Ive done it once before and am doing it again this year.
last time i booked first choice airways charter flights, royal caribbean cruise, a seperate car hire and seperate accommodation.
Am doing the same this year but am booking virgin flights.
loads cheaper than any package

Many thanks for your reply, can you tell me if you booked the royal carribean cruise direct with them or did you go through another company? Many thanks.

This will be the 2nd time booking flights cruise and orlando accommodation'
booked our flights with Virgin Atlantic, car hire Avis,Carnival cruise The Glory booked
with Gill,s better price than US sites and a good upgrade our cruise leaves on May9th
Balcony stateroom 8d cat mid ship £590 pp,last year we were on the Carnival Liberty could
not fault it.The Glory leaves from Port Canaveral Eastern&Western Caribbean.
hope this helps
ann

i booked both cruises though a travel agent (becuase at the time i worked in one!)
royal caribbean are excellent, plus this year, they have one of there biggest ships based in port canaveral which is a good port as its closest to orlando.

I think you need to price up both DIY and a traditional tour operator package. Whilst over the past few years it has sometimes worked out cheaper to book a DIY holiday, this year might not be the case.

The USD/GBP exchange rate will mean that if you are buying the cruise or accommodation direct from a US supplier in USD$ then the cost will be around 36% more than the same purchase this time last year. For example a $2500 cruise will cost £1838 on today's 1.36 rate against £1344 last year. On the other hand many tour operators have forward bought their USD$ (hedged) and can offer a better price on the cruise/accommodation as have priced holidays between the 1.58-1.90 rate.

The other benefit of course is that you will have financial protection if the travel agent or tour operator has ATOL or other indemnity insurance. This won't be the case if you book with a US supplier direct over the web.

Be sure and check out Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, sailing from Port Canaveral, alternate weeks to East or West Caribbean resorts. It is a fabulous ship..