LIVE! Mardi Gras on the Mardi Gras 2/26 - 3/5. Let’s Cruise!

[TNcruising02]

Are you taking the hotel shuttle, uber, or a taxi to the terminal?  We were planning on taking an uber, but the lady at our hotel said that some drivers aren't able to enter the terminal area.  I googled the terminal address and it looks like it is 220 Christopher Columbus Drive.  I hope that's the right place!

Edited February 26, 2022 by TNcruising02

[Knights on the Beach]

9 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

So our dinner wasn’t what we planned (we HAD planned to find a fun restaurant to start off our vacation with a bang!

 

But daughter woke up at 3am California time to travel to her first airport. Our meet up at the airport was flawless; we met in the giant MCO lobby right before the shuttle to baggage claim, and our planes landed within 10 minutes of each other!  Took quite awhile to get my bag (good thing Delta messages you when your bag is loaded onto the plane, because I was beginning to think mine didn’t make it.  Bags in hand, we called our Uber and went right outside to the Uber pick-up spot.  Got a driver right away...said 10 minutes. BUT the traffic evidently was crawling and it took her closer to 25-30 minutes to pick us up. And then the long drive to Cocoa Beach.

 

We didn’t get to the hotel (Courtyard Marriott Cocoa Beach) till nearly 9pm! Tired, cranky and very hungry (the very definition of hangry!) we asked the lady at the desk if there was a good place to get take out. There was ,and we ended up with yummy eggplant parmesan, which came with garlic, spaghetti, and we upgraded to the mini greek and chopped salads. I skipped the bread and spaghetti, and the hangry-s were banished.

 

Hotel seems fine; nice lobby, food available (order from a counter; was closing at 9), mini sundries store; the usual for a Courtyard. Big rooms, nice soft Marriott beds, and a great balcony overlooking a nicely landscaped pool area! I’ll grab some pics in the morning before we leave.

 

Daughter is well-traveled but has never cruised. Over dinner I was like “ask me anything” about cruising. Best part was when her eyes got big and she said WAIT, the food is INCLUDED? 😂 She also definitely wants to try Bingo (who knew Gen Z liked that?)

 

Daughter is already sleeping; I’m going to call it a night soon too! So excited; tomorrow we BOARD!

 

Where did you get the food from?  Our favorite Italian place is Papa Vito's but there's a closer one to your hotel.

 

32 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

Are you taking the hotel shuttle, uber, or a taxi to the terminal?  We were planning on taking an uber, but the lady at our hotel said that some drivers aren't able to enter the terminal area.  I googled the terminal address and it looks like it is 220 Christopher Columbus Drive.  I hope that's the right place!

 

We take Uber from our condo (less than 2 miles to Terminal 3) and have never had an issue.  He drives right in and we drop off our luggage and hug him goodbye.  😂  Yes, that's the correct address.  If you get a driver who's not a local just tell him Mardi Gras @ Terminal 3.  Tell him to go right from your hotel on George King Blvd - you can't miss it.  I can see Mardi Gras from our front door!  

[TNcruising02]

Just now, cruisemom2 said:

 

 

 

We take Uber from our condo (less than 2 miles to Terminal 3) and have never had an issue.  He drives right in and we drop off our luggage and hug him goodbye.  😂  Yes, that's the correct address.  If you get a driver who's not a local just tell him Mardi Gras @ Terminal 3.  Tell him to go right from your hotel on George King Blvd - you can't miss it.  I can see Mardi Gras from our front door!  

Nice!  Thanks.  I called the Taxi number before you posted and they are booked until noon, so Uber it is.  I actually prefer Uber.  We have a 10:00 to 10:30 appointment time, so I am trying to time it correctly.  Cocoa Beach would be a very nice place to live.

[TravelBluebird]

44 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

Are you taking the hotel shuttle, uber, or a taxi to the terminal?  We were planning on taking an uber, but the lady at our hotel said that some drivers aren't able to enter the terminal area.  I googled the terminal address and it looks like it is 220 Christopher Columbus Drive.  I hope that's the right place!

 

We inquired about the shuttle but the hotel desk lady says it wouldn’t get us there early enough (we also have a 10 to 10:30 boarding time) We are going to try Uber; wish us luck and I will report back! 

[TravelBluebird]

10 minutes ago, cruisemom2 said:

Where did you get the food from?  Our favorite Italian place is Papa Vito's but there's a closer one to your hotel.

