|
Post by Premier on Dec 30, 2016 14:54:52 GMT -5
New thread for us to share our going away trip experiences. Anything goes. From vacation trips here is the US to international trips.
Think of Baph's awesome trip to China and Alaska to Daywork's sunbathing naked on a private island. Add in some of Vales trips to Costa Rica and Garth's redneck trips to the everglades.
I been to Africa, Europe, South and Central America, Taiwan, the Caribbean, and even Canada. Buy those are past trips. I'll post about my next ones.
|
|
|
Post by daywork on Dec 30, 2016 14:59:11 GMT -5
I'm looking to go away again late May. But I don't know where I want to go. I'm taking and paying for my sister and her husband. So It can't be anywhere real expensive. I don't want to do Mexico again, Bahamas would be nice.
Melinda, I might be contacting you. Oh and thanks for the Xmas card.
|
|
|
Post by ToNoAvail on Dec 30, 2016 16:51:54 GMT -5
I've never left the country. Flew once to Vegas. I don't like planes and hate the idea of sailing across gigantic, eerily deep bodies of water.
My most ambitious plans are to visit Mexico and south America. I will eventually go other places, but when I'm older, hopefully.
|
|
|
Post by locogato11283 on Dec 30, 2016 17:23:30 GMT -5
Wife and I were just on a 5 day Caribbean cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. I've been those places many times, on about 15+ cruises since 2006, but this was our first together with no kid. Both places are pretty awesome. Paradise Beach in Cozumel.. Would not go back. By far the worst beach in Cozumel I've been to. Grand Cayman's beaches are nice. Sea day.
|
|
|
Post by Premier on Dec 30, 2016 21:20:38 GMT -5
Next trip is on Jan 6th. The wife is turning 30 and we are going to Vegas to celebrate. Hoping to meet Rocky while I'm in town. We been communicating, so it's almost a sure thing.
Plus Vale is thinking of coming to Vegas too! Gonna have a nice OD reunion if everything works out.
|
|
|
Post by Premier on Dec 30, 2016 21:28:05 GMT -5
Wife and I were just on a 5 day Caribbean cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. In thinking or a cruise for next year. I been looking into flying to Puerto Rico and cruise from there. 7 days with 6 stops including Barbados, St Marteen, St kits, St Lucia and a couple more islands. Great way to see a lot of islands. I can do a similar cruise from here from Florida but I'll spend two or 3 days at sea . Rather fly down to Puerto Rico and see a couple more islands.....plus Puerto Rico itself. I can fly to Puerto Rico for less than 200 bucks. So its not a huge extra expense.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2016 10:50:01 GMT -5
Hey Loco, we're you on the Allure of the Seas for your cruise?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2016 10:50:54 GMT -5
I'm looking to go away again late May. But I don't know where I want to go. I'm taking and paying for my sister and her husband. So It can't be anywhere real expensive. I don't want to do Mexico again, Bahamas would be nice. Melinda, I might be contacting you. Oh and thanks for the Xmas card. You are welcome. Let me know if you need some ideas.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2016 10:52:37 GMT -5
Wife and I were just on a 5 day Caribbean cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. In thinking or a cruise for next year. I been looking into flying to Puerto Rico and cruise from there. 7 days with 6 stops including Barbados, St Marteen, St kits, St Lucia and a couple more islands. Great way to see a lot of islands. I can do a similar cruise from here from Florida but I'll spend two or 3 days at sea . Rather fly down to Puerto Rico and see a couple more islands.....plus Puerto Rico itself. I can fly to Puerto Rico for less than 200 bucks. So its not a huge extra expense. I have done that cruise twice and it is my favorite itinerary for cruising.
|
|
|
Post by locogato11283 on Dec 31, 2016 15:48:29 GMT -5
Hey Loco, we're you on the Allure of the Seas for your cruise? We were on the Carnival Paradise. I've been on quite a few RC cruises and their ships are much nicer.
|
|
|
Post by Fasthands25 on Dec 31, 2016 16:26:09 GMT -5
It wasnt that interesting. Got fucked up almost everyday, im young so thankfully its easy to avoid hangovers. Only had one. Went to some of the clubs, wasnt really my thing, but when you are fucked up anything goes and I was dancin and lettin dem chicks know just what the doctor ordered.
