Definitely rent a car. That way you are not tied to someone elses schedule and you can use it to drive around Cocoa Beach. If you are luggage heavy like we are, rent a mini van. 2 couples and the luggage went in very well. We always go a day early and stay at the Radison the night before. Avis has an office right at the hotel and a free shuttle service. Howvever, we found that it was easier to use the rental the next day (it wasn't due back until 9) to take the luggage to the ship. My brother and I dropped the ladies with the luggage at the port, drove back to the Radison (about a 10 minute drive) and grabbed the Avis shuttle back to the ship. (total round trip was about 25 minutes) Trying to get all your luggage on their shuttle with everyone else is a real pain. We also booked a rental for the return trip. We got the luggage outside then grabbed a taxi to the Radison ($12 with a generous tip) got the van and went back to pick up the ladies and luggage. It worked out great. Hope this helps.