Arriving 2 days before Cruise Departure - Things to Do

[TravelMomX3]

We have a 3 night cruise leaving from Port Canaveral in November. We'd like to arrive 2-3 days early but don't quite know what to do - any recommendations? We're trying to decide between the following ,but are open to other suggestions too:

1. Disney World - visit 1-2 parks
2. Peppa Pig's new theme park
3. Universal
4. Just taking it easy and relaxing

 

[Dug720]

I would go with 1 or 4.

But I don't have kids, so 2 has no appeal for me. And I refuse to give JKR any of my money because of her views, so Universal is out as she gets a cut of each ticket sold even if you don't go near her areas.

 

[Chemist]

We LOVED our day at Kennedy Space Center.
(We did it the day after our cruise.)

 

[TestingH2O]

We just spent a day in the Cocoa Beach area and had a great time. There is a manatee reserve (we didn't make it, but plan to go back,) Kennedy Space Center, the beach at Cocoa Beach, the pier area, shopping, eating by the cruise port and watching the ships sail away. Honestly, I would love to spend a couple more days in the area the next time we sail from PC.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We enjoy a couple of days at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. This requires a rental car.

 

[FrannyFrogs]

I'm thinking about flying into Jacksonville, renting a car, and spending 2 nights in Saint Augustine before our cruise next winter. I haven't put much more thought into it, at this point, so not sure how the logistics would work!

 

[MomOTwins]

After a bad experience of my husband coming down sick the first night of a cruise and spending the cruise in quarantine (this was pre-Covid--he got norovirus) after a day in Magic Kingdom, and after many other experiences of falling ill during or shortly after disney parks, I am firmly in the "no parks before cruise" camp. We still like to stay at Disney World for a little extra Disney magic but do a no-parks stay and just enjoy the hotel. Poly is my favorite--dole whips, gorgeous pools, fireworks views at night.

If I were going to the parks, I would probably still do disney because of the convenience of the resort bus to port transfer. If I had my own car, though, I'd probably prefer Universal because it is easier to do their parks in 1-2 days.

 

[hrhdhd]

I'm thinking about flying into Jacksonville, renting a car, and spending 2 nights in Saint Augustine before our cruise next winter. I haven't put much more thought into it, at this point, so not sure how the logistics would work!

Just get in the car and keep driving down to Pt. Canaveral. St. Augustine is a lovely area.

 

[brentm77]

After a bad experience of my husband coming down sick the first night of a cruise and spending the cruise in quarantine (this was pre-Covid--he got norovirus) after a day in Magic Kingdom, and after many other experiences of falling ill during or shortly after disney parks, I am firmly in the "no parks before cruise" camp. We still like to stay at Disney World for a little extra Disney magic but do a no-parks stay and just enjoy the hotel. Poly is my favorite--dole whips, gorgeous pools, fireworks views at night.

If I were going to the parks, I would probably still do disney because of the convenience of the resort bus to port transfer. If I had my own car, though, I'd probably prefer Universal because it is easier to do their parks in 1-2 days.

That's probably smart. I have had what appears to be Norovirus at least three times from Disneyland over the years. Once I figured it out and started sanitizing like crazy, I stopped getting it. I think it must be on the surface of many railings at theme parks, and if you aren't careful, it's easy to get it onto your food or drink. I also caught COVID at WDW over Christmas last year. It's pretty easy to pick up a bug at the parks in my experience.

To OP - we have had good experiences doing Universal the day before. It is a fun to have a long exhausting day at the parks, followed by a relaxing cruise. But the above concern is warranted, since you have that increase risk of spoiling a cruise with a bug from the parks. I don't particularly like the Cocoa beach area. One night there would be fun, but if it was more than that, I would look at other options.

 

[tidefan]

We enjoy a couple of days at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. This requires a rental car.

This was going to be my suggestion as well. We often combine VB with a cruise...

 

[KDG]

another vote for Vero Beach!

 

[jujubiee4]

After a bad experience of my husband coming down sick the first night of a cruise and spending the cruise in quarantine (this was pre-Covid--he got norovirus) after a day in Magic Kingdom, and after many other experiences of falling ill during or shortly after disney parks, I am firmly in the "no parks before cruise" camp. We still like to stay at Disney World for a little extra Disney magic but do a no-parks stay and just enjoy the hotel. Poly is my favorite--dole whips, gorgeous pools, fireworks views at night.

If I were going to the parks, I would probably still do disney because of the convenience of the resort bus to port transfer. If I had my own car, though, I'd probably prefer Universal because it is easier to do their parks in 1-2 days.

Yup same here. After a noro experience our whole family got at DW before a cruise I said never again.
It left such a bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended)I don't even go near the resorts precruise.

Now afterwards we love it. I also find it puts a buffer of getting off the ship before heading home.
I hear the inevitable "I don't want to go home". lol So even a couple days at the parks or resorts
are great. Although seeing other suggestions about hitting up Kennedy space center sounds great
afterwards. Never been and it gets such high reviews.

 

[Kariyaffa]

My 5 year old niece was kinda bored at Peppa Pig. The rides were really geared toward toddlers. Also not sure if you’re aware that Peppa Pig (and Legoland) are on the other side of Orlando toward Tampa. Without traffic they are less than 2 hours away but can be closer to 3 hours with traffic at times. That being said Legoland is awesome. It’s more manageable and affordable than Disney if you don’t mind the extra drive. If you have a toddler who is a huge Peppa Pig fan definitely pay for both parks.

Otherwise skip the whole area and focus on Disney or definitely consider Kennedy Space Center if that’s of interest/age appropriate.

 

[TravelMomX3]

This is all really good advice - thank you all so much. I'm definitely rethinking the parks before the cruise. Sounded like a good strategy at first but I definitely don't want to risk getting sick, especially if COVID testing is still required when we sail.

I love the Kennedy Space Center idea!

 

[DisneyDadWV]

We're planning to spend part of Saturday and all of Sunday before our cruise around Cocoa Beach. It's our first time sailing. After the cruise we're going to tour Kennedy Space Center before we start heading home. We're driving so it's kind of nice to have the weekend before and after to do a little exploring to extend the vacation.