Biggest dumb moment had to be when i attempted to make a move on this girl that I was hitting on. She said "I have a boyfriend" and than her brother was like "dude are you trying to hook up with my sister?"
That was dumb.
The food was fucking legit though, very good. Unfortunately however I developed a case of diarrhea last night and is just now starting to pass. It made work very difficult.
|
|
|
Post by daywork on Dec 31, 2016 17:04:21 GMT -5
Where to go?
Virgin Islands St. Martin Bahamas Grand Cayman Turks and Caicos
Here is the things we'll be looking to do:
Sister: wants to swim with dolphins Brother inlaw: Wants to play golf Wife: Wants clear calm water, and nice beach Me: Good spots to snorkel. Maybe even scuba if I can get my license before the trip.
Nice hotel, good service (butler would be nice).
So for those of you who are in the know, Where from the above should I look at to go?
Budget will be a concern. That's why we're not going back to Maui LOL. I'm not looking for a "cheap" vacation but I also don't want to spend 20K again. Oh it will probably be a 5 day vacation.
|
|
|
Post by Premier on Dec 31, 2016 17:28:59 GMT -5
In thinking or a cruise for next year. I been looking into flying to Puerto Rico and cruise from there. 7 days with 6 stops including Barbados, St Marteen, St kits, St Lucia and a couple more islands. Great way to see a lot of islands. I can do a similar cruise from here from Florida but I'll spend two or 3 days at sea . Rather fly down to Puerto Rico and see a couple more islands.....plus Puerto Rico itself. I can fly to Puerto Rico for less than 200 bucks. So its not a huge extra expense. I have done that cruise twice and it is my favorite itinerary for cruising. Nice. I don't enjoy the "days at sea". Both the wife and I like "go, go, go" vacations. So looking forward to do more cruise stops by flying to Puerto Rico as opposed to cruising from here in Miami and having multiple days at sea. Hey Loco, we're you on the Allure of the Seas for your cruise? We were on the Carnival Paradise. I've been on quite a few RC cruises and their ships are much nicer.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 15:14:14 GMT -5
Hey Loco, we're you on the Allure of the Seas for your cruise? We were on the Carnival Paradise. I've been on quite a few RC cruises and their ships are much nicer. Ah, I was on the Paradise many years ago when she was in LA doing the 3/4 day booze cruises. Had a ship inspection and lunch on her. Also, your wife is smoking hot. Yowza!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 15:38:58 GMT -5
2016 was a decent travel year for me.
I spent 8 nights in the Riviera Maya with my husband and my sister and brother in law. This is one of my favorite places for a lazy bones vacation. We spent 5 nights at the Barcelo Maya Palace and then moved to Secrets Maroma for the last 3 nights - ultimate in luxury and spectacular beach. They are my 2 favorite hotels in Mexico.
For my 2nd quarter performance, I won a 3 night trip to Puerto Vallarta. They put us at the Hyatt Ziva. We had a good time but Pacific coast beaches are crap compared to the Caribbean beaches. Spent most of the time in the pool and at the spa.
Then I was sent on an educational trip to Europe, which means I was paid to go and it didn't cost me anything. They sent me on a Danube River Cruise on a line called AMA Waterways. It was a really nice experience for the most part. We started in Budapest and sailed through Austria and then ended in Vilshofen Germany. I realized though that at this point, I cannot fly coach anymore on super long distances. My return flight to LA was connecting through Atlanta and the Munich - Atlanta flight was ok but the Atlanta - LAX flight was brutal. On my own trips over we always fly Premium Economy on Air New Zealand to London and then travel coach on the inter European flights. This though was really rough.
I also won a 3rd quarter performance trip to Las Vegas. Vegas always feels tacky but I won an extra night so got to go for 3 nights. We drove instead of flying so they're paying me $300 for mileage. We were in the Augustus tower at Ceasars Palace and I scored a crazy room overlooking the Bellagio fountains. They also gave us Diamond status in their Total Rewards program which meant we had VIP status for the 3 days we were there. We got access to the Diamond lounge with open bar and snacks all day. It was enough to allow us to keep a good chunk of our dining budget which was awesome. They also gave us 2 entertainment tickets which we used to go on the High Roller (lame as fuck having been on the London Eye before) and a $100 dining credit which we used for Bacchanal Buffet. Also, I won a bit of money so it was a nice time.
