How early can luggage be dropped off at Port Canaveral?

[Ret MP]

 

[island lady]

Just now, Ret MP said:

 

 

Oh yeah baby!!  😄 

[SherriZ366]

19 hours ago, GTO-Girl said:

He wasn’t a porter…..he was the garage entrance psycho!!  😂😂

Some of the Port Authority employees have an inflated sense of their importance.  They are increasing surface lot parking at Terminal 1.

[GTO-Girl]

3 hours ago, SherriZ366 said:

Some of the Port Authority employees have an inflated sense of their importance.  They are increasing surface lot parking at Terminal 1.

yes quite a lot of construction going on.  
 

I would hate to pay what it costs to park there for a week and have to leave my car outside in a parking lot, on ground level, especially during hurricane season….

[island lady]

10 hours ago, GTO-Girl said:

yes quite a lot of construction going on.  
 

I would hate to pay what it costs to park there for a week and have to leave my car outside in a parking lot, on ground level, especially during hurricane season….

 

Indeed...not to mention the grease from salty sea air, diesel smoke.....and....bird deposits!  😮 

[Lakelife4me]

On 9/28/2023 at 5:02 AM, island lady said:

7:30 am, as was told by the porters.  

 

Our usual is to arrive around 9 am, drop the luggage with the porters, continue up into the ramp to the left to find a parking spot.   Leave the carry on bags in the vehicle, walk next door to Grills for a "Bon Voyage" Bloody Mary and enjoy the view of our new home.  Then walk back to the vehicle to pick up the carry on bags to check in.  Many go there for breakfast as well.  

 

 😉   Cheers and have a great cruise.  

What a fantastic idea!!! TY!! We are getting to PC Saturday, and I planned on doing a dry run from our hotel - about 2 miles away at the most - and having dinner a Grills. Never been to PC so I like to know the lay of the land. Yeah, I'm that guy. 😁

[wdwkings]

50 minutes ago, Lakelife4me said:

What a fantastic idea!!! TY!! We are getting to PC Saturday, and I planned on doing a dry run from our hotel - about 2 miles away at the most - and having dinner a Grills. Never been to PC so I like to know the lay of the land. Yeah, I'm that guy. 😁

Just options but to add variety, you can still do the "test run" the day before but there are other options that are open later than Grills.  You can try Rising Tide (lots of beer options) and Fishlips.  If planning to do Grills, we probably would do Fishlips the afternoon before, get the outside seating and you can watch the sail away (if there are ships in port).  

[Lakelife4me]

25 minutes ago, wdwkings said:

Just options but to add variety, you can still do the "test run" the day before but there are other options that are open later than Grills.  You can try Rising Tide (lots of beer options) and Fishlips.  If planning to do Grills, we probably would do Fishlips the afternoon before, get the outside seating and you can watch the sail away (if there are ships in port).  

I love it!! I saw something about fishlips and that looks like a fun place too.

[Ret MP]

While a garage does provide limited protection from some elements, there is no guarantee from any parking activity that your vehicle is safe from any damage, dirt, bird poop, criminal activity, or whatever.  A garage is just a verticle parking lot.  I can give you example after example where a parking customer would have been better off if he/she would have used a surface lot.  Read your parking contract (on the ticket, usually).  I try to park in a garage only because it is usually the most convenient parking lot to the terminal/activity.

[island lady]

16 hours ago, Lakelife4me said:

What a fantastic idea!!! TY!! We are getting to PC Saturday, and I planned on doing a dry run from our hotel - about 2 miles away at the most - and having dinner a Grills. Never been to PC so I like to know the lay of the land. Yeah, I'm that guy. 😁

 

If you are going out of terminal #1, Grills Tiki Bar is right next door.   When we go on Wonder, we are staring at the aft end of the ship next to us when we are on the outside Tiki Bar.  

 

If you are cruising from terminal #5 or #6, it is on the other side with really nothing near them.  

 

Enjoy your cruise. 🙂 

[island lady]

11 hours ago, Ret MP said:

While a garage does provide limited protection from some elements, there is no guarantee from any parking activity that your vehicle is safe from any damage, dirt, bird poop, criminal activity, or whatever.  A garage is just a verticle parking lot.  I can give you example after example where a parking customer would have been better off if he/she would have used a surface lot.  Read your parking contract (on the ticket, usually).  I try to park in a garage only because it is usually the most convenient parking lot to the terminal/activity.

 

Totally agree...parking in the garage will still see that greasy slime from sea air and diesel smoke on the vehicle, but not as bad as when we got there too late and had to park in the surface lot.   My little Ford does not like to sit in the sun for two weeks...and the birds were using it as "target practice".   

 

Garage for me as well, and is why we purposely arrive a bit early to grab one as the former pax are leaving.

[Lakelife4me]

7 hours ago, island lady said:

 

If you are going out of terminal #1, Grills Tiki Bar is right next door.   When we go on Wonder, we are staring at the aft end of the ship next to us when we are on the outside Tiki Bar.  

