Port Canaveral parking question

[Shannon Kinninger]

I have seen numerous Port Canaveral YouTube videos at the RC terminals and it looks like there is not a lot of parking.  I live an hour away and debating whether to hire a shuttle/Lyft/Uber or have my husband drop me and my sister off at the terminal or attempt to park.  What is your experience?  I'm cruising on a Monday, May 6th, 2024.  Thank youo all for you input.

[Starrynight0154]

I sailed from PC in February, my 2nd time. Never had an issue parking. I think it depends what time you arrive. At 10am there were a lot of spaces available. When you approach terminal 1 there’s a roundabout at the entrance, the bottom right portion of the garage looks busy, but that’s just drop off. In the middle it says parking, go there and park. It’s $145 for a 7 night cruise. Look on google maps street view to get an idea of what it looks like. Check your cruise ticket email to see which terminal it is. Terminal 1 is excellent.

[twangster]

Unfortunately the parking at PCN is poorly managed.

Many of us are finding it more convenient to get dropped off.  This is especially true when not using terminal one.  I have a friend who lost hours when trying to exit T5 parking.  For some reason PCN has stopped using the parking kiosks so everyone has to pay as they exit and when the garage is full that can take hours to exit. 

T1 is the only terminal where you pay upon entry so exiting is a breeze.  However they routinely overflow to the grass surface lots for T1 which are a bit of a pain especially dragging your luggage with you after the cruise.

If you've got a ride I'd suggest you take it.  

If you do park, plan to get off the ship ASAP and get out of the garage before the masses clog up the exit lanes.  

 

[OCSC Mike]

No issues at Terminal 1 if you get there on the early side. Never sailed out of Terminal 5.

[loki007]

i find PC much better for parking than either Miami or Port Everglades. Especially if you are sailing out of the newer Royal Terminal. The parking garage has ample spaces, attached to the terminal, and you pay on the way in so when departing there isn't a line to pay. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, loki007 said:

i find PC much better for parking than either Miami or Port Everglades. Especially if you are sailing out of the newer Royal Terminal. The parking garage has ample spaces, attached to the terminal, and you pay on the way in so when departing there isn't a line to pay. 

Another bonus to this is that if you sail on a B2B, you only pay for the # of days in your first cruise as the garage has no way of knowing you're not getting off the ship for another cruise.

And, of course, I agree with everything you posted. We always get there early for a 10:30 or 11:00 check-in time and have tons of spaces to choose from in the garage.

[Psycho and Barb]

We always use parkncruise.  We stop by the port and drop off our luggage and then make the short drive (2 miles) to parkncruise.  Drop our vehicle off and jump on one of their shuttles.  They have different shuttles for each Cruise line.   

[mountaincruiser]

We have an 11:30 arrival time, Terminal 5 departure. What time should I plan on arriving to park? Or is the arrival time the time I should plan to park?

[Matt]

I started using Lyft to get to PCN from Orlando.  It’s not cheap, but avoiding the parking is such a breeze. 

At Terminal 1, it’s a nice splurge.  At Terminal 5, it’s a must after I got stuck waiting to leave the garage for 2 hours one time.  

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

I started using Lyft to get to PCN from Orlando.  It’s not cheap, but avoiding the parking is such a breeze. 

At Terminal 1, it’s a nice splurge.  At Terminal 5, it’s a must after I got stuck waiting to leave the garage for 2 hours one time.  

I'm not a stalker, I promise, I just do live very close to you (my wife works at an elementary school in Winter Garden).

Do you get picked up at your house? If so, may I ask how much Lyft costs?

We always drive but have only been on ships leaving from Terminal 1 and we get there early so it has always been a breeze for us.

[rgalante46]

Sailing on Independence on May 1st. I was wondering this very question earlier today. Thanks for all the input

[Matt]

14 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Do you get picked up at your house?

Yes

14 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

If so, may I ask how much Lyft costs?

Depends on the day, but somewhere around $75-100 each way.  It cost much more when I needed a Lyft XL with my fam over spring break because we needed extra luggage space.

You can always pretend to do a lyft ride and it will show you the price before you commit to requesting one.

[dustfsu]

15 hours ago, Matt said:

I started using Lyft to get to PCN from Orlando.  It’s not cheap, but avoiding the parking is such a breeze. 

At Terminal 1, it’s a nice splurge.  At Terminal 5, it’s a must after I got stuck waiting to leave the garage for 2 hours one time.  

2 hours? Were people paying in quarters having to count their change .  Hopefully it's not like that in l 11 days when I go on the Wonder

[OCSC Mike]

52 minutes ago, Matt said:

Yes

Depends on the day, but somewhere around $75-100 each way.  It cost much more when I needed a Lyft XL with my fam over spring break because we needed extra luggage space.

You can always pretend to do a lyft ride and it will show you the price before you commit to requesting one.

Thanks. I figured I could price it myself somehow but I'm not a ride share user (and lazy so I asked you).

Given the price of parking at the terminal, it's really not a bad option.

[OCSC Mike]

16 minutes ago, dustfsu said:

2 hours? Were people paying in quarters having to count their change .  Hopefully it's not like that in l 11 days when I go on the Wonder

Wonder always sails from Terminal 1 which is a breeze.

[Scott B]

16 minutes ago, dustfsu said:

2 hours? Were people paying in quarters having to count their change .  Hopefully it's not like that in l 11 days when I go on the Wonder

Wonder is at Terminal 1, where you pay as you enter. It's a much better system and getting out is super fast if you disembark early. We self assisted and stepped off the ship at 7:25AM and were on the highway by 7:49.

[dustfsu]

17 minutes ago, Scott B said:

Wonder is at Terminal 1, where you pay as you enter. It's a much better system and getting out is super fast if you disembark early. We self assisted and stepped off the ship at 7:25AM and were on the highway by 7:49.

We always do self assist.  Good thing is we only have a 2 and half hour drive home.

[OCSC Mike]

15 minutes ago, dustfsu said:

We always do self assist.  Good thing is we only have a 2 and half hour drive home.

So nice, isn't it? I can get home in about an hour.

[Matt]

36 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Given the price of parking at the terminal, it's really not a bad option.

For a 7 night cruise it’s more or less break even if you can get into a regular Lyft (not xl). For a 3 nighter, not so much. 

Then again, I’m taking Lyft for the convenience, not cost savings necessarily (especially at terminal 5)

[Shannon Kinninger]

What about Allure?  Does it dock at Terminal 1?

[Matt]

14 hours ago, Shannon Kinninger said:

What about Allure?  Does it dock at Terminal 1?

Yes, Oasis Class ships have to dock at T1

[Shannon Kinninger]

Thank you Matt, this helps me plan embarkation day