Caribbean Vacation Zone

My husband, a deployed soldier, and I are planning our next vacation. When my husband returns from his 15 month deployment, we want to get away and relax. We have been to several islands in the Caribbean and are open to going anywhere that has a nice beach, beautiful ocean, great accommodations, good food, and an abundance of drinks. Our budget will be between $3000 and $4000 for airfare from Indianapolis or Chicago and accommodations for 7 nights.

Any suggestions?

I am sure you are happy to have him home. You will need some time together! Here are a few options. Of course, the military does offer a handful of resorts for military personnel only(retired/active). I know there is one in Hawaii and one in Orlando. Outside of that, looking at your budget, there are a few areas you may consider. I would suggest an all-inclusive resort as that will take a way a lot of "other" expenses that you would have to plan for when travelling. Sandals and Beaches are great! However, they will be beyond your budget for a 7 night stay. You may try the Aventura Spa Palace in Riviera Maya. It is adults only! The rate for a 6 nt/7 day package(I used July) with airfare, airport/resort transfers, all meals/snacks/alcoholic/nonalcoholic beverages, resort tips, tours to Chichen Itza/Tulum/Coba/Ek Balam, and more! The rate is around $1554.00pp. Not too bad. You may also try Belize, I love the Victoria House – their web site is www.victoria-house.com. It is on Ambergris Caye – relaxing, great watersports, beautiful. Another area with great beaches is Punta Cana. There is the Excellence Punta Cana, another adults only all-inclusive resort! This option for 6nts./7days air, transfers, meals/alcoholic/nonalcoholic bevs and more willl cost around $1717.00pp. Of course there are less expensive ways to go, but these are all great 4 star(out of 5) resorts! Where ever you decide to go. Just enjoy one another.

im thinking of taking a romantic vacation with my wife, and i know there are some place that good to go, the sandal all inclusive. But where can i get the best sandals all inclusive caribbean vacation resorts.

If you are thinking of taking a romantic vacation without children, Sandals Resorts International, Inc., specializes in romance for couples only. Sandals Resorts International owns and operates 13 couples-only, all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean basin. Sandals Resorts International owns and operates 13 couples-only, all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean basin.

You can refer to this site if you wanna know more about sandals all inclusive, its location, accommodations, rates etc:

http://sandals-all-inclusive.blogspot.com/

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I’m looking to renew my vows on a beach at an all-inclusive resort somewhere in the Caribbean. I’m thinking Cabos or Playa del Carmen in Mexico, Costa Rica, etc…

Do you have any suggestions for great wedding locations at a reasonable price and good wedding packages?
I’m looking to spend under $5,000 for my wedding and accomodations.

Weddings down there are very inexpensive. My sister got married on St Thomas and the wedding itself was only about 600-800. It’s the all inclusive that will be difficult.

Try pricing Sandals, Riu, Almond, and Secrets. Those are usually the most common ones and therefore are more likely to have lower prices.

Good luck!

I know of companies like Carnival that are known for fun cruises.. But the first step of my research starts here – I would like to know the options for quality Caribbean cruise companies with the most bang for the buck.

There will be three people – all family, and all are adults (18 is the youngest). The timeframe is aimed around mid-July.

It is preferred to leave from the port of Houston/Galveston.

One week cruises is the goal, but if two week cruises are available for reasonable prices then great!

Once again, I’m not looking for quotes and solicitation, just the options available for Caribbean cruises from either personal experience or straight known facts.

Enlighten me, please!
I know of companies like Carnival that are known for fun cruises.. But the first step of my research starts here – I would like to know the options for quality Caribbean cruise companies with the most bang for the buck.

There will be three people – all family, and all are adults (18 is the youngest). The timeframe is aimed around mid-July.

It is preferred to leave from the port of Houston/Galveston.

One week cruises is the goal, but if two week cruises are available for reasonable prices then great!

Once again, I’m not looking for quotes and solicitation, just the options available for Caribbean cruises from either personal experience or straight known facts.

Enlighten me, please!

May I accentuate a previous statement.. I’m only asking for personal experiences. Opinions! I’ve used google to get some prices and some companies, but i can’t ask google about it’s personal experiences with a cruise. Learn to read you asshat, flock.

