Cruise on Sunday got cancelled - advice re: Universal in March?

[mc2]

Hi,
Had booked the Oct 20 sailing of the Disney Magic 14 months ago. Got the dreaded call yesterday afternoon (while finishing our packing - were supposed to fly to Miami today) to say that it was cancelled. Trying to salvage our vacation, but looks like March is our only possible time to rebook due to vacations, etc... We are thinking about spending some time at Universal pre-cruise - partly because of the astronomical prices at Disney that week, and partly because of...well...not really feeling any love for the mouse at the moment. Going to try to find some "magic" with Harry Potter instead. We know absolutely nothing about Universal, and are wondering if anyone has any recommendations for where to stay, how to do it, best value for Canadians in March, etc... Flying down on a Thursday (arrive at noon), cruise is on Monday out of PC - having one cruise cancelled, was leaving a BIG snow storm buffer in the event of flight delays with bad weather in March. Our kiddos are 3, 6, and 8.

After 2 days spent on the phone trying to sort out this mess, appreciate any advice you can offer that will save us from having to spend more time researching, figuring this out on our own, etc...

Thank you!!

 

[Gigi22]

OK, take a deep breath, this is hugely disappointing and stressful, but not the end of the world. Universal only has 3 on site hotels, all of them Loew's. I can recommend the Royal Pacific hotel from personal experience. We got a reduced rate there due to our length of stay. Look at Universal's website for info.

 

[Sprockie]

Why did the cruise get cancelled? What a disappointment!

 

[mc2]

OK, take a deep breath, this is hugely disappointing and stressful, but not the end of the world

Yeah, we had booked the Roy for this cruise 14 months ago. Hugely disappointing would be an understatement. Especially since many are able to rebook another 5 night cruise for the same category (sometimes exact same room) complimentary, but that isn't going to happen in a 6 month window for a royal (have until May 2014 to do it).
Totally reminding myself that this is a "first world problem", but that didn't make it any easier to watch my 8 year old cry herself to sleep last night, and then wake up crying again this morning. Ugh! Making lemonade, making lemonade, making lemonade (will convince myself eventually! ).

Cruise was cancelled because they ran out of time. Had been in dry dock for a major overhaul in Spain for 6 weeks, but left on time coming back. They were supposed to be working on it on the trip back, but apparently hit bad weather and got delayed. Or at least that is the story they are using. Called us all less than 72 hours before we were due to board. But there is no way they only figured that (and their refund policy) out in 5 minutes. Might be that they just ran out of time because they were behind schedule. We didn't know it was going to be first one post-dry dock when we booked - didn't know about the dry dock at all, actually. Hadn't been announced then. And the change and such rules are different with concierge suites (harder to do, both penalty and availability wise), so once we found out, wasn't easy to just switch.

Anyway, sorry for the rant/sob story, but that is how we ended up where we are now, looking for info re: Universal. And in all honesty, after 8 hours on the phone yesterday, and another 8 hours on the phone today (and still not totally sorted out), I am self-admitting that I am completely brain dead at the moment and don't think I have the brain cells required to start researching another trip from scratch. So I thought if I posted here, I might be able to cheat a bit and benefit from the sage advice of experienced Universal guests. Figured it was worth a shot!

Thanks for the hotel recommendation - good to know. We literally know nothing. Didn't even know how many hotels they had (if any) until this afternoon.

 

[papertraveller]

So, so sorry about the Magic cancellation. I saw that on the cruise board, and my heart goes out to everyone whose vacation plans were upended.

We stayed at the Royal Pacific at Universal for one single night at Christmas. The goal was to check in early ... as in 8 a.m., to take advantage for two days of the Express Pass access that you get to the rides. This perk is offered only to people who stay at one of the three on-site hotels.

We liked the Royal Pacific, although we weren't really there that much. We spent a lot of time late at night in the pool though -- it was well heated, and really enjoyable. We stayed on the club level at the hotel. Don't think we got our full money's worth out of it, since we were trying to make the most of the parks, but I would probably do it again. The lounge offered a continental breakfast with a few hot items, and then later in the day it had crackers, cheese, veggies, some hot hors d'oeuvres, and most importantly, free wine and beer.

We took the water taxi to the parks, and then usually walked back along the path. It's an easy trek, although with young kids I think I'd ride each way.

We did one park each day. The Express Pass allows you to the front of the line on (almost) every ride, but just once. We did Universal Studios easily in a day -- we didn't find that it took the full day even.

Islands of Adventure was another matter. We were up at the crack of dawn -- in fact, before, in order to get to the park before it opened and take advantage of the early access to do everything Harry Potter. Worth it, worth it, worth it. We rode everything -- and even at that crazy hour, it was a 30-minute wait for Forbidden Journey. DD and I managed six rides on Dragon Challenge, including in the rain which proved to be an experience in itself since we were in the front row!

The Harry Potter experience is like stepping into the pages of the books. The candy store, the chocolate frogs, butter beer (frozen and non) are all worth it.

There is so much to see in the rest of this park that it indeed took the full day.

Again I'm sorry about your cruise cancellation. We dearly love the Magic and can't wait to sail her again, all buffed up. But I fully understand your annoyance with this turn of events.

Best wishes, and happy planning.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Why did the cruise get cancelled? What a disappointment!

They had some bad weather well crossing the Atlantic on the way back from Dry Dock.

