Norwegian Jewel, Nov 22 followed by Florida

[starfish54]

Hi Guys,

We just booked our staterooms on Jewel for Nov 22nd.

This is my 2nd time cruising with NCL (or with any cruiseline) We enjoyed our cruise last year on Norwegian Dawn during Christmas sailing (I would give it 4/5 overall).

 

The question is we are planning to stick around Florida after our cruise, maybe one or two of Orlando theme parks.

 

What do you think the weather will be on both cruise and in florida during end of Nov and first week of December? Is it even worth sticking around for a few more days?

 

PS: Do you think we made a good choice with Thanksgiving cruise or will the weather be hit/miss?

[garycarla]

Cruising is good at anytime.

 

By far, one of the very best times of the year to visit Disney World is between in November and December, as long as you stay away from the week of Thanksgiving and the two weeks of Christmas/New Years.

 

Here is why - the temps are great - you might need a light jacket, but you will not be sweating. There are no lines. And, they decorate Disney World really nice for the holidays.

 

Cruising Thanksgiving week I think is a bit more expensive, but you have already compared the prices I am sure. You will have more than the normal amount of kids due to Thanksgiving break of course.

 

Enjoy,.

[starfish54]

Thanks for the answer. Last cruise for christmas and we had a lot of kids, and by a lot I mean kids popping out running everywhere while we were walking with our sausages and hamburgers ;) on our hands.. And it didn't really bother us that much, and I normally get irritated easily. Kids generally were contained in certain areas, such as ice cream line, small pool, game rooms, kiddy stuff like back of the ship, etc.. So I don't think it will be any worse, at least I hope not.

 

The pricing wasn't much different, around $200 per person on balcony (which we loved last time).

 

Thanks for your comment on the weather, I hope it will be good, although we are still debating I am pretty sure we will end up staying for a few more days in Orlando just to see Universal or Animal Kingdom, any other suggestions for Miami/Orlando?

[out2pla]

We did a Florida Keys vacation last November and followed it with a train trip up to Orlando. We stayed at a Waterpark resort in Kissimee and then visited Disneyworld. The weather was fantastic! Of our 10 day vacation, I think it rained only the day we arrived (In Miami), and then we had maybe one or two other slightly overcast days, but for the most part, the weather was great (high 70's and low 80's and sunny). The best part about it was being off-peak season, so we felt like we were the only people in the two resorts we stayed at. We literally had the place to ourselves, it was lovely. And Disneyland was not as crowded as we thought it was going to be either. If you have small children (under 10), I suggest Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. I hear Universal is also great for all ages, and also the Seaworld waterpark. We also really wanted to do an everglades airboat tour, but ran out of time. Have fun!

[starfish54]

Hi Out2pla, thank you very much for your input.

May I ask where exactly did you stay? We are going to be there 3 families, and one of the other guys is tight on the budget and he was suggesting we stay in one of those inns, but after looking at few reviews on traveladvisor, most of the reviews were grim for those inns. We will be renting a car (probably a minivan) so it is not a big deal if it is few miles away from the theme parks. Just need a place we can sleep without worrying if bed bugs are going to chew on our skin.