 

 We got it from Kelsey’s!  Other options (menu’s she gave us) were Pizza Vola and Papa Vito’s; our desk lady said that Kelsey’s was her favorite, and it was very good.

Edited February 26, 2022 by TravelBluebird

[phoneman69]

How was hotel and breakfast ? looking to book hotel for our Sept sailing. DW big breakfast person. Also what was urber cost from mco if you don't mind

[TravelBluebird]

it’s a beautiful morning in Port Canaveral!  72 sunny with a light breeze. I’m sitting on my balcony with my dry Starbucks cappuccino from the hotel coffee/food bar; life is good!

 

We ended up with a water view room even after turning down the King upgrade; I do love Marriott and I’m lifetime Gold with them. Very expensive room (at least rates when we booked it last year) so I used Marriott points instead.

 

Quick coffee service; and grabbed a yogurt for daughter; I’ll wait for my calories on the ship!  Daughter was still sleeping but I couldn’t sleep so woke up early to grab a few photos and get the coffee.

 

I was going to wear a cute sundress for boarding but my arthritic feet said NO to shoes that would match so capris and walking sandals it is!

 

OK we go downstairs to call our Uber in about 25 minutes; next you hear from me will likely be either at the port or on the ship!!

[TravelBluebird]

Photos from my last post of hotel sitting area. Computer area—love those for last minute print outs of documents you forgot—coffee area and pool area, plus view from my room (which includes the Hampton Inn across the way!)

[TravelBluebird]

11 minutes ago, phoneman69 said:

How was hotel and breakfast ? looking to book hotel for our Sept sailing. DW big breakfast person. Also what was urber cost from mco if you don't mind

 

I don’t eat breakfast if I’m eating lunch so I’m not much help there; you order at the coffee counter and they bring it to you; the cappuccinos were very good. NO sit-down and serve breakfast at this Courtyart. Hotel nice; helpful staff and comfy beds if you like ‘em soft (which I do). Places to walk for dinner if you don’t get in as late as I did.

 

Uber was $78 MCO to the hotel; it was in a Honda CRV, nice female driver, Fiero.

[Knights on the Beach]

20 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

Nice!  Thanks.  I called the Taxi number before you posted and they are booked until noon, so Uber it is.  I actually prefer Uber.  We have a 10:00 to 10:30 appointment time, so I am trying to time it correctly.  Cocoa Beach would be a very nice place to live.

 

We like Cocoa Beach but LOVE living in Cape Canaveral. We're right on the beach but get less crowds here.

 

12 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 We got it from Kelsey’s!  Other options (menu’s she gave us) were Pizza Vola and Papa Vito’s; our desk lady said that Kelsey’s was her favorite, and it was very good.

 

Kelsey's is good too.  We haven't been to Pizza Vola but it gets good reviews from locals.  We used to stay at that Hampton Inn next to you before we moved over from Orlando.  Did you happen to catch the sunrise this morning?  It was spectacular!  

 

 

[phoneman69]

4 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

I don’t eat breakfast if I’m eating lunch so I’m not much help there; you order at the coffee counter and they bring it to you; the cappuccinos were very good. NO sit-down and serve breakfast at this Courtyart. Hotel nice; helpful staff and comfy beds if you like ‘em soft (which I do). Places to walk for dinner if you don’t get in as late as I did.

 

Uber was $78 MCO to the hotel; it was in a Honda CRV, nice female driver, Fiero.

Thank you Do so Enjoy your Cruise

[Knights on the Beach]

I'm looking forward to hearing how embarkation goes for all of you.  In December we had 10:00 check-in but our friends had 11:30.  We had our driver pick us up at 11:00 so our friends were a bit early but there weren't any crowds of people waiting outside, so they were allowed to go right in the terminal when we arrived.  We all stepped onto the ship at 11:35.  This time, we have 10:00 check-in and our son & DIL have 11:00 so we're planning to leave the condo at 10:30 and hope for a similar result. 

[TNcruising02]

7 minutes ago, cruisemom2 said:

I'm looking forward to hearing how embarkation goes for all of you.  In December we had 10:00 check-in but our friends had 11:30.  We had our driver pick us up at 11:00 so our friends were a bit early but there weren't any crowds of people waiting outside, so they were allowed to go right in the terminal when we arrived.  We all stepped onto the ship at 11:35.  This time, we have 10:00 check-in and our son & DIL have 11:00 so we're planning to leave the condo at 10:30 and hope for a similar result. 