 

If you are cruising from terminal #5 or #6, it is on the other side with really nothing near them.  

 

Enjoy your cruise. 🙂 

Thank you for the info. Very valuable. We are sailing on Wonder so assuming they always leave out of terminal 1? I'm a fan of PTZtv so I have seen that aft view many a Sunday morning.

 

I'm not sure I want to start our vacation getting yelled at for arriving too early so I will plan on 9:30 arrival. I will also check to see what the parking is like at Grills. May just drop off the luggage at 9:00am and park at Grills until time to head back to the terminal for boarding.

[island lady]

11 minutes ago, Lakelife4me said:

Thank you for the info. Very valuable. We are sailing on Wonder so assuming they always leave out of terminal 1? I'm a fan of PTZtv so I have seen that aft view many a Sunday morning.

 

I'm not sure I want to start our vacation getting yelled at for arriving too early so I will plan on 9:30 arrival. I will also check to see what the parking is like at Grills. May just drop off the luggage at 9:00am and park at Grills until time to head back to the terminal for boarding.

 

You are most welcome.  🙂 

 

Good plan also, but we have found if we wait too long to arrive into the parking garage....there are no spaces left available.  Surface lot next door, open top of the parking garage, and failing that....there is grass lot.  You won't want that one...trust me.  

 

And yes, Wonder leaves out of Terminal #1.   She has a rather ample aft. 😉 

[Lakelife4me]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 She has a rather ample aft. 😉 

Yes she does!😁 We have never cruised out of PC so appreciate the parking advice. Seems the best choice is to time arrival around 9:15ish, drop off the bags, park and get a pre-cruise Bloody Mary while we build anticipation waiting to board!

 

 

[wdwkings]

2 hours ago, Lakelife4me said:

 I'm a fan of PTZtv so I have seen that aft view many a Sunday morning.

If you watch then you "have been" to Fishlips, that is where the Webcam is located.  

[jbaysingar]

This is the thing I've been trying to figure out, too. We're sailing out of PC for the first time soon, so I've been trying to identify when the "sweet spot" is between departing and arriving passengers for parking at T1.

[Ret MP]

10 minutes ago, jbaysingar said:

This is the thing I've been trying to figure out, too. We're sailing out of PC for the first time soon, so I've been trying to identify when the "sweet spot" is between departing and arriving passengers for parking at T1.

As I said earlier, or words to your effect,  the sweet spot is a fluid thing.  If all is as scheduled, I'd feel safe to say that between 9:30 and 10:00 is the sweet spot.  The problem is how are we to know if everything is as scheduled?   The only way I know of is to watch when there is a big flood of people getting off the ship.  But then, you are already at the port.  

[Lakelife4me]

5 hours ago, wdwkings said:

If you watch then you "have been" to Fishlips, that is where the Webcam is located.  

Did not realize that. Can't wait to make the "official" visit to Fishlips fpr dinner the evening before!

[island lady]

13 hours ago, Lakelife4me said:

Yes she does!😁 We have never cruised out of PC so appreciate the parking advice. Seems the best choice is to time arrival around 9:15ish, drop off the bags, park and get a pre-cruise Bloody Mary while we build anticipation waiting to board!

 

 

 

That is the one!  😉 

[island lady]

12 hours ago, Ret MP said:

As I said earlier, or words to your effect,  the sweet spot is a fluid thing.  If all is as scheduled, I'd feel safe to say that between 9:30 and 10:00 is the sweet spot.  The problem is how are we to know if everything is as scheduled?   The only way I know of is to watch when there is a big flood of people getting off the ship.  But then, you are already at the port.  

 

And....pulling up the webcam the morning of your cruise is helpful as well.  Just to make sure the ship is actually there on time already.  

[Ret MP]

4 hours ago, island lady said:

 

And....pulling up the webcam the morning of your cruise is helpful as well.  Just to make sure the ship is actually there on time already.  

Very true.  Except it doesn't help with the myriad of other issues that can cause delays in debarkation. 

 

To be truthful, I never think of checking the webcam(s) on the mornings of debarkation.  I'm so excited, in a hurry, and way too focused to get to the terminal.   Trying to sleep the night before embarkation is futile, for me.  I love cruising way too much, I guess.  

[island lady]

15 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Very true.  Except it doesn't help with the myriad of other issues that can cause delays in debarkation. 

 

To be truthful, I never think of checking the webcam(s) on the mornings of debarkation.  I'm so excited, in a hurry, and way too focused to get to the terminal.   Trying to sleep the night before embarkation is futile, for me.  I love cruising way too much, I guess.  

 

Agree...sleep before a cruise...any cruise, is tough to do well.  

 

With PC, it's just a 20 minute drive, so I have lots of time to check.  And agree...many things can delay boarding.  Medical emergencies, Covid outbreaks (hopefully not much now), Noro outbreak,  and Coast Guard inspections are just a few of the things that come to mind.