Family Beach Day with 7 Ships in Port?

[TarheelJim]

We will be in GC from 10a-7p on an upcoming Wednesday. Family of 3, traveling with our almost 5 year old daughter. We have a cheesy 1 hour trolley tour booked at 11am, so we can tender off early, but we are considering spending the afternoon (2-3 hours) on the beach to swim, play in the sand and maybe rent a jetski.

 

My questions are: With 7 ships scheduled in port that day, I'm sure things will be crazy. Does anyone have a similar experience they can elaborate on? I did lots of reading on here and Public Beach sounds like a good "family" choice with access to Calico Jacks, restrooms, etc. Has anyone used the playground there? What should the three of us expect to pay in cab fare and do we tell the driver that we want to go to PB, or Marriott Courtyard? Will we have any trouble getting the driver to take us to PB? Any other suggestions/suggested locations would be helpful.

 

Thanks, Jim from NC