mbk999

Trip planning is half the fun... There's just too many options around Orlando to go wrong, even if you don't go to the parks. We just got back from a week at the Mouse and Disney Springs has some fantastic restaurants. Animal Kingdom Lodge has a couple of great restaurants and if you have reservation to eat there, you can park at the resort and wonder around it's own savanna observation areas. None of it is cheap but we had really good times. I don't know what time of year you're planning on going but if it's in the winter, I can't imagine there'd be a lot to do for a couple of days in Cocoa, other than KSC.

Exactly. I used to use Melbourne a lot and it is (or at least was) a nice little airport but there's not a lot of alternate flight options if something comes up. Plus, can you fly direct into Melbourne from your location? That's what caused me to stop using it as I would have had to transfer in Charlotte or Atlanta. If you can fly direct to MCO and have alternate flight options, that's what I would do. Melbourne is a little closer than MCO but it's not like FLL which is right across from the cruise port. It's still 25-30 minutes away. Plus, the bulk of the Orlando traffic is west of the airport towards the theme parks and I-4, the traffic between MCO and Cocoa Beach is not that bad (normally). If you're coming in a couple of days early, you can always do a theme park one day and/or Disney Springs or Universal CityWalk and then head over to Canaveral for the beach day or KSC. It would give you more options.

3.5 hour drive on Florida's turnpike. Should be good.

That's a good point. Luckily I haven't run into that situation.

I buy it for convenience and less stress as long as the "convenience fee" isn't too much. I'm not a huge drinker on land but will break even on the ship. I like the ability to try something and not feel like I just wasted $15 if I don't like it. It's less stress for me not to have to be calculating the cost every time I ordered or have my wife not get something because she doesn't want to spend extra money on it. I'm sure we lost $ on her the last cruise (even with her refreshment package) but I just considered it the convenience fee. Even at the new price, I'd still do it but if it's getting into the $75 range, then I'd re-think it.

Yep. A1-A15 are the "business class" or A-Lister slots, though you can buy into that at the gate for $30-50 depending on the length of the flight. The next slots will be for those with Early Bird, going in order of when Early Bird was purchased. It auto-checks you in and auto-assigns you a boarding position so you don't have to remember to check in 24 hours ahead of time. We just flew back from Orlando. We had a 0900 flight on a Saturday and I started trying at 0859 on Friday (no easy task as we were rope dropping at Epcot). I got in right away and got A29-31. My nephew was on the same flight, he checked in four minutes later and was around B12-13. I saved him a seat but there would have been places to sit together. When they flew down, he forgot and they got into the C group so they were not together on that one. They'll do the family boarding between A and B groups. But while a lot of people are going ahead of the B group, since they are families, they'll tend to fill up whole rows so it's not as bad as it initially seems. YOu could always book early bird for one person so they can get on-board earlier and save the seat next to them. As long as you're not trying to save the entire row, that's not a big deal.

Have a good trip! Looks good so far

Southwest out of BWI to Orlando or Fort Lauderdale is usually pretty good. It's become standard for us even though Dulles is a little closer. Have a good trip!

I'll defer to the Florida folks on how bad the traffic is but the plan sounds very stressful to me. The only way I'd attempt that is if I did the self-assist disembark. I personally wouldn't be getting off the ship at 1000 and relying on smooth traffic to get over to Fort Meyers. I don't live in SOuth Florida but I've had to travel there enough for work to know that traffic is not good.

You're doing a little better than us, we've had so-so food and phenomenal service and poor food and awful service! Enjoy your trip! Looks good so far.

I take it this Chops experience was better than some of the previous ones? Just curious as we've had lackluster experiences there and I know you haven't really raved about it either. As always, thanks for the blog and wonderful pictures.

Yes, 7 nights on the Allure in October with ocean facing balcony was about 60% the cost of 8 nights on the Oasis in August in a Central Park balcony.

My Disney Park philosophy for next week. Make sure we see the new (to us) attractions but if we miss one of our traditional attractions, so be it. It's a lot less stress. I won't go so far as saying better, but it's a different experience. Less stress and you can avoid/tune out kids (and other adults) if you want to. As a semi-recent empty nester, I'm not sure what all the angst is about empty nesting, seems pretty good to me....

