crusinmama06 Posted January 14, 2008 #1 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Do you plan to do a land based vacation as well as the cruise this year? Of course this is cruise critic and we talk about the family cruise vacations we are taking....but what other family fun trips are you taking this year? Or do you add a few days at your embarkation port to your cruise? ----------------- At this point I have the cruise on hold (the next one hopefully will be the new RCCL Project Genesis ship) So while I wait for Genesis I have (at this point) a few family land vacations booked. January -- I am taking the girls to Great Wolf Lodge for a girls only trip :) We are meeting friends there. It will be a combo celebration of my birthday and my 7 year old's bday. March -- Off to Tampa Florida for some fun in the sun (badly needed..lol) May -- Niagara Falla Canada to celebrate my hubby's bday. June/July/August -- Amusement Park season. We usually take every weekend to travel to different amusement parks in PA. We have Hershey, Kennywood, Knoebels, Idlewild and then two local family parks in the town I live in. September -- Walt Disney World for 8 days :D November -- taking the girls to their first trip to New York City. That's all we have booked so far...lol. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clansac Posted January 14, 2008 #2 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Aside from our cruise in Feb, we will go to Seattle to visit family and we are also buying Disneyland annual passes this year and will make numerous trips to LA. We're considering a short 3 night cruise out of LA as well, mostly to sleep in the sun while our son plays in the kids club. It's cheaper than a week of summer camp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esttea Posted January 14, 2008 #3 Share Posted January 14, 2008 [January -- I am taking the girls to Great Wolf Lodge for a girls only trip :) We are meeting friends there. It will be a combo celebration of my birthday and my 7 year old's bday. Love The Great Wolf Lodge- we go to the one in the Poconos!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne74 Posted January 14, 2008 #4 Share Posted January 14, 2008 We do Disney at least once every 18 months or so. We just went right after Thanksgiving for a week. Our cruise is this Easter week and then I am looking at a cruise leaving 12/27/08. They are expensive but it doesn't interfere with Christmas but my dd wouldn't miss any school as well. We also always go to the beach for at least 2 long weekends in the summer and might be doing the Outer Banks with friends this year as well. That is still undecided. We are also doing NYC Thanksgiving weekend! We travel too much but I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanDreamin Posted January 14, 2008 #5 Share Posted January 14, 2008 When I put my foot down about our family vacation last year being a cruise on Carnival Pride, my DH said "Okay, but I get to choose next year's vacation." I promised him, so this summer we are doing a road trip. We live in Los Angeles, and at first he was talking about going all the way up to Washington. Cool, but a bit ambitious - especially with a 7-year-old who tends to get car sick. :eek: He is now just talking about taking a week and driving up to Northern California, and seeing the Redwoods (which I've never seen), Big Sur, etc. This is so NOT my idea of a vacation! Still, I promised - AND he's taking me on a weekend cruise next month just the two of us for my birthday - so I'll survive.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted January 14, 2008 Author #6 Share Posted January 14, 2008 clansac - How awesome that would be to have annual passes to Disney! Have a great time! esttea - Yep that's the one - the Poconos! It's the closest one to us ;) Suzanne - If you do go to Outer Banks you'll have to let me know how you like it? That is one beach that is seems like everyone from around here goes to, but I've never been. We always hop on over to Ocean City, MD. But maybe one day we'll have to check out OBX. Ocean - The big redwoods would be something to see! The car sick child would be tough to deal with, but going to Big Sur, then seeing the RedWoods seems like a great vacation. I like the way your hubby thinks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onessa Posted January 14, 2008 #7 Share Posted January 14, 2008 There are so many really great destinations that can’t be reached by a cruise ship! We try to do one bigger non-cruise vacations each year (Washington DC, Yellowstone, etc.), we have relatives in the Twinkie Cities so generally do one or two Minnesota trips each year , we also have relatives in Chicago suburbs and manage that at least twice a year. We have a cabin up in my DH’s home town on Lake Superior. If we don’t have a trip planned over Thanksgiving, we spend the Thanksgiving weekend downtown Chicago – museum hopping. We generally don’t plan weekend trips too far in advance – it depends upon the weather and prices. Cruises are great, but any travel is great too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ispooks Posted January 14, 2008 #8 Share Posted January 14, 2008 you will love great wolf lodge! we went there last jan., i took my younger son again last april, and we are going again over memorial weekend this year.... :) we did hershey last summer before our cruise, this year will do baltimore harbor and aquarium in may, and are adding a day in orlando after our cruise this summer to do seaworld ( have done disney and universal, but never seaworld)... u may want to try camelbeach for a day - it is a nice waterpark where camelback ski area is, but open in summer months.