CruizinTigers

Thank you, moki'smommy!

Do you know, is it possible for there to be more than one Disney cruise ship in port (Port Canaveral). I'm thinking no. I've not seen this in the 5 previous DCL cruised we've been on.

My family and I will be sailing with DCL in 2017 out of Port Canaveral. We plan on parking at the port.

I am wondering, has anyone ever experienced driving to the port on the day your cruise departs, expecting to park by your DCL ship, and find that there was no parking left? Is it possible to be shut out of parking at the port?

Personal thought--you are paying thousands for the cruise. Is saving $50 on parking worth the inconvenience of being off site? Obviously an individual decision.

I'm so with you on this moki'smommy! Our last Disney cruise, we parked at the port, and while I'm sure we paid (much?) more than other options available the convenience upon arrival and especially on departure made it well worth it. When the cruise was over, we had to embark on a long drive back home to NJ. It was great not to have to wait around for a shuttle or wait in lines to get to our car. It was right there when we disembarked, and were on our way home in no time.

Which leads me to my question. We will be sailing with DCL again 6/17 from Port Canaveral, and are considering our options again for parking there. I am convinced for reasons mentioned above, we will park at the port. My question however is, should I book a reservation for parking and pay in advance, or wait till we get there? If we do the latter, the hotel we plan on staying at the night before offers a 40% discount on parking at the port, but only if we pay when we arrive at the port. It can not be used if you reserve in advance. Has anyone ever gone to the port on the day of their departure, expecting to park at the port (with or without a 40% discount), only to find the entire lot full and no parking available? The only advantage to making the reservation in advance is, I am assuming, it guarantees me a spot in their lot.

I may start another thread with this same question, but if anyone could reply here, I would be eternally grateful.

Thank you, everyone, for your candid and informative feedback! Really appreciate it!

Two of you recently commented about there being few children on board your sailings, but I'm guessing this may be because these were September and October sailings when kids are in school. I believe someone else felt that the Adventure Ocean and kids programs on board were sub par (I'm paraphrasing). Has anyone sailed GOTS during school breaks or during the summer months, and did you find this to be true (few children, and/or sub par activities for them)? This is a concern of mine as I would be sailing with my wife and 14 year old daughter.

Thank you Bow Tie. Lots of GREAT information. Really appreciate it.

Thanks for the feedback, Mad-Dog74. This was a concern of mine as my wife and I would be traveling with our (then) 14 year old daughter. The cruise would be to New England and Canada which I'm thinking might be less interesting for our daughter as well (as opposed to the sun and fun in the Caribbean).

It does! Thank you!

Thanks for sharing the info, sea shepherd!

Safe travels!

Thanks, Rolla4fun!

sea shepherd, looking at your next three cruises, they appear to be back to back. Just curious, when you do a back to back cruise, do you have to disembark with your luggage and embark again for the next trip, or can you stay on board with your luggage? Where will you next three on the GOTS be headed to?

Thanks sea shepherd! You sound like a big fan.

I am considering a cruise out of Baltimore on the Grandeur of the Seas. I've cruised several times on RCI, but never on this ship. It seems smaller and with less "bells and whistles" of the larger ships I've sailed on. So I'm looking for a little feedback from my fellow cruisers who may have sailed on the GOTS, preferably recently. Any opinions of this ship, good or bad?

Thanks!

Thank you, Clarea!

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kfleck,

We leave on EOS tomorrow... not sure you'll be able to answer this in time. But thought I'd ask. Did you find enough electrical outlets in the room? If you need to charge various electronics as well as camera batteries, is there adequate outlets?

Thanks

Thanks for the review! Glad you had such a nice trip.

My family and I will be taking the same trip in less than two weeks! Can't wait.

Mind one question? I know you stated you ate in Windjammer most nights, but do you recall if there were any "smart casual" dining nights planned in the MDR for your sailing? A recent poster shared with us that on his recent trip, there was two formal nights, but the rest were casual, no "smart casual". I'm trying to figure out if that was a fluke or if it is the norm.

Thanks!

You can also call and have them check your account. I did. Actually, I called to reserve drink packages for our upcoming trip, and while I had a rep on the phone, I asked them to check. They confirmed that all was in order.

I was in the same boat (no pun intended) as you - recently applied my points for on board credit, an was getting anxious to know that the OBC was properly applied.

Thanks everyone.

Based on the previous post, a second recent EOS cruiser suggesting they had no smart casual night, I a. Going to assume we will not have one either next month. To me, smart casual means I need to wear a sports coat over what might other wise be casual attire for dining on board. If there will be no smart casual night, I can leave the sports coat at home.

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On each of my previous 4 RCI cruises, I recall casual, smart casual and formal night dining. Last time we sailed for nine nights on the EOS, we had two formal nights, one smart casual night and the rest were casual nights.

A recent poster just back from this nine night sailing on the EOS shared with us that there was no smart formal night, just two formal nights. All the rest were casual. I am wondering if anyone else experienced this. Has RCI eliminated the smart casual dining night on their sailings? It would be great to know to help us pack for our upcoming trip on the EOS.

Thanks!

Thanks for your feedback, Angelofsin. This was one of my concerns too... nine days and nights of drinking is a bit much. We are self professed light weights when it comes to drinking. Still, at this point, I'm leaning towards giving it a try. I do like the notion of "pre-paying" so you don't have to worry about charges adding up on board if you should want to have a few extra pops. Also, I'm hoping the added "non-alcoholic" options will help make the overall package worth it.

I appreciate your insight.

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That's music to my ears!!! If it's free, it's for me!! (could come up wit a rhyme for included! Thanks Clarea.

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Thanks, everyone for all this great information!

This is really helpful, and very much appreciated.

With regard to Cafe Promenade, you can get coffee, hot tea, and water for sure. I've seen iced tea and lemomade in Cafe Promenade rarely.

Am I to understand from these comments that plain coffee at the Royal Promenade (Seattle's Best) is offered at no charge? I know the specialty coffees are extra (lattes, espressos, etc.), but regular brewed coffee there is free?

kfleck,

I have another one for you. Do you know if there is an extra charge if you order regular brewed coffee at the Cafe Promenade? I know they have Seattle's Best coffee there, and I'm wondering if I'd be able to grab a cup of coffee from there without being charged extra, or if I have to go somewhere else on the ship for a regular cup of coffee. I'm not referring to specialty coffees, like lattes or espressos, etc.

Thanks.

Thank you, Jonathan and Rosie.

I considered that we could call that morning when we arrived in port and could provide a better ETA for our disembarkation. I was just concerned if they were early, would there be some place they could park and wait for us.

Thank you both again for the great advice and kind wishes.

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My family and I are considering having someone drop us off at the port for our upcoming cruise on the EOS. We made this trip once before and left our car there. My question is, how does it work when you disembark? This will be a family member who might bring us to port, so how would they know when to arrive to pick us up? Is there someplace they can park their car and wait if they arrive before we get off the ship? Do we call them when we get off the ship, then wait for them to arrive? How would this work needing a ride home?