 

[kuhltiffany]

So sorry your cruise was cancelled! We just got back from FL, we did 4 nights/5 days at Universal. We have done Disney many times, this was our first time with our kids (8 and 9) and it was great! We stayed at the RP (concierge) in one of the Jurassic Park kid suites. Room was great, nice view, awesome pool with zero-entry, sand and water play areas. The water taxis quickly take you to the parks or City Walk. The parks are much more manageable than Disney, you can walk between them in 5 minutes if you want. Lots to see and do, a variety of rides and shows. HP was our kids favorite, we spent a lot of time there and the Despicable Me ride too! We got so spoiled having the Express passes, we never waited more than 5-10 minutes for a ride. It saves so much time and the kids are able to go on their favourites over and over. I can't imagine doing a theme park without them again Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[mc2]

You guys ROCK! Thank you so much for all of this helpful info. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate the feedback right now - THANK YOU!
Quick question re: the Jurassic Suite, kuhltiffany - how does that work for sleeping 5? Is there a pull-out in the living area? Can you put a cot in with the twin bed kid room? Had seen them, but wondered about logistics.

Thanks again!

 

[kuhltiffany]

You guys ROCK! Thank you so much for all of this helpful info. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate the feedback right now - THANK YOU! Quick question re: the Jurassic Suite, kuhltiffany - how does that work for sleeping 5? Is there a pull-out in the living area? Can you put a cot in with the twin bed kid room? Had seen them, but wondered about logistics. Thanks again!

I think we were in 3700, it had a king bed and pull out sofa in the main room, and 2 twin beds in the kids room. Both were large enough you could use a cot in if you wanted to

 

[Gigi22]

Back again. Just wanted to say that there are some really good dining options at Loew Universal hotels. In particular I remember Mamadella's at Portofino Bay.

DH and I both loved the Harry Potter attractions. The area is being expanded now, so not sure of the effect this will have. One tip, go to Olivander's Wand Shop first thing in the morning, the shop is tiny, the show they put on is a lot of fun, and the line to get in forms quickly.

 

[mc2]

Anyone have experience with the lines and such in March? Are they as bad as WDW? Is there an app for watching wait times and such like they have for WDW? We arrive on a Thursday morning (11 ish), and have until Sunday night. Just trying to decide if we should make our 3 days (buy 2 days, get one free promo on for tickets right now) as Thursday afternoon/evening, Friday, and Saturday, or do Friday, Saturday, and half a day on Sunday.
Thanks!

 

[CdnCarrie]

Don't forget the Universal forums here on the Dis. They have a wealth of info.

If you stay onsite you get front of the line access so you won't need a line app.

 

[ixmnrs]

We did one park each day. The Express Pass allows you to the front of the line on (almost) every ride, but just once. We did Universal Studios easily in a day -- we didn't find that it took the full day even.

I believe the Express Passes that you get when staying at the on-site hotels are Unlimited Express passes which means that other than the rides that are not included (i.e. Forbidden journey, etc.) you can use them on the other rides as often as you want. My kids were on and off their favorite rides without any wait more often than not. At least that was what they were back in August when we went. we stayed at the HRH which was well within walking distance to the 2 parks and recommended as well.

 

[Anjiebaby]

Love, Love, Love staying on site at Universal. Early entry to the parks, just a boat ride or stroll away. Back to the hotel for midday,lay by the pool while the kids swim. Yummy lunch and tropical drinks from the pool bar then back to the Parks for the evening. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and loved it. The service was fantastic and more personal and friendly than we had at the Beach Club.
The Express Pass that comes with the rooms is a pleasure to use. We went on the Despicable Me ride 3 times in a row with no wait in line, just the cueing up to go into the theatre. We were there the first week of March this year and there was a lot of tour groups but they did not have express passes so we just breezed right past them.
It is a great vacation and as much as I love Disney, I feel I get a more relaxing vacation from Universal. My time goes further at Universal as I am not wasting as much time in transit to the parks.

 

[Catrinabeach]

Universal has a new hotel opening in 2014 but that one will not have the express perk as it's considered a value resort. To get that perk you need to stay at one of the 3 Royal Pacific, Hard Rock or Portofino. We have stayed at all 3. Our favorite is HRH. We go back to that every time. But if money was a deciding factor we would do RPR again too. RPR is nice and kinda tropical feel on the walk to the park. HRH is great and the staff are amazing. We just feel so welcome and like we have come home when we stay there (where we are staying in 2014 too) Portofino is the most expensive and more classy feel. I think it's Italian feeling if I am getting it right. The decor is fabulous and the building is amazing. Great just to walk around and see it all. We loved it. At Universal you can pool hop between resorts so you can use any of them you like during your stay and since they are all so close together it is simple to go between too.
The express pass is the best feature to staying on site. We love it. and our kids will never consider not staying on site after experiencing that lol To be able to go on the rides again and again with minimal wait is fabulous.
On a typical trip for us (3 kids) we get up in the morning about 9 have breakfast and head to the park. With the FOTL pass we can do all the rides they want to do in about 2-3 hrs, and they can go to any of the shows they want. Then we head back to the resort and go for a swim and either have lunch there or in the park before going back to the resort. We wander around city walk in the afternoon and will go back to the park if there is a ride they want to do again. For dinner we usually head to International drive (we quite often walk there and cab it back) and have dinner somewhere there and do some souvenir shopping. We have left our youngest in the child program at HRH and taken the older kids to the park to ride the big rides as a family. She loved it so much she begged to go back the next night so we let her and took the boys to dinner on I Drive. It is a pricey thing though the kids' program. I think $10 an hr plus their dinner costs. But it was worth it she had a blast.
We find Universal to be the most relaxing vacation ever. We spent one morning at the pool and had a squirrel come visit us. We were having lunch and he was eating some fries the boys where feeding him. He sat on the table between their chairs friendly as could be. We got some awesome pics too. lol