Ok, you seem to want information from people who have actually cruised. I have been on more than 20 cruises on Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean ships. I can vouch that they are good cruise lines and you are correct in that there are some differences that you need to be aware of in making your selection of which is "best".

Princess, Celebrity and Holland America have great ships are more classy and reserved. They are just a little more upscale and luxurious than the other cruise lines. Passengers tend to be middle aged and up and have cruised multiple times. Holland America has mostly senior citizens (65 and up) cruising on its ships and very few kids and young people. I found that most people on these lines were kinda stand-offish and aloft

Norwegian cruise line is good ( I have done 8 NCL cruises) , they cater to families and have mostly passengers in the range of age 35-40 and up. Its the line that you want to go on if you want to be informal for pretty much your whole cruise. They have formal nights like other cruise lines but they do not stress dressing up; they call it "dress up if you want to" night. Norwegian has the most alternative eating places on their ships, but you will have to pay a fee of $10 to $20 per person per visit to eat at some of them. All other cruise lines also have these alternatives but usually only two such places.

Carnival is the budget cruise line that generally has the lowest prices. They cater to young people, first time cruiser and families. Most of their cruiser will be in the 20 to 45 age group and there will be lots of kids on board. Their ships have some good on-board activities like water slides and basketball court. The best of their ships are their newer ships so do pay attention to when the ship was launched is you find a good and really cheap cruise.

Royal Caribbean is also a cruise line that caters to young cruiser and families; ages about 25/30 to 60. It has the advantage of having the most on-board activities, like ice skating, roller skating, mini-golf course, a basketball/tennis court, the rock climbing wall, and on the new Oasis and Freedom Class ships the surfing simulator, the Flowrider. The RC ships that you should look for cruises on are the RC’s Oasis Class, Freedom Class, and Voyager Class ships.

For me the best cruise lines is Royal Caribbean and they do cruise from Galveston and that is the one that I recommend. My recommendation, and its based on many cruises with several cruise lines, is to take a cruise on Royal Caribbean on their Voyager of the Seas. This ship has the most free, included in your cruise price, on-board activities. Things like the a gym, pools, hot tubs, rock climbing wall, basketball court, mini-golf course, ice skating, in-line roller skating, casino, disco and a variety of lounges. I have not cruised on the Voyager but I have cruised on two of its twins sister Voyager Class ships, the Mariner of the Seas and the Adventure of the Seas, which are identical. You can look at the ship’s details on this web link:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do;jsessionid=0000Qogp63PhFZVTmCDZhrPZXXH:12hdhu6tq?shipCode=VY

You are aware I am sure that the Galveston cruise port was heavily damaged by a hurricane a year or so ago and my not be the best departure port.

Next summer I’ll be vacationing in the Caribbean with some of my family (my sister, aunt, uncle, and cousins). We’re just not sure of where we want to go yet. My aunt originally picked the Turks & Caicos, but that turned out to be too expensive for all of us.

We’re looking for somewhere beautiful with plenty of things to do, but affordable.

If it helps, I’ll be 19 by then, two of cousins and my sister will be 18, and the other two cousins are young, 10-12.
Thanks for the suggestions, but I’m American, so I can’t go to Cuba, and I’ve already done a cruise and won’t be doing that again.

I suggest Barbados.

Food might be high, but there are some that can be affordable. If you do the currency conversion, to see which is which for you and your family, then great.

If you need a guesthouse, instead of a house for cheaper accommodation, Pegwell Inn is by far the cheapest, but it might take up, maybe 3 rooms. And it could depend on how long you are staying, for 13 nights, it would be like 390, or 490 (can’t remember) Barbadian for a room, but best is that you ask to make sure, if you’re interested.

Barbados has public transit, which each way is 1.50 BDS, that goes the same for route taxis. Public transit can take you to the very north of the country, depending on which one you take.

Oistins is considered the Fish Market. There’s no McDonald’s, so keep that in mind. There is KFC, Chefettyete’s (sp?).

For shopping, there’s Cave Shepherd, all you gotta bring is passport, and plane tickets (so you could save). There are a lot of stores in Bridgetown, its capital.

The beaches are beautiful, I could name many. In the East Coast is mountainlike, in Bathsheba (sp?), it has big rock(s) in the water.

There is Harrison Cove, and so on. If you’re from Toronto, I could give you some sites for cheap airfares.