We have a 10:00 to 10:30 check in and arrived at 9:30 by Uber. That wasn’t intentional, I just didn’t realize how quick the service would be. Since we are platinum this cruise they let us skip the long line for 10:00 people and we got to enter with the suites.

 

Even though we have everything loaded to VeriFLY they wanted to confirm with our paper copies.they said they are still in the test stages. 

[vettprincess]

2 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

We have a 10:00 to 10:30 check in and arrived at 9:30 by Uber. That wasn’t intentional, I just didn’t realize how quick the service would be. Since we are platinum this cruise they let us skip the long line for 10:00 people and we got to enter with the suites.

 

Even though we have everything loaded to VeriFLY they wanted to confirm with our paper copies.they said they are still in the test stages. 

Wonderful you got to enter with the suites. We also are platinum. Verifly was not fully operational when we loaded info onto it. Always bring paperwork since a hazard to depend on tech all the time. Have a great cruise. One week from now we will be where you are.

[TravelBluebird]

So our Uber is taking forever—really 25 minutes but she was doing a drop-off at port—and we are going to be late for our boarding time.  Does anyone know if we can skip the “early/late line because we are in a suite?

 

Don’t be us and call your Uber at 9:50 for a 10 to 10:30 time slot!

Edited February 26, 2022 by TravelBluebird

[TNcruising02]

3 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

So our Uber is taking forever—really 25 minutes but she was doing a drop-off at port—and we are going to be late for our boarding time.  Does anyone know if we can skip the “early/late line because we are in a suite?

 

response:

there is a special line for suites once you get upstairs. It’s to the left. We are platinum and they let us in this line too. No wait to check in.

 

[TravelBluebird]

We are still waiting for the Uber—here Is a photo of me—if you are on this cruise please stop by and say hello! 

[TNcruising02]

Just now, TravelBluebird said:

We are still waiting for the Uber—here Is a photo of me—if you are on this cruise please stop by and say hello! 

Hi! We are not in a suite but sitting right outside the entry way to the suite waiting area. 

[TravelBluebird]

49 minutes ago, phoneman69 said:

How was hotel and breakfast ? looking to book hotel for our Sept sailing. DW big breakfast person. Also what was urber cost from mco if you don't mind

Here are the food menus at the hotel including breakfast

[TravelBluebird]

2 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

Hi! We are not in a suite but sitting right outside the entry way to the suite waiting area. 

 Hope to see you as I go by!

[TNcruising02]

Just now, TravelBluebird said:

 Hope to see you as I go by!

I am wearing a pink mask and my luggage is pink. My husband is wearing a black and grey shirt with black luggage and we are literally right next to the suite entrance wishing we were in a suite! Haha

[TravelBluebird]

39 minutes ago, cruisemom2 said:

 

We like Cocoa Beach but LOVE living in Cape Canaveral. We're right on the beach but get less crowds here.

 

 

Kelsey's is good too.  We haven't been to Pizza Vola but it gets good reviews from locals.  We used to stay at that Hampton Inn next to you before we moved over from Orlando.  Did you happen to catch the sunrise this morning?  It was spectacular!  

 

 

See the sunrise? I’m a real night owl the fact that I was up at 8:30 was a miracle!  Beautiful sunrise though!

 

[TravelBluebird]

I hear there are 6 ships in port today! Ran into another mother/daughter going on a Royal Star Trek cruise!

[TravelBluebird]

We are on board!  We arrived about 10:40 long line of traffic till traffic cop came and started waving everyone I. In the red.  No lines whatsoever! Went right over to a little table where all our info was verified.  Straight through security, quick hello to TNCruising32.  Suites were boarding so walked right in!  I think 10 minutes tops whole processwere on board before 11. 
 

Quick muster at Punchliner dropped carry ins in room—room not ready yet—and off we went!
 

We are exploring—first food we have had was a delicious steamed bun from Street Eats and we have our Funships that came in a handy Carnival tumbler we can use all trip! 

[daredneck]

Hope you're FUNDERSTRUCK by now.  We board 3/5 for the Sailabration party.  If this is your fist time on the Mardi Gras then you are having a blast what a ship.