Karl WP Beyer During a cruise that begins in Québec, Canada and ends in Fort Lauderdale, our cruise ship MS Zuiderdam, makes a stopover in the port of Cape Canaveral. Port Canaveral is the world's second largest cruise port. The city is located on the Atlantic coast, halfway between Jacksonville and Miami.
Cape Canaveral - berths for US Coast Guard ships
Cape Canaveral - Disney Cruise Line Terminal
The Kennedy Space Center – the region’s top attraction
Cape Canaveral is a little important coastal town with almost 10.000 inhabitants (July 2022 estimate). The city area measures 5.755 square kilometers; Statistically speaking, not even two people live per square kilometer. Under normal circumstances, only those in the know would know about Cape Canaveral. And yet Cape Canaveral is world-famous: the town is the starting point for visits to the nearby Kennedy Space Center. The 28-hectare exhibition complex attracts 1,7 million visitors every year. This year we are also among the army of visitors.
Kennedy Space Center - Waiting in line at security
Kennedy Space Center - the entrance is behind us
Comfortable coaches are available at our cruise terminal for transport to the space center. The journey time takes just over half an hour. The thorough entry check takes around 15 minutes to wait. We can see from information boards that firearms, ammunition or knives and other dangerous items are prohibited on the premises. Who knew it was necessary to point this out?
In 2023, adult day tickets are $75.
The facility is open from 9:00am to 17:00pm
Interesting facts about the Kennedy Space Center
The Kennedy Space Center is owned by NASA, the US federal space and flight science agency. The Kennedy Space Center officially launched on August 1, 1967. Since then, it has undergone numerous expansions and improvements as a result of the increasing demands on space travel. Rockets and spacecraft, memorabilia and extensive documentation are on display. There are two IMAX theaters and themed shows. If you like, you can chat with astronauts (for a fee) or take various bus tours around the extensive area.
The Kennedy Space Center is not suitable for casual visits. In our opinion, the number of objects on display and the edutainment offered in parallel require stays lasting several days.
Day visitors - we spend around six hours on the site - are forced to choose from the many attractions those that suit their personal interests. In our case, this means that we focus on the so-called “Mission Zones”, each of which is dedicated to a specific topic through corresponding exhibitions or tours.
Physical well-being, mostly fast food, is provided. A total of eight food stalls and fast food restaurants are scattered throughout the entire exhibition complex. This also applies to the three souvenir shops; After all, you want to be reminded of this unique place for a long time with a souvenir for yourself or a third party.
Kennedy Space Center - the name says it all
The US Astronaut Hall of Fame
To understand what makes an astronaut, one should visit the Boeing-run Astronaut Hall of Fame. Significant exhibits include the objects stored there, such as a Redstone Rocket rocket, the Sigma 7 capsule and the Gemini 9 capsule. The Hall of Fame also remembers the 24 astronauts and test pilots who lost their lives during space and test flights.
Kennedy Space Center - Astronaut Hall of Fame
The “Spaceport of the Future”, which organizes four different imaginary tours through space, is out of the question for us due to the limited amount of time reserved for the center visit. The following names were chosen for the simulated journeys: Red Planet, Daring Explorers, Cosmic Wonders and Uncharted Worlds.
rocket garden
Next to the US Astronaut Hall of Fame is the exhibition area for historical rockets. All missiles, with the exception of a replica of a Mercury Atlas rocket, carried astronauts and satellites into space. The rockets stand upright next to each other. Only the Saturn IB, the largest projectile, is shown in a lying position. The Rocket Garden also features mock-ups of space capsules from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. The capsules can be viewed from the inside, and three guided tours of the Garden of Rockets are offered daily.
Apollo/Saturn V Center
The Apollo/Saturn V Center is located almost ten kilometers outside the exhibition grounds in the northwest of rocket launch site 39. Available shuttle buses connect the Kennedy Space Center with the Apollo/Saturn V Center.
Kennedy Space Center - shuttle bus launch site
Due to the constant flow of visitors, visitors are recommended to take one of the buses early. That's what we do, and we don't regret that decision.
The buses run between 9:30am and 14:30pm
The 9.300 square meter hall was built to display a restored, lying Saturn V rocket. It was the largest projectile ever launched. The Apollo 14 Kitty Hawk command module, spacesuits and much more are also on display. The Saturn V rocket carried astronauts to the moon. Visitors can experience the launch of Apollo 8 and the moon landing of Apollo 11 in two cinemas.
In front of the hall, a monument to Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins attracts attention. The group of figures is in the Moon Tree Garden. What is the “Moon Tree Garden” all about? Twelve trees represent twelve Apollo missions. The seeds from the trees traveled to the moon before they were planted.
