Universal Studios/4 day cruise?

[spima3]

Looking at US website and saw the cruise/US offer. It looks interesting, and since I don't think we are going to do WDW when we go to US, the kids might like the cruise, as we have never been on one before.

Can anyone give me some information and advice? I can't seem to find anything on the dis about it at all.

I am not a seasoned traveller, and will be traveling w/ 3 kids, so I need extreme simplification when planning and travelling.

TIA, lori

 

[keishashadow]

Looking at US website and saw the cruise/US offer. It looks interesting, and since I don't think we are going to do WDW when we go to US, the kids might like the cruise, as we have never been on one before.

Can anyone give me some information and advice? I can't seem to find anything on the dis about it at all.

I am not a seasoned traveller, and will be traveling w/ 3 kids, so I need extreme simplification when planning and travelling.

TIA, lori

believe the link is thru site sponsor dreams unlimited? u should be able to contact them to see what components the package contains. A TA can be very helpful to guide u thru making the arrangements easily.

that said, i've never found a packaged trip cheaper than pricing it out myself. Not hard to find transportation to port canaveral or book a cruise & hotel.

there are several boards on the 'net dedicated to cruise travel where u can find out all about RCL; do a search.

another good idea is to buy a guidebook re Universal to help with ur planning, Universal Orlando is the best ive read

good luck

 

[spima3]

Looking at US website and saw the cruise/US offer. It looks interesting, and since I don't think we are going to do WDW when we go to US, the kids might like the cruise, as we have never been on one before.
Can anyone give me some information and advice? I can't seem to find anything on the dis about it at all.
I am not a seasoned traveller, and will be traveling w/ 3 kids, so I need extreme simplification when planning and travelling.
TIA, lori

So no one's ever done this before?

 

[JAL2525]

Looking at US website and saw the cruise/US offer. It looks interesting, and since I don't think we are going to do WDW when we go to US, the kids might like the cruise, as we have never been on one before.

Can anyone give me some information and advice? I can't seem to find anything on the dis about it at all.

I am not a seasoned traveller, and will be traveling w/ 3 kids, so I need extreme simplification when planning and travelling.

TIA, lori

I noticed this type of trip also and am interested in it. I haven't seen too much on these...correct me if I'm wrong but these are fairly new.

 

[Darcy03231]

I've done it, but I put it together myself as it was much less expensive. We did 2 days at US/IOA and then the 4 day cruise. I made arrangements with a towncar service for pick up at the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the cruiseport and then from the cruise port to the airport.

We flew in on a Friday morning and stayed at the Hard Rock. Stayed there Friday & Saturday night and was picked up Sunday morning and brought to the port. Cruise was Sunday through Thursday and the limo company was there to pick us up when the cruise ended.

 

[spima3]

I've done it, but I put it together myself as it was much less expensive. We did 2 days at US/IOA and then the 4 day cruise. I made arrangements with a towncar service for pick up at the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the cruiseport and then from the cruise port to the airport.

I understand where it could be cheaper if you put it together yourself, but it requires a lot of arranging and pricing and scheduling, and I am just not comfortable with all of that, so if it is a little more $$ then it would be worth it to me to have someone else do it.

HOwever, what would you consider a reasonable price for the above? ballpark? It would be helpful for a comparison.
Wizarding World is really hanging me up on plans though . That is the main reason we are going to FL again.

 

[Purseval]

We had a regular poster to this forum who had a goal of 100 cruises before the age of 50, and she was getting pretty close. Never heard her mention it. Haven't heard from her in a while, maybe she's on a cruise somewhere

 

[keishashadow]

I understand where it could be cheaper if you put it together yourself, but it requires a lot of arranging and pricing and scheduling, and I am just not comfortable with all of that, so if it is a little more $$ then it would be worth it to me to have someone else do it.

HOwever, what would you consider a reasonable price for the above? ballpark? It would be helpful for a comparison.
Wizarding World is really hanging me up on plans though . That is the main reason we are going to FL again.

if you're happy to work w/a TA (general wisdom is it is more pricey) for the convenience factor, then u need to talk to one.

did u go to this site's sponsor Dreams Unlimited as i suggested in earlier post

here's a direct link jik u couldn't find it

http://www.wdwinfo.com/universal/cruise/royal-caribbean.htm

here's the press announcement link from RCL announcing this venture, complete w/link to website for more info

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/ourCo...ssReleases/info.do?prDate=05-04-2009&prCode=B

to compare actual prices at that point, call Universal (# on website) and ask if they offer the same package & get a quote. Then, to get a comparison/ballpark figure as u put it, you would have to price each component separately including transportation. The hotel & cruise prices vary with the season, so you really do need to get more specific before you can compare.

 

[Darcy03231]

I understand where it could be cheaper if you put it together yourself, but it requires a lot of arranging and pricing and scheduling, and I am just not comfortable with all of that, so if it is a little more $$ then it would be worth it to me to have someone else do it.

HOwever, what would you consider a reasonable price for the above? ballpark? It would be helpful for a comparison.
Wizarding World is really hanging me up on plans though . That is the main reason we are going to FL again.

When went it was (to the best of my memory):

Flights: $200/pp r/t
Towncar Service: $225
Hard Rock: $500 (2 nights)
Cruise: $250/pp

I don't recall what we spent for park tickets. I want to say it was around $65/pp for the two day tickets. This also doesn't include any of the cruise incidentals (tips, alcohol, soda, pictures, shore excursions, etc.).

 

[mysparky]

I was looking for reviews/experiences with the Royal Caribbean/Universal package and pretty much came up empty so I thought I'd at least share what I've learned to date...

I got pricing from Royal Caribbean (I think I actually found the link on the Universal website but it's an Royal Caribbean phone number). I've found that I can save a little tiny bit if I arrange all components myself.

We're looking at 3 days at Universal (Royal Pacific standard room) followed by a 7 day cruise on the Freedom of the Seas (we've been on this particular cruise before and it was terrific). There are 7 in our party (2 adults, 5 kids) so we need 2 hotel rooms and 2 oceanview rooms. Since we're going in the summer, cruise prices are high. Pricing was as follows:

Package - includes 2 rooms at RP, park tickets, 2 oceanview rooms on the ship and ALL transfers (from airport to hotel, from hotel to cruiseport, from cruiseport back to airport) - $10,431.

Priced out separately (i.e. rooms, park tickets, rental cars) - $10,304.

At this point, I'm not sure if we'll go the package route for 2 reasons. First, we've cruised with RC several times and whenever there has been a price drop, we've had no issues getting that amount credited back to us. I don't yet know if I'll be able to do the same thing with this package. Second, I don't know if there is any flexibility w/ the transportation. Can we set the schedule for leaving the hotel and driving to the cruiseport, or is the schedule dictated? Ditto for the return from cruiseport to the airport (we have an evening flight home and may want to spend time at the KSC).

So still more research to do on this, but thought I'd at least post what I've learned to date.