Cruise + Universal

Missy E.

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 19, 2019
Hi everyone! We are planning a vacation next December and we’re hoping to try a Dinsey Cruise for the first time in addition to visiting Universal Studios. Our daughter will be 9 at the time of travel. I was hoping for a 5 day cruise out of Port Canaveral but they appear to be only 3,4 or 7 days on the Dream or Fantasy. We also plan to spend 3 nights (2 days) at Universal’s parks. My concern is in regards to the following:

* Is 4 days long enough to get a feel for if we enjoy cruising?

* Would we be better off not doing Universal and taking a 7 night cruise? While I would love to do both, 7 night on the Fantasy and 3 at Universal would be too cost prohibitive.

* Is the fantasy really that much better of an experience than the Dream?

Our daughter LOVES big rides and Harry Potter but also enjoys pools and beaches. We live in Chicago so traveling to Florida requires airfare and is not a trip we can take regularly, hence the idea of trying to do Universal and a Cruise in one trip!

Thoughts? I appreciate feedback as we hope to book soon! We took our daughter to World when she was 6 and it was a great experience!
 
I think a 4 day cruise and 2 days at Universal is a great idea! We live in Orlando, and my girls all enjoy Universal, especially great since your daughter enjoys big rides and Harry Potter! We have done 3,4,5,7 night cruises, and 4 nights is a good amount of time, IMO - not too short. I personally can't really tell the difference between the Fantasy and the Dream (we've been on both multiple times) - it's just the amount of nights of the cruise. So, I would vote for the 4 night cruise and the 2 days at Universal!
 
I think a 4 day cruise and 2 days at Universal is a great idea! We live in Orlando, and my girls all enjoy Universal, especially great since your daughter enjoys big rides and Harry Potter! We have done 3,4,5,7 night cruises, and 4 nights is a good amount of time, IMO - not too short. I personally can't really tell the difference between the Fantasy and the Dream (we've been on both multiple times) - it's just the amount of nights of the cruise. So, I would vote for the 4 night cruise and the 2 days at Universal!
[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]
 
Awesome thank you! We have never been to universal and have been looking at resorts online. We were leaning towards the Royal Pacific because our stay there would include fast passes for everyone and I believe early entry to Parks. Are familiar with that resort?
 


I would suggest the park first, then the cruise...min. of 4 nights. After walking all over the park the cruise will feel like a vacation from your vacation. Careful, cruising is addicting and no one wants to find a cure. Cruise on...
 
I prefer a 7 night cruise but if time, budget and doing Universal are considerations then you probably know the answer here.

If we put that aside, a 4 night should be a good barometer for whether you’ll enjoy cruises in the future or not.
 
We are not familiar with Royal Pacific, but it looks to be in the same category as Hard Rock and Portofino. We've stayed at Portofino, and been to Hard Rock several times - both of those are very nice properties - so, I'm sure Royal Pacific is as well. Being able to have the fast passes with your room key is an amazing benefit!
 


Is 4 days long enough to get a feel for if we enjoy cruising?

Yes. It’ll go by fast, but you can always take another cruise

Our daughter LOVES big rides

Please be sure she’s tall enough for the rides she wants to go on. (And if she is tall, and she’s your only child, please know you (none of you) likely won’t be able to go on Pteranodon Flyers. Weird height rules for that one.)

We were leaning towards the Royal Pacific because our stay there would include fast passes for everyone and I believe early entry to Parks. Are familiar with that resort?

It’s a good choice. Come on over to the Universal forum here!!!
 
Yes. It’ll go by fast, but you can always take another cruise



Please be sure she’s tall enough for the rides she wants to go on. (And if she is tall, and she’s your only child, please know you (none of you) likely won’t be able to go on Pteranodon Flyers. Weird height rules for that one.)



It’s a good choice. Come on over to the Universal forum here!!!

Thanks for your help! Our daughter is our only child and a little over 55 inches tall now. What is the typical height requirement for most rides? She has almost a year to grow!
 
