The NEW I Work in Port Canaveral Thread!

[Can't wait 2010]

Thanks Shirley! Post #295 was a big help! We are using Cocoa Beach taxi service to go to the beach at $2 per person each way for 10 people. We will be going to the beach at the pier.

Thanks,

Dana

 

Carnival Pride Aug 2010

RCI Freedom of the Seas Jul 2008

RCI Grandeur of the Seas Oct 2007

 

Good morning Dana,

We do not have a waterpark such as they have in Orlando - guess it would almost be impossible to put one here, but you never know - Ron Jon's is a resort and timesharing but I doubt very serious if they have day passes - There is the Jetty Park that has a playground, the beach, showers, fishing, lunchenette etc - the one thing you have to remember is that the port is just that and you can not walk anywhere from it - what I can suggest is that you drop Michelle (from the chamber of commerce) a note and I know she would be thrilled to help you - also if you will go to post #295 and really take a lot of time to read it, it gives you a lot of information as places to go, places to see, places to visit etc ---One of the places I took my great grandkids was to the Dinosaur store and my goodness I bet we were in there for a couple of hours because it was so interesting. I also took them over to 4 Points to have lunch with Nemo and Fred - 4 Points has a shark tank

with tropical fish and of course I told the kids Nemo was there and Fred is an eel that is huge and acts like a dog who always wants to be petted by the feeders. There is Cocoa Beach Pier which also has a lot of interest - you have the Brevard Zoo - anyhow go to that thread and also I know a lot of folks will give you a lot of imput that will help.

Welcome to the board and may you find all that you want to know and get all the help you are asking for - you will be surprise at all the helping hands that will be extended and you will be fine.

[snelsonbrown]

Thanks Shirley! Post #295 was a big help! We are using Cocoa Beach taxi service to go to the beach at $2 per person each way for 10 people. We will be going to the beach at the pier.

Thanks' date='

Dana[/quote']

 

Dana, if you are going to the Cocoa Beach Pier, you can walk out to the end to the Tiki Hut and have a drink and watch the fishermen with their catches and the surfers - I know there is a small charge to go to the end of the pier, but if you have something to eat, you show your receipt and you get in at no charge - I have gone out to the end of the pier many times and enjoyed just being out there - there isn't much to do around the pier, but you can get the trolley (it is on post #295) and ride up and down A1A for almost nothing - you can get on and off at different places - you have a stop almost in front of Durango's -

It will take you and drop you off around Ron Jon's (what we call downtown CB) but it really isn't.

Anyhow just a thought and suggestion and whatever you do have a great time doing so

[laurspag]

I'm really having a lot of dilemmas, and I'm rethinking if booking a cruise out of Cape Canaveral is a good idea. I know I've made a few posts before, so please bear with me.

 

I can't seem to find the best place to stay without spending a fortune on transportation. If we stay in Orlando, we quite a ways from the Kennedy Space Center and the ship's terminal.

 

If we stay in Cape Canaveral, there is the expense of the airport to the hotel, then the hotel round trip to Kennedy Space Center, and then from the hotel to the terminal, and the terminal to the airport on return!

 

I've seen suggestions for renting a car, but there is still the issue of returning the rental prior to the cruise and getting to the terminal, and then we'd still need to get back from the terminal to the airport on return.

 

I'm so confused! I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on transportation.

 

Executive VIP Limo (Mike) is very helpful and his rates are reasonable, but it's still going to cost us...

 

I hope you all can help me. :confused:

[snelsonbrown]

I'm really having a lot of dilemmas, and I'm rethinking if booking a cruise out of Cape Canaveral is a good idea. I know I've made a few posts before, so please bear with me.

 

I can't seem to find the best place to stay without spending a fortune on transportation. If we stay in Orlando, we quite a ways from the Kennedy Space Center and the ship's terminal.

 

If we stay in Cape Canaveral, there is the expense of the airport to the hotel, then the hotel round trip to Kennedy Space Center, and then from the hotel to the terminal, and the terminal to the airport on return!

 

I've seen suggestions for renting a car, but there is still the issue of returning the rental prior to the cruise and getting to the terminal, and then we'd still need to get back from the terminal to the airport on return.

 

I'm so confused! I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on transportation.

 

Executive VIP Limo (Mike) is very helpful and his rates are reasonable, but it's still going to cost us...

 

I hope you all can help me. :confused:

 

Hello Laurie,

I don't understand the confusion but I am trying to understand that you are having a problem with all the expenses and stress involved - the easiest is still renting your own transportation.

