Question about Port Canaveral as a port of call

[mjwcruising]

Our cruise will be stopping in Port Canaveral 10:30 AM to 9:00 PM. DH & I aren't really interested in any excursions at this port but we were thinking of doing something right at the port. I have read about the Exploration Tower. What is the distance from the Grandeur of the Seas terminal to the Tower? The port itself looks quite large on a map. Are there other things to do right there? Is there a shuttle to take you around the port area?

 

Thank you in advance for any info on this port area.

[Johncn]

Hello,

 

It really depends on what you like to do for a day in port. My family usually heads to a beach when we visit Caribbean ports, and Port Canaveral has a free, public park walking distance from Terminal 3 where Grandeur usually docks for a day port call. We're talking a couple hundred yards from ship to beach. ;-)

 

 

We find Jetty Park as nice as many of the beaches on our Caribbean cruises, depending on time of year (January / early February may have some cool days). Wide beach, gentle slope, lifeguards, umbrella, chair and water toy rental concession:

http://www.jettyparkbeachandcampground.com/park_admission

 

The park charges admission for cars, but those on foot are free. They recently added a snack bar / restaurant run by Fishlips (a popular seafood restaurant in the Cove area of the Port). Great fish sandwiches and snacks. Not sure if they have a beer / wine license, but I'm guessing they do.

 

http://visitportcanaveral.com/the-new-fishlips-pavilion-at-jetty-park-good-food-and-friendly-staff/

 

If you want to get out of the immediate debarkation area to explore the area, there are many options, but not all are inexpensive. There are sponsored shuttles the ship will likely offer, and these will usually go the Ron Jon's surf shop part of Cocoa Beach. Ron Jon's is famous for...well, mostly for marketing their brand of surf apparel and accessories. The beach park near there is OK, and there are a couple of restaurants nearby, but not on the beach itself.

 

We prefer the beach near the Cocoa Beach Pier. And, there is a public bus run by Space Coast Area Transit ($1.50 each way) that can take you to the Cocoa Beach Pier that is a ten minute walk from where Grandeur docks. Use the Route 9 SCAT bus, and get off at Publix grocery store stop at Cornerstone Plaza (just after crossing from Cape Canaveral into Cocoa Beach. The pier and public beach there is five minute or so walk down a side street from the bus stop. Restaurants, bars, beach volleyball and so on...you can see the #9 stop below:

 

 

Forum user CaptainBJ has a good roundup of options in this January 2016 post. I would add a couple of personal notes to his recommendations, however. I really like Always Around taxi service (flat rate by zone...very reasonable, and by vehicle, not per person).

 

There is also a guy named Dewey Kessler who operates three extended golf carts for custom tours in and around the Port (Cove Hopper Tours @ 321-536-5957). They hit the Cove restaurants, of course, Parker Brothers Concepts showroom, Florida Air Tours for helicopter rides, and even some restaurants and funky bars in Cocoa Beach and on Merritt Island. Some of those bars will have live music on certain days of the week, and / or happy hour. I think Dewey can also do the Army Corps of Engineers locks at the west end of the Port for wildlife viewing, too..a free viewing platform there with picnic area. Nice guy, and will do special requests, bar crawls and restaurant tours, too.

 

 

Hope this helps, but as you can probably tell, my family thinks Port Canaveral is better than lots of day stops we've done on Caribbean cruises. ;-)

 

Regards,

 

Johncn

Edited September 11, 2016 by Johncn

[ShakerFamily]

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!

[ShakerFamily]

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

[Johncn]

Hey ShakerFamily,

 

Not trying to be a jerk, and realize you are trying to be helpful to the OP, but in the interest of accuracy, I'm afraid it is YOU who are incorrect. :D

 

Let's look at these two statements you posted separately:

 

1) The "local" beach is NOT free. They charge per person ($3-$5).

 

I live right next to Jetty Park, and walk there all the time. We never have to pay. The sidewalk does not even have a gate. The road does. There is no admission fee for those on foot or on bicycle.

 

Jetty Park website confirms this pretty clearly:

 

http://www.jettyparkbeachandcampground.com/camp_rules

"There is no entrance charge for visitors entering on foot or bicycle."

 

2) 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.

The ship in the foreground in this picture I posted is Grandeur of the Seas. She is berthed at Terminal 3, as this is the Port's designated dock for ships making a "port call", or day visit. The blue box immediately adjacent to Grandeur of the Seas is Jetty Park.

 

Only the new public boat ramp (which you can see in the picture) divides the park from the terminal. Four of the other five cruise ships in the background are, as you say, too far for many people to walk comfortably. But, Jetty Park is right next to the berth Grandeur typically uses.

 

Here you can see a map from the Port Authority I annotated that shows the relationship of the Victory Casino ship and the "transient" berth (Terminal 3) for "port calls". The blue box I put in the location of the car / camper gate. Pedestrians and those on bicycles enter next to that gate, but do not have to check in or pay.

 

Hope this clarifies the information I previously provided.

 

Regards,

 

Johncn

Edited September 13, 2016 by Johncn

[Magellan321]

Hey ShakerFamily,

 

Not trying to be a jerk, and realize you are trying to be helpful to the OP, but in the interest of accuracy, I'm afraid it is YOU who are incorrect. :D

 

Let's look at these two statements you posted separately:

 

1) The "local" beach is NOT free. They charge per person ($3-$5).

