ShakerFamily

We're locals looking to cruise again out of Port Canaveral! We were told to try an agent as they can score deals and extras. Would anyone suggest a specific company or person we should speak with?We sailed with RC last time, but open to Carnival. Mostly interested in shorter cruises as we have children at home. We appreciate your suggestions! :)

THEIR corrections are absolutely correct (Thanks John!). Can you tell I am 1- Out of the loop with the ports new terminals and 2- so exhausted from a nocturnal baby?!

I was speaking about the Brevard zoo though in Melbourne/Viera/Suntree area. Very affordable and wonderful! The Central Florida zoo is another 32 miles on top of the drive and isn't exactly the most loving atmosphere toward the animals.

That port though! It seems to really be coming along with simplicity! The day docking is so convenient for guests!

(We were at Grills the day construction came banging down on the outdoor restrooms 😣)!

I however did have to pay when walking into Jetty. Not sure where my visit went wrong. (We were coming from the Holiday Inn pool).

The pier is under new ownership from a few years ago and has built it up a bit. Cocktails and live music would be relaxing!

If you can get Alligent Air into Sandford, Orlando it'll be the cheapest fare by far! Orlando MCO is the main airport with flights a bit more expensive.

As a local and working in the hotel industry, the Cruise and stay packages are definitely convenient but are more expensive. Please read reviews of the hotels! I know the packages state "Americas Best Value" in Cocoa and it's absolutely terrible with an awful crime rate. Keep that in mind!

Uber uber uber if you don't get a package! You can book a hotel/motel anywhere beach side near the Port and it'll cost you only $2-$10! ❤️

Radisson is the closest hotel with shuttle service to the port. But again, any hotel in your price range will do as they're all local

Radisson is absolutely the way to go for proximity and shuttle service. The above is correct as far as local restaurants. Kelseys is amazing and family owned! The radisson also has food available at their pool bar. The pool is amazing the teens would get a kick out of it.

Oh! To add, there isn't anything exciting about the exploration tower. It has random plaques, that's about it ;)

The previous post is incorrect. 😒

The "local" beach is NOT free. They charge per person ($3-$5). You can NOT walk to local areas as the cruise ships load on the opposite side of the jetty. It would literally take over an hour on highway roads. There are tons of local uber drivers though, the cost would be a small $2 roughly. It'd be roughly five minutes from the docks through minimal traffic into the port and beach area.

The port hadmany good restaurants!

Fishlips is our favorite! It has two stories (Indoor more quiet downstairs and indoor/outdoor fun seating upstairs.

Grills is amazing with indoor and outdoor seating, usually live music.

Rustys has great bartenders.

Milikens is more expensive dining with amazing outdoor nightlife!

There's the Merritt Island mall 10/15 minutes away (maybe $8-$10 uber). Many stores and movie theatre.

There are several dolphin and manatee tours amongst the Indian River. These run $20-$50 usually.

The Central Florida zoo is 30 minutes away, $10 per person. They also offer kayaking within the zoo.

Cocoa Beach itself has mini golf, small fun mini cars to drive around town, Ron Jons, and more!

Being someone that lives fairly close to the prominent area, I'm surprised you're concerned with being outside in Miami long enough to just board a ship. The infected was only found within a one mile radius. But with that said, a single infected mosquito could easily roam it's way to Fort Lauderdale without issues. But current news reports are already investigating a local case there. It's not like it's Ebola. Be smart, just take precautions. Sprays, lotions, board the ship in pants and jacket if need be. 😑

No, RCCL made a few changes with our local port in Port Canaveral. They only provide transportation for Majesty of the Seas going out locally. You are in charge of booking your own transportation from MCO if not sailing out of Port Canaveral. :)

RCI prices for those packages are crazy high. I remember seeing Florida hotel for like $600 a night with transportation. If you're going with Doubletree at MCO check these guys out they just partnered with them and the price is really good and all the transportation is included.

 

https://www.goportcanaveral.com/fly-snooze-cruise/orlando-airport/doubletree-orlando-airport/

 

http://www.goportcanaveral.com/blog/doubletree-partners-go-port-canaveral/

Please OP, be sure to check reviews on those hotels. Sure, the America's best hotel seems like a great deal at $126 with all included. However that hotel sells for $44 online (with travel doesn't make it much more of savings), but it's a terrible terrible hotel. It recently switched names and got new ownership as our town is building up. However it's well known for drugs and prostitution. Definitely NOT something your vacation needs to consist of. You will not find a reputable hotel in Cocoa.

Titusville will save you on taxi fare from MCO, with an uber trip of $15 to the Port. (Holiday Inn is beautiful with an on site restaurant). Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach will save you time come the day of departure. ❤️

I used to work for them years ago. Personally I don't suggest them because of pricing. I was in charge of shuttling arrivals from flights directly to the port for immediate departure on the ship. You'd be better off booking at ANY hotel/motel in your price range in Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach. Get a taxi/uber to that hotel. Then uber the morning of to the ship ($3-$10 for a group depending on hotel location).

