anybody stayed at Radisson at the Port

[MandyMommytoReaghan]

Hi there, getting al antsy about our upcoming cruise and have already booked a room at the Radisson at the Port. My question is....is there an "ocean" view from this hotel? I guess I should have thought to ask before I made my ressies, but i got excited to see that they are the closest to the port and also have a Budget car rental place very near. Any info anyone has on thie Radisson please reply or private messge me. Also if you know of any better hotels in the area other than the Radisson please let me know. I have until Aug 8 until I will be penalized for cancelling. TIA

 

[talicskai]

No the Radisson is right on the highway and across the street there are gas stations and restaurants. You would have to drive about 5 minutes east into Cocoa Beach and stay at one of the property on the beach to get ocean view. The hotel in Cocoa Beach are older but the Holiday Inn beachfront has some new family suites and a great pool for younger kids. I stayed at the Radisson and the resort is beautiful! The pool is awesome and we loved our suite. The hotel rooms are basic but clean. It is a great choice especially if you are driving your own car and want to leave it there. Be sure to book the shuttle as soon as you check in because the 11:00am goes really fast.

Enjoy! Teresa

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi there, getting al antsy about our upcoming cruise and have already booked a room at the Radisson at the Port. My question is....is there an "ocean" view from this hotel? I guess I should have thought to ask before I made my ressies, but i got excited to see that they are the closest to the port and also have a Budget car rental place very near. Any info anyone has on thie Radisson please reply or private messge me. Also if you know of any better hotels in the area other than the Radisson please let me know. I have until Aug 8 until I will be penalized for cancelling. TIA

We stayed at the Radisson last August before our cruise, and the most "ocean" view there is, is the view out of the bedroom of our suite, from which I could see one of the Carnival cruise ships. The Disney Magic was hiding behind the Carnival ship.

This hotel does not sit right on or near the beach, that's why there are no ocean views. I know there are some other hotels that are right near the beach, if an ocean view is important to you.

Here's a link to my pics from our stay at the Radisson:

http://terry527.home.comcast.net/html/precruise.htm

Scroll down past the limo pics to get to the Radisson pics. Hope this helps!

 

[yazee1]

We stayed at the Radisson the day before we sailed and we will return when we cruise next year. I can't say if there are ocean view rooms. It wasn't a priority for us. What we wanted was a clean and comfortable place, close to port, to rest, good service and reliable, problem-free transportation the morning of the cruise. Also, since we drove down from New Jersey, keeping the car there during the cruise saved us 70.00. (That was the main reason we booked there). I was anxious to have a place on the 10am shuttle so I called 3 or 4 weeks to book it. We arrived at the hotel tired, disheveled (drove straight through from NJ) , and two hours early for check-in. Nevertheless, when I asked to check in early, we were able to. I double checked our spot on the 10 am shuttle. No problem.

I felt the room would have been a good value just based on the fact that we saved 70.00 on parking and the shuttle was free to the port. That the pool area was lovely, the room was spacious and everything else about the place was pleasing was a bonus.

 

[aprilgail2]

We stayed at the Radisson twice now....I have liked it both times. This time we ate at a place called Grills around there (5 minute drive), it was great, we sat right by the window and watched boats go by!
Do not wait until you check in to make shuttle reservations....I made them at least 6 months in advance right when I booked the room. I got a confirmation email stating I had 3 slots on the 10am shuttle and I printed it out to take it with me to be sure everything went smoothly.

 

[StuartMI]

We stayed at the Radisson twice now....I have liked it both times. This time we ate at a place called Grills around there (5 minute drive), it was great, we sat right by the window and watched boats go by!
Do not wait until you check in to make shuttle reservations....I made them at least 6 months in advance right when I booked the room. I got a confirmation email stating I had 3 slots on the 10am shuttle and I printed it out to take it with me to be sure everything went smoothly.

I just called them and the woman said "No, we don't do anything that far in advance. Call 1 week prior because we've been having problems with people changing their reservation times."

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

I'd say it depends on what you want.

