Travel Guru's (Update in Comments)

hoffse · September 2015

I would do late January so that you cut out a huge number of kids based on being back in school. Avoid dates around spring break and graduation.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are pretty family friendly. So is Norwegian because they have an anytime dining plan thing.

I would look at Princess and Celebrity if you want to have fewer kids. They are higher end, but the overall experience is going to be more relaxing and nicer.

re: balcony - I think it depends on the itinerary. I don't like inside rooms because there are no windows and cabins are TEENY. I get claustrophobic, so I would start at oceanview as the lowest level. A lot of people don't think the difference between inside and oceanview is worth it though if you're going to be in port most days. The cabin is really just a place to sleep - you will likely spend 95% of your waking hours either in the public areas of the ship or in port.

Whether I would spring for a balcony would depend on where we are going. Alaska? Absolutely. The scenic cruising is half the point, and only about half your days are in port. The Caribbean? Maybe not. You will likely go to one of the sundecks anyway if you want to lay out, and you will be in port most days.

That said, if you're only talking about a couple hundred bucks' difference in price for the balcony, then yes I would probably go for it because they are nice to have if you want a night in, and the balcony cabins are marginally bigger. I don't think I would spend much more than that though.

Do know that even the bigger cabins are much much smaller rooms than you get on resorts. Spending time in the cabin really isn't the point. The ships themselves have TONS of stuff to do (shows, multiple restaurants, pools, sundecks, casinos, daily planned activities, etc), and being in port is a lot of fun because every day is something different.

AprilZ81 · September 2015

brij2006 said:

Alright cruise people, talk to me more so I know what to look for.

We would be leaving out of any ports in Florida, can do 7 days, and would love a cruiseline that isn't so kid friendly since there aren't really options to do adults only (not that we're against kids, we just don't want to miss DD any more than we already will).

Princess and Celebrity are a bit more "upscale" and due to the price there are likely to be fewer kids on board. I have no personal experience with their ships but they all seem to get (mostly) good reviews. Due to the time of year and price it is likely you guys will be the youngest on the ship.

Royal Caribbean, while it is very family friendly, I think will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Two of their newer ships, Oasis and Allure are MASSIVE and a destination in and of itself. Rock climbing walls, surfing simulators, mini golf, zip lining (on the ship!!!), Broadway shows (shortened versions, but legit scripting/music), comedy clubs, carousals and the list goes on. Both ships sail out of Ft. Lauderdale and go on Eastern and Western routes every other week. One ship leaves on Saturday for 7 nights and the other leaves on Sunday for 7 nights.

Freedom is also a great ship (I've been on this one) with most of the same features as the bigger ships above. No zip lining, Broadway shows (but still Vegas style shows) or diving shows but still a lot of fun. It sails out of Port Canaveral (fly into Orlando and transfer about 45 minutes to the port). The transfer is a hassle, but there are a few different ways to do it. Ship sails alternating Eastern/Western as well.

If you REALLY want to have fun, consider flying into San Juan (go a day early to explore the port) and doing 7 nights to the southern Caribbean. There are two routes and the route that does Barbados/St. Lucia/St. Thomas/St.Martin/ is amazing. The airfare is a little more but the cruise pricing itself ends up being a little cheaper. The additional travel time discourages kids (but there will still be some on board). I'm not sure what ships are currently doing this route, but they will be lovely, just a little smaller and maybe not as many bells and whistles.

We would love the more easternly stops, but aren't picky in that regard.

What line would you recommend? Royal is my favorite of those I've sailed on.

Would you recommend doing a balcony if possible? If you can swing a balcony they are great. You get fresh air, natural light and the upper decks are closer to the main activity areas. That being said, an outside room (window only) is nice and I've even managed to do an inside room (no window at all) without trouble. The inside room only gets difficult when trying to do make-up or trying to wake up in the morning since you don't have any natural light.

I have to hype all of this up for H, because he would go for an AI and tell me to just decide and he'll show up. So a cruise will take a lot more convincing, so I want to have all of my facts.

January and February (January especially) won't have a ton of kids because they will be in school. Mid-late February you start getting more kids because of winter breaks and schools in the northeast seem to get a full week off. Generally speaking the longer the cruise and the more expensive the trip the fewer kids you will have on board.