Nope nope nope ;)

Ships arrives at 8, off around 9 (maybe), 20 minutes to get transportation, 50 minutes to airport, then 20-35 minutes through security. I'm not a fan of our airport times, so give plenty of room. The area is great though, so much to do before the 9pm flight!

Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island, boat tours, outdoor activities, and more! You'd even have time to hit up a theme park in Orlando! :)

They require you attend a presentation of sorts. $69 is hard to come by for a hotel in cocoa beach. You can find smaller motels, however they will not arrange transportation. I'm a local and familiar with the area. My suggestion is book with (almost) any motel or hotel in your price range and use uber for transportation. Everything is so close in port Canaveral and north cocoa beach that uber is $3-$10.

It's under ten miles, so you'd be looking at $8-$12 depending on exact mileage. I uber on the east coast so that's an estimate. Super simple! Pull up the app and choose one of many drivers. The airports and ports are prime locations for drivers.

Our first and only cruise was in 2014 with RC ($99 deals!). Then life and babies happened, so our traveling has been on hold. Now that we're ready to book again, I need help!

We'd love to stay with Royal Carribean, possibly Carnival as these are the only ones in our budget. What is the best way to book the best deals? Would love kids free (8 and 1 year old, maybe 11 year old nephew), onboard credit, whatever deals! Are their secret tips to booking? Who do you suggest booking through (company or travel agent)?

We are within minutes to Port Canaveral Florida and three hours to Miami.

Any and all suggestions welcomed!

Our first and only cruise was in 2014 with RC ($99 deals!). Then life and babies happened, so our traveling has been on hold. Now that we're ready to book again, I need help!

We'd love to stay with Royal Carribean, possibly Carnival as these are the only ones in our budget. What is the best way to book the best deals? Would love kids free (8 and 1 year old, maybe 11 year old nephew), onboard credit, whatever deals! Are their secret tips to booking? Who do you suggest booking through (company or travel agent)?

We are within minutes to Port Canaveral Florida and three hours to Miami.

Any and all suggestions welcomed!

I'm a local, within minutes to the port! There are TONS of cruise parking lots to keep in mind. The Ramada hotel is the closet and has on site parking with shuttle service. The Country Inn & suites is the next closest and are fairly new. Also, if you book through an actual person in the hotels sales department, they're the ones that have discounts and tricks to parking and more :)

Our first and only cruise was in 2014 with RC ($99 deals!). Then life and babies happened, so our traveling has been on hold. Now that we're ready to book again, I need help!

We'd love to stay with Royal Carribean, possibly Carnival as these are the only ones in our budget. What is the best way to book the best deals? Would love kids free (8 and 1 year old, maybe 11 year old nephew), onboard credit, whatever deals! Are their secret tips to booking? Who do you suggest booking through (company or travel agent)?

We are within minutes to Port Canaveral Florida and three hours to Miami.

Any and all suggestions welcomed!

We sail out tomorrow (1/13/14) from Port Canaveral (we're locals) on RC. This made me just call our provider (AT&T) to double check. It's extremely expensive once you're out to sea I found out. However, I purchased a cheap package deal to help us keep in touch with our daughter for the next few days.

For $10, they offer 50 text messages. All incoming texts are FREE. So my Mother can text me all day and send me photos of our daughter about how she's doing, as well as our friends taking care of our house and it's free. We can send out 50 messages during our four day period which I believe is more than enough.

HOWEVER, they told us to make sure data is off at all times and airplane mode is to be used when we're not texting.

Once we're ready to check or send a text message we will turn off the airplane mode and are able to text. With the data already turned off, it will prevent the internet or apps from running so we don't rack up charges. :)

OH AND! ...She said you will usually have service with the providers towers for 8-10 miles before the ship turns their tower on =)

Sailing with RC in January to Nassau and Coco Cay.

Curious as to where we would leave our belongings while we are in the water snorkeling? I assume neither island have lockers?

I'm reading reviews about shady areas and people. I plan to leave our expensive electronics (DSLR camera, ipad, phones, etc) on the ship, and we'll have our GoPro with us in the water of course. But our cards/cash, documents, sail pass cards, etc. will be in our back pack.

Thanks!

The RCI board didn't cover any of our questions of interest, thank you though:)

We're open to all suggestions, as there may be something we didn't know about until it's brought to our attention. We're adventurous, can swim, appreciate history, etc. We're open to hear about any recommendations. :)

RC Enchantment of the Seas 1/13/14

We're sailing with Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas to the Bahamas in January 2014 for our four day honeymoon (first cruise)! Leaving from our local port in Florida to Nassau and Coco Cay.

We've already booked the Coco Cay jet ski excursion and the Nassau self drive boat excursion, but weren't sure if there were other "must see/do" things..

Since we are new to this, are there any suggestions or recommendations that would help us? (What to pack in general, what to pack in our carry on, what to see/do on the islands, what to do on the ship, when to book on board activities, etc)

Is bottled water and soda allowed in our carry on or luggage (we were told two bottles of wine/champagne via carry on?) *We've purchased the alcohol/soda package for my husband.

Anything helpful or recommended for first time cruisers is appreciated! Thank you :)

RC Enchantment of the Seas 1/13/14