Royal Caribbean's partnership with Universal Studios Orlando is expanding to include cruises that go out of Tampa, Florida.

Royal Caribbean announced with Universal Studios that that they will start selling vacation packages that include a stay at Universal Studios Orlando along with a Royal Caribbean cruise.  The packages include three or four-night stays at Universal Studios along with four or five-night cruises on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean will be homeporting Jewel of the Seas in November out of Tampa.  

This new deal is in addition to the partnership the two companies already offer for cruises out of Port Canaveral.

For Royal Caribbean, the expanded deal with Universal is another move into Disney's lucrative family-cruise niche. The Miami-based cruise operator last year struck a separate deal with DreamWorks Animation to outfit some of its ships with characters from animated movies such as Shrek and Madagascar, much the way Disney Cruise Line features popular children's characters such as Buzz Lightyear and Donald Duck.

Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida has extended its deal with Royal Caribbean that allows Universal to sell its customers on an extended vacation option that includes a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Royal Caribbean allows Universal to continue selling land-and-sea vacation packages that combine three or four night stays at a Universal Studios resort with a three or four night Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas.

Dubbed the "Way More than a Cruise" package, the deal is Universal's response to the popular similar offering that Walt Disney World has used with Disney Cruise Line.