In an exciting move to offer family vacation planners an all-in-one kids vacation, the Royal Caribbean cruise line is offering a deluxe Caribbean cruise vacation combined with a three or four-day land stay at the Universal Orlando theme parks. Already the best in class at what they do respectively — cruises and thrill rides — a combination vacation gives you the chance to experience both styles of fun.
It’s an ideal way for cruisers to test out a themepark visit, and for amusement park landlubbers to find thrills at sea. Either way, we know families will be able to more than double their pleasure in one trip to central Florida.
The Royal Caribbean cruise experience is perfect for multigenerational families because there is something to do for everyone. Grandparents and toddlers can find places to relax and/or let off steam. Parents can sneak away for a quiet drink or wake everyone up for a rowdy breakfast with a cartoon character. As you can see from our Royal Caribbean review, there’s no shortage of activities aboard ship.
But that doesn’t mean that fun on land is any less fun.
Universal Orlando works hard to make sure every guest finds adventure in its Islands of Adventure themepark, and everyone can feel the glamor at its Universal Studios Florida themepark. Take the excitement of battling super heroes, add celebrities, mix it with a bit of Dudley Do-Right, Dr. Seuss, Marvel Comics and E.T. and you can begin to picture how much fun families will find on land. And we haven’t even mentioned that an entirely new theme park, Diagon Alley, will be connected to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter by Hogwart’s Express this summer in a feat of total wizardry.
So, what’s included in the Surf and Turf package?
We won’t get into pricing, becase there are so many options that you can spend as much or as little as you choose. The main value here is that it’s easy — both Universal and Royal Caribbean know how to take care of their guests, and they make the transition from airport to cruise port or theme park, then from there to the other, totally seamless — and at no extra charge.
They’ll help you plan and book the vacation, price it so that it’s cheaper than if you planned the two separate vacations on your own, and they’ll let you know what’s suitable for all ages.
In addition to the hands-on travel advice, the basic package consists of :
- 3/4-night Bahamas or 4/5/7-night Eastern/Western Caribbean cruise onboard Royal Caribbean
- 3/4-nights at Universal Orlando Resort including hotel accommodations and admission tickets
- Unlimited admission to Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Wet ‘n Wild Orlando water park (just minutes away) during your stay
- Choose from one of three deluxe on-site hotels at Universal Orlando (we just stayed at the Royal Pacific, read more) and enjoy exclusive benefits.
This is the fun part. When you stay at an on-site Universal Orlando Resort, your booking entitles you to free Universal Express Unlimited ride access to skip the regular lines all day in both theme parks. On certain days, you can also take advantage of Early Park Admission to select rides and attractions at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Trust us, it’s really neat when you can whizz past the lines, especially on hot summer days. The kids will be super impressed!
For more information about booking (and you’ll need it to decipher all the fine print), please call a helpful Royal Caribbean agent at 866/562-7625 or go online to Royal Caribbean’s site for more details.
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Would be a fun vacation if you could really save money by doing it too!