Stay and Cruise (Florida) End October 2008

leosayer39

Hi all,

I am looking into doing a stay and cruise, (in that order) at the end of October this year.

I like theme parks, my wife doesn't. She would like to take a cruise and so would I.
So, stay and cruise it is!! Universal Tours then a cruise.

I have looked at all the cruise sites, both American and British, but I am really struggling to find stay and cruise information.

I dont mind a diy package and I also dont mind booking a package deal from a British tour operator.

I would also like to view, from anywhere at all, even from a ship, an expected rocket, not shuttle, launch which is scheduled to take place on 31st October or 1 November 2008.

I have no objection to booking in the next few weeks and I also have no objection leaving it until the very last minute to book.

I know that this is a lot to ask, but can anyone point me in the right direction.

Cheers

Leo

stan747

take a look at the orlando sticky, we did a stay and cruise just a few weeks ago (start of december). i booked everything seperately, we have flown with american airlines, travelcity direct and first choice in the past, travel city direct offered the best price and for a few extra pounds you can double your luggage allowance to 40kg (single item limit is 32kg). if you book through them you will have to call them and request a flight only as the website has car hire included which you cannot remove and is double the price you would pay seperately. (just tell them your staying with friends and they are picking you up from the airport).
i have always stayed on i-drive, past couple of times in the rodeway inn international, ramada lakeside is accross the road and you can get rooms at these 2 from £25 per night (book through hotelopia, there is a 10% discount code hanging around somewhere) and they are in excellent positions to get to the attractions apart from disney.
wet'n'wild is on the doorstep and universal is about 25-30 minute walk or the rodeway has a free shuttle bus that runs to universal and seaworld. you can use the i-ride for $1 each way that can take you to the shopping malls (my fave is premium outlets).
we booked a 1-way rental through alamo from sanford to miami, we booked the economy via the alamo website and upgraded to an suv at the alamo rental desk, cost arount £200 for 9 days, we got offered the suv for the price of an intermediate after we turned down a couple of other offers. alamo offer a free shuttle service to the cruise port at miami from the airport office (well a couple of miles from the airport).
we booked our cruise through cruises.com, you have to call there number to book as the website only caters for us citizens and the call is for about 30 mins but calling the states is very cheap these days, take a look at their website and pick a cruise, note the number and what kind or room you require. you can also sail from port canaveral (45 mins from orlando) or tampa (around 90 mins) as miami is a 3 hour drive, but i don't think alamo offer a shuttle service for port canaveral but you can call and check.
there are plenty of places to book your tickets but they can be booked anytime before you go, may as well hold off for the moment and keep an eye out for special offers. the flexitickets may be your best option and can include seaworld, universal, wet'n'wild, the new water park that opens at seaworld in a couple of months and busch gardens over in tampa.
let us all know how you get on

Dijoy

Consider a Transatlantic cruise if there are any going . They tend to be more reasonable than the rest
Diane

leosayer39

Hi all,

Thanks for all of that information, your comments are most appreciated.

Stan747
I have thought about booking it all seperately, but I am very wary of the downside if a particular piece of the jigsaw is missing, which is why I said I dont mind booking a UK package.

Anyway, I am still considering my options at the moment, diy may just be the way forward.

Dijoy,
I had actually never thought of a transatlantic cruise, i ll have a look into that one

I ll let you know what I decide to to

Leo

stan747

i have booked this way for quite a few years now and never really encountered any problems, i always try to do as much research as possible though, be prepared and all (old boy scout )
as long as you have your flight , car, cruise and hotel booked and you know where you are going you should be ok. if you have any questions at all, drop us a pm or post in the orlando questions and answers section in the stickies.
btw, going towards kennedy, there is a town called christmas (about 45 mins from orlando) where you can post your christmas cards back home and they will carry 'posted from christmas' postmark. bit of a novelty for you friends and family.