I Want To Be a Land Lubber

[toomuchsnow]

Perfect timing. I just saw an article on how to convince your husband to cruise. Well, I've been a good husband, eight Caribbean in a row. I'm trying to figure out the opposite.

I'd like to wake up and walk the beach, lay there until I want to leave, hang around with locals for more than two hours, swim/snorkel till I turn blue. Don't get me wrong, I love to cruise but I really need to do something else next year. Any suggestions on a "land" cruise that will keep the DW happy with quality and service? We generally spend 10-14 days on a balcony, cost around $7,000.00 plus,CDN. HA has been our favourite lately. It seems like a weird question to ask on a cruise site, but no other place would understand the dilemma I have.

Thanks for you time...

[biker@sea]

We like to do both.

1 hr south of Miami, we do a week in the FL.Key before or after a FL. cruise.

 

:)

:)

 

.

[bettyboop16]

We decided to forgo our winter cruise this year & go to an "all inclusive resort". We went to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Plenty of resorts to choose from & beaches were beautiful. Many cruise excursions to take while there. We used Hispaniola Aqua Adventures.

[MicCanberra]

Do a 4 or 5 star land tour, but pick one with lots of free time. Lots of choices in both places to visit and companies to use.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Kauai

 

 

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[Floridiana]

Nevis, a Caribbean Island without cruise ships. Take the ferry over to St. Kitts for the hustle and bustle and shopping at the cruise port.

Grenada, beautiful island, cute capital.

[E@syPe@zy]

Hawaii...combine a week in Hawaii with a 7 day cruise. Fabulous snorkeling and incredibly friendly people. That way you are both happy.

You won't regret it. Best snorkeling I have ever experienced. Like swimming in an aquarium. Maui or Kauai.

[DirtyDawg]

We have done AI's in Cuba a few times. You might try to convince the DW with "Let’s go before theYanks overrun it and spoil the place" :D Very good snorkeling and gorgeous beaches.

 

We went to Cancun this past Christmas. Very good snorkeling and better food than in Cuba. There are also lots of historical sites on the mainland for the non beach days. We had a ground floor room steps from the beach with a private hot tube. That was the selling feature that hooked my DW.

 

I second biker's sugestion about the Keys south of Miami. But go farther down south than just Key Largo. It is a very pretty part of the States.

I understand that Aruba is very nice but it might run you $7K for a week, not two.

 

Let us know how your quest turns out.

Edited April 2, 2017 by DirtyDawg

[cb at sea]

We've never done an AI, but seldom spend even $4000 for a longer land-based vacation! We love the Sarasota area on the gulf....very laid-back. Also big fans of the N. Myrtle beach area...beaches are nice and the music/dance scene is fantastic!

[griffy116]

I second the idea of combining pre-cruise land based days with a cruise. We've done this a few times and it works out well. LOVE Key West and love the Hawaiian islands. I'd do either of these again in a heartbeat.

[mom says]

Unless we're feeling really lazy, we pick a place that has a lot of things to see and do besides the beach or pool (although those are important, too.). We like the AI resorts on the Mexican Mayan Riviera and also Barbados (our very favorite island in the Caribbean). Lots of choices for things to do away from the resort itself. We've found though, that we need to look at resorts with an extra star rating, compared to what we might choose in the US or Canada. 4 star would be the absolute minimum.

[iancal]

We have spent lots of time in Florida and the Caribbean. We became tired of cruises. Prices are up, quality is down.

 

We tried Thailand four years ago. And Vietnam. Loved it. Not the over run tourist places like Phuket or Koh Samui but the smaller, less visited islands. Getting there is a pain we now we go for several months at a time. Beaches are wonderful, food is great, and safe to boot. We first went on a whim...booked air ten days ahead and just went. Liked it so much we returned for two successive years. Missed it so much this winter that we plan to go back to SE Asia for next years winter vacation.

 

Closer to home...we spent several weeks in each of Panama and Costa Rica this winter. Second time around for Costa Rica-Playas Carrillo, Samara, Tamarindo, Cocoa Beach,Hermosa Beach, Jaco area and south. Very nice.

[toomuchsnow]

Hello everyone and thanks much for your input. Got busy at work and didn't spend much time on the internet. All your suggestions sound terrific, especially Nevis. If I can get my DW on land , I don't want her to see any ships or I'm toast. I do think it's harder to find the right resort compared to the right ship. I could handle the 50/50 choice. Probably end up being a week at a resort and then 10 days at sea. I could handle that, more money though.

Again, I thank you all and enjoy.

[Hlitner]

Hawaii...combine a week in Hawaii with a 7 day cruise. Fabulous snorkeling and incredibly friendly people. That way you are both happy.

You won't regret it. Best snorkeling I have ever experienced. Like swimming in an aquarium. Maui or Kauai.

 

Agree with going to Hawaii (any island except Oahu) but would not waste my time (or money) on a cruise of the islands. For 10-14 day, simple do a 2 or 3 island land trip. For us, combining Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island make for a nice vacation. As to Oahu, it is just too much like Florida (with traffic, resorts, too many people, etc. The only problem is using top resorts, and eating at decent restaurants would break the $7000 CDN budget.

 

Hank

[screwsmcernst]

Perfect timing. I just saw an article on how to convince your husband to cruise. Well, I've been a good husband, eight Caribbean in a row. I'm trying to figure out the opposite.

I'd like to wake up and walk the beach, lay there until I want to leave, hang around with locals for more than two hours, swim/snorkel till I turn blue. Don't get me wrong, I love to cruise but I really need to do something else next year. Any suggestions on a "land" cruise that will keep the DW happy with quality and service? We generally spend 10-14 days on a balcony, cost around $7,000.00 plus,CDN. HA has been our favourite lately. It seems like a weird question to ask on a cruise site, but no other place would understand the dilemma I have.

Thanks for you time...

 

 

DH and I both feel the same way. We love to cruise, but we also like to "Land Cruise". We usually alternate our big vacations. This year we are cruising to the ABC Islands, and next year we will try an all inclusive somewhere tropical.

We use our cruises as a way to sample places we would like to go back to and do a resort vacation. It is the best of both worlds. We get to spend more time at a specific place, and not cruising all the time keeps the newness in it for us. It never get boring.