We love the Country Inn and Suites. They give you cookies when you arrive. They have the rooms with a separate little nook with bunk beds and a single for three kids plus the queen for the parents. (see their website for pics). They have a half way decent breakfast (I say this for the buffet on the ship makes the hotel buffet look like a snack).
The shuttle drivers are great! They provide commentary for the 10 minute ride with anecdotes for the kids (like what to look for if this is your first time on the ship, Disney jokes, etc).
The shuttle has a trailer to carry extra luggage. They usually bypass the long line of cars trying to get to the parking garage.
What happens is when you arrive at the hotel and check in and the staff tells that for your 1 night you park in the spaces close to the hotel. When you go to leave the next morning park in the lot closer to the highway (with all of the other cruisers). This lot really isn't that far, it just leaves the closer spots to the guests that are staying in the hotel.
The morning you wake you wake up you check out of the hotel and go to a conference room where the shuttle service is waiting for you. The room has many chairs so if you have to wait for a shuttle you can sit and relax. Now sometimes we waited for 30 minutes other times we waited 5 minutes. The wait seems like forever but its only because you have a great experience waiting for your and the anticipation is high.
Here is a trick. You have to reserve a shuttle time. You don't do this when you book your hotel. You do this 24 hours in advance of your cruise. So if you are departing on a Saturday you call first thing when you wake up on Friday (regardless of your drive, for us its 3AM on Friday!) and say you want to reserve your shuttle spot for Saturday. So you should figure out your check in time at Disney and adjust your shuttle time accordingly. Note: Disney is not the only ship that departs from Port Canaveral. There will be other cruisers for other ships waiting in the room with you. So you may sit thru a shuttle that is going to another terminal.
When you get on the shuttle the driver will give you a card with a phone number to call and get picked up when you are done your cruise. Don't lose that and make sure your cell is charged up to call.
Remember to tip your shuttle drivers. I believe its $1-$2 per bag. Same with the cruise terminal baggage handlers, they are Longshoremen not Disney employees.
When you get off the ship remember your card and call Country Inn and ask for the shuttle to pick you up.
Hope this helps and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me. Have a great time!
Joe
