Our family was recently invited to test out the new vacation package offered between Universal Orlando Resort and Royal Caribbean International. The package puts together a few days on land at Universal Orlando in one of their four on site hotels and a cruise on a Royal Caribbean Ship. There are many options available to choose from.
We started our vacation at the breathtaking Loews Royal Pacific Resort Hotel at Universal Orlando. As soon as you walk into the lobby you are transported to the tropical South Pacific. There is a beautiful open atrium at the center of the lobby featuring waterfalls, stone statues and lush greenery.
The entire property makes you feel relaxed with its tropical decor. My favourite part of the Royal Pacific Hotel was the lagoon style pool area.
Large enough so you don’t feel crowded, it boasts a white sand beach at one end, a kids spray park, an ice cream hut, private cabanas, hot tubs and drink stands of lemon water to refresh you. The entire area feels like a tropical oasis filled with palm trees and hidden alcoves. The pool was warm enough for everyone in our family to enjoy which is something we really appreciate!
We had breakfast at the Islands Dining Room, at the Royal Pacific Hotel, and the made to order omelettes on the buffet were fabulous. The prices were similar to any major hotel dining room.
The Royal Pacific offers 1000 guest rooms including 51 suites and is only one of four hotels offered on site at Universal Orlando. We also visited the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, to have dinner at Mama Della’s Ristorante.
Imagine walking into a dark, romantic, Italian restaurant where Mama Della herself welcomes you to your table, now add the most delicious, home cooked, Italian meal. Finally, add in a trio of musicians serenading you as you walk up to the restaurant and along side your table as you eat. I can honestly say that it was one of the best experiences, of my life, at a restaurant.
Now to the best part about staying on site at Universal Orlando: the express access you have to the parks. We were able to fit in many more rides than we ever have before thanks to the express passes included with our stay. We loved the new Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride!
We were all turned into Minions and then thankfully returned to normal before we went on to Shrek 3D! After experiencing many other rides at Universal Studios including The Mummy and The Simpsons Ride, we moved on to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We were able to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, choose a wand, check out the treats at Honeydukes and savour some Butter Beer!
But this wasn’t the end of our journey. We had so much time left we were still able to walk through the rest of Islands of Adventure and ride Spiderman and our favourite ride at Suess Landing, all thanks to the express pass!
I highly recommend staying on site at Universal Orlando. It’s 100% worth it being able to walk to the parks, take breaks during the day, and to get the express passes. Next year they are opening a new hotel, The Cabana Bay Beach Resort, which will feature a retro, beach resort theme from the 1950’s and 60’s.
The new resort will offer value priced guest rooms and moderately priced family suites, and is offering specials early in 2014 for the first visitors. You can get more information about the new Cabana Bay Beach Resort or Universal Studios by calling 1-888-273-1311 or visiting www.universalorlando.com You can get more information on the Royal Caribbean and Universal Packages by calling 1-877-202-5090 or visiting www.royalcaribbean.com.
Our trip to the Universal Orlando Resort was sponsored but all opinions mentioned in this post are my own. Photographs are the property of My Life in the Sun and Universal Orlando Resort and may not be reproduced without permission.
How did they pick your family, me and mine, would really love to do something like this, it’s me my husband and four kids, a good age range to give opinions. Thanks
Hi Drea,
We were chosen because I write articles on travel for this blog. The cruise was for people in an editorial media position.
Thank-you for your comment.
Laura
Looks Awesome. We have always stayed off site. I think I might have to stay here on our next trip.
Thanks for the comment Steve! Yes, I think you would really like this resort and staying on site is awesome. There is free wifi in the lobby, you can come and go from the parks and Universal CityWalk as you please and the resort is beautiful.