My review of Port Canaveral

[indiaksue]

I will give a review of our 1 1/2 days in Port Canaveral here and then my ship review on the Carnival Board.

 

We flew out 1 day earlier than planned because of the ice and snow storms in our area. We arrived at Orlando airport and everything went pretty smooth. We chose to use Art's Shuttle to take us to our hotel. We had read so many things here on the board about renting a car, but were glad we didn't. It is just too much stress on vacation to figure out where you are going so for us the shuttle was the best deal. It was $ 70 for my DH and I.

 

We stayed at the new Country Inns and Suites. It was a decent hotel for the price and is the closest to the port. We had a first floor room and the ceilings were 12 ft high, which gave a much bigger feeling to the room. We did hear the people in the next room when they stood near the connecting door to our room, but they were having a fight and it was pretty loud. (Much more information than I wanted to know) :eek: Breakfast was included in the price. They had several varieties of muffins and pastries, Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sandwiches, fruits, cereals, breads, and juices.

 

That first night we didn't know our way around so we walked from our hotel to next door, The Residence Inn, through their parking lot, across the lawn to a Convience Store, where we finally picked up a sidewalk and then walked a couple of blocks to a Pizza Place. There really was some things to do right there if you don't mind the short 10 minute walk. There was a nice Family Fun Park with Go Carts and other things. There was the Convience Store if you wanted to pick up stuff yet before the cruise, a McDonalds and a Family Greek Restaurant plus the Pizza Place we went to.

 

The next morning we took the Beach Trolly, which was just the city bus #9 which picked us up in front of the Radisson at the Port. This is in the same area as the other places I mentioned so about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. We rode the bus for about 30 minutes and got off at the Cocoa Beach Pier. We had a nice time walking up and down the beach and eating in the Bar and Grill overlooking the Beach. It was a Sunday so lots of activity going on. We then got back on the bus and they dropped us off at the port. We walked the few blocks to FishLips and spend the rest of the day there. We ate and drank and listened to the live band, and watched 3 ships leave the port that day. We then took a Taxi back to the hotel. It cost $ 2.40 plus a tip. It was a wonderful relaxing day.

 

The next morning we took the hotel shuttle to the port. They hire out Cocoa Beach Shuttle to pick us up. It cost $6.00 for both of us. I have not heard good things about the shuttle process, but we found it was just fine. They had 3 times offered: 9:30, 10:30, and 12:00. We couldn't figure out why anyone would want the first one but many people took it. We chose 10:30 and it was perfect. We got right in and were 20th in line. They didn't actually let us board till 11:30 but we got to sit the whole time while waiting.

 

After the cruise was over, we chose to do the Kennedy Space Center Tour with Airport Transfer. We really enjoyed this, it far exceeded our expectations. Because we were on the tour we recieved VIP tags and were first off the ship and our luggage was seperate from the other luggage. It went very smooth. Go to The Space Center if you haven't. It was so interesting and really one of the highlights of our trip.

 

Overall the Port Canaveral Experience was great. If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer them if I can.

[PirateGal]

Great review. We are also going to be staying at the Country Inn and Suites in Feb. Glad to hear it is a nice hotel!

 

Thanks!

[PirateGal]

Great review. We are also going to be staying at the Country Inn and Suites in Feb. Glad to hear it is a nice hotel!

 

Thanks!

[psblin99]

I work in Cape Canaveral and this was a good report. Dont eat the pizza close to the hotel. Call Abitinos and they will deliver. I also recommend Thai Thai across the street and next to the post office.