Universal Studios... ship excursion or on your own????

[amsps]

I've never been on a cruise before, but I've been to orlando and would feel comfortable taking a taxi on my own. However is it worth it to go on your own or is it better to go on the excursion?

 

The excursion just says, 7 hours. But the ship is docked from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 at night. Why only 7 hours? Does that include driving time to and from universal?

 

I am just wondering if we would get more park time in if we went on our own, and if it would be cheaper. The excursion costs $84 per person.

 

Thanks!

[Splinter]

You can rent a car and go on your own if you are not afraid of the LA traffic (plan to be on the freeway only before 7AM or after 0930 and leave before 1430 or after 1900 if you want to avoid gridlock). A cab would be very expensive from the port.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:) I assume that your ship is docking at Port Carnival since you mentioned that you are considering a tour to Universal Studios.

 

It is about an hour's drive from the pier to Orlando.

Taxis would be expensive.

 

If you can rent a car, you would be better off.

 

:)

[maxtonio2]

We just came back from the Grandeur and did the Universal Studios Tour Excursion. It cost $84 and included the ticket to Universal and bus transportation to/from the ship. I believe a one-day pass to Universal is about $51.

 

Because we had an early departure (7:30 a.m.) for the excursion, we had to go through immigration around 7 a.m. There were three buses leaving for Universal/Sea World. The bus finally left around 8 a.m. and we arrived at the park around 9. They gave us our tickets before we boarded the bus, so we just walked right into the partk.

 

I had the "touring plan" from "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" which includes info on Universal Studios. We followed the plan pretty well, and by 4:15, we had seen every attaction we wanted to see. The only one we didn't get to was the Beetlejuice Review. We even had time to stop for a qiuck lunch in the intl food court.

 

They told us to be back at the bus parking lot around 5 p.m. and that the last bus would leave at 5:30. When we got there (about 4:45) there was only one bus -- and that was the one scheduled to leave at 5:30. We had to wait in the hot sun (it was 95 degrees that day) about a half hour before the other two buses came.

 

We were back on the ship around 6 p.m.

 

We had a great day and thought that the cruise line handled everything well.

[Little Grey]

I like Maxtonio's response. Having been a a bunch of cruises and having lived in Orlando... I would think the excursion with the cruiseline would be safer -- you want to get to the cruiseport at the required time. Going on your own could be iffy in Orlando's traffic, crowds etc...