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasvhillecruise Posted January 14, 2008 #9 Share Posted January 14, 2008 We are doing our cruise in March. Aside from that, we always go to Myrtle Beach for a week around Labor day (brother in law lives there, so it's a cheap trip). We're going to NYC with another couple on Thurs, but that's a grown up only trip. I cannot wait, although it's supposed to be PRETTY CHILLY there right now. We'll also go to SC to visit in laws several times. Finally, we try to do one or two camping trips in the Smoky Mountains each year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelingirl70 Posted January 14, 2008 #10 Share Posted January 14, 2008 To help pass the time until our New Years 2008/2009 cruise, we have 2 trips planned so far... February - Beaches in Turks & Caicos April - JW Marriott Cancun (Marriott Rewards stay) I'm looking to do a long weekend in August as well. No plans yet, just starting to think about when and where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAO Posted January 15, 2008 #11 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Right now, the only real planned major vacations are our cruises in August and November. But that doesn't mean we won't do anything else. I'm hoping to trade one of our timeshares for something, maybe Disney (my 33rd trip), in March. And we're supposed to go to Great Wolf Lodge on Monday though that may have to be cancelled. DH and I are going to Ft. Lauderdale for a cruise conference in March. DH's family lives up in Buffalo so we'll probably go there after school gets out and visit Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake. I hate Buffalo, but we do need to see the family. I do know our trips in 2009 will include Hawaii and Arizona. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellanora Posted January 15, 2008 #12 Share Posted January 15, 2008 We are planning a family trip to Gatlinburg next Christmas and renting a big cabin. My parents, myself, and my son go every winter (we love it), but my sisters decided they wanted to bring their families and join us, so we are in the process of choosing a cabin. My son and I have annual passes to Universal Orlando, from which we live about an hour and a half, so we'll hit there a number of weekends. Last year we stayed onsite at the Royal Pacific Resort - pricey, but highly recommended! Other than a 3 night Disney Cruise at the end of this month (first time on Disney - yay!), that's all we have planned for vacation this year. We had booked an April cruise on Carnival, but had to cancel in order to replace both my living room television and my dining room table. Only so many things can be paid for at one time, sadly. February - Beaches in Turks & Caicos travelingirl70, that's awesome. I took my son to Beaches Negril a couple years ago, and we loved it. I don't know if we'll ever make it to the one in T&C, but we really, really want to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavteam Posted January 15, 2008 #13 Share Posted January 15, 2008 CruisinMama06, I miss Kennywood! I grew up near there and went several times every year during the summer while growing up! And You would love the beaches of OBX - so unlike the beaches of MD & NJ. Not a wide beach like Wildewood, but you would not believe how much WARMER the water is. We visited there when we lived in NC and a few years ago traveled up there and rented a house with BIL and his clan from MD. I Couldn't figure out why we'd drive 8+ hours to go to the beach, when we live about 30 minutes from the beaches of Charelston SC - but it was a family thing. I prefer the beaches at Isle of Palms here in Charleston. My Sister in law lives in B'more and was visiting us once in mid Oct and was calling all her friends up there telling them that the water in OCT was warmer than it was in OC MD in August! So, I will spend the summer at the beach and the end of May our one son is getting married in FL near Orlando, we are looking at renting a condo for a week at New Smyrna Beach through a vacation club that we belong to for the week after the wedding. Then in December we are cruising again :D That's the plan anyhow. I'd also like to try to get up to Penn State to catch a game - it's been way too long and if I could time it to catch a Steeler game on the same trip - that would be WONDERFUL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toledo Posted January 15, 2008 #14 Share Posted January 15, 2008 New York City was one of my kids' favorite trips, but it may have been the most expensive one to date. Second and third favorites were Hawaii (using frequent flyer mileage and Priceline) and a dude ranch in Texas. We also make those yearly trips to the Twin Cities to visit grandmas and grandpa. DS and I are going to visit colleges in Pennsylvania this week and it makes me sad to think our family trips may be dwindling in the future.:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelingirl70 Posted January 16, 2008 #15 Share Posted January 16, 2008 travelingirl70, that's awesome. I took my son to Beaches Negril a couple years ago, and we loved it. I don't know if we'll ever make it to the one in T&C, but we really, really want to go. This is actually our 2nd trip to T&C. We loved it, too! I know this isn't the politically correct thing to say on a cruise chat room, but we like Beaches better than cruising. I was thinking I might try Negril one of these days, if I can find the time. They are building a whole new section in T&C that will add another 150 rooms or so, plus a waterpark. The waterpark sounds like fun, but I wonder if it will actually be too big. 4 1/2 weeks to go.... I can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellanora Posted January 16, 2008 #16 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I know this isn't the politically correct thing to say on a cruise chat room, but we like Beaches better than cruising. Heh. I'll keep your secret, since I think I agree with you, although I absolutely adore cruising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne74 Posted January 16, 2008 #17 