Kennedy Space Center Travel Options

[loving2cruise]

Hello

 

The Kennedy Space Center excursion has been sold out on my cruise. Besides Uber service, are there any tour/van companies that can take us there from the ship...that you can recommend that you have used.

 

Thank you

[nelblu]

17 minutes ago, loving2cruise said:

Hello

 

The Kennedy Space Center excursion has been sold out on my cruise. Besides Uber service, are there any tour/van companies that can take us there from the ship...that you can recommend that you have used.

 

Thank you

Sold out on the cruise planner, if so I was advised that Royal reserves some 25% for on board bookings.  This was pre-pandemic. 
 

[Ashland]

True... perhaps they might....but you can also have the option of renting a car and booking your own admission tickets online for the KSC.

 

Rent your car through Costco...we did and used Budget.

[loving2cruise]

54 minutes ago, Ashland said:

True... perhaps they might....but you can also have the option of renting a car and booking your own admission tickets online for the KSC.

 

Rent your car through Costco...we did and used Budget.

 Thank you. Is there a car rental place right there at the cruise port within walking distance?

[loving2cruise]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

Sold out on the cruise planner, if so I was advised that Royal reserves some 25% for on board bookings.  This was pre-pandemic. 
 

Thank you for your feedback.

[nu_cruzer1]

Not sure when you’re sailing but I recommend to keep checking the cruise planner often. On my sailing (just got off of Oasis on May 22) this excursion (shuttle + admission) was sold out but became available intermittently. They did keep spots available to book on the ship. We were able to book this beforehand. 

[Tljcruiser]

We did this excursion in March after our spring break cruise.  It was really good.  I looked at other options for going, car rental, other tour company etc.  I couldn't find any other options for port pick up and Uber didn't seem to work because the space center does not offer luggage storage.  I think your best bet is car rental where you can lock up your luggage, but one way rental is kind of pricey especially these days when apparently there is a shortage of cars.  Hopefully it will open up for you or you can book onboard!  I typically prefer to do my own thing as opposed to ship excursions but this was hassle free and we all really enjoyed it.  Only negative was it was a little too short.  They make sure to get you to the airport in way more time than you need. 

[nelblu]

4 minutes ago, nu_cruzer1 said:

Not sure when you’re sailing but I recommend to keep checking the cruise planner often. On my sailing (just got off of Oasis on May 22) this excursion (shuttle + admission) was sold out but became available intermittently. They did keep spots available to book on the ship. We were able to book this beforehand. 

Curious, how was the disembarking at port Canaveral.  This was a stop on my Easter anthem sail and it was a s..t show. 
There must have been about 2k passengers squeezed on the 5th deck waiting to disembarking. The lines were as far as 2x70 and if there was a Covid outbreak this was a Petri dish. 
Some newbies to Royal kept asking if this is normal procedure. 
 

I was separated from my family and they did not show up until 25 minutes later for our Kennedy space center tour. 
 

[nu_cruzer1]

46 minutes ago, nelblu said:

The people doing this excursion met in the theatre and we were escorted off the ship through the gangway.  We arrived in port around 12:45 and the excursion left at 1:30 so we may have missed the crazy rush of the first disembarkers.

[BND]

54 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Curious, how was the disembarking at port Canaveral.  This was a stop on my Easter anthem sail and it was a s..t show. 
There must have been about 2k passengers squeezed on the 5th deck waiting to disembarking. The lines were as far as 2x70 and if there was a Covid outbreak this was a Petri dish. 
Some newbies to Royal kept asking if this is normal procedure. 
 

I was separated from my family and they did not show up until 25 minutes later for our Kennedy space center tour. 
 

Was the line forming before clearance was given and announced?  Our experience is some people ignore what they are told and they crowd the exit deck before doors are open.  You aren't supposed to be down on the deck waiting.  If they were, they caused their own problem.   We disembarked in PC on EN in April(and have on other cruises in the past) with no issues.  The only issue was they had to keep announcing that people needed to quit crowding the disembarkation area and wait until they were allowed off.

