What to do the day before and after cruise from Port Canaveral?

Question

Need advice for activities before and after cruise on Carnival Glory to Western Caribbean in early October. My husband & I are in our late 30's, taking our first cruise. We plan to take adventure excursions during the cruise (cave tubing, ATV, canopy tours) and are wondering how to cap it off before we leave Orlando? We fly in the night before the cruise, and will have a day and a half after the cruise. We're considering staying near the Kennedy Space Center and touring that before we board the ship (will there be time?). Afterward, we could go to Disney World but that's not too appealing for the price (did I mention we won't have kids with us?!).

Also, there is a shuttle launch scheduled from the space center for the week we're cruising. What are the chances it will be delayed and will launch the weekend we get back?

Suggestions, experiences, and advice are welcome! Thanks!

Answer 1

We cruised out of Port Canaveral this past December and we stayed near there and did tour the Kennedy Space Center before our cruise.  We stayed in Palm Coast, Fl because we were driving from NC.  That was close enough to the Kennedy Space Center to get there in about an hour.  

Its my understanding that there are rental car companies in Orlando that will rent you a car for a day or two and you can drop it at the cruise port office.   The drive from Orlando to the Space Center is about an hour straight down the Beeline Highway.

The Space Center does not open until 10:00 AM and the way you tour is by very nice buses that ferry you from building to building.  They drop you off at each and there is a schedule for when the next bus will come to take you to the next stop; usually about 20 to 30 minutes later so you do have time to see and enjoy things.  At any time you can take a bus directly back to the visitor center and to your car.  We did about 3/4 of the tour and then went back to our car.  If you know for sure that you will do that and you are an AAA member you can buy discounted tickets on line or through AAA.  They will not sell discounted tickets at the entrance.

The drive from Port Canaveral to the cruise port is very easy and takes about 30 to 40 minutes.  We spent about 3 hours at the Space Center and were on the ship by 2:00 PM.

After the cruise I think your best bet for activities would be in Orlando, either Disney or Universal Studios, or you could get a car again and drive to Tampa.  Go to Busch Gardens in Tampa or some other things.  

If you decide not to get another rental car you can always see if the cruise ship has transfers available back to Orlando.  They would probably drop you at the airport and you would need a taxi to get to a hotel in Orlando, or use one that has a free shuttle.

When we cruised last year there was a launch scheduled to go off on our return date; but it was canceled for a month so we missed it.  Maybe you will have better luck.