Our first cruise (December 2015) we did Universal for 3 days, then 4 days on the Dream, then 6 days at WDW (my daughter was 8 1/2). We also did 3 days on the Dream and 4 days at Universal (at Royal Pacific) last December. Both were fabulous times. The only problem with the 4 day cruise was that it made us want to do more cruises! It was a good start though to see if we liked it. We have since been on four 7 day cruises too.

We have stayed at Cabana Bay, Portofino Bay, and Royal Pacific at Universal. My daughter loved the pools at Cabana Bay, but Royal Pacific was our favorite. It was an easy walk or boat ride to the parks. The staff was fabulous and you get express passes. Portofino Bay was not worth the premium price at all. I definitely wouldn't stay there again.
 
9 is a great age for a first cruise, and the 4-night will give you a great feel for DCL. We’ve done the 7-day Fantasy, and while it’s a real treat, the shorter cruise allows you to do some parks too within time/$ constraints. I agree to do Universal first and then relax. To me, Dream is just as lovely a ship as Fantasy. We just returned from Royal Pacific followed by Dream. RP is quiet and comfortable. Hard Rock is a more exciting environment with somewhat more kid-friendly food options. I wanted to save a little money though and still get the fast passes. I was happy with my decision. We were not in the hotel much and the room was spacious and super close to the park.
 
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Our first cruise (December 2015) we did Universal for 3 days, then 4 days on the Dream, then 6 days at WDW (my daughter was 8 1/2). We also did 3 days on the Dream and 4 days at Universal (at Royal Pacific) last December. Both were fabulous times. The only problem with the 4 day cruise was that it made us want to do more cruises! It was a good start though to see if we liked it. We have since been on four 7 day cruises too.

We have stayed at Cabana Bay, Portofino Bay, and Royal Pacific at Universal. My daughter loved the pools at Cabana Bay, but Royal Pacific was our favorite. It was an easy walk or boat ride to the parks. The staff was fabulous and you get express passes. Portofino Bay was not worth the premium price at all. I definitely wouldn't stay there again.

I was thinking if we like the Cruise we can book a 7 day next time. I have heard if you book again on the cruise you get a discount? I feel like if we visit universal this trip we won’t need to split the next one. It is slightly more expensive to do the land and sea versus just booking a 7 day on the fantasy. Speaking of the Fantasy.. do you enjoy the Dream as much? If not what are your reasons?

Also, good to know about the Universal Resorts! We have one day planned (the day the cruise returns) at our resort to just relax before hitting the parks the next 2 days. Does Royal Pacific have a nice pool too?
 
Hi everyone! We are planning a vacation next December and we’re hoping to try a Dinsey Cruise for the first time in addition to visiting Universal Studios. Our daughter will be 9 at the time of travel. I was hoping for a 5 day cruise out of Port Canaveral but they appear to be only 3,4 or 7 days on the Dream or Fantasy. We also plan to spend 3 nights (2 days) at Universal’s parks. My concern is in regards to the following:

* Is 4 days long enough to get a feel for if we enjoy cruising?

* Would we be better off not doing Universal and taking a 7 night cruise? While I would love to do both, 7 night on the Fantasy and 3 at Universal would be too cost prohibitive.


Our daughter LOVES big rides and Harry Potter but also enjoys pools and beaches. We live in Chicago so traveling to Florida requires airfare and is not a trip we can take regularly, hence the idea of trying to do Universal and a Cruise in one trip!

Thoughts? I appreciate feedback as we hope to book soon! We took our daughter to World when she was 6 and it was a great experience!

We are in a very similar situation. We've been to WDW many times but in April we're taking our first Disney Cruise and first Universal trip with a nine year old girl. Here are our plans....

Flying into FLL (because it's much cheaper than flying into Miami) and spending the night before our cruise the next day.
Ubering from FLL to Miami the morning of the cruise.
Taking a 5-day cruise out of Miami.
Renting a car and driving up to Orlando after our cruise returns to Miami.
Spending 2 full days (3 nights ) at Universal (keeping our rental car).
And then dropping our rental car off at Orlando airport and flying home.

