Follow That Bus!

[Cool Waters]

I know this is pretty strange....but has anyone ever rented a car in port and actually followed the excursion bus to the same excursion :confused:? I want to take my kids to Sea World on the discounted tickets through my job ($310 tickets + $100 for the rental), but I don't want to spend $750 for all 5 of us to go through the ship :mad:. So I wanted to rent a car and follow the Sea World Excursion bus to Sea World and back.

 

Is this even a possibility and if so, is it too much trouble? Yes, I know it sounds cheap, but for the price the ship is charging, we could go twice! :eek:

[Mike&Shell]

I don't think you will have time to Rent your car and then follow the bus... People who book excursions get off first most of the time. Once you do the paper work the bus will be gone.

Once you get to the port you can find vendors who will shuttle you to the excursion as well. That can save you a few hundred.

[swscruiser]

Renting a car the car will probably not be available at the port so following thebus will not work. Just make sure there is a gps in the rental and you'll be just fine. Just make sure your back on the ship on time.

[NBlewett]

Why not just rent a car with a GPS device?

 

Not like Shamu's home base is inside a top secret government facility that is unknown to any one other than the Cruise Lines

[NJoyCruise]

Not sure if this could help you but it's another option to renting....http://www.sunshinestatetransportation.com/

[jorapp]

Finding Sea World is easy. Just drive toward Orlando and you will see signs everywhere.

 

Before you leave home, just print a mapquest or google maps route...they are very accurate. If you are a AAA member, get a map and tour book from them.

 

Have a great day there, and a great cruise!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

most smartphones have gps so if you have a smartphone you are in luck.

 

Use mine all the time and keep the Tom Tom in the glove box. :p

 

Bill

[matj2000]

I would have never considered Sea World as an excusion. Orlando would be a completely seperate trip. Then I have never figured out how they made "Cocoa Beach" a cruise port stop and get away with it.

[ehfl]

I think this has to be the funniest post of the day!

[paper1122]

From the port Seaworld is incredibly easy to get to. You basically get on 528 and follow it until the second to last exit. I was there this weekend, parking is now $14! Fortunately I had a free parking pass.

I rode Manta for the first time (I work for the company that oversaw construction) it was a blast.

As a heads up, the new owner did away with the free beer tent :(

[ds6300]

How long does it take to get to sea world from the port?

[Tbay-eh]

Couple of things - some already stated: excursion bus leaves from port - car has to be picked up at the airport - shuttle bus for car rental took us forever as they wait and then pickup all around the terminal not just Carnival. Another poster stated my feelings - this is not just a shore excursion it is a really full day to do it properly and is more of a destination. I know I am not really encouraging but the car rental pickup and drop will take time and should be figured into the time the ship will be there. You will be last off the ship as Carnival Excursions are given priority. What ever you decide on - have an awesome time.

[RWolver672]

You will be last off the ship as Carnival Excursions are given priority. What ever you decide on - have an awesome time.

 

Port Canaveral is a docking port. There is no priority for leaving the ship. As soon as they clear the ship, you can get off. We caught a shuttle to the car rental places in Canaveral without any problem. It filled up fast and we were on the road within ten minutes. We already had the car rented so all I had to do was give them my credit card, signed my name and off I went. Less than a half hours time. They have Hertz, Dollar, Budget and a few others available within a few miles and they all offer shuttles.

[RyanGT04]

How long does it take to get to sea world from the port?

 

It's a little under an hour and it is really easy to get to from Port Canaveral. 528 the whole way and once you get close there are going to be signs all over the place

[scon]

My wife 2 friends and I went to universal 2 years ago on our pride sailing. If I remember right the stop was 7a to 7p. We were delayed about 30 to 45 min for clearence to get off. We waited right at the gangway and were in the 1st group of 10 people to get off. Same as you I did not want to pay almost $250 dollars more for the same excursion. We had no problem at all doing this and we were back on the ship at 6:15p.m.

We used Avis rental which is 2 to 3 miles from port and they have a shuttle that takes you back and forth. If you sign up for the preferred service (which is free) you do not have to wait at the counter. You just grab your key and go.

The drive was very easy and took about 50min to an hour to get to universal, (If I remember correctly I think universal and sea world are in the same general area) both closer than disney. The drive also included a much needed stop at dunkin's for the coffee drinkers.

We prepayed for our park tickets and just went to the will call window to pick them up. However if we didnt do this it would have been just as easy to buy right then.

We were in the park between 9:30 and 10:00 and we wanted to leave by 4:30 to allow ourselves enough time to get back encase we hit any traffic. The plan we took was to go online before hand and figure out which shows and rides we didn't want to miss and did those first and anything else we did was a bonus. I would say between both parks at universal the only rides we didn't do were fire and ice (roller coaster)because of time, And dudley do-right water coaster(not interested and already soaked from blutos bilge).

We had lunch at magaritaville and headed back to port about 4:30 dropped off the car at 5:30 and shuttled back to port by avis and back on board by 6. It was a very fun day and we liked not having to be on a full bus having to wait till the bus is full to leave and return