Rate your excursion to Universal Studios? Recommend it?

[purrfect007]

:confused: Looking at the $$pricey$$ trip to universal, wondering when you leave and return and how "worth it" it was to you?

 

Can I wait and book it on the ship, as if I decide to do it, I want to be able to look at the weather and be sure it's a decent day for roller coastering!

 

appreciate the input, thank you!!

[garycarla]

Going from PO to Universal or Disney makes for a very long and hectic day. If you are never going to get there otherwise, then probably worth it.

 

There are some park specific message boards out there that will give you an idea of what crowds are like on your specific day. I would check them out. As the crowd level rises, your chances of doing more than a few rides goes down fast. Some are almost impossible on the real busy day if you are not there early.

 

With that said, the Harry Potter ride is one of the all time favorites for us.

[UNIrd]

It's the most ideal situation for doing Universal as you need at least 2 days to see it all but if you arrive and it's busy, consider purchasing the Express pass so you can at least get on each ride once without a long wait.

[HowardK]

I didn't go- but one area of concern based on feedback from the last cruise I was on dealt with the fact that there was a delay getting into Orlando and people were upset there was little time there. That would be my #1 concern

[Sauer-kraut]

I would seriously think twice about doing any park in Orlando for the amount of time you get. The bus ride is 45 min to an hour, then you get into the park and wait in lines, honestly the price to me is off putting. Do you think you'll never be back in the Orlando area? The parks are busy even in November on a weekday we were in the Magic Kingdom for over 12 hours and got on 9 rides. Each line was nearly an hour wait.

[Dina7]

As much as I would love to go on the Universal or Disney excursion, the price for a family of 4 is ridiculous especially considering you are not even there for a full day.

[andmad]

My family of four went to Universal last Monday from the Gem. It took about 50 minutes to get there. We arrived around 1:00 and had a great day. , My kids are 6 and 8 so we did to do a lot of big rides. We did not wait in any lines longer than 20 minutes except for the Harry Potter ride for which we waited an hour. personally, we think it is worth it. I would rather spend one day at the park than a week. I like to relax in the islands and at sea instead of a week at theme parks. We had a great day. We did not do all the rides and were so exhausted by the end of the day that we took the second bus back to the ship.

[Dina7]

My family of four went to Universal last Monday from the Gem. It took about 50 minutes to get there. We arrived around 1:00 and had a great day. , My kids are 6 and 8 so we did to do a lot of big rides. We did not wait in any lines longer than 20 minutes except for the Harry Potter ride for which we waited an hour. personally, we think it is worth it. I would rather spend one day at the park than a week. I like to relax in the islands and at sea instead of a week at theme parks. We had a great day. We did not do all the rides and were so exhausted by the end of the day that we took the second bus back to the ship.

 

What time did you have to be back at the bus to return to the ship? You said you took the 2nd bus back to the ship, do they have different times you can get the bus back?

Thanks!

 

Dina

[shelly11]

I have not been but would not recommend it just because you need a lot of time to enjoy any of the parks! More than one day at Universal or Disney would be best for your time and money. Just too much to do there!

[chinashopgirl]

We were on the Gem in March , those that did Universal said the it was not enough time , an hour each way yo get there and they waited over 90 minutes at some rides. Our family recently visited the parks and you need a full day to see and do all. For the money definitely not worth it.

[Sauer-kraut]

What time did you have to be back at the bus to return to the ship? You said you took the 2nd bus back to the ship, do they have different times you can get the bus back?

Thanks!

 

Dina

 

Yes, they will have 3 or so trips back to the port, you have to make sure you don't miss the last bus or you'll miss your ship!

[Arzeena]

Not enough time to see everything at Universal.

[Laszlo]

Yes, they will have 3 or so trips back to the port, you have to make sure you don't miss the last bus or you'll miss your ship!

 

Or as one family on our cruise found out a $225.00 taxi ride:eek:

[francina]

This was the only excursion I did purchase. I am hoping that the long wait is for the more adult rides and not the little children rides. Since this trip is really for my GD and she wanted to do Disney again. I thought she will enjoy Universal.

[willysgrandma]

It depends on when you are talking about. If you are talking about summer, just buy the one park pass with the speed pass. You will be able to cut to the front of the line for most rides (not Harry Potter) and spend less time on line.

 

We went in November and I wish we had bought the two park tickets - we zipped through Islands of Adventure in no time because no one was there.

[aam3]

We've done excursions to Disney twice and Universal once. We loved both Disney excursions and were able to get on all of the rides. Our day at Universal was VERY, VERY busy and VERY hot. We got on all of the major rides - Harry Potter, Hulk, Jurassic Park, but that was it. It was so busy in the park that at times they were stopping all foot traffic in certain areas and making us just stand and wait for 15-20 minutes. We didn't buy the Express Passes (they were an additional $80pp) but watched many who had them go right to the front of the line.

