Capt_BJ

remember that 'port canaveral' is a business entity IN THE TOWN of Cape Canaveral. For example the Enterprise location 'in the port' has the address: 710 Mullet Rd, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920. In the port is a shared location for Enterprise/Alamo/National also in Cape Canaveral are Budget Dollar / Thrifty (shared location) AVIS all are fairly close to the port and on A1A search for a 'location' of Cape Canaveral . . .

watching the web cam for the port I see little activity. OTOH PC is a really good place for off site parking. There are several options within a 10 minute shuttle ride and they charge half what the port does for their garages .... https://www.parkportcanaveral.com/ https://parkncruiseportcanaveral.com/

you do realize that Miami to Orlando is 200 miles . . .

Thon chain is sort of the Holiday Inn of Norway ... reliable, clean, safe. There are a couple walking distance from the train station - in addition to 'opera house'. We used Thon Terminus .... Radisson Blu is right there too ....

we sailed from PE for a cruise over Thanksgiving last year and parking was a NIGHTMARE .... It was not our first time sailing from PE but the first time driving (usually fly in or park at child's house who lives near and drives us to the port) We arrived at 10 and most parking was full and folks blocking the entrances. Asking them where parking was available got a shrug and general hand wave ..... eventually I was led to 'the big garage' and directed to park under a big sign: "DO NOT PARK HERE" ..... car WAS there when we returned ..... It taints me so far as ever sailing from PE again ... I surely won't plan to park there even on the best of times you can be at a terminal with NO nearby parking and as dependent on a shuttle as if you were parked off site. If I'm flying in same day, PE is nice as it is SO close to the airport. Driving ... not so much. Since I live minutes from Port Canaveral now the flying thing no longer applies . . . and PC gets a big preference over the southern ports . . .

I'm doing Brightline in January, and I bought the more expensive tickets, which include an Uber connection between station and port. Not sure if you're interested in that. Just doing your own Uber, might be better, but you'd have to check the numbers. yep ... some serious number crunching is required here. With the 'premium' ticket your port to station leg is covered no matter how many UBER are required (and I believe I saw they run a mini-bus now); AND I believe the + ticket has some checked bags included .... Versus 2 adults and two kids <how big are we talkin?> and bags per UBER which may not fit!! requiring uber+ or 3 cars ..... You could be looking at two 'mini-van' taxi or two UBER+ ..... versus a BL+ ride with included drinks! {p.s. BL killed another one today so factor in extra time for possible police investigations ... they are maintaining their position as the most deadly rail road per mile of track}

in major US ports there is usually a standing Captain of the Port order for a threshold windspeed beyond which tugs are required to escort large vessels. 'not negotiable' 😗

MSC entered channel about 9am ... tug escort due to winds (standing port order) appears only one ship being allowed to be in channel at a time which will slow things more .... 9:30 and MSC is at the turning basin and OASIS OTS is passing the sea buoy

Port of Miami is closed this morning due to weather / wind as of 9AM there are 7 cruise ships which normally would be well into off load ... loitering outside of the port .... it appears the first is just now being allowed into the approach channel ..... it appears that due to the wind the Captain of the Port is requiring tug escort / assist .....

editorial: Port Canaveral and the town of Cape Canaveral are not BIG metropolitan areas like Miami or Ft Lauderdale and as the port has grown some of the 'support services' have NOT grown to match. One such service is rental cars ..... The local rental offices are not BIG like you see at Miami or Lauderdale where the main offices are actually serving the airport .... In Canaveral those large rental offices are at Orlando Airport - 45 minutes away. What the local offices are like - how busy they are - is VERY dependent on the port load: how many ships are in on 'your day'. If your day is one or two ships there is typically no issues but some days there are 4, 5 even 6 and these days easily over run the local rental offices. If you go to the port website and the cruise section you can find a link to the cruise ship schedule. They tend to keep it filled to about 6 months out and you can check 'your day' and have an idea of what to expect .... https://www.portcanaveral.com/getattachment/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules/Port-Canaveral-Cruise-Schedule-Dec23-Jul24.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

'in the port' is a shared office for enterprise/national/alamo (walkable from terminal one - RCCL primary terminal not far away (shuttle provided) are Budget, Avis and Dollar/Thrifty

