NCL questions for Port Canaveral Cruise

[Sand and Seas]

I have been checking the Florida departure boards, but I have some NCL specific questions.

Would appreciate your help with any one or all of these questions......or just add anything that could help our plans!

 

1- What terminal does NCL use at Port Canaveral?  (google said terminal 10, but I trust this board more!)

2- Does NCL provide decent shuttle transportation to Orlando MCO?  

3- Can your non-refundable On Board Credit be used to pay for the shuttle?

 

We plan on flying in a couple of days early to explore the area so will rent a car for pre-cruise.   (Sounds like Enterprise could be a good choice?)

[dbrown84]

8 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

I have been checking the Florida departure boards, but I have some NCL specific questions.

Would appreciate your help with any one or all of these questions......or just add anything that could help our plans!

 

1- What terminal does NCL use at Port Canaveral?  (google said terminal 10, but I trust this board more!)

2- Does NCL provide decent shuttle transportation to Orlando MCO?  

3- Can your non-refundable On Board Credit be used to pay for the shuttle?

 

We plan on flying in a couple of days early to explore the area so will rent a car for pre-cruise.   (Sounds like Enterprise could be a good choice?)

I could be wrong, but I don't think you can book the shuttle from onboard the ship.  Therefore you can't use OBC to pay for it.  But yes NCL has a decent shuttle service, as well as several private companies 

[Karaboudjan]

1. Lately it appears that Escape has been using 10 and Prima has been using 5.

2. We used the NCL shuttle and it was very convenient.  

3. Don't know about this.

[TSUmom]

I have similar questions.  We are looking at taking the post cruise KSC tour with transfer to the airport.  We are planning on booking an early flight the next morning and spending the night at the airport hotel.

There seems to be plenty of options for transfer to the port as we are not renting a car.  We want to fly  in a day early (we always do) and looking for hotel options in Cocoa Beach.  Port Canaveral is new to us so the research is fun.

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, dbrown84 said:

I could be wrong, but I don't think you can book the shuttle from onboard the ship.  Therefore you can't use OBC to pay for it.  But yes NCL has a decent shuttle service, as well as several private companies 

You can book the shuttle from the ship but on my cruise last February you had to do it by Thursday evening. I did not have OBC so don't know the answer to that...just charged my on board account.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

There were hotels in PC that will shuttle you from the airport to the hotel, the hotel to the port then the port back to the airport.  The cost was per person and added to the cost of the hotel stay.  Last time I did this was in 2020 so I can say for sure that they still do it or not.

[dbrown84]

15 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

There were hotels in PC that will shuttle you from the airport to the hotel, the hotel to the port then the port back to the airport.  The cost was per person and added to the cost of the hotel stay.  Last time I did this was in 2020 so I can say for sure that they still do it or not.

looks like the OP has a rental car, so they would only need the shuttle from the port back to airport

[dbrown84]

43 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

You can book the shuttle from the ship but on my cruise last February you had to do it by Thursday evening. I did not have OBC so don't know the answer to that...just charged my on board account.

ahh.  Well if it can go to your on board account, the OBC should cover it

[BirdTravels]

11 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

1- What terminal does NCL use at Port Canaveral?  (google said terminal 10, but I trust this board more!)

2- Does NCL provide decent shuttle transportation to Orlando MCO?  

3- Can your non-refundable On Board Credit be used to pay for the shuttle?

 

We plan on flying in a couple of days early to explore the area so will rent a car for pre-cruise.   (Sounds like Enterprise could be a good choice?)

Have a lucky cruise! 

 

1. I can only tell you that the port posts a schedule.... don't know how accurate it is.

https://www.portcanaveral.com/getattachment/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules/CPA-Website-Schedule-Jan-May-2023.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

 

2. Yeah, the transfer service is good. They dispatch buses as soon as they fill, so if you are leaving with the rest of the ship, you'll get on the road quickly. 

 

3. Assume you can spend some of your OBC on transfers. Those who frequent the camera shop may not be as happy 🙂

 

Pre-pandemic we used to use Go Port Canaveral for transfers because they were $15pp and used full sized motorcoaches (versus being crammed into a van). After the restart, they doubled their price, so, NCL transfers are just as easy. 