 

We would definitely do it again, especially since there's not much else to do when docked in Pt. Canaveral.

 

What time fo the year are you thinking of going? Figure out of it will be a busy time at the parks and make your decision based on that.

[kgartner39]

I'm thinking of doing Universal IoA on our Gem trip in June 2013. We've done Disney many times but never made it to Universal, and my oldest is a huge Harry Potter fan. For that sailing we dock at 6am and would be on our way by 7:30 or so, so we should get there right at the park opening. I think we will get more done and spend less time in lines than people with the current port schedule (docking at noon).

 

After looking into it, I think we will all feel more relaxed if we do the NCL excursion, which is very expensive (particularly for a family of 6). But for us it I think it will be "worth it." My 4 kids will be 12-21 and this will likely be one of our last trips that includes the whole family. We have promised my oldest a trip to Harry Potter and have never gotten around to it - and this is our chance! So I am happy to spend the money for our 5 hours in the park and hopefully many happy memories! Value and worth are an individual thing, so it all depends on what is important to you.

[UNIrd]

This was the only excursion I did purchase. I am hoping that the long wait is for the more adult rides and not the little children rides. Since this trip is really for my GD and she wanted to do Disney again. I thought she will enjoy Universal.

 

Luckily, October isn't a very busy time for the parks until night time (when it's Halloween Horror Nights, a separate ticked event).

 

I'm thinking of doing Universal IoA on our Gem trip in June 2013. We've done Disney many times but never made it to Universal, and my oldest is a huge Harry Potter fan. For that sailing we dock at 6am and would be on our way by 7:30 or so, so we should get there right at the park opening. I think we will get more done and spend less time in lines than people with the current port schedule (docking at noon).

 

After looking into it, I think we will all feel more relaxed if we do the NCL excursion, which is very expensive (particularly for a family of 6). But for us it I think it will be "worth it." My 4 kids will be 12-21 and this will likely be one of our last trips that includes the whole family. We have promised my oldest a trip to Harry Potter and have never gotten around to it - and this is our chance! So I am happy to spend the money for our 5 hours in the park and hopefully many happy memories! Value and worth are an individual thing, so it all depends on what is important to you.

 

That schedule sounds much better for a visit to the parks. 1pm is park PEAK TIME, meaning the lines are at their longest. Getting there at park opening is just about the best advice that anyone can give.

 

Of course, anything can be done with a plan.

[garycarla]

Slightly off topic, but I see folks referring to going during a certain month and giving advice.

 

The crowd level will vary HIGHLY in any month, even within a week. One day can be empty, and the next day packed full. So many factors.

 

Nov and Dec are good examples. There are some serious changes depending on when you go. Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas week are insane. Go just outside of those dates and things change. We used to go in the early weeks of December. Nobody seems to take vacation then.

[Fishbait17]

I completely agree that it depends upon exactly when you are sailing as to whether it is "worth it". We sailed in early December, had a mid-week day in Universal with little or no lines (even the Harry Potter ride was only 15 minutes) and had a great time. It was just hubby and I. so we avoided the larger coasters (which didn't really have lines either), spent a few hours in Harry Potter World puttering about, and still had time to hit the highlights in BOTH parks before our 7pm bus back to the ship - of course, it didn't hurt that both parks closed at 6pm. We already had our tickets, and only purchased NCL's transportation round trip, very much worth it as we napped both ways with no worries about returning a rental car, etc. It's an expensive day, especially for a family, so you will have to determine for yourself whether it will be worth the price. Base your decision on the total cost AND the date you will be there. I wouldn't have done this excursion on a busy day, as the crowds would have made the day uncomfortable. On the OP's dates including 4th of July week, I would avoid it like the plague - it not only will be VERY crowded, it will be VERY hot and I, personally, would be miserable.

 

Robin

[UNIrd]

How much is NCL's transportation to Universal by itself?

[mitsugirly]

We have been to Universal Studios/Universal Island of Adventure/Disney/MGM a lot of times (by land, never by cruise) and we absolutely love them!! (Especially Universal Islands). However, just knowing that each time we have spent an ENTIRE day at each just to see everything we could, I can't imagine trying to do it on a limited time frame.

 

I have no idea what the cruise lines charge for something like this, but doing it yourself on a land vacation is very expensive as it is. :eek:

[francina]

I orginially book Universal but because of all the height restrictions I think it might be best to revisit the Magic Kingdom. I know they have a lot of rides that she loved and that is where she wants to go anyway:)