You are stressing too much over simple problems - you rent a car in Orlando, drive it here to whereever you are going to stay, use it to get to the places you want to go - (there is a chamber of commerce right on Astrounaut Blvd you can stop at and they will be more than happy to help you not get lost and the address is on post 295) morning of the cruise, drive to the rental place, turn in car and take their shuttle to the ships - coming back do it reverse - Now if it still sounds too overwhelming just rethink what you want to do and it will all turn out good ----------honest even if you don't cruise from here.

Hope all will work out for you

[willydoit]

laurspag, I couldn't agree with Shirley more,,,,if cost is the issue, stop worrying and rent a vehicle, it worked fine for us on our last cruise. The added flexibility of getting around Cocoa Beach the day before the cruise was great as well,,,I even snuck in a short visit with Shirley!!:D

 

I would suggest that you have someone drop your group off at the pier with the car for embarkation, then have 1 person return to the car rental office with the vehicle. Most rental places at PC will be busy that day. That way you won't have to fill the car rental shuttle with luggage when they take you to the pier. It's the way we did it with a group of 4 and was about a 30-40 minute turnaound from dropping the group off at the ship, returning the car, and having the shuttle drop me back at the pier.

 

We were in no rush at debarkation, so the car rental shuttle was empty and took all of us and our luggage when we returned. It's basically a 10 minute ride to the office, get your rental, and off you go.

 

Hey Shirley,,,booked another cruise, but it's on the other side of the country. My bride and I are going to Alaska for our 30th anniversary.:) Don't fret though,,I'll come down and see you soon!!:cool:

[snelsonbrown]

laurspag, I couldn't agree with Shirley more,,,,if cost is the issue, stop worrying and rent a vehicle, it worked fine for us on our last cruise. The added flexibility of getting around Cocoa Beach the day before the cruise was great as well,,,I even snuck in a short visit with Shirley!!:D

 

I would suggest that you have someone drop your group off at the pier with the car for embarkation, then have 1 person return to the car rental office with the vehicle. Most rental places at PC will be busy that day. That way you won't have to fill the car rental shuttle with luggage when they take you to the pier. It's the way we did it with a group of 4 and was about a 30-40 minute turnaound from dropping the group off at the ship, returning the car, and having the shuttle drop me back at the pier.

 

We were in no rush at debarkation, so the car rental shuttle was empty and took all of us and our luggage when we returned. It's basically a 10 minute ride to the office, get your rental, and off you go.

 

Hey Shirley,,,booked another cruise, but it's on the other side of the country. My bride and I are going to Alaska for our 30th anniversary.:) Don't fret though,,I'll come down and see you soon!!:cool:

 

Hello my friend,

You are taking the cruise Norm and I have often thought about taking - whenever you and your sweetie are here, please stop by and say hello - its always such a great pleasure

Take care and have a great time.

PS thanks for assuring Laurie it will be ok - I know what it is to be in a strange town and have concern, but this is what the board is all about :-)

Take care and blessings always

your friend

[corkyanige]

I'm really having a lot of dilemmas, and I'm rethinking if booking a cruise out of Cape Canaveral is a good idea. I know I've made a few posts before, so please bear with me.

 

I can't seem to find the best place to stay without spending a fortune on transportation. If we stay in Orlando, we quite a ways from the Kennedy Space Center and the ship's terminal.

 

If we stay in Cape Canaveral, there is the expense of the airport to the hotel, then the hotel round trip to Kennedy Space Center, and then from the hotel to the terminal, and the terminal to the airport on return!

 

I've seen suggestions for renting a car, but there is still the issue of returning the rental prior to the cruise and getting to the terminal, and then we'd still need to get back from the terminal to the airport on return.

 

I'm so confused! I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on transportation.

 

Executive VIP Limo (Mike) is very helpful and his rates are reasonable, but it's still going to cost us...

 

I hope you all can help me. :confused:

 

I do understand your dilemma! But if you haven't cruised out of Port Canaveral -- you don't know what you are missing -- I love this area, and I've only been there once!

 

When we cruised out of PC in April, we drove down, so didn't have the inconvenience of worrying about transportation from the airport. BUT, we loved the area for our 2 days pre-cruise so much so that for our September cruise (which we are flying down for)... we decided that we definitely wanted to Port Canaveral again.

 

Or first trip we stayed at the Country Inn & Suites in Cape Canaveral. -- got a great rate on PriceLine. For our next trip, we decided to stay in Cocoa Beach (just a couple miles south of PC) since we are now a little more familiar with the area from our first trip. We are using VIP Limo (town car) for the 4 of us... and it's $150, but split between 4 adults is a lot easier to take versus a family paying the whole amount (if that's your case). But I really think that is the only drawback of this cruise port.... and the positives of the area sure outway that one negative, in my opinion.

 

If you haven't already, I urge you to read up on how to work PriceLine and try that out to get the best hotel deal.

