Dream with me about spending vacation money

[Halftime Hope]

say I had $4K to spend on a dream vacation with dh, just the two of us after a quarter century of being married. Say it was going to happen once in our lifetime, and that he *loved* cruising.

 

Where could we go that would be all inclusive, shore excursions, air fare and all for that figure. Hawaii and Alaska are of no interest, nor are tropical locations, but Europe might be??

 

Any one have any BTDT recently recommendations?

 

And mind you, I'd have to win the lottery for this to happen...but play along please. I think I stand a chance of figuring out a way to make that much money in a year or two while still finishing homeschooling.

 

TIA

[Ferdie]

Greek Isles

[bookfiend]

I don't have many details about this, but my uncle keeps talking about these "return to place of origin cruises" that are a fraction of the price. So you fly to the country where the cruise ship is located and cruise 1/2 the route back home. You might be able to score some European airfare on sale and then cruise back to the states.

[Mrs Mungo]

Have either of you ever been to Europe? If so, where have you been?

[Melinda in VT]

Too bad about the cruising. I was going to suggest France.

 

Ah, heck. Forget cruising. Go to France anyway. :D

 

Great food. Great sights. Lots of vacation houses for rent with English-speaking owners.

[Halftime Hope]

Have either of you ever been to Europe? If so, where have you been?

 

I have been to Spain, and all over Latin America. He's never been anywhere outside the country except Vancouver and Toronto. : (

 

One of the other posters mentioned renting a house, but cruising is his vacation of choice b/c is so easy. You don't have to find hotels each night and restaurants for every single meal (reliable food is important since it is so directly tied to health when one has d**bet*s). You don't have to pack and unpack, and the ship takes you to all the ports of call while you sleep. : ) I have a very high "adventure quotient", so doing some things not tied to the cruise excursions won't be a problem at all--I can make/find fun for us both to enjoy on our own, as we desire. (Just give me a Rick Steves book, and I'm good to go!)

[LibraryLover]

What are your interests? Do you have fav periods in history? What are your favortie books?

[melissel]

Greek Isles

 

YES! DH and I went there on our honeymoon for nine days. It was lovely. We made the mistake of spending six days on Santorini, which was gorgeous (really really gorgeous!), but six days on one island can get monotonous. The best thing about the isles is that it's easy to mix it up there. We also did two nights on Mykonos and only one night in Athens before we flew out. If I had it to do over, I'd add one more isle and several nights in Athens. (I think I gained six pounds on that trip. The food was amazing everywhere we went!)

 

DH would vote for the Bahamas, but he'd suggest you stay at Atlantis. It's his dream to go back there.

Edited December 9, 2010 by melissel
Expanding on my enthusiastic response :-)

[Mrs Mungo]

Man, this is hard. If I only had one shot at this? I just don't think *I* would want to do it via cruise, because they don't hit the major cities I would want to see-London, Paris, Rome.

 

BUT, I understand that not everyone is like me. There are plenty of cruises that do other wonderful cities in Europe.

 

The Greek Isles, lovely but not what I would choose for my only shot at Europe. That's just me.

 

Have you looked at tour groups like the Rick Steves tours? They make all of the hotel arrangements, take you on tours and might be able to accommodate his diet needs.

[rwjx2khsmj]

but cruising is his vacation of choice b/c is so easy. You don't have to find hotels each night and restaurants for every single meal (reliable food is important since it is so directly tied to health when one has d**bet*s). You don't have to pack and unpack, and the ship takes you to all the ports of call while you sleep. : ) I have a very high "adventure quotient", so doing some things not tied to the cruise excursions won't be a problem at all--I can make/find fun for us both to enjoy on our own, as we desire. (Just give me a Rick Steves book, and I'm good to go!)

 

A European River Cruise is what I'd do if I had the money. This is my total ideal vacation. The chance to travel without carrying a suitcase or messing with a map and driving on the wrong side of the road.

[melissel]

A European River Cruise is what I'd do if I had the money. This is my total ideal vacation. The chance to travel without carrying a suitcase or messing with a map and driving on the wrong side of the road.

 

Ooohhhh, I change my vote! I didn't know anything like this existed! I'd pick one of the ones through France, personally.

[Paintedlady]

My dream vacation is a Norwegian Cruise.

[BeckyFL]

:iagree:

Greek Isles

 

We loved the Greek Islands... went to Athens, Mykonos, Rhodes, Santorini, Crete, Patmos and Ephesus. Wonderful!

[alpidarkomama]

Traveling by freighter or on a barge are two things I'd love to do if we had money to burn. :)

[Halftime Hope]

I don't have much desire to see Paris, although London would be OK. I'm a museum gal, but not so much for him. I'd love to see Rome, Florence, and Venice, indeed all of Italy. :) The Greek Isles also sound wonderful.

 

I suppose that the reason I gravitate more toward Italy is b/c thats what I've studied the most in history w/ my kids. I don't know why Greece, probably the stereotype of Greek joie de vive and the natural beauty.

[K-FL]

If you like cruises, sign up at Vacations To Go They have AMAZING prices. Maybe you could combine a transatlantic re-positioning cruise w/the European River cruise, if time & $$ allow.

[Krista in LA]

Do a Mediterranean cruise. We did one for our honeymoon, starting in Venice and then going to Greece, Sicily, Naples (went to Pompei and Capri), Rome, Florence, French Riviera, Majorca, and Barcelona. It was incredible as we got to see so many different places in such a short amount of time. If you are flexible on dates and opt for an inside cabin, you could find one for under $2k and still have money for flights and some excursions. We had the time of our life on ours and hope to someday go back and do it again. In the meantime, we are settling for a Caribbean cruise this spring.