Things To Do In SW Florida

Cruisers will be able to party like it’s 1999 at sea next year as a stage show themed to musical icon Prince is coming to the new Norwegian Aqua when it begins sailing from Port Canaveral.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced “Revolution: A Celebration of Prince” would be one of two new productions headed to the ship’s main stage developed by NCL’s in-house production team. The second, “Elements: The World Expanded,” is a sequel to a popular existing show.

Norwegian Aqua is the first of what the line is calling its Prima Plus class, 10% larger than 2021’s Prima and 2023’s Viva. Aqua will begin seven-night sailings of Caribbean itineraries from Port Canaveral beginning in April 2025 before migrating to New York in August and then back to Florida, but sailing out of Miami from October 2025-April 2026.

The Prince tribute show was done in partnership with Prince Legacy, LLC and Primary Wave Music, and will lean into the hits of late musician who died in 2016, including “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Little Red Corvette,” “Delirious” and “Purple Rain.” during a concert-like experience. read more

An ownership group recently repurposed a vacant movie theater in Sanford into a singular shooting attraction that offers state-of-the-art training facilities for law enforcement as well as immersive shooting experiences for the public.

Decision Tactical, located in a nearly 42,000-square-foot building at 430 Towne Center Cir., opened in January in a former 10-room United Artists Theater and offers an example of how to repurpose obsolete movie venues. Decision Tactical first began operations in 2018 in a 3,000-square-foot facility in Longwood but moved into the new building as it grew the concept. The owners purchased the current building in 2022 for $4.1 million.

The facility doesn’t use live ammunition. Instead, employees use a proprietary method on-site to modify Glock handguns that shoot bursts of air from a CO2 cartridge, simulating real bullets. This allows law enforcement and members of the public to improve shooting skills and acumen in a realistic yet safe setting.

Many local law enforcement agencies — including Sanford, Seminole County, Altamonte Springs, and Orlando use the training facility, as do federal agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration. In its current configuration, Decision Tactical offers a target shooting range, an obstacle course with targets, and three interactive scenarios. read more

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I booked three nonrefundable airline tickets for my wife and me on United Airlines to fly from Orlando to Rome. United resold the middle seat between us on three of the five flights. I asked for a refund, but United is telling me that I can’t get my money back, since I purchased nonrefundable tickets.

But how can they resell the seats I paid for? I’ve sent emails to the executive contacts for United on your website, but United won’t even give me a travel credit.Can you help me get the $660 back I spent for the extra seat?

— Leigh Roberts, Winter Garden, Florida

ANSWER: United Airlines should have kept the middle seat (that you paid for) empty. United offers the option of buying an extra seat for the same price as your original ticket, if you need more room. This obligates United to keep the seat empty; it can’t resell the seat halfway through the flight.

Your case brings up a long-standing grievance among air travelers. When you have a nonrefundable ticket and can’t make your flight, your airline can resell the ticket, collecting money for the same seat twice. This strikes many air travelers as unfair. In the past, lawmakers have suggested legislating this unfairness and mandating that an airline should refund a nonrefundable ticket if it can resell the seat. But so far, nothing has passed. read more