After cruise ideas Pt. Canaveral

[FireguyCanada]

We will have 4-5 hours to kill after our cruise ship (SOS) gets into Port Canaveral on June 23 before we need to check in at the Orlando airport. We are travelling with two teenagers, DD-19 and DS-15. I also posted this on the Bahamas board and it was suggested that I post on this board as well. Suggestions we have already received were for "Downtown Disney" and going for airboat tours. The airboat tours sound interesting. Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations/experience with these? How safe are they? Are they worth the money??

 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.:confused:

[mrgabriel]

Can't help you on the airboats, but a couple of other ideas are:

 

- Cocoa Beach (if you're not sick of the beach by then!) There are often lots of surfers to watch

 

- Kennedy Space Center. The space center is surprisingly interesting. The shuttle is "parked" and ready to go right now (due to lift off in early July). Plus, it is in the middle of an enormous wildlife preserve, so you're bound to see some gators at a safe distance. KSC is about 40 minutes from the airport. I think the fee is about $35 for entry for adults. There is an excursion available post-cruise.

 

- If the idea of Downtown Disney is intriguing, there is also Citywalk at Universal, which is also free (but you must pay for parking). There are many restaurants, shops, etc. It's a good place to just hang out in the heat.

 

- And if anyone is a shopoholic, there are several outlet malls in Orlando!

 

Hope this helps.

[ronandannette]

- Kennedy Space Center. The space center is surprisingly interesting. The shuttle is "parked" and ready to go right now (due to lift off in early July). Plus, it is in the middle of an enormous wildlife preserve, so you're bound to see some gators at a safe distance. KSC is about 40 minutes from the airport. I think the fee is about $35 for entry for adults. There is an excursion available post-cruise.

 

I HIGHLY recommend taking a RCCL post-cruise excursion. One of the best-kept "secrets" I know is that booking one of these gets you expedited disembarkation. Yes, a group leader will stroll you right past the other 2,000 people waiting to get off :D and your luggage will already be gone as they give you special tags the night before. Additionally, once your luggage is on the bus you won't have to think about it again until the same bus drops you off at the air terminal door. It also makes for a more gradual re-entry to reality after such a nice holiday! All in all, this is a VERY good way to go as the cost of this particular tour is only about as much as the Space Center admission alone plus a regular transfer. We're taking it when we get off the Mariner (September 3).

 

Happy Sails,

Annette

[MrBassBone]

We will have 4-5 hours to kill after our cruise ship (SOS) gets into Port Canaveral on June 23 before we need to check in at the Orlando airport. We are travelling with two teenagers, DD-19 and DS-15. I also posted this on the Bahamas board and it was suggested that I post on this board as well. Suggestions we have already received were for "Downtown Disney" and going for airboat tours. The airboat tours sound interesting. Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations/experience with these? How safe are they? Are they worth the money??

 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.:confused:

 

IF you take Rt 520 back to Orlando, you will run into the LONE CABBAGE FISH CAMP on the St Johns river. They have good food and you can get air boat rides there. I did it about 15 years ago when I first got transferred to Orlando. I cannot give you prices for now...but not having done it before, it was worth the money and had a lot of fun.

[kittymom65]

I also highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center Tour. I thought I would be bored with the whole thing, but it is actually very interesting and a lot of fun. Well worth the cost, IMHO.

[ginrom]

I know a few people who have paid for a room at the hotel in the airport because they didn't have a flight out until 6:00pm. They thought it was the perfect way to end their vacation. The teenagers went to the pool to lay out and the parents took a nap in the room.

 

I'm not sure if you can get a cheap rate for just a day but it's worth looking into it.

[FireguyCanada]

Thanks everyone for all the great ideas. We had thought about Kennedy Space Center, but that seems like a full day (at least 6 hrs.) tour. I think we'll leave that for another trip when we can give it the time it deserves and not be rushing off.

[wanda1101]

IF you take Rt 520 back to Orlando, you will run into the LONE CABBAGE FISH CAMP on the St Johns river. They have good food and you can get air boat rides there. I did it about 15 years ago when I first got transferred to Orlando. I cannot give you prices for now...but not having done it before, it was worth the money and had a lot of fun.

 

I'm a local and that's exactly what I was going to suggest. An airboat ride is a blast, a defnite must if you've never been on one.

 

The Space Center is wonderful, but the pricing is high - almost the equivalent of a theme park visit. You definitely want lots of time to get your money's worth. I hate that they now have such a high entrance fee. It was great when a few of the attractions were free and you could pick and choose what else you wanted to do, paying a la carte. I seldom take visitors there anymore.

[kittymom65]

Universal City Walk is a lot of fun also. There is a Jimmy Buffett's Maragaritaville there, and Emeril Lagasse has a restaurant there. Emeril's is open until 2 for lunch, and the prices aren't that bad at lunch, and I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful the food is. We land vacation every year at Ormond by the Sea (just north of Daytona Beach) and we always drive to Orlando for a day just to shop the outlets and have lunch at Emeril's.

There is also like a 20 screen movie theater at City Walk that plays just about every movie that is currently showing. They used to have per person deals for dinner at any restaurant besides Emeril's and a movie for pretty reasonable price.

[Lemarier]

to take this post one step further ----

 

We are 11 people and our flight doesn't leave until 7 pm. Universal citywalk sounds like a good idea but what would I do with the luggage? we were not planning to rent cars but use a transfer company. Thanks for any suggestions

[Nliedel]

I'm liking the Downtown Disney idea. The Earl of Sandwich is really good.

[FireguyCanada]

I'm a local and that's exactly what I was going to suggest. An airboat ride is a blast, a defnite must if you've never been on one.

 

Has anyone ever used or heard anything about "Old Fashioned Airboat rides" http://www.airboatrides.com/ ? We inquired about prices and times and they responded quickly. Should we reserve or try somewhere else?

 

Time is running out - we leave in 9 days.:eek:

[Nliedel]

Has anyone ever used or heard anything about "Old Fashioned Airboat rides" http://www.airboatrides.com/ ? We inquired about prices and times and they responded quickly. Should we reserve or try somewhere else?

 

Time is running out - we leave in 9 days.:eek:

 

I've not used them, but I've taken some airboat tours in Florida (mostly southern) and loved it. They are a lot of fun.

[wanda1101]

Has anyone ever used or heard anything about "Old Fashioned Airboat rides" http://www.airboatrides.com/ ? We inquired about prices and times and they responded quickly. Should we reserve or try somewhere else?

 

Time is running out - we leave in 9 days.:eek:

 

They should be fine. There are several airboat places along SR 50 between Christmas and Titusville and, while I don't know which one this is, they're all busy on the weekends. I prefer Lone Cabbage only because of the fishcamp. It's nice to take someone there who is visiting. The food is decent, they can say they've tried gator, and also enjoy a boat ride. Makes for a nice afternoon.

 

If you have extra time, there's a restaurant called Dixie Crossroads http://www.dixiecrossroads.com/ in Titusville that is known all over for it's broiled rock shrimp. There's always a line, but it moves quickly. It is located on Garden Street, plus downtown there's a nice casual place called Kloiber's Cobbler - great sandwiches, salads and...cobbler. Sunrise Bakery (also downtown) has great baked goods and coffee.