 

Yup, Enterprise is a good choice. We rent from National and they share an office with Enterprise at PC. They have shuttles that run to each of the ships (may have to wait a few minutes for the right shuttle). Plan on where you're going to pick up gas... there is a BP station just before the last causeway going into the port area (we plug that address into Waze). 

 

Our routine is normally to fly in a day early and stay across the street from Disney Springs and have the mini-Disney experience without the cost of going to the park... and to stock up on some [small] gifts. 

 

For us, the cost of a car for one day, gas, and road tolls is much cheaper than any transfer. 

Edited January 19, 2023 by BirdTravels

[Sand and Seas]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

2. Yeah, the transfer service is good. They dispatch buses as soon as they fill, so if you are leaving with the rest of the ship, you'll get on the road quickly. 

 

This is giving us more to think about.  We hate to get in those disembarkation lines and usually wait to be among last off the ship. 

 

For us, the cost of a car for one day, gas, and road tolls is much cheaper than any transfer. 

Our flight home will be in the afternoon, so I'm rethinking our disembarkation day.   We will be among the last to disembark (although we could get 'priority' with tier status for earlier disembarkation).

 

Would there be decent shuttle availability at the later stage of disembarkation, or would we just be looking at lines of people waiting to board a shuttle?

 

It might be worth it to us to control our own drive back to the airport and rent a car for that day too🤔

 

[RedwingHockeyFan]

3 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

looks like the OP has a rental car, so they would only need the shuttle from the port back to airport

Yes, sorry.  I was providing general information based on previous experience in case anyone else reading this forum was curious.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

Would there be decent shuttle availability at the later stage of disembarkation, or would we just be looking at lines of people waiting to board a shuttle?

 

It might be worth it to us to control our own drive back to the airport and rent a car for that day too🤔

 

Sorry, no idea. Worst case is sitting and reading cruise critic posts while you wait for the shuttle to leave. We normally target around 11:00 flights home. (We have priority airline check in (tier status) and TSA Pre-Check so we can get airside at the airport quickly once we get there.)

[Sand and Seas]

26 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Sorry, no idea. Worst case is sitting and reading cruise critic posts while you wait for the shuttle to leave. We normally target around 11:00 flights home. (We have priority airline check in (tier status) and TSA Pre-Check so we can get airside at the airport quickly once we get there.)

We love our TSA pre-check too!    

 

We haven't bought air yet as we are trying to decide on one, two or maybe even three nights pre-cruise.  

We do see several nice non-stop flights available on disembarkation day.   I'm trying to get the details on this May cruise figured out as we have a 12 Day in April.  First world problems, right?  We have a little while before we need to lock down air & hotel.  

 

Thanks for all of the advice!  

[Pablo Diablo]

I just sailed on Norwegian Prima last week and we embarked/disembarked from Port Canaveral Terminal 5. I arrived a day early and rented a car from Enterprise at MCO (I made reservation online a few months in advance). There is a car rental desk in airport terminal shared by multiple rental agencies where you meet the Enterprise agent to do the paperwork. Then you get on the airport coach bus shuttle to take you to the airport parking garage to get your rental car. When making the reservation, I arranged to return the car at the Port Canaveral Enterprise location on Mullett Rd.  They provide shuttle bus service to the port terminal (they drop you off directly at your ship). Enterprise is approx 1-2 miles from terminal (<10 minute ride). One-day mid size rental was $130 incl tax but excl tolls and add-on options (damage ins., liability ins., GPS, child car seat, etc). 
 

I didn’t use NCL for the return trip to MCO from the ship. I used Cortran’s airport shuttle. Very reasonable price ($30pp) and very professional and convenient. They park right outside the terminal.  Just a couple hundred feet walk away after you exit the terminal. 
 

If you have OBC you need to use, I believe you can book the airport return transfer after you board the ship. For my cruise, they advertised airport transfer bookings in the Daily starting on Day 2 and every day thereafter. Book at Guest Services desk for $37.50pp. Only for travelers with flights departing after noon.  
 

hope this is helpful. 