 

I live right next to Jetty Park, and walk there all the time. We never have to pay. The sidewalk does not even have a gate. The road does. There is no admission fee for those on foot or on bicycle.

 

Jetty Park website confirms this pretty clearly:

 

http://www.jettyparkbeachandcampground.com/camp_rules

"There is no entrance charge for visitors entering on foot or bicycle."

 

2) 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.

The ship in the foreground in this picture I posted is Grandeur of the Seas. She is berthed at Terminal 3, as this is the Port's designated dock for ships making a "port call", or day visit. The blue box immediately adjacent to Grandeur of the Seas is Jetty Park.

 

Only the new public boat ramp (which you can see in the picture) divides the park from the terminal. Four of the other five cruise ships in the background are, as you say, too far for many people to walk comfortably. But, Jetty Park is right next to the berth Grandeur typically uses.

 

Here you can see a map from the Port Authority I annotated that shows the relationship of the Victory Casino ship and the "transient" berth (Terminal 3) for "port calls". The blue box I put in the location of the car / camper gate. Pedestrians and those on bicycles enter next to that gate, but do not have to check in or pay.

 

Hope this clarifies the information I previously provided.

 

Regards,

 

Johncn

 

Correct! I literally just walked into Jetty Park this weekend from the boat ramp just in front of the where the dock is. Took me ten minutes and no fee to enter on foot. I needed to renew my car pass and walked over while the guys loaded the boat onto the trailer.

[Capt_BJ]

and it is BREVARD ZOO that is near PC

 

Central Florida Zoo is in Sanford ..... about an hour away

[SteerageJoe]

Good information!

 

Just another minor "correction"...

 

When cruise ships dock at Terminal 3, Jetty Park opens a "Pedestrian" Gate - meaning you DO NOT detour to the main entrance (which would make for a much longer walk). And entrance is FREE.

 

Please zoom in on the map link below and look at Jetty Park. You can see the special walkway shown in green from Terminal 3 to the beach (only open when ships are docked at terminal 3).

 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en_US&mid=1kUqV-SksGfy8RZniAggbw3RAIQ4

 

The map also shows the SCAT route (it runs anti-clockwise, important!)

Edited September 13, 2016 by SteerageJoe

[Magellan321]

Good information!

 

Just another minor "correction"...

 

When cruise ships dock at Terminal 3, Jetty Park opens a "Pedestrian" Gate - meaning you DO NOT detour to the main entrance (which would make for a much longer walk). And entrance is FREE.

 

Please zoom in on the map link below and look at Jetty Park. You can see the special walkway shown in green from Terminal 3 to the beach (only open when ships are docked at terminal 3).

 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en_US&mid=1kUqV-SksGfy8RZniAggbw3RAIQ4

 

The map also shows the SCAT route (it runs anti-clockwise, important!)

 

I was so bummed that the pedestrian gate was locked next to the boat ramp...but thankfully a minor detour thru the front gate. Oh, and the fish sandwich at the Fishlips snack bar was worth my little walk to get my new pass.

[ShakerFamily]

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!

[Capt_BJ]

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).

 

Hmmmmm ... the 'Holiday Inn Resort' just south of Jetty park? Hmmmmm formerly the Ron Jon time share place ..... hmmmmmm

 

If you look at a map you'll see, walking due east to the beach from the south side of the property/pool, you never enter Jetty Park ..... when it was the RJ property, Ron Jon ran a shuttle to "their beach" ..... just an entrance they used as all the beach is free .... {Jetty Park, meaning the camp ground, cabins, fishing pier and concessions is technically PORT property and they CAN charge for parking ... and DO obviously}

 

If you went from the pool, north into jetty park on foot dunno where you get charged . . .

Edited September 13, 2016 by Capt_BJ

[mjwcruising]

We have reviewed the options in & around Port Canaveral several times and we have decided to just hang around the port. Our main question is want kind of transportation is right near terminal 3 to take us around the port area to the expiration tower or the Cove, fish lips, etc. right at the port. Is there trams, buses, trolley, or taxi's??

[SteerageJoe]

We have reviewed the options in & around Port Canaveral several times and we have decided to just hang around the port. Our main question is want kind of transportation is right near terminal 3 to take us around the port area to the expiration tower or the Cove, fish lips, etc. right at the port. Is there trams, buses, trolley, or taxi's??

 

The Cove Hopper – A free (donations very welcome) golf-cart shuttle service offered by friendly locals with a wealth of knowledge. Using back roads they can take you south as far as Ron Jon! Or just drive you around the Port.

[mjwcruising]

The Cove Hopper – A free (donations very welcome) golf-cart shuttle service offered by friendly locals with a wealth of knowledge. Using back roads they can take you south as far as Ron Jon! Or just drive you around the Port.

 

Thank you SteerageJoe, that is want we were hoping for. We would gladly give them a donation to drive us to location right at the port.

[ballymae]

Can one of you extremely knowledgable people tell me the best way to get to Parker Concepts from the NCL terminal?

[SteerageJoe]

Can one of you extremely knowledgable people tell me the best way to get to Parker Concepts from the NCL terminal?

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1kUqV-SksGfy8RZniAggbw3RAIQ4&ll=28.43333136450134%2C-81.04499200000004&z=10

 

You will probably arrive at terminal 10. Unfortunately there is no free access to Parker from there. Uber will be best or one of the 888 taxis that line up outside (if you do not have the Uber app).

 

You can see the Parker location on this map (just zoom in)