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I will let you know how OBX is. I am excited but I think my dog will be more excited. She gets to come with us since the house allows dogs. She loves the beach but hates the water. :confused: Since so many people are posting, I thought I would ask if anyone has ever done a family ski trip? I love to ski but really have never left the Poconos growing up. I came very close to booking a Thanksgiving weekend in Estes Park, Co but changed my mind. I just think it would be a slightly different pace then sun/sand all the time. By the way, we did Hershey Park this summer and highly recommend. Besides Disney, there is not a nicer well kept family amusement park that we have been to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccalouise Posted January 16, 2008 #18 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I finally logged on to the Great Wolf Lodge site. A friend had already recommended this in Williamsburg. Looks like a really cool concept. Maybe sometime we will try it. Unfortuneately I have completed depleted my vacation funds for 2008. We are doing three cruises. Two on QM2 (out of NY) and one to Greece and Turkey with a week on land in Venice and Austria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted January 16, 2008 Author #19 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Pavteam - they have changed alot at Kennywood. They have a Garfield ride now that sort of reminds me of a Disney ride. Suzanne - you're right, Hershey is a great family park. It is definatly one of the favorites. Rebecca - I'll let you know how it goes. It seems like a great place. It was alot cheaper to do a Monday/Tuesday. The prices for the weekends are outrageous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseinfoseeker Posted January 16, 2008 #20 Share Posted January 16, 2008 This coming April I am surprising my DS and DH with a trip to Jamaica during DS's school break. My DS is on this anti-vacation kick (see below) so I am a little nervous about "surprising" him.....it may be just my ds, me and ?? We will do our annual Hershey Park Trip at the end of August (just three days, but it is fun) Then I cruise with my mom in Sept, then our Freedom cruise in Oct. and nothing planned until our next cruise, April 2009 Easter 12 night cruise. Due to hubby insisting that we cannot go on as many vacations as we have been (in 2007 we cruised for a week, did Hershey, then a week in Dominican Republic, then 8 nights in Disney/Universal -- a lot of travelling for us middle income folks:) and a lot of time off of work for dh. I was only working for the first two trips) I probably won't plan anything until after our 2009 cruise. But I'm hopeful that we will be able to go to Universal again in Dec. 2009 (seems sooo far away--translates into too far away:() Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calikak Posted January 16, 2008 #21 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Since our cruise got cancelled (the ship is going into drydock for maintenance stuff), we have zero vacation plans for this year. But we have a friend getting married on Oahu the first weekend in October, so we might fly out there and spend a couple of weeks. I am also considering a cruise that would go from Vancouver to Hawaii, so we'd cruise over, stay a few days, and fly back. But we haven't settled on anything yet. We've also been considering an Alaska cruise or cruisetour...it's been hard to even decide what we want to do because I'm so disappointed about our sailing being cancelled. It would have been for our 6th anniversary (with Jim being so small we couldn't do anything special for our 5th) and on Cunard, so there would be British nannies to take care of Jim and we could have actually enjoyed elegant dinners alone together...so we're having trouble letting go of that and settling on something else instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfiegirl4 Posted January 17, 2008 #22 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Hi there, We will be in Orlando for 10 days prior to our 7 day cruise on the Glory,Apr26/08.{Eastern}1st time cruisin'.There will be 5 in one family and 3 in the other.Sooo looking forward and a little nervous at the same time...:) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseinfoseeker Posted January 18, 2008 #23 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Hi there,We will be in Orlando for 10 days prior to our 7 day cruise on the Glory,Apr26/08.{Eastern}1st time cruisin'.There will be 5 in one family and 3 in the other.Sooo looking forward and a little nervous at the same time...:) :) Wow! this sounds like a nice LONG vacation. Have fun!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda33 Posted January 18, 2008 #24 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Wow....everyone has so much on their list of things to do!! We are going on our cruise in November and besides that we have 5 nights booked in Wildwood, NJ this summer. My son loves the boardwalk and also he loves riding the real monster truck on the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katerkat Posted January 18, 2008 #25 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I have a weekend to DL in early March with a friend and her son planned, halfway through her husband's deployment. In June, the new Washington State Great Wolf Lodge with the same friend and son halfway through my husband's deployment. (My husband will be away at training the same time her husband is deployed, and then vice versa, so we try to do something to make the time go faster for the kids!) Family wise, a week in Yellowstone with my in-laws in early July, and possibly a wedding in Hawaii in early August. We're hoping to be moving in the fall so we'll be busy with that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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