Punta Cana

Ron said:
I do the same thing you are doing though.
If you can take this piece of advice it will help you tremendously.

Financially a vacation makes zero sense, ever.

If you try to reduce it to the longest and cheapest you will get a touristy trap hell.

Focus on remarkable and memorable. Take shorter and more rare over longer and more ordinary.

Its the difference between lounging on the beach at Ocrakoke or Corrola and getting your 2'x5' square of sand in the middle of the myrtle beach strip.
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Yeah, the wife and I were just kind of talking about spending 3K for a trip vs. 1500 for a trip vs spending that money on things we NEED done to the house or around the house... I thought a good compromise would be a cheaper trip and still do some stuff around the house.

I guess that is the adult coming out in me. Am I long overdue for a vacation? you bet...Just trying to get the best bang for our buck and go somewhere different that is nice and warm and can relax, have a few cold ones and get a tan.

And the thought of being somewhere out in the Bahamas with crystal clear water with my wife, just sounds awesome.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
Yeah, the wife and I were just kind of talking about spending 3K for a trip vs. 1500 for a trip vs spending that money on things we NEED done to the house or around the house... I thought a good compromise would be a cheaper trip and still do some stuff around the house.

I guess that is the adult coming out in me. Am I long overdue for a vacation? you bet...Just trying to get the best bang for our buck and go somewhere different that is nice and warm and can relax, have a few cold ones and get a tan.

And the thought of being somewhere out in the Bahamas with crystal clear water with my wife, just sounds awesome.
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Spend 1/4 of the $ and take a nice relaxing trip to Corolla or similar and relax if that's all you want to do. Spend the rest on needed stuff on the house. ;)
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
That makes sense to me :) Its my other half! she wants what she wants
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If I recall, you're pretty young and haven't been married long... get used to making compromises and respecting each other and each other's opinions/ideas. I'm not saying you should never take trips or spend money on 'fun,' by any means, because life is short... but I'll let you in on a little secret: You are married, you are both adults, you are a team.

You do what makes the most sense for the benefit of the team. "Happy Wife, Happy Life" may not rock the boat but I've seen relationships built on that idea (from both sides) implode in spectacular fashion. The spoil-ee is never pleased and the spoil-er suddenly can't please anybody, any of the time, and gets no respect. It's complete and utter BS, might well lead to financial ruin, and heaven help the collateral damage (aka, kids).

/derail

We once drove to Key West, stopping along the way to check out Savannah (ended up taking a great long weekend trip there, later), Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale, South Beach, and Bahia Honda State Park. We stopped for the night on the way down and spent about 24 hrs Miami. We spent 4 or 5 days in KW, and caught the beginning of Fantasy Fest. We got to watch a shuttle launch on our way back north. Not an expensive trip, definitely less than $2K. We saw some totally foreign shit and met some really weird but awesome people and it was memory-making at its finest.
 
trailhugger said:
If I recall, you're pretty young and haven't been married long... get used to making compromises and respecting each other and each other's opinions/ideas. I'm not saying you should never take trips or spend money on 'fun,' by any means, because life is short... but I'll let you in on a little secret: You are married, you are both adults, you are a team.

You do what makes the most sense for the benefit of the team. "Happy Wife, Happy Life" may not rock the boat but I've seen relationships built on that idea (from both sides) implode in spectacular fashion. The spoil-ee is never pleased and the spoil-er suddenly can't please anybody, any of the time, and gets no respect. It's complete and utter BS, might well lead to financial ruin, and heaven help the collateral damage (aka, kids).

/derail

We once drove to Key West, stopping along the way to check out Savannah (ended up taking a great long weekend trip there, later), Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale, South Beach, and Bahia Honda State Park. We stopped for the night on the way down and spent about 24 hrs Miami. We spent 4 or 5 days in KW, and caught the beginning of Fantasy Fest. We got to watch a shuttle launch on our way back north. Not an expensive trip, definitely less than $2K. We saw some totally foreign shit and met some really weird but awesome people and it was memory-making at its finest.
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That's a really cool story. We have been together for 10 years, married for 1 year. We both are pretty level headed, but 6 years with no vacation to just sit back and relax, I think takes a toll on your body, mind, and spirit and I think it needs to be rejuvenated. not to say that one needs to spend thousands of dollars to do so, but I am all about compromise. If it were totally up to me, I'd fix everything wrong with the house, go out for a nice evening with a nice dinner and throw the rest in savings... but I do understand the need to unwind and relax
 
To me there is vacation and travel. Those two are distinct and different.
Vacation is laying around for 1-2 days, likely shit faced drunk, no worries or responsibilities and no cares.

Travel, I am up by 5A everyday and not wasting a second of seeing everything this unique weird new place has to offer.

YMMV.

What I am saying is if your goal is laying in the sun with a beer, the color of the water doesnt matter.
 
