clochette

great start, I look forward to reading more.

That is one of the many cruise, I am hoping to have someday, cannot wait to read your review. Great pictures.

All I have to say is WOW and I am so sad it is over, that was a fantstic review, truly enjoyed all of the work you put into it.. THANK YOU.

Great start I cannot wait to read more.

What a great review, I cannot wait to read more. Thanks

great review so far, I cannot wait to read more. Thanks for taking the time.

Just a heads up....2 days (9-12-12) after I booked my OTW, all the Cabana prices went up $50 :eek: So the Nellie's beach OTW Cabanas are now $250!! These prices are getting out of hand, what do you think? :confused:

wow, I booked mine at $200, I do not think I would get it at $250, too much money I guess we will spoil ourselves for this cruise. I sure hope that they do not try to charge us more if we have already booked.

Clochette, Obviously you haven't been to the Radisson for some time as they are very organized (your correct that it used to be a free for all even though shuttle times were assigned), now with drive in cruise parking in conjunction with the Radisson there is very little wait (I counted 18 mini buses available). And pickup for the return is very quick and efficient.

I am glad to hear that, you are right it has been 2 years since we stayed there, I might be willing to give them a try again.

we have stayed at both country inn and the radisson and used the shuttle, we found country inn to be very organized, you signed up for a certain time and departed on time. The radisson was completely disorganized with people pushing we were over an hour later than our assigned time both times we stayed there.

great start I cannot wait to read more.

I cannot imagine what that is going to do to the price of cruise packages at the hotel, we have a car and might end up not staying in cocoa beach if the prices go up too much, they are going to hurt the economy of cocoa beach in the long run

Has anyone stayed at the Country Inn and Suites lately and taken the shuttle to the port?

 

The past 2 times my family has stayed at a hotel and relied on the hotel shuttle for a trip to the port, we've taken a cab after waiting in a crowded, crazy lobby for an hour. I have a room at the Country Inn pre-cruise in December and am worried that the same thing is going to happen. I'd rather just park at the off site parking place if this is the case.

 

So, what is your experience with the shuttle to the port? When did you get your shuttle time--when you checked in? Could you sign up for a shuttle before you arrived? Was the lobby a crazy mess on Saturday morning?

 

Thanks for the input!

We stayed there this past February and took the shuttle it was very organized, we signed up for it when we checked in, were given our time, got on the shuttle a few minutes early and left for the port. no lines or craziness unless the radisson where we stayed the year before and waited over 1 hour to get on the shuttle.

We just came back from our cruise and stayed at the CI&S with the cruise package, we really enjoyed the hotel, and the transportation was great, very organized and on time. We had the 11:30 slot and I think we actually left at 11:20, when we got off the ship, one of the shuttle was there, we got right on and were back at the hotel in minutes.

I am wondering how construction on the bridge is going, when will it open back up?

Thank you for sharing your story, I have read your trip reports in the past, and was always so touched by the love that you shared with Carol.

What a treat to read your story, I am amazed that you found the owners of the camera, it is so great to find out the story behind the pictures. The turtle video is simply amamzing.

Great job

We are cruising on 2/14, our document state that our seating is at 6:00 p.m., but when I checked online it states 5:30 p.m.. I would love to know what it really will be as 5:30 is too early.

just curious, I read in another thread that MOS has a helipad area so I did a search here for "helipad" and nothing was found. Q: there is not a helipad area to walk on FOS?

--how about a "peek-a-boo" window to the bridge?

There is an helipad all the way in front of the ship, you access it going up some stairs from the promenade deck. There is no "peek-a-boo" bridge.

Thank you so much for the review, we also love the autotrain, and take it when going to Florida, it is a wonderful way to travel, certainly not cheap or fast, but very pleasant, for us it is part of the vacation.

Question... I see a "corner" behind the chair....what is that? Is that the bathroom wall? We are going to have a pack n play for the baby to sleep in and this corner looks to be a great spot. Just have to figure out what to do with the chair!!! LOL

 

Thanks for the help!

We had a similar cabin on our last cruise, we moved the chair next to the night stand it fit perfectly there, then you would have the corner space for the crib.

There was also a small glass table, that would need to go somewhere, we had put it against the corner.

We have been to the card/game room on the Explorer . They had all kinds of board games and card. If you don't see it there, you can always go and ask the front desk and they'll give you a deck. We've never taken our own cards and play bridge at least once every cruise we take.

We were looking for cards in February when we were on the Explorer, and the person at the Front desk told me I could buy some in the gift store.

I am so glad to see this thread, we came back from the Explorer which we loved and are planning to go on the Freedom next February, my kids are so excited about that. The ship looks great, and the ports are terrific for us.