Back-to-Back cruises: How much time in Port Canaveral in between?

[BeanoC]

We are planning back to back 7-day Magic cruises in October, but we have also promised our son that we would take him to Kennedy Space Center.
As I recall, we boarded the ship last time at about 1:00 P.M. I also remember being off the ship by about 8:30 A.M. after the cruise. So, this calculates out to be around 4.5 hours. Is it even worth it to take a towncar to Kennedy for 4 hours? Will we just be disappointed that we had to leave too soon? Am I correct in assuming that the drive from the port to Kennedy is only 20 minutes or so? Thanks for any feedback on this!


'Beano'

 

[dbond]

There's a lot at the visitor complex that you can see in those 4 hours, and you may have time to squeeze in 1 bus tour if you are one of the first in line. There are 3 tours that begin departing at 9:30 AM and each tour will take at least a couple of hours. However, we've been there in the off season before and they've condensed the tours into 1, which takes a little longer but saves you time in the long run. You would probably have to decide between a bus tour or one of the IMAX movies. I don't think you'd have time to do both in that amount of time. I would recommend buying your admission in advance, http://www.ksctickets.com/maxaccess.html
sometimes the ticket lines get really long at opening with tour groups. Be sure and watch the launch schedule for that day.
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/schedule.htm
There is not an October launch scheduled at this time, but that Sept launch could get bumped. They close KSC on launch days, but you would get the added bonus of seeing a launch if that were to be the case. It's worth the trip, but will you be able to do it all in that amount of time, no, but you will see alot.

 

[bethsg]

I would think this through carefully. We did the Kennedy Space tour after the cruise last year. You get on a bus, and make lots of stops at various buildings and complexes. Once you finish one building you go back out to the "bus stop" and wait for the next bus to the next building. This is a pretty big time commitment, and you can't just leave when you feel like it. You are totally at the mercy of their bus schedule. It's a lot of walking and really is a pretty full day. I don't think you could do it in that amount of time, and really get much out of it. On the other hand, if you don't do the bus tour, there are still things you can see in the visitor center, but not sure it's worth the admission cost.

 

[Denine]

Beano: I know you are on the 10-12 cruise. Which other cruise are you taking. We are on the 10-12 and 10-19.

 

[BeanoC]

Denine - We are on the 10-5 and 10-12, so we'll only see you guys for one week!

We decided to do the eastern cruise first, since we have already done that, and save the 'new' cruise for last. I don't have the same stateroom for both however since I booked a cat 3 suite for the 10-12. Can't afford it for both weeks! But the neat thing is we have our SAME room from last year's cruise for the 10-5!

I thought about downgrading the 10-12 so we could have the same room for 2 weeks, but I just can't bring myself to give up that suite!

Do you think there is a chance we won't have to disembark between cruises? That would be fabulous! I imagine the pools, etc. would be closed but if we could just kick back on deck that woud be great. Maybe they can hold our luggage somewhere? Or, since we have 2 different rooms, maybe we'll have no choice but to get off and back on with our bags... Whatever the case, I know it will be great. How bad can 2 weeks on the Magic be??


'Beano'

 

[wdwgoose]

Hey Beano,

I would not try to do KSC in the time between cruises. I would either arrive the day before early Friday AM, go the KSC on Friday and stay at the Radisson Friday night, arrive early Saturday to board the Magic for TWO glorious weeks. (am I ever jealous!!!) If going early isn't possible plan your return flight for late Satrday or Sunday AM and do the space center after the cruises.
Do you have to even get off between the times it would make the room surprise a little easier if you didn't have to disembark at all, just have DCL move your things. What a nice surprise!!!! Enjoy your cruises!!

Vicki

 

[Lyneigh P]

This Kennedy Space Space is bigger than one who think. It is a huge time commitment. When we went Dec01 after our cruise, we only had a few hour to spend there before we had to be at the airport. We weren't able to do very much. We took the bus tour and were very nervous the whole time that we wouldn't get back in time. The bus tours are very SLOW. Even though it wasn't crowded, it took us about an hour to get on the bus. Short line, but very long wait! I think it is not worth the admission for only 4 hours, but for the whole day definitely YES!

 

[skuba]

I happened to ask this question to one of the representatives outside the port terminal as I was waiting for my husband to get the rental car. They said everyone has to pack up and leave the ship, even if you are going on the boat again. She said it gets inspected and cleared after every sailing.

We did the space center on Saturday after the cruise and decided to fly out Sunday. We spent about 4 hours there and didn't get to see much. We did the kids madness show which is about 30 minutes. We got lunch, let the kids play on the little playground there, went to see the explorer that you can go on and then rode the bus around to get the quick tour. We didn't get off the bus to look at anything. You could spend a day there.

If you are going to try it, I would almost suggest you rent a car because unless I am wrong, you will have all of your luggage with you.

Lucky you either way. What a treat going twice.

DG

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

I don't see why you'd need to be back on the ship by 1:00. I'm guessing that they'll allow some "perks" to those considerate enough to plunk down thousands of dollars for consecutive cruises. One of those perks might be the ability to book your Palo and spa ressies in advance... negating the need to be back early for the Ressies Scramble.

So, assuming you get off the ship early... don't have to bring your luggage with you... allow time for pickup and dropoff of the rental car... and then reboard by 4:00... I'd say you'd have a good 6 hours of free time.

 

[Denine]

Beano: You guys will be good and relaxed by the time we meet up. What time is the wine party and when? I know what cabin

 

[BeanoC]

There seems to be some confusion as to whether or not we can leave our luggage on board. Some say that it has to come off so the ship can be inspected, others have said we can leave it on.
We would be switching staterooms, so we definitely would need to pack up, but it seems we should be able to just transfer our bags to the new room. I can't imagine that they actually inspect each and every stateroom every week!! Sure would be nice to know for certain what we'll have to do. Anyway, I don't think I'll even try to go to Kennedy in between - sounds like we wouldn't have enough time to see everything, and I don't want to do that. I'll wait until we have a full day - Maybe the saturday after the 2nd cruise! Wow, this is getting mucho expensive!



'Beano'

 

[scubadad]

If your not familiar with the area, it's more spread out than you think. You will have to travel West, then North before going to Spaceport USA.

I think if you want to go over and tour the original museum, then a couple of hours is about right, and will be easy to pull off.

If you hustle, and have quick access to a car, then really your time at Canaveral is about the same as your time on St Thomas and should be doable.

Unless you get off the ship right away, forget the bus tour and the requisite Saturn V museum tour.

 

[Windermere]

As for the question of whether you need to get off the ship or can stay on - we did a back to back last Sept and we were not able to get a definite yes or no answer until the debarkation seminar on the last night of the cruise. My suggestion is to plan to get off with all luggage in tow ( because you will have to go through customs if you get off) and be pleasantly surprised if you get to stay on. It seems that DCL has written procedures for staying on and getting off but they do not have the final say in this matter - customs and immigration seem to rule.

Oh, and by the way, you do not get to book Palo's or spa reservations in advance. You have to stand in line just like on the first time around.