Country Inn & Suites shuttle list question

[IslandDreaming]

I just made online reservations for the park & cruise special at Country Inn & Suites for our cruise in August. On the boards here, everyone says to call when you make your reservation and get put on the list to get the earliest shuttle possible. But when I called to do that, I was told that they only put your name on the list at check-in, and it is first come, first served.

 

Has anyone else had experience with this? Is there a way around it? We are planning to go to a theme park in Orlando the day before we check in, so we will definitely not be checking in early. She did say we could call that day if we weren't going to check in early. But I just wanted to know if there was anything else I can do.

 

Thanks

[GTO-Girl]

I just made online reservations for the park & cruise special at Country Inn & Suites for our cruise in August. On the boards here, everyone says to call when you make your reservation and get put on the list to get the earliest shuttle possible. But when I called to do that, I was told that they only put your name on the list at check-in, and it is first come, first served.

 

Has anyone else had experience with this? Is there a way around it? We are planning to go to a theme park in Orlando the day before we check in, so we will definitely not be checking in early. She did say we could call that day if we weren't going to check in early. But I just wanted to know if there was anything else I can do.

 

Thanks

 

We have stayed at the Country Inn & Suites several times now and this is the way they do the shuttle. When you check in you are given a paper to give the driver to go over and another one to give them when you return. (It's the Radisson that takes shuttle reservations early by phone)

 

I don't know how many is in your party, but if you don't want the shuttle time they give you, call a cab. Because it's so close I think we paid about $10 (tip included) for the trip to the Port.

 

Hope this helps...

[IslandDreaming]

Thanks, Dianne. I was thinking about the cab option as well. If we don't get on an early shuttle, that's what I'll do. Thanks for giving me the price on it. That's good to know.

[abby and nathan's mom]

How do they determine the order of their shuttle???And also, what do you do when you get back???Do you call or is someone already there waiting on you???Does it take a long time to get picked back up???Thanks!!!!!

[GTO-Girl]

How do they determine the order of their shuttle???And also' date=' what do you do when you get back???Do you call or is someone already there waiting on you???Does it take a long time to get picked back up???Thanks!!!!![/quote']

 

To go over to the Port the order of the shuttle depends on the time the hotel assigns you for your group. When you come back you will have no trouble seeing the shuttle waiting for you. They do hold the shuttle there until they have a full load, but with so many people getting off, the wait is usually not very long.

 

FYI.....if you decide to get a cab when you return just know our cab driver was not quite as thrilled to take us back the short distance to the Radisson. She said they make their best money on the fares that are going to the airport etc.. So they all will charge twice as much ($20) to get back to the hotel verses the ($10) we paid the first day.

 

The cab driver told us they have to draw numbers early in the morning to see where their place in line is going to be to pick up cruise passengers. When they take a short distanced fare (we were only going to the Radisson, then they have to come back & take their place at the end of the line. Doesn't make them too happy.......

 

Our driver told us the only exception would be if you have a specific cab driver you call yourself, then they are allowed to bypass the line & come directly to pick you up. So you might want to talk to the driver who takes you over and see if they would be willing to come back and get you on the return. (These drivers are held in a parking lot inside the terminal fence so once you call them they will be there in about 2 minutes).

 

Hope this helps.

[deban42]

We did the PARK-N-CRUISE with Country Inns and suites, in 2007. It was great. They pretty much had everyone to the port in plenty of time. Even the ones staying post cruise. Which means they are the last to sign up.

They were waiting for us when we got back. Plan on doing the same in Sept.:D