 

Good luck on your vacation planning!! This thread has been a wonderful resource to me!!

[corkyanige]

Shirley,

Could you tell me if the Cocoa Beach Trolley goes up to the FishLips/Grills area (forget what the name of that area is)? I've been looking all over, but can't tell for sure. On the little map I found, it shows that it goes to George King Blvd -- not sure if that is the road or not??? Or how close that might be to the restaurant there???

[snelsonbrown]

Shirley,

Could you tell me if the Cocoa Beach Trolley goes up to the FishLips/Grills area (forget what the name of that area is)? I've been looking all over, but can't tell for sure. On the little map I found, it shows that it goes to George King Blvd -- not sure if that is the road or not??? Or how close that might be to the restaurant there???

 

Hello Angie - George King Blvd runs the same way from where the "Cove" is which is where all the restaurants are - you want to look for Glen Creek Road and that is where you want to go

Anything else I can do? Let me know ok?

Edited August 19, 2010 by snelsonbrown

[cruisin eddie]

I have a question for a port canaveral resident. We were there in 2003 and had a great seafood dinner at a restaurant that looked like an old gas station. It had wood tables with brown paper for table cloths. I think it was on Astronaut Blvd or on Atlantic Ave. It was right where the road curved. Is the restaurant still there, and what was the name of the restaurant. We will be there in November and would like to visit it again. Can someone help us? :confused:

[relaxinvac]

Hi Shirley! Thanks so much for the info. I'm going to go with Hollywood as they do both fingers and toes. They do an acrylic/gel combo for toes and can do gel nails for me for fingers.:) Diva's only does polish for the toes.

 

I was able to get a rental car for $50 all taxes in for one day so I'm going to do that and then I'm free to go wherever my heart desires.;)

 

I will have to check out the clothing shop that you suggested as I'm always needing new cruise clothes. Thank you so much for your help!!!:D

Where did you find the rental for $50? I just booked a rental using AAA rates for less than 24 hours and it was $80.00.

[abasso]

Were looking into using them for our upcoming cruise. There are 4 of us going and we are looking to be picked up at the airport and taking to our hotel at Sea World on Dec 31 and then picked up at our hotel and taken to the cruise ship on Jan 1 and then picked up from the cruise ship to the airport on jan 8th. Have looked at a lot of different companies but are thinking of using Noble Transportation. has anyone ever used them? cant seem to find any reviews online about them. Thanks

[caribtravel]

Where did you find the rental for $50? I just booked a rental using AAA rates for less than 24 hours and it was $80.00.

 

Try Avis or Budget. We have an Avis rental for $37 from Cruise to MCO with a code I posted earlier (I was told that code no longer works) but do a google search for Avis/Budget codes (they change all the time) or from airlines/hotels or check some of the codes that have been posted on the Florida thread. Hope this helps you. Let me know how it works or if you find better codes.

[snelsonbrown]

I have a question for a port canaveral resident. We were there in 2003 and had a great seafood dinner at a restaurant that looked like an old gas station. It had wood tables with brown paper for table cloths. I think it was on Astronaut Blvd or on Atlantic Ave. It was right where the road curved. Is the restaurant still there, and what was the name of the restaurant. We will be there in November and would like to visit it again. Can someone help us? :confused:

 

That restaurant was called Crab Heaven and about 6 years ago, a disgrunted employee decided to take revenge by setting it on fire - long story short, they moved to Merritt Island on the 520 Causeway AKA Cocoa Beach Causeway - I believe new owners have taken it over since it is now known as Mo's Crab Heaven 321-449-1233 475 E Merritt Island, Merritt Island, florida.

 

The restaurant was renovated and opened by Boston Seafood and then they moved to Cocoa Beach - I haven't been to Crab Heaven since it moved, but sure loved their seafood when they were here and I loved the "natural" of the whole place - I have tried Boston Seafood and it's not bad

Anyhow hope that helps some - maybe you can goggle and find something on it

Hope this helped a little

Edited August 20, 2010 by snelsonbrown

[snelsonbrown]

Thanks Shirley! Post #295 was a big help! We are using Cocoa Beach taxi service to go to the beach at $2 per person each way for 10 people. We will be going to the beach at the pier.

Thanks' date='

Dana

 

Carnival Pride Aug 2010

RCI Freedom of the Seas Jul 2008

RCI Grandeur of the Seas Oct 2007[/quote']

 

Hello Dana - you are really going to enjoy the pier - they have surfers, volley ball games, restaurants, a bar overlooking the ocean (well 2 of them) - years ago, I would take my chair, a book, cooler with grandkids and sit right out in the water to just hang out and it was so great - anyhow I really believe you will be fine and if not you can hang me :-)) (you know I am just kidding right) - what I try to do to share my experience with you - we all differ of course but I still kinda like to put the personal side in it.