If you want carnival book through carnival.com.
They are cheaper than anyone, guaranteed.


If it were me, Id drive down stay at a hampton inn that has a free shuttle to cruise and lets you leave your car thee. Ive done it and its great.
 
Ron said:
If you want carnival book through carnival.com.
They are cheaper than anyone, guaranteed.


If it were me, Id drive down stay at a hampton inn that has a free shuttle to cruise and lets you leave your car thee. Ive done it and its great.
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AHHH very nice tip there Ron!

Seems like Carnival is the same price to the penny as Cheapcaribbean.com
But I do like the fact that you can see the ship and where you will be located much more nicely than on Cheapcaribbean
 
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Ended up booking a 5 night cruise out of Port Canaveral. headed to Nassau, Freeport, and Half Moon Cay. Aboard the Carnival Valor. Watched a bunch of videos on it and looks to be a lot of fun and I think the wife and I will really enjoy ourselves. Are the excursions worth the prices? I mean $200 for both of us to ride a jet ski for 1.5 hours? I think it would be so much fun, but geez!
 
Do an excursion you can't do at home. You can ride a jet ski anywhere...


Take a hike and see some of the local culture and history or snorkel or scuba dive, etc.

The excursions are expensive, that's why I tend to spend the $ on ones that I can't do at home. Taking an ATV tour through the back roads and small towns of Costa Rica and experiencing the culture, playing a quick impromptu game of pickup soccer with the local kids and taking a tortuga egg shot with hot sauce and a local liquor in a dirt floored bar with locals that can't speak English will forever be a memory that I can't experience in the U.S. regardless of $.
 
Also you can book the same thing the ship has for a lot less when you get off the boat. Walk a little bit away from all the tourist traps right at the port and you can find deals, and many will negotiate.
 
rockcity said:
Do an excursion you can't do at home. You can ride a jet ski anywhere...


Take a hike and see some of the local culture and history or snorkel or scuba dive, etc.

The excursions are expensive, that's why I tend to spend the $ on ones that I can't do at home. Taking an ATV tour through the back roads and small towns of Costa Rica and experiencing the culture, playing a quick impromptu game of pickup soccer with the local kids and taking a tortuga egg shot with hot sauce and a local liquor in a dirt floored bar with locals that can't speak English will forever be a memory that I can't experience in the U.S. regardless of $.
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Good point! I will be on the lookout. I honestly, don't like all the touristy stuff... I mean I know that's going to be hard to avoid when going on a cruise...because you're limited to your travels, but I'd love to get some great experiences along the way and not always be in sight of the ship.

DSM Turbos said:
Also you can book the same thing the ship has for a lot less when you get off the boat. Walk a little bit away from all the tourist traps right at the port and you can find deals, and many will negotiate.
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I will try that out. Might spend the next couple of months trying to figure out where the "good" places are where we can have some fun without Carnival being at the helm.
 
I'll give you a pro tip as someone who has been to freeport 5-6 times.

Freeport is a dump of a ghetto. All the area around the cruise port sucks and there are no premium excursion there.

Rent a car at the celebrity rental car beside the cruise terminal. It will be less than $50/day if you pay american cash.
There is a scam they run on the hub caps, if they fall off they charge you $40 EACH and all 4 will fall off. Dont worry pack zip ties with you from home or there is an ace hardware right outside the port area. They zip tie the hubcaps (think new cheap imitation spinners) to the rims anyway but they cut the zipties so it flies off. I yank them off as soon as Im out of site of the car rental and throwthem in the trunk and zip tie them back on right before I return. This will be a blast you dont expect because of driving on the wrong side of the road. You and the wife will get a good laugh.

Now set your phone GS for the banana bay cafe. Its on Fortune Bay on the back side of the island. (15 minute drive. The whole island is less than 8 miles across by 15 miles wide) No tourist traps allowed there by island law. Its all locals. The Banana Bay Cafe is a local legend. There is a dock to eat on that extends into the ocean. There are iguanas and toucans and all sorts of awesome wildlife that come up while you eat and you can feed them or not. Sea Turtles usually hang around the pierings.

Now I stress this isnt a tourist destination, beer choices are budweiser (not bud lite) or whatever island label they have that day. BUT...this is one of the most pristine beaches I've ever seen. Its awesome to gra a local flavor bite and then just chill on their little beach. Order the fried conch. Not conch fritters large fried conch "steak"...best Ive ever had.
 
Ron said:
If you want carnival book through carnival.com.
They are cheaper than anyone, guaranteed.
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Wife did this....5-day cruise, flight (roundtrip) to FL, shuttle service to boat, "First ot the Fun" advance boarding, excursion (jet skis - yeah, I know), $100 drink vouchers. Less than $1,200 in March. Miami to Key West to Cozumel to Miami. We had a blast, just wish we could have had more time in Key West.
 
How what works? The Hampton shuttle?

Just go to the website of the hotel near the cruise port
 
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