[Sand and Seas]

47 minutes ago, Pablo Diablo said:

I just sailed on Norwegian Prima last week and we embarked/disembarked from Port Canaveral Terminal 5. I arrived a day early and rented a car from Enterprise at MCO (I made reservation online a few months in advance). There is a car rental desk in airport terminal shared by multiple rental agencies where you meet the Enterprise agent to do the paperwork. Then you get on the airport coach bus shuttle to take you to the airport parking garage to get your rental car. When making the reservation, I arranged to return the car at the Port Canaveral Enterprise location on Mullett Rd.  They provide shuttle bus service to the port terminal (they drop you off directly at your ship). Enterprise is approx 1-2 miles from terminal (<10 minute ride). One-day mid size rental was $130 incl tax but excl tolls and add-on options (damage ins., liability ins., GPS, child car seat, etc). 
 

I didn’t use NCL for the return trip to MCO from the ship. I used Cortran’s airport shuttle. Very reasonable price ($30pp) and very professional and convenient. They park right outside the terminal.  Just a couple hundred feet walk away after you exit the terminal. 
 

If you have OBC you need to use, I believe you can book the airport return transfer after you board the ship. For my cruise, they advertised airport transfer bookings in the Daily starting on Day 2 and every day thereafter. Book at Guest Services desk for $37.50pp. Only for travelers with flights departing after noon.  
 

hope this is helpful. 

 

Thanks for this detailed information!

We have cruised with NCL over 40 times but this will be our first from Port Canaveral.   I am feeling good about using Enterprise or National for the pre-cruise portion of our trip.   Sounds like this has worked well for you and others😎

 

Can I ask if you did the earliest disembarkation or a later one?  

Also, how long do you think it took from leaving the ship, boarding your Cortran's shuttle, and then arriving at MCO?   

 

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, Sand and Seas said:

how long do you think it took from leaving the ship, boarding your Cortran's shuttle, and then arriving at MCO?   

We took the NCL shuttle last February after our Escape cruise from Port Canaveral. We went to the meeting place on the ship and walked off together, picked up our luggage in the hall (all shuttle luggage was in the same area) and got on the first shuttle to MCO, which left at about 8:30. Got to MCO 45 minutes later, picked up our rental car and were at Disney Springs right at 10am when it opened.  Our flights weren't until late afternoon so we spent about 5 hours shopping and eating. It really was much easier than I had thought it would be. 

[Sand and Seas]

11 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

We took the NCL shuttle last February after our Escape cruise from Port Canaveral. We went to the meeting place on the ship and walked off together, picked up our luggage in the hall (all shuttle luggage was in the same area) and got on the first shuttle to MCO, which left at about 8:30. Got to MCO 45 minutes later, picked up our rental car and were at Disney Springs right at 10am when it opened.  Our flights weren't until late afternoon so we spent about 5 hours shopping and eating. It really was much easier than I had thought it would be. 

Thanks for the detailed information.  Very helpful!

[f1rstxlas7]

On 1/19/2023 at 11:10 AM, BirdTravels said:

Have a lucky cruise! 

 

1. I can only tell you that the port posts a schedule.... don't know how accurate it is.

https://www.portcanaveral.com/getattachment/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules/CPA-Website-Schedule-Jan-May-2023.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

 

 

It's not going to be super accurate. The PDF is showing that it hasn't been updated since January 9th. Who knows how often they update this.

[Sand and Seas]

On 1/19/2023 at 1:40 PM, BirdTravels said:

Sorry, no idea. Worst case is sitting and reading cruise critic posts while you wait for the shuttle to leave. We normally target around 11:00 flights home. (We have priority airline check in (tier status) and TSA Pre-Check so we can get airside at the airport quickly once we get there.)

Bird,  Do you do self walk-off with all your luggage at Port Canaveral?  Do you have a good strategy for being among first off the ship there?   (We will be on Getaway.)

 

Our flight home got changed by airline from 5pm to 1pm so we had to change to taking a private company shuttle that leaves at 8am.    Just when we thought we had it all figured out...