Kennedy Space Center - Apollo/Saturn V Center
Kennedy Space Center - the first visitors to the moon
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Back at the Kennedy Space Center: The Atlantis Mission Zone reports on NASA's shuttle program. Over a period of 30 years, space shuttles launched piggybacked on rockets and landed like gliders on the spaceport's shuttle landing facility after completing their mission.
In front of the hall, two full-size rockets and a huge, orange fuel tank rise into the air.
In the hall, visitors can see the Atlantis Space Shuttle above their heads lying on its side with the cargo door open and the loading arm extended. The way it is depicted creates the illusion that the space shuttle has just left the International Space Station (ISS).
Kennedy Space Center - admirers of the Space Shuttle Atlantis
Kennedy Space Center - cargo hold of the Space Shuttle Atlantis
The shuttle shown is one of three space shuttles used by NASA. In addition to the Space Shuttle, more than 60 interactive objects refer to the history and technology of the shuttle program.
Kennedy Space Center - Engines of the Space Shuttle Atlantis
Kennedy Space Center - Space Shuttle Atlantis command post
NASANow
In the Gateway Pavilion, visitors learn more about the present and future of space travel. You see the spacecraft currently in use and imagine the visionary ideas of NASA and its associated commercial partners for future deep space missions.
Kennedy Space Center - the Gateway complex
On display is the Orion EFT-1 capsule. developed by Lockheed Martin. It was first used in 2014. This capsule will play an important role in NASA's future Artemis missions - which will once again target the moon.
Kennedy Space Center - site of the Orion EFT-1 capsule
The company SPACEX, greetings from Elon Musk, is with the Cargo Dragon COTS-2 and the Spacex Falcon 9 boosters represented.
Kennedy Space Center - Cargo Dragon COTS-2
Kennedy Space Center - Spacex Falcon 9 booster
Another spectacular exhibit is the Sierra Space Dream Chaser. The multi-use spacecraft will supply the ISS with cargo in the future. If everything goes as planned, the Dream Chaser will touch down on Earth's runways again, like the Space Shuttle before it. The model shown in flight mode is shown to scale.
Kennedy Space Center - Sierra Space Dream Chaser
The dummy Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule was developed for testing purposes. The CST-100 Starliner will carry four or five astronauts and cargo into space in the future.
Boeing also developed the astronauts' spacesuits for their Starliner capsule. An outfit like this, weighing almost 10 kilos, is worth admiring.
The James Webb Solar Telescope uses his infrared skills to search for and explore the first galaxies formed after the “Big Bang”. The telescope is a joint effort between NASA, the Canadian and European space agencies.
Kennedy Space Center - James Webb Solar Telescope
One last attraction
The Mars Rover Vehicle Navigator is the last remaining object from the Kennedy Space Center before we head back to our bus and the cruise ship. The six-wheeled Mars Rover is the prototype of a next-generation vehicle. The mobile laboratory, which is unusually large for space experiments, was developed for moving through difficult Martian terrain such as dunes, rocks or craters.
Kennedy Space Center - the Mars Rover
Kennedy Space Center - the all-terrain Mars Rover
Kennedy Space Center – Summary
In more than ten years of cruise experience, we were privileged to get to know Port Canaveral as a cruise destination for the first time. The port ranks second in the world as a cruise destination after Miami. On the one hand, this is astonishing; From our perspective, Cape Canaveral and its harbor lie somewhere in Florida's no-man's land. On the other hand, Port Canaveral has earned a reputation for travel to the Bahamas and Caribbean regions. Many Americans use the port as a starting point for multi-day cruises.
Cape Canaveral - Port Canaveral Exploration Tower
We discovered Port Canaveral as a stopover on one of Quebec to Miami leading cruise. In addition to the Kennedy Space Center, we could also have chosen the city of Orlando, 85 kilometers away, with its many theme parks. After visiting the spaceport, we know that we made the right decision. The chance to get to Cape Canaveral again is in the stars for us. And even if it were possible, we wouldn't hesitate to visit the Kennedy Space Center again. What we perceive as a unique experience can also be viewed a second time.
The question that still remains to be clarified is how do interested parties reach the spaceport? As well-positioned individualists, we generally prefer and recommend self-organized tours. As for the Kennedy Space Center, we recommend the organized excursions offered by the cruise ships. Holland America Line will charge adults 130 euros to their onboard account for such tours in 2023. - We exclude taxis entirely for practical reasons. This also applies to rental cars. The car rental companies' offices are located outside the large port area and can be reached via the rental company's shuttle services. This inevitably leads to time delays and speaks against renting vehicles.
October 2023