I have only ever sailed out of Port of Miami and have only had great experiences. This next cruise we want to take is the Mardi Gras leaving from Port Canaveral. Are there differences if the ports? Is one port better? Is one a deal breaker for you? What are your thoughts?
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Carnival Port Canaveral or Port of Miami?
9 Answers
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
Port Canaveral is a very good, if not GREAT port to sail from. ALL hotels / Motels are only minutes from the port. Best plan would be ( if flying in) would be to schedule your arrival at least a day before cruising in case of delayed flight or lost luggage by your airline . I have seen folks arrive @ OIA ( Orlando airport) only hours before sail time with lost luggage! Kinda bad being on a cruise ship out of the country with only what you are wearing with only a " promise " that the airline will get your luggage to your next port of call. Trust me , I live near Port Canaveral and sail frequently ! Also be sure you have shuttle arraignments from Airport to Port are or a rental car reserved also . Drive time from Airport to Port area is a solid one hour at this time. With high speed rail construction along the route it can be longer at times .Enjoy your Vacations !
Side note:
I really feel like Carnival is losing out on a great marketing opportunity by not sailing Mardi Gras strictly from NOLA...
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ME TOO!!! I totally wondered why that wasn't a thing! To me nothing else makes sense!
Some Cocoa Beach Hotels also offer a free shuttle, both to the cruise port, and around town, and cocoa beach is pretty close to port Canaveral
Side note:
I really feel like Carnival is losing out on a great marketing opportunity by not sailing Mardi Gras strictly from NOLA...
When we stay in Miami we stay at the Embassy Suites and they shuttle us around town for free and to the port. We will definitely check this out too 
Contributor Level:
Admiral
Originally posted by:
annabellalee
Thank you! I am looking forward to not being caught in the grand "hot mess" that is Miami. My biggest worry at the moment is finding a good price on a hotel for the night before.
We used goportcanaveral.com for that as well. We bought their package hotel and shuttle at a very fair price (at least we thought it was fair).
Contributor Level:
First Mate
Our experience has been good in both ports. There will always be some sort of mess, big or small, to deal with so take a deep breath, warrior on and enjoy your vacation.
Thank you! I am looking forward to not being caught in the grand "hot mess" that is Miami. My biggest worry at the moment is finding a good price on a hotel for the night before.
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
I have done both ports. With Miami you have 2 large airports to work flights out of FFL and Miami. In the past I have used Go port Canaveral and it went pretty smoothly. Only small problem was there was a Space Ex launch that evening and the entrance to the port area was very busy do to that.
We will be sailing on Mardi-Gras Jan 3 2021 and I think that I will plan on flying in on Jan 1. rent a car at Orlando airport and Stay at a Port Canaveral hotel. Then we see the Kennedy Space Center the day before our cruise. I can then return the car near the port for no extra fee and take the hotel shuttle to the ship early on our cruise day.
Contributor Level:
Admiral
We have avoided Port Canaveral because of the distance from the airport to the port and the hassle it has entailed (we had sailed from there 3 times). However, this past October we decided to try one more time... We used "goportcanaveral" and all transportation and hotel went smoothly. The port itself is easy to navigate and I would now add that to our list of preferable embarkation/debarkation ports. We find Miami a "hot mess" on most occasions, just relatively easy access from the airport. Hope you like it!