North Florida Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
AI girls
DH said I could look into a Sandals-type AI for an October trip for just the two of us. Can you all give me suggestions as to locations, how to book, and approximately how much I can expect for a 4-5 day trip?And would October even be feasible?
Thanks!
Re: AI girls
I'd recommend looking at sikes vacation thread as a starting benchmark.
October is still hurrican season so generally you can find even better deals then. It's actually a great time to go if there are no storms brewing.
The primary locations are Mexico's Cancun/Riviera Maya coast as well as the islands in the caribbean - Jamaica, and pretty much all the others.
Apple Vacations and Travel Zoo are two great starting points. You can book directly on both of those sites or even orbitz/expedia.
For a trip in October, I wouldn't book until August or so.
I just want to recommed the place we stayed for our honeymoon. El Dorado Seaside Suites in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. To die for food, to die for service...everything about it was 100% amazing. We spent a little under 3,000 for 6 days, 7 nights. That included an oceanfront room, 2 round trip flights, all food and all drinks. It also included a couples massage and a private dinner on the beach. They also had snorkeling, kayaking, etc included as well. We booked through a travel agent so the massages and private dinner were something we got included because of that.
Hi, my name is Tara, and I am in love with our honeymoon resort (ya know in case you couldn't tell).
Madisen's a way better resource once you figure out some more details, but I happened to have a list of resorts that I like open on my other screen:
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? Excellence Riveria Cancun
? Excellence Playa Mujeres
? Secrets Maroma
? Secrets Capri
? Royal Hideaway ? Playa del Carmen
? Gran Bahia Principe Coba
? Moon Palace ? Cancun
? El Dorado Seaside Suites ? Playa del Carmen
? Catalonia Royal Tulum
? Occidental Grand Punta Cana
Sorry for the wonky coding.
It was overwhelming for me at first to look at anything vacations other than cruises because in general you have to search by destination. I don't care if I'm in Mexico or Jamaica - just find me 5 nights for under $2k. lol
But I did find it helpful to keep a list of resorts I liked along with an idea of pricing and the reasons I liked it.
Go here, go here!
We just got back from the Aventura Spa Palace in Riviera Maya, Mexico, a couple weeks ago. With airfare and everything, it was about $2400 for 4 nights. It was fantastic. Very luxurious and lots of amenities.
We honeymooned at Couples Swept Away in Negril, Jamaica in 2009. I'm sure it's cheaper now with all the sales, but I think we paid about $3,000 for 6 nights. Our experience with Couples was amazing. We both really liked it better than the Aventura Spa Palace in Mexico. More to do, more included, better food, prettier beach, better resort layout, and just a better atmosphere all around.
We're going to Dreams in Riviera Maya, Mexico in July, and I hear great things about it. A few friends have honeymooned at Secrets Maroma in Mexico, which is the adult-only version of Dreams, and they've given rave reviews. I'll check back in with a review of Dreams after we go!
Thanks ladies! I'll try to sort through all that info.
DH also suggested cruises, so I've got to figure out which I want to do. We may go the cruise route since they're cheaper.
"My 101 List - Updating asap, I swear!
*head desk* I thought we went through this ad nauseum already.
You have to admit, cruises are generally a cheaper option. They're not comparable, because you get more out of an AI, but if you're just looking for a cheap way to get out of town for a free days, a cruise is going to be cheaper (if you don't go far of course).The cruise we went on was $239 a ticket for 5 days. That includes all food. So yes you're going to have to pay more for drinks and any excursions you may want to do, but it's still going to end up being (at minimum) a couple hundred dollars cheaper than flying to an AI and staying.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE AI's and if I'm looking to go on a nice vacation, I'm going to choose that over a cruise anyday, but if I'm just looking for a short, cheap trip, I'd pick the cruise.
No, sorry, I won't admit that. Length of stay, location, time of the year and how much alcohol will be consumed are all factors that have to be taken into account and I wouldn't say cruises are generally cheaper in all instances.
Disagree. And I love cruises.
I'm betting the $239 was before taxes and fees.
Our cheapo, klassy four night cruise was I think $550 four both of us after taxes. Just to name a few additional expenses - a few hundred on drinks, $50pp at an AI day resort in Cozumel, we got a bunch of frozen drinks while we were in Cozumel, a few hundred while we were stuck in Tampa waiting for the cruise to get on, $75 for parking because we had to drive to Tampa versus my parents dropping us off in Orlando.
We could have EASILY done an AI for less than what we paid total for the cruise. ETA: And we could have probably done another two nights in an AI for about the same price.
I'm not arguing that cruises aren't great (I obviously love them and have done four in the last two years), but they are not necessarily cheaper in my personal experience.
Well... maybe if you're pregnant and not drinking.
I agree that all of those factors come in to play, but I still think if you have no requirements (time of year, etc), a cruise will be cheaper. Cruise out of Jacksonville- if you're just looking for a cheap trip, there is no reason to spend money on gas and parking to leave from Tampa, Miami, etc. You don't have to spend money on any excursions. So let's say a cruise is $550 and you pay $200 for drinks. That's $750 for the two of you. I just can't see flying to an AI and staying for 5 days being cheaper than $750 all together.
Again, yes, if you're comparing apples to apples, you're getting more out of an AI for the price, no doubt. But if you have zero requirements other than getting a cheap vacation, I don't see how an AI would be cheaper.
I find it funny I'm even taking this stance, because I like AI's much better. I just think cruises can certainly be the cheaper option.
Okay, $239 is before any taxes and fees. Cheapest Carnival has out of Jacksonville right now is $279. WITH taxes and fees the total cost JUST for the tickets is $657.88. Worth pointing out.
If you're only spending $200 total on other stuff (which is unlikely and personally I would feel like I was depriving myself on vacation by not doing excursions, getting a bottle of wine at dinner, etc.) you're at $850.
I can't believe we're arguing about this lol. Oh, the nest. You tricky minx.
I'm in an argumentative mood today, so I'll leave it here. I don't care what kind of vacation people go on.
When we travel we prefer to do everything on our own - no AI's or cruises.
Glad I could set everyone straight. YWIA.
My Ovulation Chart
You are much less lazy than I am.
(Please see the "Where is Everyone?" thread for further proof of my laziness.)
*ponders getting dressed to go get coffee*
ETA: *turns on Kathie Lee & Hoda instead*
That's what we're doing for our upcoming trip to Ireland. We are equal opportunity vacationers.
Wow, didn't realize I was going to get that going. I should've qualified with the fact that a cruise would be cheaper for us.
We're still looking at both options, but the cruise would allow us to go cheap where we want to, whereas it would be a harder sell to DH for an AI because of the $$ signs he will see.
"My 101 List - Updating asap, I swear!