Tampa Questions

I'm cruising out of Tampa in January 2015 and have a few questions:

(1) Any recommendations on hotels with shuttles to/from airport/port?

(2) Any recommendations for restaurants that offer true vegetarian options in Tampa for dinner? Not just salads, but a true vegetarian menu. My DH is a vegetarian, and from memory, most US restaurants only offer salads as a vegetarian option. And this is for our anniversary, so I'm looking for something more festive and celebratory.

(3) Post-cruise, how hard is it to get from Tampa to Kennedy Space Center, without a car? I don't drive and DH is not comfortable driving on the other side of the road. He'd really love to see KSC if we can work it into our schedule. We're willing to spend a night/fly out of Orlando if we have to.

(3) Post-cruise, how hard is it to get from Tampa to Kennedy Space Center, without a car? I don't drive and DH is not comfortable driving on the other side of the road. He'd really love to see KSC if we can work it into our schedule. We're willing to spend a night/fly out of Orlando if we have to.

virtually impossible

it is a very straightforward drive but there is no public transportation to speak of. Even if you get as far as Orlando, you are only 1/2 way to KSC.

I'm cruising out of Tampa in January 2015 and have a few questions:

 

(1) Any recommendations on hotels with shuttles to/from airport/port? Check out hotels in the Rocky Point area, with several offering both airport and cruise port shuttles in the package; Chase Suites is the most often of several suggested there.

 

(2) Any recommendations for restaurants that offer true vegetarian options in Tampa for dinner? Not just salads, but a true vegetarian menu. My DH is a vegetarian, and from memory, most US restaurants only offer salads as a vegetarian option. And this is for our anniversary, so I'm looking for something more festive and celebratory.

 

(3) Post-cruise, how hard is it to get from Tampa to Kennedy Space Center, without a car? I don't drive and DH is not comfortable driving on the other side of the road. He'd really love to see KSC if we can work it into our schedule. We're willing to spend a night/fly out of Orlando if we have to.

As the CAPT mentioned, from Tampa to KSC is going across the state of FLA from West to East - in a car it is about a 2.5 hour drive, primarily on highways, with traffic in Orlando your biggest obstacle. Either rent a car or save KSC for another trip and find something to see/do closer to Tampa.

You might consider The Columbia for dinner. While it is primarily a traditional Cuban/latin restaurant, they do offer a variety of vegetarian choices (a few eggplant dishes, as well as a veggie version of their awesome paella). They have a variety of seafood dishes, too, if you eat that & just avoid red meat. It's a great restaurant with a very lively atmosphere, my wife & I enjoy it as one of our "special occasion" places.