Port Canaveral Florida

Gloria was all over this one. She resides there. It's a nice small town. I stay at the Comfort Inn as well as Bonnie. usually 2 days, this upcoming trip I'm booked for three days. Nice place next to Ron Johns and walking distance to what you need. I personally drive to Cocoa and keep my car there for free. Also a good buffet breakfast every morning. This August will be my 4 th time there. They gave me the suite by the pool at no extra charge this time

To get to get from the airport to Cocoa Beach, we used Joes Airport Taxi and he was great. We would highly recommend him.

We stayed at the Quality Inn Cocoa Beach and they recommended 888 shuttle service to take us to the cruise port - $16 each.

Port Canaveral was a great port. We used Cocoa Beach shuttle. They were great, they called my cell phone after plane landed and told us where the van was waiting for us. The driver was very good. After the cruise the shuttle was waiting at the port for us.

Kennedy Space center was a great way to spend a full day. We all enjoyed it from age 14 to age 60. Lots to see and do, very good movies about the space program.

We stayed at Radison Resort at the port and booked Suites, Nice large 2 room suite that was just re-decorated, great pool area with waterfall and hot tub. Dinner at the hotel was ok, very friendly helpful front desk staff.

Over all I'd cruise out of Cape Canaveral again but I'd want a couple more days to see more of the Cape Canaveral area.

I was looking into Port canaveral as well, but went with Ft. Lauderdale. The Shuttle info seems decent, but I feel constricted. Has anyone done a taxi to/from? I hear more and more people using ubers too..

Another option for less price on clean shuttles to Port Canaveral is Florida Sunshine Shuttle . We had a great experience on our drive down to catch our cruise. You can book the shared shuttle, but it is more cost effective if you have 5 or more people to do the private shuttle and it's nice because it is just people in your party on the shuttle.

We were part of a group who cruised out of Port Canaveral in August 2015. 5 of us in the group flew into Orlando arriving around the same time & planned to go to Disney World after the end of our cruise. Sharing transportation costs was split among the 5 of us, so we rented a car. (We got a smoking deal through Costco Travel.) Drove the rental car from Orlando to Cocoa Beach the night we arrived, and then drove it from our hotel in Cocoa Beach to the cruise terminal at Port Canaveral the morning of embarkation. Hotel had a discounted parking voucher for parking at the port, so we paid $45 for 4 days instead of the standard $75. After disembarking from our cruise, we had our car and drove back down to Cocoa Beach and hung out there for a couple of hours before heading to Orlando. Going to Disney World the next day, and then driving back to the airport the day after was easy. Renting a car for a week for our group of 5 worked well for us. It was nice to have our own transportation to go where we wanted when we wanted.

There is a whole lot more to see and do than the bus tour. But, you learn a lot on the bus and they make it interesting although a lot of information goes right over my head. There is too much to soak in. The stop can be as long or as short as you like. You do really need a full day. Go to the bus tour first as lines get long as the day wears on.

Gloria, thanks for a good description of the center. I had read that you need a full day to visit it. I am interested in the space program because my dads was an aerospace engineer. He had done some work on the Apollo project's and then into the defense industry.

The reviews of people that took the excursion to the Space center have been good, but they did more then just the 2 hour bus tour.

I think that you do need to have an interest in space and the Space Program to appreciate all the information they throw at you. It is very educational. Where else can you touch a moon rock and meet/lunch with an astronaut? History was made here and you can't see what is shown here anywhere else in the world. On our last visit, we saw an eagle's nest with baby eagles in it and some alligators sunning themselves along the side of the route.

Just walking in the entrance, gives me a sense of pride being an America. Tourists visit from all over the world. I think that the Japanese seem to be the most enthralled by what they see.

The new Atlantis exhibit is great. There is a ride inside called The Shuttle Launch Experience that offers a sense of what it feels like at liftoff. If it were up to my husband, he would spend all his time in the building. Just seeing the huge Atlanis up close with all its bruises and imperfections from its travel through space is impressive. He also loves all the simulators.

The IMAX shows are fun, too. We always try to see the two movies even though we have already seen them each several times. The outdoor Rocket Garden is nice to explore.

Get off the bus at the Apollo/Saturn exhibit and visit the firing room before entering the huge hall. There are plenty of other smaller exhibits around the complex. Before you leave, a visit to the Astronaut Memorial s very moving. My grandson bent down to pick up some wrappers so they wouldn't detract from the serenity of the memorial. One of the boys must have read every signage explaining the exhibits all around the complex. We didn't have time to see the 3-D movie that day but how could we rush him along.

The Astronaut Hall of Fame is preparing to move onsite now. You used to have to travel to visit it although it was included in the admission price. Again, if you are not awed by space exploration and rocket launches, I would suggest you visit a Disney Theme Park or the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge instead or even take a Space Coast River Boat Tour instead.

My two grandsons, though, loved it. They were visiting us from London and it was the one place that they really wanted to see besides Legoland. It was hard to get them out of the huge gift shop. They bought freeze dried Astronaut ice cream and models of the space shuttle.

Don't get too exited about the Space Centre. Some years ago, I drove for a couple of hours from Orlando and joined a tour around the centre. The tour lasted about 2 hours and it is suffice to say that I was totally bored with what was being presented.To be driven round in a bus to be shown in the distance where a particular rocket took off from was not my cup of tea. Still, as they say, it takes all sorts.