My wife and I and our two young children, boys 5 and 7, took a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Freedom of the Seas in October 2012. We were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. We had cruised once before on Royal Caribbean, just after we became engaged back in 2001, and wanted to revisit some of the places and memories of our early days together. Overall we had a wonderful time, but some luck and serendipitous planning played a hand in our positive experience.
Getting There
Back in 2001 we cut it a little close getting on the ship, so this time we flew in a day early and stayed in a hotel close to the Port. The Radisson in Port Canaveral arranged the Coco Beach Shuttle from the Orlando airport and the shuttle to the cruise port the next morning. Everything went like clockwork and the price was very reasonable: approx. $160 including both shuttles and the overnight room. The hotel is just average, but an overnight stay five minutes from the port really helped with the next morning's embarkation.
I really hope that this advice reaches parents of young children. Our boys sleep 2-3 hours more per day than we do so staying in one room, no matter how large, always presents problems when travelling. We decided to take two interior cabins with an adjoining door forward on the sixth deck: 6111 and 6113. For a price less than a suite with a balcony, we had more square footage, two bathrooms, two TVs and two closets. The boys could rest without being disturbed by the light or TV on in our cabin. The two bathrooms were very handy for our family of four when getting ready for formal nights and dressing in the mornings. Of course we didn't have a balcony or even a window, but I have always cruised in interior cabins without issue and you only sleep in your cabin. The ridiculous little glass coffee tables stored nicely in the closets (We placed shoes and carry-ons underneath them.) The extra floor space is more useful than those little things. The rooms were always clean and quickly attended to. The housekeeping staff was very friendly and helpful, and the rooms were quiet.