That being said there are plenty of adult only areas (including one adult only pool on most ships) and the kids clubs keep the kids that are on board out of site for the most part. Even when I cruise during the summer I rarely notice them unless I am on the sports deck or walking through the arcade.

For specific questions see my responses above.

brij2006 · September 2015

@aprilz81 I would LOVE the southern Caribbean cruise, but am afraid of the cost of airfare. And we would need to fly in the day before the cruise departs, due to such a long flight time. So I'm not sure we could make it work with adding in the extra day before and after.

hoffse · September 2015

I think if you time it right, you're likely to really cut down on the number of kids regardless of which cruise line you choose.

Royal Caribbean definitely has more to do on-board than Celebrity and Princess.

AprilZ81 · September 2015

brij2006 said:

@aprilz81 I would LOVE the southern Caribbean cruise, but am afraid of the cost of airfare. And we would need to fly in the day before the cruise departs, due to such a long flight time. So I'm not sure we could make it work with adding in the extra day before and after.

FYI the cruises from San Juan leave around 7:00 pm (instead of 4 or 5 from Florida) so it might be possible (although stressful) to fly in the same day. If you do be sure to get trip insurance that covers trip interruption/cancellation so that if your flight is cancelled you get your money back. Insurance usually costs us about $125-150 for a 7 night cruise. When we travel during the winter we always get it.

dragonstarjk · September 2015

I would recommend Princess and Celebrity if you want to have less kids around, but also know that they typically have less on-board activities as well.

Our first cruise was on Princess and I loved it, because it was very low-key and we felt extremely well taken care of. The food was great and the service was absolutely top-notch. However, I'd say the average age on that cruise was 60+. Didn't matter to us since we're not into the nightclub/bar scene, so it depends on the vibe you'd want.

dragonstarjk · September 2015

How to sell cruise to your hubby--you can do as much or as little as you want! If you get one or two at-sea days in there, you'd both get what you are looking for. You could have adventure and see new places on port days, and he could lay around and relax all day on sea days.

We had an interior cabin on our first cruise (Alaska) and it really didn't bother me at all. It's what we could afford at the time, and we literally only went there to sleep at night and were never there at all during the day, even sea days. However, for our second cruise we had an aft balcony and H fell in love with that, so we'd probably go with a balcony from here on out. My method is to book the CHEAPEST cabin in the category you want, and then check back for lower prices to see if you can get in on an upgrade. This only works if you are okay with being in the cheaper cabin if you don't get an upgrade, but this is how we ended up in an Aft balcony. I booked the cheapest balcony we could get, and then the prices for aft balconies dropped lower than what we had paid, so we got upgraded.

www.cruisecritic.com could tell you everything you need to know about how to work upgrades, what's free, what's not, what's worth it, what's not, tips for every single ship...it's seriously the best resource on the planet for cruise planning.

short+sassy · September 2015

One thing I'll caution is cruises tend to be something that people either love or they hate.

For example, I love cruises. I like the cruise itself and the ports of call are secondary and a nice change of scenery for the day. I like that a cruise ship is kind of a city unto itself. I can eat and drink to my heart's content and not have to worry about anything other than stumbling back to my cabin. No driving, no taxis. There are activities, bars, a casino, and Las Vegas style shows.

But my H? Nope. He doesn't like cruises at all. He'd sees cruise ships as transportation to the ports of call rather than a "destination" themselves. So, from that point of view, he'd rather just fly directly to whatever city we are visiting.

From an MM perspective, I also find cruises to be an awesome bang for the buck. Except for (possibly) beverages and excursions, they are AI and typically less than $100/night pp.

Another odd place to look for a cruise...but I found a huge bargain there...is Ebay. The last time I went on a cruise, I found my deal on Ebay. It was a 7 day cruise for 2 people, port charges included, for $430 TOTAL. The seller was a travel agency who had booked a group package and had one cabin leftover. Plus the cruise ship sailed out of NOLA, so our only cost to get to the boat was a $15 cab ride.

