Oasis class and Port Canaveral

[Kovster]

How well does this port handle those size of ships?  I have only sailed out of Everglades/Miami on the Oasis class.  

Also is it cheaper to stay near the port or in Orlando and shuttle to the port?

 

Thanks in advance! 

[Clarea]

I think Terminal 1 at Port Canaveral does an outstanding job at handling Oasis class ships. 

[robtulipe]

 

33 minutes ago, Kovster said:

 

Also is it cheaper to stay near the port or in Orlando and shuttle to the port?

 

Thanks in advance! 

 

We've found it to be much cheaper to stay the night before our cruises out of Port Canaveral near MCO airport in Orlando.

There are quite a few reasonably priced hotels nearby on McCoy Rd which has very easy and quick access to the Bee Line expressway that goes directly to that port.

In fact I just booked the Quality Inn there for two of us at $69 USD for the night before our Oasis TA cruise this April.

Edited to add that we typically use a one way rental car to get us to that port. It's cheaper than shuttle service and provides our transportation need prior to the cruise.

Edited February 7, 2019 by robtulipe

[Kovster]

5 minutes ago, robtulipe said:

 

 

We've found it to be much cheaper to stay the night before our cruises out of Port Canaveral near MCO airport in Orlando.

There are quite a few reasonably priced hotels nearby on McCoy Rd which has very easy and quick access to the Bee Line expressway that goes directly to that port.

 

I was thinking of flying out two nights before the sailing.  I have never been to Kennedy Space center.    Might try to just stay near the port then.

 

How are the shuttle fares and such?

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, Kovster said:

I was thinking of flying out two nights before the sailing.  I have never been to Kennedy Space center.    Might try to just stay near the port then.

 

How are the shuttle fares and such?

 

Cortrans charges $20 per person, each way.

[John&LaLa]

Come to the beach. McCoy road does not have this view. 

 

And Kennedy is a must.  Here is a link to the launch calendar.  However, they rarely launch on schedule

 

https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/launch-schedule/

[Snit13]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

Come to the beach. McCoy road does not have this view. 

 

And Kennedy is a must.  Here is a link to the launch calendar.  However, they rarely launch on schedule

 

https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/launch-schedule/

You bragging again John?  Bet this is view from your balcony, but no Bella!

[ryano]

I would never stay in Orlando vs. Port Canaveral or Cocoa Beach.   Hotels arent really all THAT cheaper in Orlando either.  I generally pay around 90.00 for the hotel we always stay at.  Its 50% more than this time because its Labor Day weekend.  Its not on the beach but we are 10 minutes at most to the ship vs an hour. 

Youre spending thousands of dollars on a cruise.  Whats an extra few dollars to be minutes from the ship vs an hour or sometimes more depending on what could happen on 528?

Edited February 7, 2019 by ryano

[John&LaLa]

43 minutes ago, Snit13 said:

You bragging again John?  Bet this is view from your balcony, but no Bella!

 

She was out there this morning. It really was a nice day.  The earlier picture was from yesterday afternoon 

 

 

[Capt_BJ]

comment

 

Canaveral handles OASIS well and in general all ships well but there is a cloud .....

 

If Canaveral is operating at max load or close to it and the several ships are all BIG ones, some local services can become over loaded.  Specifically: on a BIG day the car rental offices can get SWAMPED

 

so you are wise to check the port schedule for your days if you plan to rent/return a car ...... the times you see 'bitching' about PC it is most often wrt rental cars

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/United_States_Of_America/534-Port_Canaveral_Florida/March_2019/

 

https://www.portcanaveral.com/PortCanaveral/media/Cruise-Assets/FY2019/Copy-of-Master-Cruise-Schedule19.pdf

[GEORGIEGIRL]

7 hours ago, Kovster said:

How well does this port handle those size of ships? 

A- They built the new terminal a few years ago just to accommodate larger cruise ships (like OASIS) and they do it very well (IMHO)

 

I have only sailed out of Everglades/Miami on the Oasis class.  

Also is it cheaper to stay near the port or in Orlando and shuttle to the port?

A-I would say yes. If you are flying to Orlando to go on the cruise (OASIS) there are several options that you can use.