The place is definatley older and even though they did a renovation a while ago - there is only so much you can do with new paint and new bedding.

The pool area is REALLY nice. Our famiy arrived a day early and spend the day lounging by the pool. It is a lagoon type pool with a bit of a "waterfall"...has a pool bar...restaurant inside, etc.

Again, if you want a decent place (nothing fabulous) to lay your head that is close and convenient to the port....go for it.

If you want ocean view or rooms that are quite nice - DO NOT stay there.

Also - there is a McD's across the street and another restaurant within walkind distance.

Bottom line - what to do you want in your hotel? Weigh the rates with the amenities and post again with your choice of two....Many of us can vote one or the other!

 

[4cruisinKids]

We are a family of six (kids 11, 8, 3 yr old twins) and are staying at the Radisson the day before our 5 June cruise (almost here!) This is our first cruise so not sure which shuttle time would be best. Do they run every half hour? If we take the 10:00, will we have too much time to burn at the terminal (which could be not too fun with the twins)? When do the crowds really tend to start showing up? We appreciate any and all advice on this!

 

[deelam]

I stayed at the Radisson at the port last week before our cruise. First I'll say this is an OKAY hotel. It's clean and that means allot. There isn't much around.

This hotel is not near the beach. You can not see the ocean. You can see the ships in port off in the distance. That is nice.

The pool is nice. There is a nice outside poolbar, if you would like to have a cocktail by the pool.

I reserved the cruise package for $139 + tax. This came with free parking for the cruise and a free breakfast for 2.
I should have just booked a room with the special rate of $109. The free parking is available to everyone. You just drive to the right side of a building marked convention center, to the right of the hotel lobby. Drive to the back of the convention center, look for yellow parking stripes. The yellow parking stripe area is way in the back. This is the cruise parking. Anyone can park here.The shuttle is free for all hotel quest. The shuttle drivers did ask for tips.

The breakfast was good at the hotel, but remember you will eat lunch when you get on the ship anyway. So you may not want a big breakfast.

If I had to do it again, I would stay at the Holiday inn express at cocoa beach and save money. It seems like there was more things to do in that area. There is not much around the Raddison.

 

[married2grumpy]

We stayed at the Radisson twice now....I have liked it both times. This time we ate at a place called Grills around there (5 minute drive), it was great, we sat right by the window and watched boats go by!
Do not wait until you check in to make shuttle reservations....I made them at least 6 months in advance right when I booked the room. I got a confirmation email stating I had 3 slots on the 10am shuttle and I printed it out to take it with me to be sure everything went smoothly.

We were on the same shuttle as you. We too called in advance and made our shuttle reservations. We were a party of 11 so we wanted to be sure we all got on the same shuttle.

We loved the Radisson and can't wait to stay there again. We had a suite and the kids loved taking a bath in the whirlpool tub. We ate onsite at the buffet for dinner and breakfast. The kids loved the pool and we just loved the whole tropical feeling you got out there.

Can't wait to stay there again.

 

[married2grumpy]

We are a family of six (kids 11, 8, 3 yr old twins) and are staying at the Radisson the day before our 5 June cruise (almost here!) This is our first cruise so not sure which shuttle time would be best. Do they run every half hour? If we take the 10:00, will we have too much time to burn at the terminal (which could be not too fun with the twins)? When do the crowds really tend to start showing up? We appreciate any and all advice on this!

I believe they run every half hour. We were worried about too much time to burn at the terminal too but we wouldn't do it any other way now. We waited outside the terminal for a little bit and inside to check in for a short time. The longer wait is to actually board the ship but we all decided we would rather wait in the front of the line to board than wait in that long line just to check in.

 

[slindamood]

The Radisson is a highway motel with a very nice pool. Our room there was very dark and had a parking lot view. It is not near the ocean and does not have ocean views. There is really nothing in walking distance exept a McDs and a pizza place. It is about 5 minutes closer to the port than hotels that are just across from the beach or beachfront. The beach hotels have a lot of interesting things that you can walk to, like the Cocoa Beach pier and Ron Jons and lots of places to eat. The Radisson does not.