We were also scheduled for our annual Top Producers trip for 8 nights in Jamaica, but had to cancel when Pebbles took a turn for the worse, and she passed away a week after we would have come home so I am glad we cancelled.
At the moment, we are scheduled for 10 days in Hawaii in May to celebrate my 40th. It also looks like I've qualified for our Top Producer's trip for 2017, which is the same river cruise I took this past November.
|
|
|
Post by Premier on Jan 1, 2017 17:35:27 GMT -5
2016 was a decent travel year for me. I spent 8 nights in the Riviera Maya with my husband and my sister and brother in law. This is one of my favorite places for a lazy bones vacation. We spent 5 nights at the Barcelo Maya Palace and then moved to Secrets Maroma for the last 3 nights - ultimate in luxury and spectacular beach. They are my 2 favorite hotels in Mexico. For my 2nd quarter performance, I won a 3 night trip to Puerto Vallarta. They put us at the Hyatt Ziva. We had a good time but Pacific coast beaches are crap compared to the Caribbean beaches. Spent most of the time in the pool and at the spa. Then I was sent on an educational trip to Europe, which means I was paid to go and it didn't cost me anything. They sent me on a Danube River Cruise on a line called AMA Waterways. It was a really nice experience for the most part. We started in Budapest and sailed through Austria and then ended in Vilshofen Germany. I realized though that at this point, I cannot fly coach anymore on super long distances. My return flight to LA was connecting through Atlanta and the Munich - Atlanta flight was ok but the Atlanta - LAX flight was brutal. On my own trips over we always fly Premium Economy on Air New Zealand to London and then travel coach on the inter European flights. This though was really rough. I also won a 3rd quarter performance trip to Las Vegas. Vegas always feels tacky but I won an extra night so got to go for 3 nights. We drove instead of flying so they're paying me $300 for mileage. We were in the Augustus tower at Ceasars Palace and I scored a crazy room overlooking the Bellagio fountains. They also gave us Diamond status in their Total Rewards program which meant we had VIP status for the 3 days we were there. We got access to the Diamond lounge with open bar and snacks all day. It was enough to allow us to keep a good chunk of our dining budget which was awesome. They also gave us 2 entertainment tickets which we used to go on the High Roller (lame as fuck having been on the London Eye before) and a $100 dining credit which we used for Bacchanal Buffet. Also, I won a bit of money so it was a nice time. We were also scheduled for our annual Top Producers trip for 8 nights in Jamaica, but had to cancel when Pebbles took a turn for the worse, and she passed away a week after we would have come home so I am glad we cancelled. At the moment, we are scheduled for 10 days in Hawaii in May to celebrate my 40th. It also looks like I've qualified for our Top Producer's trip for 2017, which is the same river cruise I took this past November. How was Puerto Vallarta as far as security? I remember reading about cruise ships not even stopping there because of the drug violence with the cartels. I remember consulting with you about my last trip to Mexico. We rented a car and drove over 300 miles all over the Yucatan Peninsula. We drove so far that we went into another time zone. Lol. I felt secure driving around Yucatan. I did a little research on the US travel department website, and there were no travel warnings to the Yucatan Peninsula. But they do warn you about several other places including Puerto Vallarta: travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/mexico-travel-warning.htmlThe only issue I had was dealing with a cop at a checkpoint trying to ask me for money. But as soon as I spoke Spanish to him, he sent me on my way.