Edited August 20, 2010 by snelsonbrown

[snelsonbrown]

Were looking into using them for our upcoming cruise. There are 4 of us going and we are looking to be picked up at the airport and taking to our hotel at Sea World on Dec 31 and then picked up at our hotel and taken to the cruise ship on Jan 1 and then picked up from the cruise ship to the airport on jan 8th. Have looked at a lot of different companies but are thinking of using Noble Transportation. has anyone ever used them? cant seem to find any reviews online about them. Thanks

 

I have seen a few Noble vehicles over here, but never heard anything about them since they are out of Orlando, but I am almost sure you will be fine.

Good luck and please post when you get back

[stones902]

Hello Shirley & Everyone,

 

Pardon me for asking - I am sure this has been asked before but I don't have the time to go through the entire thread right now.

 

Which properties in the area offer free parking for the week that you cruise? Last time we sailed from Port Canaveral we used the Radisson (which was nice) but we are thinking of trying a different property this year. Is there anything that would give you free parking for the week in the Cocoa Beach area?

 

I'm not adverse to the Radisson, just trying to figure out all our options.

 

Thanks in advance Shirley, you helped us with good advice a few years ago! You are a great ambassador for your community.

[snelsonbrown]

Hello Shirley & Everyone,

 

Pardon me for asking - I am sure this has been asked before but I don't have the time to go through the entire thread right now.

 

Which properties in the area offer free parking for the week that you cruise? Last time we sailed from Port Canaveral we used the Radisson (which was nice) but we are thinking of trying a different property this year. Is there anything that would give you free parking for the week in the Cocoa Beach area?

 

I'm not adverse to the Radisson, just trying to figure out all our options.

 

Thanks in advance Shirley, you helped us with good advice a few years ago! You are a great ambassador for your community.

 

Hello Stones902,

Most of them all do - Wakulla doesn't simply because they do not have the room and that is about it OH Motel 6 either - the rest do.

Hope that helps

[snelsonbrown]

I am totally blown away - did anyone realize that this thread gets over 300 hits a day?

Guess we all should congratulate ourselves for doing such a great job of keeping everyone informed - I really love it that so many take the time to post that help the cruisers - makes my part much easier so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ;-))

Edited August 20, 2010 by snelsonbrown

[stones902]

Hello Stones902,

Most of them all do - Wakulla doesn't simply because they do not have the room and that is about it OH Motel 6 either - the rest do.

Hope that helps

 

That helps! Thank you!

[JMS920]

Shirley, a big THANK YOU! You are the backbone of this thread.

[EMT]

we are thinking of cruising from this port, is it better to stay in cocoa with a car from orlando airport and will the hotel let us leave it for a week or stay in orlando and take transportion to pier, which is more cost effective, any reasobale room near pier?

[snelsonbrown]

Shirley, a big THANK YOU! You are the backbone of this thread.

Glad to help and nawwwwwwwwwwwww never the backbone for this thread for without the help from everybody, I really couldn't do it. It has really been a real honor to be able to help anytime I could - I do make BIG TIME mistakes, but then didn't say I was perfect either - anytime anyone can post with the experience, I would sincerely appreciate it since it gives the newcomers a heads up.

Thanks for all being so great and making this thread so successful

 

GOOD NIGHT AND SWEET DREAMS :-))

Edited August 21, 2010 by snelsonbrown

[pbinn]

we are thinking of cruising from this port, is it better to stay in cocoa with a car from orlando airport and will the hotel let us leave it for a week or stay in orlando and take transportion to pier, which is more cost effective, any reasobale room near pier?

We have never done this, but we are thinking of staying at the radisson with a rental car from the orlando airport. From what i have read on the boards here, i gather that it is cheaper to rent the car and return it in cocoa beach before your cruise, and take the shuttle from the car rental place (or hotel) to the pier, then take the shuttle back after the cruise and rent a car again to get back to orlando. I dont want to pay for a car rental for a week and leave it at the hotel when i am not going to be using it !

[snelsonbrown]

We have never done this, but we are thinking of staying at the radisson with a rental car from the orlando airport. From what i have read on the boards here, i gather that it is cheaper to rent the car and return it in cocoa beach before your cruise, and take the shuttle from the car rental place (or hotel) to the pier, then take the shuttle back after the cruise and rent a car again to get back to orlando. I dont want to pay for a car rental for a week and leave it at the hotel when i am not going to be using it !

 

This is EXACTLY what you want to do pbinn - it is easier and it will save you a bunch of money and headaches --------you really are doing it the right way unless you won the lottery and can afford to pay not only rental on the car for a week, plus the $15.00 a day for leaving it there :-))

GOOD CHOICE