above)  Pls say hello to AJ for us - Susan has her 6 months followup & clear of everything 👌

 

An overnight wouldn't be bad.  I bet a lot of cruisers will get hotel rooms in Orlando that night.  I would.

 

I don't think PC is THAT bad of a stop.  Especially if you have time to get to Disney or Orlando.  Plenty of stops have long commutes to the destination.  What about anything in Cozumel on the mainland?  So an hour bus ride to Orlando is hardly that big of a deal and there is lots to do.  As others have said, it's all what you make of it.  We could have plenty of fun for a day in PC.

[luckyinpa]

a few years ago we were 1 hour late and they canceled the excursions and i missed ksc

 

this christmas we are overnighting there. im hoping to find an extended excursion to ksc to  maximize our not having to get back to the ship that nite..or even going next day. any specific advice would be appreciated

 

ive checked disney pricing and 2 tickets and hotel would b 800 bucks. nuts

 

 

[Arzeena]

13 hours ago, mking8288 said:

YMMV, it's how and what you make (the "most") out of it - NCL can sail from NY and get into PC by 7 or 8 a.m. sailing at/near 20+ knots.  Lately, they don't run down the coast at full speed as it used to do that (burn less fuel.)  Miami was the 4th. port stop in the old, "old" days (Dawn & Jewel) with Nassau being just a 1/2 day stop. 

 

Upcoming December "Gem" sailing has an overnight PC stop, in at 12 noon - staying overnight - sailing onward to GSC/Nassau the following evening at  9 p.m. as it is 8 nights/9 days itinerary.   

 

@Arzeena - Hi ... guess which sailing yours truly are going to be on next (hint: hint - above)  Pls say hello to AJ for us - Susan has her 6 months followup & clear of everything 👌

Sounds GREAT Susan!

Can't you also book the Bliss 1/5? 😉😎😏🤨😁 It will be good to see you and Susan again!

[babs135]

Is there anything within walking distance of where the ship berths?

[GA Dave]

Depends how far you like to walk.  Does not look like there is much on Google maps.

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by GA Dave

[luckyinpa]

i know when we docked there and just looked off the ship i thought i was in some kind of office complex and landed in the twilight zone.