(no subject)

[artisticphoenix]

well, time to update.

France was wonderful.   Southern France is beautiful.   Once we got there.   We got stuck in Mordor (New Jersey) due to bad airline karma for three days.  Egad.  Good food, good wine, good sites, and good friends.  I didn't want to leave.

Back to the crazy grind of work and summer fencing. 

Now that I am back from my vacation, I'm now looking for what I should do for next year.  I'm interested in maybe a cruise to someplace warm, but I have never been and am interested in what people have done and what is a) reasonable price b) good value c) active - like beaches, historical places, etc.   Recommendations?

Comments

[ldykatrina.livejournal.com]

I heard you were stuck for a few days but glad to hear you were still able to go on your vacation and had a good time.

[ferriludant.livejournal.com]

Three days? That sucks major ass. What airline should we be avoiding?

[pascual-del-mar.livejournal.com]

wasn't the airline's fault they happened to time their outgoing travel plans with that wonderful flooding storm of hell that nearly drowned all of NJ... Worse than hurricane Floyd in .. 99 i think it was...

[ferriludant.livejournal.com]

Oh, right. Good point.

[ogedei.livejournal.com]

It was the airlines fault - the crew cancelled while still in amsterdam. Other flights to europe left while we waited. Then they overbooked our next flight out and dropped us only after we spent 3 hours in the airport. KLM

[artisticphoenix.livejournal.com]

That just made things more interesting. Getting around while we were stuck (because of the airline) in the flood and the state shutdown were icky, and the walls and rugs of the motel were sopping wet.

[artisticphoenix.livejournal.com]

KLM. They cancelled us because "we have no crew". Yes, major suck ass.

[marajade648.livejournal.com]

Avoid Carnival. I mean we did have good time. No major complaints, but I kept getting bored. I could only take so much hanging out by the pool with the old people and the kiddies. We enjoyed when we got off the ship and toured around so look for one with good shore excursions.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

If you cruise during school vacations, you may want to consider the line you select, carefully. Some of the lines attract children more than others. And, of course, I presume that it might matter to you. For Carnival, the individual ship matters a lot - most of them are very downscale and boring. I have a personal problem with Norwegian (worst customer service ever, culminating in them canceling my trip and then charging me the cancellation fee.) But they are in a really sweet price/value spot. I love Royal Carribean - very kid friendly. Niki liked them, I think. Princess is (I hear) equivalent. Celebrity is a bit less child intense, a bit more upscale. Beyond that I only hear stories.

There are different sorts of cruise vacations. Some are active and exciting, some are glorious sit-back, drink, and relax. The more stops, the more active the trip can be.

There are many discount cruise sites and choices. April is a bit late in the year for cruising, so it may get quite hot out there.

You may want to consider some of the all-inclusive resorts, instead. You can get some awesome buys, but remember to check and book the airfare as well. The Dominican Republic is very cheap to reach, and stay on. Jamaica as well. Aruba is inexpensive as well. Mexico can be VERY good.

You may want to frequent the web site "SkyAuctions.com" for a while, see if you can score a deal. Be sure and check the various options being sold for black-out dates.

[artisticphoenix.livejournal.com]

I know this may be surprising, but I am done with my kid stuff and don't want to be on a kid-friendly boat. I would like a boat that is nice, not to kitchy and a place to stow my stuff while I explore islands as I know nothing of that area of the world. I'm hoping to eventually find a place that I would chose as a destination in the future.

I'm not sure of the time, but it will have to coincide with school vacations (bah, that always means more expensive, but nothing I can do about that), either xmas, feb or april. Hot isn't a problem for me. :-)

Thanks for the recommendations.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I am not surprised with the kid thing, It makes sense.

There are some good books in the bookstore/library, which review Carribean cruise ships. It was worth buying and reading one. If you want to economize on the research, AAA has a guide book to the islands.

Enjoy - I'm a little jealous. :-)