NASA launch from the ship.

[RllngRckBrw]

There is a rocket launch scheduled for our debarkation day in 2 weeks at 5:41 am. I recognize that the possibility of it becoming rescheduled and us missing it, but assuming that it goes as planned, what are everyone’s thoughts/experiences with a launch from the boat? Where is the ideal spot to watch the launch? How large are the crowds on the decks? Is is worth waking my kids and dragging them up to the deck that early in the morning? Any other feedback regarding what the experience is like would be much appreciated.

 

[Weedy]

You should be able to see it. You will hear it!! About a minute after you see it.
We live in Orlando and like to go over and watch launches.
This is from the boat ramp area by Jetti Park. This is the area where the ship leaves the canal and enters ocean.

 

[abayaflowers]

There is a rocket launch scheduled for our debarkation day in 2 weeks at 5:41 am. I recognize that the possibility of it becoming rescheduled and us missing it, but assuming that it goes as planned, what are everyone’s thoughts/experiences with a launch from the boat? Where is the ideal spot to watch the launch? How large are the crowds on the decks? Is is worth waking my kids and dragging them up to the deck that early in the morning? Any other feedback regarding what the experience is like would be much appreciated.

We saw a rocket launch back in June 2016. You will need binoculars or your camera's telephoto lense. We only saw it as it enter the sky with the rocket flames. However, it was small. It was a cloudy day, but we saw it.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Deck crowds at 5:41AM even for a launch = zero.

 

[GPaLarry]

One of the coolest photos of a launch I have ever seen was taken from an airplane as the rocket emerged from clouds below the plane. I have read blogs of folks on DCL cruises watching a launch, so it might/can happen. Years ago we were in Tampa and heard about a launch later that day. I drove like crazy to get to the east side of Florida and we arrived a half hour early, outside the fence. We waited and waited for more than an hour....nothing. We heard on the radio that they scrubbed that day's launch and rescheduled for tomorrow when we were leaving. "High winds aloft" was the reason. I say, go for it!! There is always a chance the weather will cooperate. Years later I made model rockets with my younger son. The launches drew very few viewers and only went 100-200 feet in the air. It is hard to beat NASA. One of our 5-foot rockets landed on a neighbor's roof...not good!!

 

[southerngirl528]

We can see the rocket launches from here in the Disney area of Orlando! Yes, they are of course not nearly so dramatic as being on the east coast, near Cape Canaveral, but they are pretty cool nonetheless. What I find is that it is often at least a full minute or 2 here before I see the contrail.

When we had the space shuttle program, watching them take off, even from an hour's drive away, was incredible! You could see the huge fireball propelling the shuttle into space. Awesome! And when they landed at Port Canaveral? Often in the middle of the night?? WOW!! It sent shock waves that literally shook my house! Scared the stuffin's out of me the first time it happened!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Back in the Apollo days, I remember seeing a launch from my grandmother's back yard in Miami. That was cool! I've never seen on any closer, but I did feel, then hear the return of a shuttle in our rental near WDW. The whole house shook so much I thought a truck had crashed into the side of the house! Seeing one live from the Canaveral coast would be amazing!

 

[dcassetta]

There is a rocket launch scheduled for our debarkation day in 2 weeks at 5:41 am. I recognize that the possibility of it becoming rescheduled and us missing it, but assuming that it goes as planned, what are everyone’s thoughts/experiences with a launch from the boat? Where is the ideal spot to watch the launch? How large are the crowds on the decks? Is is worth waking my kids and dragging them up to the deck that early in the morning? Any other feedback regarding what the experience is like would be much appreciated.

It's a Falcon launch, so not as much spectacle as the Delta heavy that will launch at the end of July, but still pretty impressive. An early morning launch like that means that it won't be fully light, which will make it easier to see. I would follow NASA's Facebook or Twitter, as they will update that morning on any launch delays. I would not anticipate a big crowd on the ships deck.