As an aside, I also hit a Royal Flush on video poker in the casino on that cruise and won $1,000. After I paid for our drinks/excursions with my winnings, I had a free trip AND came home with a couple hundred dollars. Pretty awesome all around. Though I don't recommend playing in the casino as an MM strategy .

brij2006 · September 2015

Lol @short+sassy we went to the casino at our resort 3 times during our honeymoon, so you don't have to tell me there. ;-) My H would also rather go to Vegas for the 20th time than do any other traveling, so yeah.

I really think that will be the case with us though. I'm afraid he's going to hate a cruise, but for the opposite. He couldn't care less about the stops and would want to stay on the boat the whole time and veg.

I keep joking that we're going to go on separate vacations. I'll go to Costa Rica with a friend and do/see everything I want. He can go to Vegas.....again, and gamble and drink.

short+sassy · September 2015

@brij2006, I like Vegas, but not enough to go there very often. When I lived in So. CA, I went a few times a year because it was a nice road trip. But, now that it is a flight away, I've only been back once.

But then, gambling is legal in Louisiana and MS, so there is a big ole' Vegas-style Harrahs casino in downtown NOLA anyway.

A cruise actually might be a good compromise for you all. You'll spend most of your time on the boat anyway, so he'll be happy. There is a lot of veg time. And then it is only a small compromise on his part to go out for some excursions at the ports of call.

I had a friend whose son had a DW at a Costa Rican beach. They rented a number of beach bungalows, but it wasn't AI. She had a blast! She said the food was awesome and fairly cheap, but even soft drinks were extremely expensive. A 6-pack of Coke was $10 at a nearby market.

KatieCutie05 · September 2015

I have to just say how much I LOVE sandals. I don't think i could do a cruise instead of sandals. We also went to Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica for our honeymoon and LOVED it. Its very much a relaxation paradise so your husband would love it... but theres also great excursions. My H enjoyed the excursions too but he is definitely big on the whole relaxing on the beach with a drink. I have to almost make H try a different resort b/c he is just so worried that nothing could ever beat whitehouse. lol. But we are pretty sure next trip we are going to the new Sandals in Grenada and the trip after we'll go back to white house. lol It wasn't finished yet when we went on our honeymoon 2 years ago or we would have went there. It just looks heavenly.... its got a steakhouse and like tubs on the balconies and ok i'm gonna shut up now cus its just torturing me.

brij2006 · September 2015

Our travel agent priced out Sandals in 2 locations for us. Woof! That price is gut wrenching. Are there any tricks to finding one cheaper?

brij2006 · September 2015

@katiecutie05 We stayed at a Secrets resort for our honeymoon. Very similar to a Sandals, just a tad bit cheaper. But OMG was it amazing! I could go back there again any day.

hoffse · September 2015

brij2006 said:

Our travel agent priced out Sandals in 2 locations for us. Woof! That price is gut wrenching. Are there any tricks to finding one cheaper?

Whitehouse is going to be the least expensive location by a decent margin. Did your TA check that one?

brij2006 · September 2015

hoffse said:

brij2006 said:

Our travel agent priced out Sandals in 2 locations for us. Woof! That price is gut wrenching. Are there any tricks to finding one cheaper?

Whitehouse is going to be the least expensive location by a decent margin. Did your TA check that one?

No. We're being a bit picky and don't want Jamaica.

hoffse · September 2015

brij2006 said:

hoffse said:

brij2006 said:

Our travel agent priced out Sandals in 2 locations for us. Woof! That price is gut wrenching. Are there any tricks to finding one cheaper?

Whitehouse is going to be the least expensive location by a decent margin. Did your TA check that one?

No. We're being a bit picky and don't want Jamaica.

Fair enough - it's probably going to cost you then. Their Jamaica resorts are generally the least expensive in the chain. Has nothing to do with quality, but with the cost of labor and getting provisions to the island for the guests (or so I was told by a delightful Jamaican econ student who was moonlighting as our tour guide).

brij2006 · September 2015

hoffse said:

brij2006 said:

hoffse said:

brij2006 said:

Our travel agent priced out Sandals in 2 locations for us. Woof! That price is gut wrenching. Are there any tricks to finding one cheaper?

Whitehouse is going to be the least expensive location by a decent margin. Did your TA check that one?

No. We're being a bit picky and don't want Jamaica.