01) Rent a car at the airport and drop it off in Port Canaveral. Have a separate hotel booked in advance. (pick a hotel that offers a shuttle to the ship and then just book return transportation to the airport with the cruiseline)

02) Take a taxi (expensive) or UBER or LYFT. Have a separate hotel booked in advance (same return to airport through cruiseline as above)

03) Book an All-inclusive Round Trip package which provides pick at the airport before the cruise, hotel before the cruise return transportation to the airport the day the cruise ship arrives back into Port Canaveral. (Goportcanaveral.com)

 

7 hours ago, Kovster said:

 

Thanks in advance! 

 

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, Capt_BJ said:

comment

 

Canaveral handles OASIS well and in general all ships well but there is a cloud .....

 

If Canaveral is operating at max load or close to it and the several ships are all BIG ones, some local services can become over loaded.  Specifically: on a BIG day the car rental offices can get SWAMPED

 

so you are wise to check the port schedule for your days if you plan to rent/return a car ...... the times you see 'bitching' about PC it is most often wrt rental cars

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/United_States_Of_America/534-Port_Canaveral_Florida/March_2019/

 

https://www.portcanaveral.com/PortCanaveral/media/Cruise-Assets/FY2019/Copy-of-Master-Cruise-Schedule19.pdf

 

When Oasis came back on a Saturday for the Noro cruise it took us 90 minutes to get a cab.  And we were some of the first off the ship.

[blueridgemama]

We are staying at a hotel/motel at Cocoa Beach for our December cruise. $100 night and right on the beach. Only 10-15 minutes to the port/terminal. We found the port/terminal so easy to get to. We drive and park in their parking lot, get out of your car, take the elevator down and there you are. Easy peasy!

[cruzeluver]

We have sailed out of Canaveral many times including twice on Oasis with a third coming up next month. Never had an issue to speak of. Very efficiently run terminal.

[orville99]

We always stay at the Radisson at the port. It's ~$150/night, but it's a great hotel (love their pool), and they have a shuttle to the terminal. The last time we were there we had a room on the port side of the hotel, and could see Oasis from our window when we woke up the morning of the cruise.

 

The terminal itself handles Oasis class ships quite well, although the elimination of D+/Pinnacle priority entrance to the terminal is a royal PIA, and the way they designed the roadways around the terminal creates major bottlenecks trying to actually get from the main road into the drop off areas.

[brookmill18]

Are Uber/Lyft allowed to pick up passengers from the port?

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, brookmill18 said:

Are Uber/Lyft allowed to pick up passengers from the port?

Yes.

[John&LaLa]

20 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Yes.

 

Thanks for reminding me, I need to install app. 

 

Which one is better?

[Biker19]

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

Thanks for reminding me, I need to install app. 

 

Which one is better?

Don't have experience with Lyft, but Uber has worked well for me. With either, you get a discount on the first ride - look for that.

[Dajbman22]

I found that when I was in Orlando, Lyft provided slightly lower fare quotes and faster pickup times than Uber. In general the experience will be identical using either app (most drivers are signed up for both services), but it really depends on the local market which is a better value/faster. I found Lyft edged out Uber over the one day I used in Orlando last month. 

[Dajbman22]

I also used Go Port Canaveral for my actual hotel stay and transfer to the port (used Lyft for getting around Orlando the day before the cruise). Everything was smooth and effortless with GPC, so they get my recommendation. 

[kag19]

5 hours ago, Dajbman22 said:

I found that when I was in Orlando, Lyft provided slightly lower fare quotes and faster pickup times than Uber. In general the experience will be identical using either app (most drivers are signed up for both services), but it really depends on the local market which is a better value/faster. I found Lyft edged out Uber over the one day I used in Orlando last month. 

 

We have found the fares to be better on Lyft as well.  Lyft also allows you to schedule a time for pick up.  Not sure if Uber will let you schedule in advance or not.  We usually check both apps and go with whomever has the lower pricing if the timing works out the same.

[Kovster]

Thanks for all the tips and info.  Really glad the terminal was rebuilt for the Oasis class.   

 

Like a few said, staying near the port is not that much more if not better then at near the airport.  I think i'll rent a car as I plan on spending two by the port before sailing.

 

 Last time I was a Kennedy Space center, I was 18 months old.  So I do not remember anything from then, lol

 

-jeff