[buyer203]

1 hour ago, nu_cruzer1 said:

Not sure when you’re sailing but I recommend to keep checking the cruise planner often. On my sailing (just got off of Oasis on May 22) this excursion (shuttle + admission) was sold out but became available intermittently. They did keep spots available to book on the ship. We were able to book this beforehand. 

We are doing this same excursion in August on Oasis and was wondering what time the tour returned to the ship as it starts at 1:30pm and KSC closes at 5pm.

[Shiraus82]

Could anyone tell me what is the price range for a ship excursion to Kennedy Space Center that includes transfer to Orlando airport? Or if this kind of tour even exists? 😄 I don't have a cruise booked yet so cannot access Cruise Planner.

[nu_cruzer1]

On 5/24/2022 at 9:28 PM, buyer203 said:

We are doing this same excursion in August on Oasis and was wondering what time the tour returned to the ship as it starts at 1:30pm and KSC closes at 5pm.

The tour ended at 5pm, however, they announced that people can start boarding around 4:45pm and that the bus would depart once it was full.  I was on the first bus back; it started boarding around 4:40 and I was back on the ship around 5:15.  There were 6 buses on our tour, I think.  You didn't need to board the same bus that you went with.  Boarding for the return was simply based on your position in the return line.  The line to return was pretty long so you may want to consider this if your goal is to get the first bus back to the port, for dinner as an example. 

 

One note, KSC closes at 5pm now so that's why the excursion ended at 5.  If the KSC hours expand in the future, the departure time may likely be different.

[nu_cruzer1]

On 5/25/2022 at 4:28 AM, Shiraus82 said:

Could anyone tell me what is the price range for a ship excursion to Kennedy Space Center that includes transfer to Orlando airport? Or if this kind of tour even exists? 😄 I don't have a cruise booked yet so cannot access Cruise Planner.

I paid US$84pp for my cruise in May.  This excursion included the shuttle to/from KSC and admission, and you were left to explore on your own.  It was not the guided tour as that was not offered for our sailing.

[sadiwest]

On 5/24/2022 at 9:28 PM, buyer203 said:

We are doing this same excursion in August on Oasis and was wondering what time the tour returned to the ship as it starts at 1:30pm and KSC closes at 5pm.

You'll have about 2 maybe 3 hours at KSC.  Assume you dock exactly at 1pm, 30 minutes to board bus and drive, once cleared to get off ship. 

 

We did this last week while on Oasis and, although I am glad we went, I'll never understand why the port arrival is so late. Not at all conducive to excursions.  

[buyer203]

@nu_cruzer1 @sadiwest Thank you so much for the reply…I sure hope they stay open later in the summer

[broadwaybaby123]

We got maybe 4 hours doing this excursion in 2020.

[Merion_Mom]

On 6/6/2022 at 6:38 PM, sadiwest said:

You'll have about 2 maybe 3 hours at KSC.  Assume you dock exactly at 1pm, 30 minutes to board bus and drive, once cleared to get off ship. 

 

We did this last week while on Oasis and, although I am glad we went, I'll never understand why the port arrival is so late. Not at all conducive to excursions.  

 

Because that's how long it takes to get from New Jersey to Florida.

 

What?  Do you think that they are just screwing around in the ocean?

[sadiwest]

15 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Because that's how long it takes to get from New Jersey to Florida.

 

What?  Do you think that they are just screwing around in the ocean?

Yeah there's never a time that cruise lines intentionally cruise so people are more likely to spend money on the ship. 

 

 

[SliceOfLife]

On 5/25/2022 at 4:28 AM, Shiraus82 said:

Could anyone tell me what is the price range for a ship excursion to Kennedy Space Center that includes transfer to Orlando airport? Or if this kind of tour even exists? 😄 I don't have a cruise booked yet so cannot access Cruise Planner.

 

I paid $119 per person on May 29th off the Harmony of the Seas.  We had a guided tour of Kennedy Space Center which was awesome! It meant we had a private bus out to the Saturn IV complex too.  Totally worth the price.  We got to Kennedy right before it opened and stayed until 2pm, and we got to the airport by 3pm.  Plenty of time for our 6:45pm flight.