Fair enough - it's probably going to cost you then. Their Jamaica resorts are generally the least expensive in the chain. Has nothing to do with quality, but with the cost of labor and getting provisions to the island for the guests (or so I was told by a delightful Jamaican econ student who was moonlighting as our tour guide).

Yeah, I don't know what it is about Jamaica but it's just "meh" to me. This is probably stupid, but I feel like a lot of the nothernly islands are all the same. So that's why I lean more toward ones further south.

vlagrl29 · September 2015

brij2006 said:

Our travel agent priced out Sandals in 2 locations for us. Woof! That price is gut wrenching. Are there any tricks to finding one cheaper?

we did a travel agent too. Was it around $6k? Sandals had a thing going - buy six nights get 1 free. I don't think there are any extra tricks if your quote was like that.

brij2006 · September 2015

vlagrl29 said:

brij2006 said:

Our travel agent priced out Sandals in 2 locations for us. Woof! That price is gut wrenching. Are there any tricks to finding one cheaper?

we did a travel agent too. Was it around $6k? Sandals had a thing going - buy six nights get 1 free. I don't think there are any extra tricks if your quote was like that.

Yup. Right on.

Costa Rica came back $2k cheaper. Thinking that may help me narrow it down.

I'm just shocked. For $6k I could go to Hawaii!

vlagrl29 · September 2015

brij2006 said:

vlagrl29 said:

brij2006 said:

Our travel agent priced out Sandals in 2 locations for us. Woof! That price is gut wrenching. Are there any tricks to finding one cheaper?

we did a travel agent too. Was it around $6k? Sandals had a thing going - buy six nights get 1 free. I don't think there are any extra tricks if your quote was like that.

Yup. Right on.
Costa Rica came back $2k cheaper. Thinking that may help me narrow it down.

I'm just shocked. For $6k I could go to Hawaii!

DH and I went to hawaii for our honeymoon for only $3k - honestly though this st lucia trip was so worth it. we won't do it again for a long time, but it was a special time for us and very romantic.

brij2006 · September 2015

We keep saying Hawaii will be our 5 year anniversary trip (2 years from now). Maybe I should look a little more into doing it now instead.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

the Jamaica locations were the only sandal's locations we could stomach the price on, that's how we ended-up there.

We planned our trip without a TA, not sure how that impacted it.

Hawaii could be fun too. not tropical, but Napa is another place on my wish list (I think wine is a major motivator in my vacation planning).

AprilZ81 · September 2015

brij2006 said:

vlagrl29 said:

brij2006 said:

Our travel agent priced out Sandals in 2 locations for us. Woof! That price is gut wrenching. Are there any tricks to finding one cheaper?

we did a travel agent too. Was it around $6k? Sandals had a thing going - buy six nights get 1 free. I don't think there are any extra tricks if your quote was like that.

Yup. Right on.
Costa Rica came back $2k cheaper. Thinking that may help me narrow it down.

I'm just shocked. For $6k I could go to Hawaii!

You could do a cruise and drink like a fish for about $4,000.

We were pricing out cruises for a family trip (parents, sister and her family, us). For two people in an balcony cabin (including airfare, tips, night in a hotel, airport meals, airport parking, insurance, ground transportation, etc.) it was $3,900. That doesn't include any onboard spending or excursions, but it was on Allure of the Seas Eastern route on December 6. An inside cabin was $3300 for the same. If you don't go in a day early then you can take about $200 off the price.

brij2006 · September 2015

My hardest part is that I want to go back to Europe soooo bad! I seriously want to just book it and tell H he's going with and not talking. lol. Especially with these prices. There is so much I could see for $6,000.

Xstatic3333 · September 2015

brij2006 said:
My hardest part is that I want to go back to Europe soooo bad! I seriously want to just book it and tell H he's going with and not talking. lol. Especially with these prices. There is so much I could see for $6,000.

If you could push it up to the spring, what about the Azores? European, relaxing, and totally affordable. I think they also have casinos.

hoffse · September 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

My hardest part is that I want to go back to Europe soooo bad! I seriously want to just book it and tell H he's going with and not talking. lol. Especially with these prices. There is so much I could see for $6,000.
If you could push it up to the spring, what about the Azores? European, relaxing, and totally affordable. I think they also have casinos.

