This was our second cruise with Royal Caribbean in as many years with the Radiance in Alaska last year and this year the Freedom in the Eastern Caribbean. As most of you do, I read the most recent reviews as the cruise date was approaching to get a handle on what people thought of the cruise we were about to take. Reviews were generally positive but comments about the food were persistent -- more on that later.
HOTEL IN PORT CANAVERAL
Cruise was 1 July 2012 out of Port Canaveral and we stayed at the Residence Inn Cape Canaveral Cocoa Beach the night before the cruise. This is a non-descript hotel but it has the perk in that the Hertz car rental return location is on its parking lot. This made drop off a breeze and Hertz provides a complimentary shuttle to the port when you drop off the car! They were very pleasant to deal with and it was a great savings.
Centrally located but quiet. We liked it as we were directly under Windjammer (5 floors) so a quick walk up the stairs was all that was between us and the food! ;-) Also made navigating the ship easier. Room had lots of storage and even with 4 people, we were not usually cramped. Balcony was spatious.