Early Arrival at Port Canaveral?

[libertyschool]

Hi! We are sailing out of NYC next May, our first stop is Port Canaveral. We are going to Universal Islands of Adventure and we are still trying to decide whether to take the cruise line excursion or rent a car. Do ships often arrive early, or are they most often late? The scheduled arrival time is noon. If there is a chance that the ship may dock earlier, then the car rental may be advantgeous rather than waiting for the excursion at 12:30. Any opinions on this matter would be very much appreciated. If anyone has either rented a car or taken this excursion I'd really love to hear about it. I know there will be some who will tell me that it is not worth going to Universal as a day trip, be that as it may, we are still definitely going. I just need to figure out which way will be the best. Thank you in advance!! :)

[CruiserBruce]

Most likely won't be much earlier than scheduled. Doubt they would be more than 15minutes early. They plan these things pretty closely.

[kitigonkukoo]

Hi! We are sailing out of NYC next May, our first stop is Port Canaveral. We are going to Universal Islands of Adventure and we are still trying to decide whether to take the cruise line excursion or rent a car. Do ships often arrive early, or are they most often late? The scheduled arrival time is noon. If there is a chance that the ship may dock earlier, then the car rental may be advantgeous rather than waiting for the excursion at 12:30. Any opinions on this matter would be very much appreciated. If anyone has either rented a car or taken this excursion I'd really love to hear about it. I know there will be some who will tell me that it is not worth going to Universal as a day trip, be that as it may, we are still definitely going. I just need to figure out which way will be the best. Thank you in advance!! :)

 

It's worth going- it's a great theme park! :) You'll get some insider knowledge on the bus ride in if you book with the ship (I know- I used to be one of the people doing the talking from the port to the park ;) ). If you want to just be able to come and go as you like, it's SUPER easy to drive to the theme park, I can message you directions if that helps!

 

My recommendation if you still aren't sure about either choice:

See if you can find some people here on cruise critic, who would be interested in getting to the theme park too. It could be Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios, or even CityWalk, as they all share the same property. Get a group, and then split a taxi each way. It's not the cheapest option necessarily, but may bridge your two choices better. It's about $140 each way, unless you work out a deal with a driver.

[Lionesss]

OK, after you dock.

Wait your turn to get off the ship.

Wait for excursion or go get rental car.

drive or be driven to Universal.

Looks like the earliest you could arrive is 2pm--ish.

Crowded park.

Long lines

Hot

Then you need to allow yourself adequate time to get back to the ship........

Is it really worth it?

Think about it.

When we do Disney parks for the price we are there at rope drop, and close them. Sure we may leave for an hour or two when staying on Disney property, but, you wont have that option.

Safe travels whatever you decied.

[libertyschool]

It's worth going- it's a great theme park! You'll get some insider knowledge on the bus ride in if you book with the ship (I know- I used to be one of the people doing the talking from the port to the park ). If you want to just be able to come and go as you like, it's SUPER easy to drive to the theme park, I can message you directions if that helps!

 

Thanks! I'm still not 100% decided but I'm leaning towards the ship excursion, or at least the transfer provided by NCL. I will most likely get my park passes for free using reward points. I've read many reviews from people who have done the 1 theme park in 1 day using the express pass and they've all said that they had plenty of time. If I decide to go with the rental I may take you up on the directions. :)

 

Is it really worth it?

 

TOTALLY!!! :D

[Eng23]

Alot depends on what time your ship docks. Most of the rental car agencies are 5-10 minutes from the terminal, they do have shuttles but none of them will be running before 7:00am which is when most of the agencies open. The closest car rental agency to the port is Hertz about 5 minutes away. Do not take a taxi! The cab fare will be well over $100 to get to Universal Studios. A taxi from the Orlando airport which is closer to the port than Universal costs about $80-$90. So round trip a taxi could run you $200 or more!:eek: