The cruise ship is full - Need alternative vacation suggestions for December 22-30

[MrsBugi]

How disappointing! It is our fault for waiting so long to book, but the cruise ship we were hoping to book rooms on from 12/25-12/30 is completely full at this time.

My family lives in Dallas, TX and we are hoping to take a family vacation together for the first time in almost 8 years. Initially we were going to go for the cruise, but that is no longer an option.

Can anyone recommend vacation ideas for 6 people (ages 58, 49, 26, 23, 20, and 17), a $2000-2500 budget for travel/lodging, for 4-5 days between December 22 and December 20?

Driving would be preferable over flying, but not absolutely necessary. Thank you in advance for your suggestions, any and all would be greatly appreciated as I will be making and finalizing all of the travel plans by Friday for us.

EDIT: Update! We found a new cruise on Royal Caribbean that will be $6,000 for the 6 of us for 7 nights, departing 12/23 and returning 12/29. We ended up booking directly via RC because they told us the ship was 90% full and might sell out by tomorrow. I was going to go with bestpricecruises.com but it looks like we would only save ~$25 per person or so, so we went ahead and made the reservations. We can still cancel them as late as midnight tonight...

EDIT #2: The $6k is for 1 oceanview room (no balcony) and 2 interior rooms. Is this a decent deal, or should we cancel our reservations and try for a better deal tomorrow with bestpricecruises.com?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
How disappointing! It is our fault for waiting so long to book, but the cruise ship we were hoping to book rooms on from 12/25-12/30 is completely full at this time.

My family lives in Dallas, TX and we are hoping to take a family vacation together for the first time in almost 8 years. Initially we were going to go for the cruise, but that is no longer an option.

Can anyone recommend vacation ideas for 6 people (ages 58, 49, 26, 23, 20, and 17), a $2000-2500 budget for travel/lodging, for 4-5 days between December 22 and December 20?

Driving would be preferable over flying, but not absolutely necessary. Thank you in advance for your suggestions, any and all would be greatly appreciated as I will be making and finalizing all of the travel plans by Friday for us.

6 people for 5 days at about $80 per day? A bit hard to do...unless your 'travel and lodging' is just the room cost. A double occupied room at $160 goes a long way almost anywhere.

I think the only deals like that would be standby on a ship...I live very close to Port Everglades here in Florida. I haven't cruised yet, but my brother has. He is always meeting stand-byers that have the best rooms at the lowest prices.

Still without knowing where everyone lives except 2 ppl in Dallas, it would be hard to give you a lead.

What kind of activities would you think everyone likes? A cruise ship is a perfect medium since it has *everything*.

 

[MazerRackham]

V E G A S

 

[aphex]

i have a good friend who works for carnival... sales specifically...

LMK if you want her contact info, she may be able to find something for you...

 

[Dr. Detroit]

VRBO.com
http://www.vrbo.com/57949 Just $1695/wk

Lots of private homes up for grabs on this website for coastal Texas spots.

 

[sager66]

Vegas Deals (Post Turkey-Pre Santa)

 

[Minerva]

LOL talk about waiting until the last minute. Sorry you missed the boat. (pun hehehe)

Most book a YEAR or so in advance so if you want to do this NEXT year you may want to plan it NOW.

 

[compuwiz1]

V E G A S + pics

 

[MrsBugi]

EDIT: Update! We found a new cruise on Royal Caribbean that will be $6,000 for the 6 of us for 7 nights, departing 12/23 out of Galveston and returning 12/29. We ended up booking directly via RC because they told us the ship was 90% full and might sell out by tomorrow. I was going to go with bestpricecruises.com but it looks like we would only save ~$25 per person or so, so we went ahead and made the reservations. We can still cancel the reservations as late as midnight tonight... is this a good deal given the holiday season? Nobody in our family has ever been on a cruise before, this will be our very first one.

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: Minerva
LOL talk about waiting until the last minute. Sorry you missed the boat. (pun hehehe)

Most book a YEAR or so in advance so if you want to do this NEXT year you may want to plan it NOW.