The rental care was MUCH more affordable than I thought it would be. I can't remember for sure, but I think it was under $100. But we will have to pay to park at Universal. It's alot of travel, but I didn't think a 4-day cruise was enough and I thought a 7-day was too much for a first cruise. I can let you know how it goes in a few months!
 
We are in a very similar situation. We've been to WDW many times but in April we're taking our first Disney Cruise and first Universal trip with a nine year old girl. Here are our plans....

Flying into FLL (because it's much cheaper than flying into Miami) and spending the night before our cruise the next day.
Ubering from FLL to Miami the morning of the cruise.
Taking a 5-day cruise out of Miami.
Renting a car and driving up to Orlando after our cruise returns to Miami.
Spending 2 full days (3 nights ) at Universal (keeping our rental car).
And then dropping our rental car off at Orlando airport and flying home.

The rental care was MUCH more affordable than I thought it would be. I can't remember for sure, but I think it was under $100. But we will have to pay to park at Universal. It's alot of travel, but I didn't think a 4-day cruise was enough and I thought a 7-day was too much for a first cruise. I can let you know how it goes in a few months!

I would definitely be curious to know how your trip goes! I noticed that the Disney Magic is the cruise ship used in Miami for the 5 night cruises (at least in December) and the Dream does the 4 nights out of Port Canaveral. Is there any significant difference in the ships? While I really wanted to hit Universal first it does not work with the sail dates and our daughters school schedule. So we were going to fly into Orlando and do one of the cruise and snooze packages with a hotel that is supposed to drop us off at the port. But I’m not sure yet how we are getting from the port back to Universal Studios and then from Universal back to the airport! So many details! I do wish though that Port Canaveral did cruise lengths that fall between 4 and 7!
 
I was thinking if we like the Cruise we can book a 7 day next time. I have heard if you book again on the cruise you get a discount? I feel like if we visit universal this trip we won’t need to split the next one. It is slightly more expensive to do the land and sea versus just booking a 7 day on the fantasy. Speaking of the Fantasy.. do you enjoy the Dream as much? If not what are your reasons?

Also, good to know about the Universal Resorts! We have one day planned (the day the cruise returns) at our resort to just relax before hitting the parks the next 2 days. Does Royal Pacific have a nice pool too?
This is similar to what we did last year - a few days at Disney, then the 4 night cruise, with our only who was 9. We had a great time! We didn’t find the cruise overly relaxing because we wanted to do everything... so much so that our kid was weeping in the last morning when you have to get up *really* early... she just wanted to sleep!

You can either book another cruise or get a placeholder for a future cruise (up to two years in the future) while you are onboard. We are using our placeholder for a 7 night next year!
 
I was thinking if we like the Cruise we can book a 7 day next time. I have heard if you book again on the cruise you get a discount? I feel like if we visit universal this trip we won’t need to split the next one. It is slightly more expensive to do the land and sea versus just booking a 7 day on the fantasy. Speaking of the Fantasy.. do you enjoy the Dream as much? If not what are your reasons?

Also, good to know about the Universal Resorts! We have one day planned (the day the cruise returns) at our resort to just relax before hitting the parks the next 2 days. Does Royal Pacific have a nice pool too?

The Dream and Fantasy are pretty much the same. The Fantasy tends to have aft vibrations which can be annoying. We have been on all 4 ships. My favorite is the Wonder. I like the smaller, more intimate feel of it. My daughter's favorite is the Dream. It has her favorite Oceaneer's Club/Lab. She also loves the Dream's ports of call--Nassau and Castaway Cay.

The Royal Pacific does have a nice pool. If you stay at a Universal resort you can use the pools at any of their resorts. I don't remember the time of year you are planning your cruise, but last December it was warm enough that we spent a half day at Volcano Bay and we really loved that.
 

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