Is there any area at Port Canaveral with benches or someplace nearby to sit while waiting to board?

[Sun Lover]

We will have a rental car to return the morning of our cruise sailing out of Port Canaveral in a few weeks.  There will be 6 people all together.  We had planned to have my husband drop us and our luggage off at the pier while he returns the rental car and then he can take a shuttle from the car rental to the pier.  We have an arrival time for the ship of 11 a.m.  Right now our car rental return is 8 a.m.  I picked an early time at the time I booked it because the last time we did this several years ago, the car rental place was just mobbed, there were no seats left and we waited over an hour to take the shuttle to the pier and finally we gave up and walked with all our luggage to the pier.  I was wondering if there's any place there at the pier to sit.  We have a person in our party who has health problems and would not be able to stand there waiting for 3 hours to board the ship.  Should we just return the rental car later in the morning closer to our arrival time for the ship?  I was hoping to avoid doing that because it was such a mess at the car rental place before but if there's nowhere to sit while waiting to board at the pier, I guess that would be our only option.  Any advice would be great.  Thanks.

[cynt]

Yes.

[Teeara]

5 hours ago, Sun Lover said:

We will have a rental car to return the morning of our cruise sailing out of Port Canaveral in a few weeks.  There will be 6 people all together.  We had planned to have my husband drop us and our luggage off at the pier while he returns the rental car and then he can take a shuttle from the car rental to the pier.  We have an arrival time for the ship of 11 a.m.  Right now our car rental return is 8 a.m.  I picked an early time at the time I booked it because the last time we did this several years ago, the car rental place was just mobbed, there were no seats left and we waited over an hour to take the shuttle to the pier and finally we gave up and walked with all our luggage to the pier.  I was wondering if there's any place there at the pier to sit.  We have a person in our party who has health problems and would not be able to stand there waiting for 3 hours to board the ship.  Should we just return the rental car later in the morning closer to our arrival time for the ship?  I was hoping to avoid doing that because it was such a mess at the car rental place before but if there's nowhere to sit while waiting to board at the pier, I guess that would be our only option.  Any advice would be great.  Thanks.

Yes, there are some places to sit to the right of the entry doors.

[cruisegirl1]

Terminal one has two small benches by the door that seat about 12 people. There are a handful of benches where folks wait for ride share,

 

There is a restaurant close by to the terminal. Perhaps you could have breakfast at that restaurant while you are waiting to get into the terminal.  
 

Terminal five has no place to sit outside the terminal.

 

m

[rolloman]

A nicer area to sit is to the left of the entry doors of Royal's terminal 1.  There are several benches in a park like setting. Easiest way is for your Spouse to take a left on Flounder street and drop you off there versus going into the congested terminal itself. There is a little cut out on this road for passenger drop off and a nice bench area steps from the road, walk a few feet towards the terminal and you will find another bench area. It typically is a quiet area with light foot traffic from crew and others walking to the Grills restaurant. 

[wdwkings]

@Sun Lover as long as you don't mind sitting and waiting, it makes sense to drop the car earlier and have him shuttle or Uber over to meet you and the group.  You had mentioned one in the party might not do so well with the duration of the wait, but that seemed more if they were required to stand.  We live in the area and there are some seating areas to the left as you approach Terminal 1.  I would suggest dropping the checked baggage and the group, do the car return, and the group can head over to that area or to Grtills to sit and have a bite to eat and coffee (or mimosa).  He can shuttle or Uber over to the restaurant..  

 

We had to do an early drop off due to some schedule logistics with our ride for one cruise and were at the port by 8am.  There was nothing really happing yet.  I did check with the porters and gave a decent tip and I was a little surprised but they took the bags that early.  We found a bench and sat in the area with the small booths and mini-park but it can get warm.  There are some other places like FishLips and Rising Tide to eat but I think that Grills is the only one open early and it is closest.  If you are not at terminal 1 sorry for the long explanation.  

[Mum2Mercury]

8 hours ago, Sun Lover said:

We will have a rental car to return the morning of our cruise sailing out of Port Canaveral in a few weeks.  There will be 6 people all together.  We had planned to have my husband drop us and our luggage off at the pier while he returns the rental car and then he can take a shuttle from the car rental to the pier. 

Good plan.  A single person (especially with no luggage) gets on the shuttle faster than a group. 

 

I think the answer is, Depends upon the terminal from which you sail.  I don't remember which terminal we sailed from last in Port Canaveral, but I saw no seating - except a dozen or so folding chairs fairly close to the lines.  

 

Does your family member use any mobility devices?  Could he or she pick up one of those canes that folds and gives you a stool upon which to sit?  

 

Does Royal Caribbean offer any type of priority boarding for people with health problems?  

8 hours ago, Sun Lover said:

We have a person in our party who has health problems and would not be able to stand there waiting for 3 hours to board the ship.

Does the person with health problems drive?  If so, have him or her return the rental car.  It'd mean less time at the port for this person /more time sitting in the car.  

[RocketMan275]

11 hours ago, Sun Lover said:

I was hoping to avoid doing that because it was such a mess at the car rental place before but if there's nowhere to sit while waiting to board at the pier, I guess that would be our only option.  Any advice would be great.  Thanks.

Perhaps you should delay your arrival times until the lines are shorter.

[Sun Lover]

Thanks so much for this information.  It's good to know there are some places we might be able to sit or to Uber to Grills and have breakfast and wait there for a couple hours.  We are on Wonder so we'll be at Terminal 1.  I assume it would be easy to get an Uber from the car rental to the ship and from Grills to the ship?  Also, we would still have our carryons with us so would we be able to take them with us to Grills?  Has anyone walked from Terminal 1 to Grills?  It looks like it's only maybe half a mile but someone mentioned that it was more like a mile to walk due to the configuration of the roads and how many ships were in the port.  My husband and I would be fine with walking if we don't have to walk on highways or if it's longer than a mile.

[Capt_BJ]

 

outside dining at Grills .... the ship is at T-1 ..... right next door   .... door to door under 200 yards

Edited September 28, 2023 by Capt_BJ

[Sun Lover]

Thanks so much for this picture!  It looks really nice.  I think that's what we'll do, drop off our rental car and head to Grills until it's close to our arrival time.  Thanks again.

[OrdieJ]

The observation tower might be a good option as well.

[Capt_BJ]

closed ... was supposed to reopen last spring following renovations (unusual as it is only 10 years old) but web site says closed with no opening date ....

 

https://www.explorationtower.com/