This was a last-minute switch when the Oasis of the Seas was hit by a crane in dry dock. I was traveling “solo” with my two sons, 12 and 16. The moment I found out the sailing had been cancelled, I called and found that there were still a few staterooms on the Epic sailing out of Port Canaveral that weekend. We flew out from Boston and arrived in Cocoa Beach around 2 am. We stayed at the Sheraton Four point which is built in to the RonJon surf complex, and was two blocks from the beach. We’d planned to have a whole day here but the Epic sailed on Saturday rather than the Sunday that the Oasis was scheduled to depart. Across the street were a CVS and a Walgreens, so in addition to sunglasses and water shoes from RonJon, we were able to get all the last minute items.

We’d rented with Hertz, which returned a few miles up the road and took the shuttle to the port. It was cool to see the differences between Carnival, Disney, and NCL as passengers were dropped off on all three lines.

Embarkation was pretty smooth—a long, yet constantly moving line. We’d all worn our swimsuits under our clothes so we could hit the pools and water slides first thing once aboard. The kids found the sports court (a little confusing because you had to go through the “adults-only” SpiceH2O bar to find it. I finished up booking entertainment (booking so late didn’t leave many openings in the online schedule). I got a spot at the Cirque Dreams show that night and for the Escape Room later in the week. Read more