No kidding!! We were hoping for "last minute cruise deals," but that really wasn't going to happen given the holiday season and such.

Luckily, we found one ship that will work within our range.

Our upcoming cruise!

 

[FoBoT]

what happened to your budget?

 

[richardycc]

is that 3 suites for 6k?

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

EDIT: Update! We found a new cruise on Royal Caribbean

You poor people.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
EDIT: Update! We found a new cruise on Royal Caribbean that will be $6,000 for the 6 of us for 7 nights, departing 12/23 out of Galveston and returning 12/29. We ended up booking directly via RC because they told us the ship was 90% full and might sell out by tomorrow. I was going to go with bestpricecruises.com but it looks like we would only save ~$25 per person or so, so we went ahead and made the reservations. We can still cancel the reservations as late as midnight tonight... is this a good deal given the holiday season? Nobody in our family has ever been on a cruise before, this will be our very first one.

I don't think they would have sold the remaining 10% by tomorrow. they were just probably saying that to get you to commit.

Anyways, wife and I did a RC cruise in the late 90's and it was a pleasant cruise. We did the southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico.

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
what happened to your budget?

My husband and I will be paying this difference (our holiday gift for the entire family). My parents wanted an all-inclusive, relaxing experience and looking for separate flights/hotels/etc. elsewhere at this point was just too stressful.

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: richardycc
is that 3 suites for 6k?

We wish! The $6,000 is for 1 oceanview room (no balcony) & 2 interior rooms.

Did we get ripped off? Should we cancel our reservations by midnight tonight and try bestpricecruises.com tomorrow?

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: MS Dawn

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

EDIT: Update! We found a new cruise on Royal Caribbean

You poor people.

The hubby and I will be paying the difference, this will be our Christmas gift for my family.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

My husband and I will be paying this difference (our holiday gift for the entire family). My parents wanted an all-inclusive, relaxing experience and looking for separate flights/hotels/etc. elsewhere at this point was just too stressful.

Have you ever been on a cruise before?

For six persons the service charge (gratuity) will be $60 per day. Please feel free to increase this if you feel the service provided by your cabin stewards, Maitre'D, his/her assistant(s) go beyond the regular expected services. It's customary (and of course) optional but most feel well worth it. Don't forget the tip on room service if you use it.

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

The hubby and I will be paying the difference, this will be our Christmas gift for my family.

Oh I wasn't serious about that - we just joke about folks going on competing lines. Especially Disney.

 

[Squisher]

Sounds like fun.

Costa Maya is kind of a made for cruise lines port that they dug out of the coast line. More of a open air mall with a Mexican flavor. Very nice beach with waite service and thatched canopies.

Cozumel is a small island with a big population. Nice non-swimming beach along the main drag, we went to Playa Del Sol a swimming/para sailing/personal water craft beach with an open bar about 5 minutes from downtown. Had a great diner in a restaurant downtown, also a lot of free Tequila tasting. You're also only 1/2 hour from Cancun if want a little debauchery.

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: MS Dawn

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

My husband and I will be paying this difference (our holiday gift for the entire family). My parents wanted an all-inclusive, relaxing experience and looking for separate flights/hotels/etc. elsewhere at this point was just too stressful.

Have you ever been on a cruise before?

For six persons the service charge (gratuity) will be $60 per day. Please feel free to increase this if you feel the service provided by your cabin stewards, Maitre'D, his/her assistant(s) go beyond the regular expected services. It's customary (and of course) optional but most feel well worth it. Don't forget the tip on room service if you use it.

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

The hubby and I will be paying the difference, this will be our Christmas gift for my family.

Oh I wasn't serious about that - we just joke about folks going on competing lines. Especially Disney.

None of us have ever been on a cruise before, but we are very much looking forward to it! Thanks for the tips about tips, can you recommend a good website re: cruise etiquette? I'd like to study up before we go.