|
|
|
Post by Premier on Jan 1, 2017 17:43:11 GMT -5
In thinking or a cruise for next year. I been looking into flying to Puerto Rico and cruise from there. 7 days with 6 stops including Barbados, St Marteen, St kits, St Lucia and a couple more islands. Great way to see a lot of islands. I can do a similar cruise from here from Florida but I'll spend two or 3 days at sea . Rather fly down to Puerto Rico and see a couple more islands.....plus Puerto Rico itself. I can fly to Puerto Rico for less than 200 bucks. So its not a huge extra expense. I have done that cruise twice and it is my favorite itinerary for cruising. What cruise line did you go with? I have a 300 dollar voucher on Carnival from a cruise I had to cancel. I read mixed reviews about Carnival. So I am debating to either use that voucher or look into another cruise line out of Puerto Rico......but dam, it will suck to lose that money.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 17:48:24 GMT -5
I have done that cruise twice and it is my favorite itinerary for cruising. What cruise line did you go with? I have a 300 dollar voucher on Carnival from a cruise I had to cancel. I read mixed reviews about Carnival. So I am debating to either use that voucher or look into another cruise line out of Puerto Rico......but dam, it will suck to lose that money. I did it on carnival both times. While not the fanciest of lines the itinerary is 6 ports in 7 days. So you only have 1 sea day and you are on the ship every evening. It is lively, and the food is decent. A lot depends on what you look for in cruising. If I want a little touch of luxury and I have a few sea days I prefer Celebrity. I don't care about entertainment on board because I don't go to shows or anything like that. I would say that you could use that voucher for a cheap and cheerful short cruise which would be fine but 300 bucks goes a long way on Carnival on a 7 day cruise.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 17:51:12 GMT -5
Puerto Vallarta was fine for us. The day after we left there was an abduction from a restaurant but turns out it was drug related and very targeted. Cruises skipped Mazatlan for a while because of danger but I don't remember that happening to Vallarta. I will be honest and say I would happily go to a resort and stay there. I wouldn't go out into the town. Similar to Jamaica in the 80s.
|
|
|
Post by Premier on Jan 1, 2017 18:04:22 GMT -5
Found the article i read. But that was back in 2015. Maybe they are back now. www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6356Glad to hear you liked Carnival. We are not fuzzy travelers and really dont care about ship entertainment. Im all about the places we will stop at. Like you said, 300 bucks goes a long way. Especially since we'll have the extra expense of flying to Puerto Rico. So looks like Carnival it is!
|
|
|
Post by locogato11283 on Jan 1, 2017 18:06:02 GMT -5
I haven't verified it, but I've heard no one goes to Belize City anymore because of the violence.
I've been there several times and some of the excursions we did were bad ass, but way deep in the jungle.
I clearly remember driving past heavily armed military/security out of the city.
|
|
|
Post by Premier on Jan 1, 2017 20:23:21 GMT -5
I haven't verified it, but I've heard no one goes to Belize City anymore because of the violence. I've been there several times and some of the excursions we did were bad ass, but way deep in the jungle. I clearly remember driving past heavily armed military/security out of the city. Had no clue about crime in Belize. But a quick internet search shows me its a problem. Never been. But from my research on cruises, Belize is a popular cruise stop.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 21:42:14 GMT -5
Damn, I didn't know about any issues in Belize. There have been a lot of issues in Roatan Honduras. The Bahamas is actually one of the worst places for crime (Nassau). Truth is, there have been issues all over the place.
This year seems to be the year of the 3 I countires - Iceland, Ireland, and Italy.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 21:48:58 GMT -5
Found the article i read. But that was back in 2015. Maybe they are back now. www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6356Glad to hear you liked Carnival. We are not fuzzy travelers and really dont care about ship entertainment. Im all about the places we will stop at. Like you said, 300 bucks goes a long way. Especially since we'll have the extra expense of flying to Puerto Rico. So looks like Carnival it is! Oh shit, I just looked to see which ship is doing the 7 day southern itinerary. It's the Fascination. That is a super old ship - from 1994. Those ships are ok for the 3/4/5 day itineraries, but I'd never recommend them for 7 day itineraries. That ship was built before balcony cabins were common place and they are typically only on suites. They also haven't had all the cool Carnival 2.0 upgrades so it's not quite as nice as some of the older ships which has had that upgrade. I recommend taking a good hard look at the ship and make sure you're cool w/ it before spending the cash. You should definitely compare pricing to what you can get for the same itinerary on the Jewel of the Seas or Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan w/ Royal Caribbean and check out their ships.