Not going to lie, this is how we ended up in France - I found a crazy deal on tickets and we had casually talked about going there so I just bought them and decided to beg for forgiveness if H was lukewarm about it. H is pretty laid back, and he ultimately didn't care where we went, as long as we didn't spend the whole time in Paris (he's been there a few times before). That was fine by me.

H is way more into true vacationing than I am, but he's willing to exert energy for travel if the destination is a good one. Is there some place in Europe that your H would be interested in seeing? I'm with you - $6,000 or whatever is enough money that I would be really inclined to cross an ocean and visit someplace interesting.

That would actually pay for a pretty sweet trip to Asia (and then some). The dollar is pretty strong in most of the countries over there. You'd have to check about rainy seasons, but you could maybe do Thailand or something. I've never been there, but Thailand seems to be the favorite country of many travel bloggers who have spent extensive time in that region. Also look at Cambodia and Angkor Wat. Holy moly does that place look incredible.

And south america is warm that time of year. I'm dying to go to Argentina. I think it might be one of the most beautiful countries on the planet.

The Azores are high on my list, by the way. Portugal looks amazing, and it's still relatively untouched by the crazy mass tourism thing.

brij2006 · September 2015

The reasoning my H doesn't want to go to Europe is because he wants to be able to spend 2 weeks there to not have to rush. We each only get 3 weeks of vacation. So that would take the majority of it. His busy season is also the summer, which is the best time to do a lot of what we want to see in Europe.

Although, his friend and his wife are going to be stationed in Greece. That's always been on our list. Maybe I could slide that one in under the rug. ;-)

lbonga1 · September 2015

I was not personally a fan of Greece. Maybe it's just because I went on a tour with my parents when I was in high school, but there was also a trash strike going on in Athens, so there was trash piled everywhere. And apparently flights out of Greece are notorious for being cancelled or delayed. Ours was delayed so much we missed our connecting flight and spent the night in Frankfurt. That would have been cool, but it was late and everything was already closed so it was basically just a super long layover.

@hoffse does Sandals Whitehouse end up being a better deal than Ochi?

hoffse · September 2015

lbonga1 said:

I was not personally a fan of Greece. Maybe it's just because I went on a tour with my parents when I was in high school, but there was also a trash strike going on in Athens, so there was trash piled everywhere. And apparently flights out of Greece are notorious for being cancelled or delayed. Ours was delayed so much we missed our connecting flight and spent the night in Frankfurt. That would have been cool, but it was late and everything was already closed so it was basically just a super long layover.

@hoffse does Sandals Whitehouse end up being a better deal than Ochi?

I think it depends on what you want. We wanted oceanfront with balcony, great beach, and no beach vendors selling drugs or whatever. Whitehouse fit the bill, and it was by far the cheapest when we were looking to get oceanfront because every room at that resort is oceanfront. Like I said, we booked the second cheapest room category - and I would have been fine booking the very cheapest level, except I like to be on the top floor to reduce noise, and that was $25 more for the week.

I think if you want a butler experience, then Royal Plantation is the best deal, and you have privileges at one of the larger resorts just down the beach. Butler costs there are like half of the other resorts. That one has a shared beach though. Whitehouse doesn't share its beach with any other resort, and maybe for that reason there are no beach vendors either. The whole resort is oriented west, so you get amazing sunsets.

The food and activities will be virtually the same at all of them. They all have similar excursions because the island is relatively small. The difference is going to be in your view (and what that costs), butler or no butler, and the beach. I also think Whitehouse might be more couples-oriented and less of a party because it's pretty remote. It's nowhere near the huge beach that basically every other resort is on.

simplyelise · September 2015

We did 10 days in Ireland for our honeymoon for under $4000. And it was a lot of eating and drinking lol. We rented a car and drove all around the country. It's smaller than Missouri, so you really only have to drive 2-3 hours each morning to be a completely different region. I burn like crazy, so laying out on beaches is just not my jam at all. But the scenery and history in Ireland were amazing. We did some cool hikes out to forts/castles (Dun Aengus was amazing!) and we really just went at our own pace.

But AI experiences don't suit my personality, so I really enjoyed sorting out all the bed and breakfast reservations and making lists about possible stops for the day. Not sure if that kind of trip would fit for what your describing.

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