What cruise line do you work for/prefer, and what type of reputation does RC have? We were going to go with Carnival (Ecstasy), but they were sold out. Was that for the better/worse?

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
EDIT: Update! We found a new cruise on Royal Caribbean that will be $6,000 for the 6 of us for 7 nights, departing 12/23 out of Galveston and returning 12/29. We ended up booking directly via RC because they told us the ship was 90% full and might sell out by tomorrow. I was going to go with bestpricecruises.com but it looks like we would only save ~$25 per person or so, so we went ahead and made the reservations. We can still cancel the reservations as late as midnight tonight... is this a good deal given the holiday season? Nobody in our family has ever been on a cruise before, this will be our very first one.

I don't think they would have sold the remaining 10% by tomorrow. they were just probably saying that to get you to commit.

Anyways, wife and I did a RC cruise in the late 90's and it was a pleasant cruise. We did the southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico.

Hmm. In that case, do you think it might be a good idea to cancel the reservations we made directly via RC tonight and try to make them again tomorrow via an agent/agency (i.e. bestpricecruises.com, recommended by Mr. & Mrs. Wiz)?

I'm glad to hear you had a nice experience.

 

[MrsBugi]

Originally posted by: Squisher
Sounds like fun.

Costa Maya is kind of a made for cruise lines port that they dug out of the coast line. More of a open air mall with a Mexican flavor. Very nice beach with waite service and thatched canopies.

Cozumel is a small island with a big population. Nice non-swimming beach along the main drag, we went to Playa Del Sol a swimming/para sailing/personal water craft beach with an open bar about 5 minutes from downtown. Had a great diner in a restaurant downtown, also a lot of free Tequila tasting. You're also only 1/2 hour from Cancun if want a little debauchery.

Thanks for the feedback! Costa Maya and Cozumel sound pleasant. As intriguing as it might be to check out Cancun, I think our family trip will be on the mild side so we will refrain this time around.

 

[Rubycon]

I'm with NCL.

RCI is better than Carnival (or Carnivore as some call it) but above all a cruise is what you make of it. Some folks love it others decide it isn't for them.

Try this site for information about your ship.

 

[richardycc]

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

Originally posted by: richardycc
is that 3 suites for 6k?

We wish! The $6,000 is for 1 oceanview room (no balcony) & 2 interior rooms.

Did we get ripped off? Should we cancel our reservations by midnight tonight and try bestpricecruises.com tomorrow?

I dont wanna be the one that ruin your family vacation, if thats the only cruise you can get, I guess its worth it.

just did a quick check, did you check out the NCL dream leaving out of Houston? inside is like around $800 included fees and taxes, smaller and older ship thou.

wait a min, how can a ship leave out of houston?!

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: MrsBugi

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: MrsBugi
EDIT: Update! We found a new cruise on Royal Caribbean that will be $6,000 for the 6 of us for 7 nights, departing 12/23 out of Galveston and returning 12/29. We ended up booking directly via RC because they told us the ship was 90% full and might sell out by tomorrow. I was going to go with bestpricecruises.com but it looks like we would only save ~$25 per person or so, so we went ahead and made the reservations. We can still cancel the reservations as late as midnight tonight... is this a good deal given the holiday season? Nobody in our family has ever been on a cruise before, this will be our very first one.

I don't think they would have sold the remaining 10% by tomorrow. they were just probably saying that to get you to commit.

Anyways, wife and I did a RC cruise in the late 90's and it was a pleasant cruise. We did the southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico.

Hmm. In that case, do you think it might be a good idea to cancel the reservations we made directly via RC tonight and try to make them again tomorrow via an agent/agency (i.e. bestpricecruises.com, recommended by Mr. & Mrs. Wiz)?

I'm glad to hear you had a nice experience.

I dunno about canceling and rebooking tomorrow, depends on how much of a risk taker you are. Do you have the costs with any agents? Well, you said you'd save around 25 dollars per person going thru that website. I wouldn't bother for that little amount.