|
|
|
Post by locogato11283 on Jan 1, 2017 22:09:26 GMT -5
Damn, I didn't know about any issues in Belize. There have been a lot of issues in Roatan Honduras. The Bahamas is actually one of the worst places for crime (Nassau). Truth is, there have been issues all over the place. This year seems to be the year of the 3 I countires - Iceland, Ireland, and Italy. Yea, the issues with Belize have been ongoing for several years now. I've been to Roatan several times, specifically to Tabyana Beach, which is bad ass. I didn't know there were any issues there, but I can believe it. Here's a pic from our 2013 cruise when the kid was a baby.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 9:14:51 GMT -5
This...was not the thread I was expecting.
|
|
|
Post by Premier on Jan 3, 2017 9:21:24 GMT -5
Found the article i read. But that was back in 2015. Maybe they are back now. www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6356Glad to hear you liked Carnival. We are not fuzzy travelers and really dont care about ship entertainment. Im all about the places we will stop at. Like you said, 300 bucks goes a long way. Especially since we'll have the extra expense of flying to Puerto Rico. So looks like Carnival it is! Oh shit, I just looked to see which ship is doing the 7 day southern itinerary. It's the Fascination. That is a super old ship - from 1994. Those ships are ok for the 3/4/5 day itineraries, but I'd never recommend them for 7 day itineraries. That ship was built before balcony cabins were common place and they are typically only on suites. They also haven't had all the cool Carnival 2.0 upgrades so it's not quite as nice as some of the older ships which has had that upgrade. I recommend taking a good hard look at the ship and make sure you're cool w/ it before spending the cash. You should definitely compare pricing to what you can get for the same itinerary on the Jewel of the Seas or Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan w/ Royal Caribbean and check out their ships. Cool, let me do a little bit more research. Thanks!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 12:51:48 GMT -5
I have the option to go to Costa Rica next Month and hang at my buddies house in santa thereasa...I can't decide if I should go or just stay back and put my time into other more productive things.
|
|
|
Post by Premier on Jan 20, 2017 14:11:30 GMT -5
Went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago to celebrate my wife's 30th birthday. It was our second time out there. We went last year with my mom and a couple of aunts, so we kept it PG that time. This time we partied hard. It was 35 degrees on Saturday. But we went to the Marquee indoor pool party. That was a fun time. The music was nuts and it was a toasty 85 degrees inside. Lots of girls in skimpy bikinis. As soon as I got there, I asked my wife for a free pass. It was impossible for me not to stare. So naturally she started to take pictures of the girls so I can share with my boys on whatsapp. Lol. She was slick about it too.....she kept taking pictures of 7s and 8s.....but there were a couple of 10s out there that she conveniently skipped. We went to Hakkasan that night. That club is impressive. Ate at a couple of fancy restaurants....plus a late night at IN n Out, stayed in a nice room at Ballys, saw a David Copperfield show, partied from bar to bar, hotel to hotel and did a bit of sightseeing like the Welcome to Vegas sign, the Bellagio fountains and a couple of hotels we missed last time. 2 1/2 days going full speed! Didn't bet a single dollar though! Not even a slot machine. Lol. I've never been into gambling and my expenses were high enough with the restaurants and the clubs.
|
|
|
Post by Angelo on Jan 20, 2017 21:54:56 GMT -5
Been to most of the states, Canada probably around 150-200 times, and Aruba.
Best by far was Aruba, before the Bushiri Inn was abandoned. They had coral (and fire coral) right off the shore where it was. Parasailing, great food, spas, arcades, etc... all there. On top of that was going in a Submarine (where my cousin wound up spotting a woman from America's Most Wanted that they thought was missing but turned out ran off with a guy), exploring the ruins from I think the 1400s. It was just an all together amazing time. Also there was my favourite snorkeling spot ever, Baby Beach. It was so fucking cool. At my age I thought yay a topless beach, but once I was in the water I forgot all about that. Like 200 something yards out from shore was where the inlet opened up to the ocean and on each side was just amazing coral, fish, etc... colourful, amazing, peaceful. Maybe the happiest most peaceful moment of my life. I spent about 3 or 4hrs floating and diving there just loving it.
|
|