TECHNICALLY if you look at the web sites for GE it is described as being for AIRPORTS only. However IME I have seen 'priority' lanes at cruise ports marked for GE holders (and used them). They don't have the machines but will hand inspect the card and the line is VERY short .. . Global Entry is a program of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to receive expedited clearance upon arrival into the United States through automatic kiosks at select airports

sorry to say that is my impression that it depends on the garage ..... https://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/parking-information.asp

we were on SATURN in July (one of the first sailings) and found the internet service do be significantly less than what we'd experienced previously on other VO cruises. I ran 'speed test' several times and the bandwidth I'd see for down link was typically WELL under 10 mbps. Btw we don't stream ... use was simple emails/messages, some FaceBook. Provider was STARLINK ..... I'd noticed the bunch of antenna the first day.

ESCAPE has been using 10 I see when EPIC begins the schedule says 3 ..... https://www.portcanaveral.com/PortCanaveral/media/Communications/2023/CPA-Website-Schedule-Aug-Jan-2024.pdf

One of our stops will be Key West so we won't need to go there. good thing as it is about 150 miles away ..... a couple of companies run Hop on Hop Off <HoHo> from Bayside and this would appear to fit you well. You should look into the different offerings as they go different places AND note that there is a difference 'tween Miami and Miami Beach ..... sep' cities ..... there IS also an extensive 'free' trolley system which can get you to all the touristy places in MIAMI but there is no narration as you'd get on a HoHo so kinda requires some local knowledge or a LOT of pre-planning .....https://www.miami.gov/Transportation-Roadways/Trolley-Information/Get-Trolley-Information-Schedules-and-Maps

SIX .....

no reservations taken for IN port parking. OTOH the off-sites DO and usually give a better rate when you make reservation . .

MG uses terminal 3 which has an adjacent garage ... just follow signs to terminal 3 ... SUNPASS is accepted at T-3 parking (T-3 ONLY) Official Port Canaveral Parking Official Port Canaveral Cruise Parking is available only directly adjacent to each of Port Canaveral’s Cruise Terminals. The Port does not own or operate any off-Port parking facilities. Park at your cruise terminal's designated parking area and simply take a short walk to your ship; no need for shuttles. Oversize parking for RV's and buses is also available at each Cruise Terminal. Parking Rates Parking is $17.00 per day plus tax for vehicles & RVs, including day of arrival and day of departure. *Rates are subject to change without notice. Contact the Canaveral Port Authority at 321-783-7831 for the latest information. Acceptable Payment Methods • No cash accepted • Major credit cards (American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover) • Presently, EPASS and SunPass accepted ONLY at the Cruise Terminal 3 parking garage

prohibited outright .... no approach sidewalks ... no foot path on the bridge(s) .... security will be called but will they respond b4 you get across is a different issue .... a taxi or U/L is basically your only choice ... local bus service doesn't cross the bridge to the north side ... no route ...

A woman has been banned for life from sailing aboard any Carnival Cruise Line ship for packing CBD gummies along in her carry-on bag for an August 2023 cruise from Miami, Florida. Despite the controlled substance being conditionally legal in Florida, all major cruise lines prohibit such items, as is clearly stated on Carnival’s prohibited items list.

did you check the airport web site for transport companies? https://flysfb.com/taxis-shuttles-rides/

the 'problem' with off site parking at POM is the fact that the port is smack downtown. Having worked downtown for a few years I can tell you that parking is $$ so establishing a low cost site is somewhat of a problem. IME what happens is a lot may get cleared by tearing down a building and in the interim b4 new construction begins someone runs a parking operation ..... I've tried a couple over the years and each time is was a MISTAKE and would not even bother today .... the ARE decent off site lots for the AIRPORT that have been around a long time and are safe ... BUT they are at the airport and don't run shuttles to the port. You could use them via the airport but at increased time and $$.

remember that outside of the cruise port this is a pretty small town and the number of taxi avaialble is NOTHING like what you see in Miami or Lauderdale. A lot will depend on the 'port load' for the day. If only one ship is turning around there will be taxi (and UBER). If it is a 4 (or more) ship day .... not so much. Same applies to how crazy the car rental places will be and how soon shuttles will book up. You can check 'your day' here: https://www.portcanaveral.com/PortCanaveral/media/Communications/2023/CPA-Website-Schedule-Aug-Jan-2024.pdf <always subject to changes>