I'm a bit late to the party but Happy Anniversary and enjoy your cruise! We did the same run on the Allure for our 25th back in October

We're not experts as we've only been on one Oasis Class sailing but here are a few of our Oasis-class unique favorites: Aqua-Theater show: we really loved that show plus you can find some little nooks by the theater that have great views Central Park at Night: very tranquil, we enjoyed walking through that area after dinner, listening to whatever live music they had going that night. Solarium Bistro for breakfast/lunch instead of the Windjammer: Less hectic and stressful than the windjammer but essentially the same food. THere are also plenty of other food options to avoid the Windjammer crush We had two concerns heading into our cruise that we didn't find to be true (though your results may vary): 1) Too many people. Yes there are a lot of people on the ship but it wasn't overwhelming other than leaving the muster drill As there were several venues emptying into the same location, that was the only time it was claustrophobic. 15-20 minutes our of a week long trip. The pool deck walkway can get pinched a little if there's a stroller/scooter coming the other direction but nothing awful 2) You're disconnected from the sea: I'm sure this is very subjective, but I really didn't feel that way. Yes, there are a lot of internal focused venues but there's always the walkway on deck 5, the aft end of the boardwalk, and the entire upper deck. We had gotten an ocean facing balcony based on that concern but it wasn't needed for that. Don't get me wrong it was great to have but there were plenty of other spots to see/hear/smell the ocean. Our favorite pool chair location was on the forward starboard section, underneath the upper walkway. We spent many an hour with a drink and and a kindle watching the ocean go by. With that said, that's actually one concern I have with the Amplification, I think that's the area where the slides are going. But we'll just find a new spot for our August sailing on Oasis.

Yep. The Enchantment going from Coco Cay to Key West, they crank it up and everything in the MDR is vibrating.

I think that's too tight of a window for Orlando. IF the ship is on schedule, you'd still need some stars to align for being some of the first off the ship, properly staffed customs area, no traffic and no backup at the security area at the airport. If the ship is late or a customs delay, your time margin is lost. There's too much potential for stress imo.

I believe you are responsible for the luggage (although I've never taken the RCI transport). The only luggage service I am aware of is when you leave the ship to go back to the airport, but that's an extra fee and I don't belive it's available on every ship.

as others have mentioned, think of it like luggage at the airport, bags that are big enough to check on the plane get "checked" at the port in that you give them to the porters when you get to the port (and give the porters a few $ per bag) . Then the smaller bags you can carry on the plane can be brought on board with you. These should hold your travel docs, meds, and a change of clothes for the pool and perhaps dinner. The rooms are usually ready around 1:00. The bags that you gave to the porters will be delivered and placed outside your door. SOmetimes you're lucky and they are there when the rooms are ready, sometimes they trickle in throughout the day.

Given your screen name, you're clearly more versed in the Florida traffic than I am. All I can relay is that we drove on a Saturday in October, left Disney property around 1130, took the turnpike and were at the FLL hotel around 3:00.

I get that. I've done 2+ hours a day in a car for going on 25 years but I'd still drive it. We did the Disney to FLL drive back in October and it was 3-3 1/2 hours. WHile there might be an accident, to me it's less risky and it won't really take that much longer. What's the flight time? 45 minutes? If you get to the airport even 90 minutes prior to the flight, add in the 45 min flight time, and then add in 30 min at FLL to collect your luggage, you're almost at 3 hours. Any airline delay and driving is quicker. Not as relaxing but quicker. Plus no chance of lost luggage.

We've had decent but for the most part, nothing special food at the MDR. I agree with an analogy that I saw on the boards, where they compared the MDR food to really good banquet food. I personally think the WJ dinner food is just as good, if not better. Some things are better than others obviously but I think it comes down to what dining experience you want. Do you want to be waited on in a nicer setting or are you okay with serving yourself and eating at your own pace (and depending on where /when you sit in the WJ, the views are just as good)? That will determine MDR or WJ imo.

The Enchantment is a fine ship, particularly for an anniversary cruise. It won't have the zip lines or the water slides, etc, but it's got what you need to relax and de-stress. Check out the Schooner bar. That's one thing that class of ship has that's way better than the newest/biggest ship. The location on the Enchantment has lots of floor to ceiling windows and is really nice.

That'll be tough. Christmas at the Orlando Parks are by far the busiest periods of the year. I know at Disney, the Magic Kingdom can reach capacity during that week where they won't let anyone else in who isn't staying at a Disney hotel. Best case is that you get to the parks by 0930-1000 and then you'll probably need to leave by 4-4:30. YOu'll be there in the crowdest part of the day. YOu really won't be able to get much in in terms of rides. If you've never been to the parks, to me it would be overwhelming to experience and navigate. Actually it would be overwhelming even being a park vet. I think it sounds good in theory but is probably not the best idea in reality. THere are other similar threads about Disney on this board that will tell you that same thing.

There are a lot of factors that will impact how much you'd be able to do at Universal. When in December is the cruise stopping in Port Canaveral, how long is it in port and is it over a weekend? If the ship is there from 9Am to 9 PM, you'll probably only have 6-7 hours at the park which will limit how many rides you'll be able to get on unless you spend the extra $$ for the Universal Express. If it's over Christmas then the parks will be extra crowded which will further cut into ride time. It's doable as long as your expectations are realistic in that you'll only have a half day or so at the parks, it might be crowded, and you probably won't get on a lot of the major attractions. Just additional factors to consider. Now if you've got season passes and just need a Universal fix, then it's perfect.