I have stayed at the Radisson (first trip) as well as other places near and on the beach. Holiday Inn express has a nice location across the street from the beach. So does Motel 6 and Comfort Inn and Suites. Best Western is beachfront. see dave's site, dcltribute.com for a list of some nice ocean front hotels.

I think a cab ride from a ocean hotel that is 5 or 10 minutes from the Radisson is prefereable to the Radisson, especially if you want to get a feel for the area.

 

[married2grumpy]

The Radisson is a highway motel with a very nice pool. Our room there was very dark and had a parking lot view.

We had a suite so it was inside corridors not doors to the outside like a motel. I would never compare it to a highway motel. The pool area, lobby and overall atmosphere was wonderful. Plus the free shuttle and free parking can't be beat.

 

[coleland]

We had a suite so it was inside corridors not doors to the outside like a motel. I would never compare it to a highway motel. The pool area, lobby and overall atmosphere was wonderful. Plus the free shuttle and free parking can't be beat.

We just stayed there last week. If you do not have a suite, then it is just like a highway motel. All the doors open to the outside like a motel. The motel is very old, the pool is very nice, and they offer a nice dinner and breakfast buffet (but a little pricey - just convenient since not much else around to eat). However, given the nice pool area, I don't think it was worth $119 a night.

 

[MandyMommytoReaghan]

Good Evening All! What are some of the nicer ocean front hotels close by the Port? At first I thought the Radisson was indeed oceanfront, half looked at the ad in my AAA book. Although it does look nice, my family and I would love oceanfront especially this being our first trip(except my Dad) trip to Fla.Any information on other hotels/motels would be great! This Ron Jon I keep reading about, what is it exactly? TIA

 

[cruisenewbie2004]

We stayed there. This hotel caters to cruises only. There is no other reason to stay there. While the pool is nice and I would say it is clean and safe, it is by no means a multi star resort. The view is non existant. There is a large party pavillion off the side of the hotel for conferences and if you happen to be unlucky enough to stay there when there is a party going on, expect to hear it in your room if you are on that side of the bulding. Also, the rooms are NOT very sound proof as evidenced by many children running around and slamming doors that we heard until after midnight as if they were in the same room with us.

Plan to stay one and one night only. The Kelsey pizza place next door was actually very good and what hit the spot for a group of 10 people. But otherwise there is a Wendy's down the street, an Avis about a 1/2 mile away and not much else. It is a port town and not a touristy place.

We booked on the shuttle several months before our cruise. There were all of 13 people on the huge shuttle with us. We were 10 of those people! I couldn't believe it. We got the 10:30am shuttle as I recall.

 

[Snow Dog Mom]

After reading all of this it makes me want to change my reservations. I have been teetering on wherther or not to change them. Where should we stay. I need to do something quick since we get there May 25. BTW, I do have all the books and weblinks, I would just like to have some personal recommendations.

Thanks,
Kim

P.S. These boards are great.

 

[SeaSpray]

Just want to mention that there IS another restaurant right next door to the Radisson. We had dinner there on Friday night and breakfast on Saturday mornings. It's a Greek restaurant but they have a varied menu, and the prices are reasonable. Food was good, too.

The name of the restaurant is Zachary's, and here's a pic of it:

(Just wanted people to know there was another option within walking distance)

 

[DrCavin]

After reading all of this it makes me want to change my reservations. I have been teetering on wherther or not to change them. Where should we stay. I need to do something quick since we get there May 25. BTW, I do have all the books and weblinks, I would just like to have some personal recommendations.

Thanks,
Kim

P.S. These boards are great.

Best site to get info on where to stay near PC is Daves website:
http://www.dcltribute.com/lodging/

He has a ton of info on almost every hotel in the area.

 

[Snow Dog Mom]

Thanks DrCavin. I changed to the Comfort Inn after looking at http://www.dcltribute.com/lodging/ . The girl answering the phone answered all my questions and was very, very nice! I was able to get what I needed and at a much better price!

Kim