Now that the cruise pause is still pausing, what are your alternate vacation plans?

[mbarker10]

On 4/17/2021 at 3:19 PM, dbrucern said:

Headed to Key West

We went to Key West and Islamorada last summer. Have you been before?

[mbarker10]

On 4/17/2021 at 3:10 PM, Tippyton said:

DW and I are longing to relax on a big boat but it does not seem likely for a while.  We are planning a getaway to Gatlinburg TN, a part of the country we've never spent time in, and a week exploring Costa Rica, to see all of the natural wonders there - rain forests, birds, wildlife, volcanoes, etc..  How about you? (And why that spot?)

I'm not far from Gatlinburg, let me know if you need recommendations. 

[firefly333]

5 minutes ago, cruisemom2 said:

 

I know, prices have gone crazy!  I saw the listing yesterday for the one bedroom @ 419k.  I hope all goes well with the work on your condo.  Something we learned after we moved here is that things often move a little slower than we were used to, coming from Orlando.  We like to call it island time.  LOL  Our neighbor had his bathrooms redone a few months ago and was told it would take three weeks and it actually took about twice that long.  But it was worth it in the end.  🙂

 

Let me know if you need any restaurant suggestions when you get here.  We love Grills at the Port but one of our other favorite places is on Jackson and that's probably not far from your condo.

I've called the mgmt co twice, and emailed 2 people. Told to call again. I need to set up hoa payment too. Slow! Ha! I also dont have a pool key and keep getting told who has one, like I know who they are and how to reach them.

 

I saw a new listing yesterday for 224k, oceanfront, no view, ground floor. That was my other requirement, no ground floor units. Though I saw plenty of nice ones. I didnt want it because people can walk by and see in. I want privacy. Be able to open windows and slider and for privacy.

 

See what covid cost me. Lol. I think if I'd been able to cruise I wouldnt have started looking for another way to see the ocean. I lived hawaii for 10 years and absolutely loved it, but decided mainland has some good things to say about it. Hawaii most condos are on rented land, not what they call fee simple so you pay land rent. 

 

I'll be glad to get to where all I need to worry about is where to eat! :) cant wait.

[mbarker10]

We did Key West last July, and I will never go again lol. It was miserably hot and there aren't even very nice beaches, but I am spoiled by the white sandy beaches of Destin.

 

We are headed to Anna Maria Island the first week in June and have a rebooked cruise for March 2022. The Magic out of Port Canaveral.

[iheartmarshall]

We're doing a week in St. Augustine, FL this June (we have family there) and are using our flight credit from our cancelled 2020 cruise to fly to Key West for a long weekend in November.  Oddly, we've never been to Key West on a cruise but spent a week there a couple years ago for our honeymoon.  I loved it and am excited to go back!

 

As for cruises, we have an 8-day booked for Thanksgiving 2022 then I have a short birthday cruise for a friend in January 2023.  I'm also looking into booking an Alaskan cruise for September 2023.  Normally we wouldn't cruise that close together but booking this far out makes it more affordable.  Plus, I miss cruising! 

[iheartmarshall]

Just now, mbarker10 said:

We did Key West last July, and I will never go again lol. It was miserably hot and there aren't even very nice beaches, but I am spoiled by the white sandy beaches of Destin.

 

We are headed to Anna Maria Island the first week in June and have a rebooked cruise for March 2022. The Magic out of Port Canaveral.

 

I just posted that we're going to Key West in November and love it there, haha!  Our first trip was June 2019 and I will say it was miserably hot.  We got used to it after a couple of days though.  You're right that there's definitely no pretty beaches (the seaweed was really bad when we were there) but we did a lot of touristy stuff on the island, went to the Dry Tortugas, and took a day trip and drove up to Islamorada.  I wouldn't go to KW for a beach but we really liked the people, the food/bars, and the history.  It just meshed with our personality.

 

I saw your comment and thought it was funny how people have such different opinions on destinations.  That's one reason I love cruising -- there's really something for everyone.  You can lay out and enjoy the sun/water, party, explore while in port, or relax and do absolutely nothing.  It's like the best of all worlds. 

[Tippyton]

26 minutes ago, mbarker10 said:

I'm not far from Gatlinburg, let me know if you need recommendations. 

Hit me!  Our biggest question so far is Dollywood - one or two days?  We're rafting/zip lining one day also.  Clingman's dome is in already as well.  DW, DD#1, DD#2, DD#1's BF, DD#2's-  BF all adults.  We're chill folks, not partiers (we're the ones people watching on the Lido deck) 😁

[mbarker10]

24 minutes ago, iheartmarshall said:

 

I just posted that we're going to Key West in November and love it there, haha!  Our first trip was June 2019 and I will say it was miserably hot.  We got used to it after a couple of days though.  You're right that there's definitely no pretty beaches (the seaweed was really bad when we were there) but we did a lot of touristy stuff on the island, went to the Dry Tortugas, and took a day trip and drove up to Islamorada.  I wouldn't go to KW for a beach but we really liked the people, the food/bars, and the history.  It just meshed with our personality.

 

I saw your comment and thought it was funny how people have such different opinions on destinations.  That's one reason I love cruising -- there's really something for everyone.  You can lay out and enjoy the sun/water, party, explore while in port, or relax and do absolutely nothing.  It's like the best of all worlds. 

I enjoyed it a lot, don't get me wrong. We spent two nights at Key West, 2 nights at Islamorada, and one night at Key Largo. I felt like we did a ton. Rented a boat, did the museums, snorkeled. I just felt like since the beaches weren't very nice, we had to really spend the time finding things to do. 

 

Plus the heat was literally oppressive. I'm from TN; I'm normally pretty used to heat and humidity! July in Key West is a different bird for sure.

[mbarker10]

10 minutes ago, Tippyton said:

Hit me!  Our biggest question so far is Dollywood - one or two days?  We're rafting/zip lining one day also.  Clingman's dome is in already as well.  DW, DD#1, DD#2, DD#1's BF, DD#2's-  BF all adults.  We're chill folks, not partiers (we're the ones people watching on the Lido deck) 😁

Definitely go see Anakeesta! It's pretty tree top walkways, cute restaurant and shops. Sometimes they do live music and fire pits with smores kits. I think Dollywood is easily done in one day. Unless you think you want to ride rides a second time and see shows again, one day will suffice.

 

It's touristy but the Titanic museum and the mobster museum is actually really cool.

 

Also just lean in to the tacky and do the hatfields vs mccoy show and the dolly parton's stampede. The food is decent and it's a fun show. Don't have high expectations. Just go and laugh and enjoy. 

 

You can drive through Cade's Cove; to skip wait times get there about 30 min before the gates open. We also go by Parton's Deli for sandwiches, grab donuts at the Donut Friar, and make the drive into Cade's Cove. It can be long or short depending on which shortcuts you take.

[Knights on the Beach]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I've called the mgmt co twice, and emailed 2 people. Told to call again. I need to set up hoa payment too. Slow! Ha! I also dont have a pool key and keep getting told who has one, like I know who they are and how to reach them.

 

I saw a new listing yesterday for 224k, oceanfront, no view, ground floor. That was my other requirement, no ground floor units. Though I saw plenty of nice ones. I didnt want it because people can walk by and see in. I want privacy. Be able to open windows and slider and for privacy.

 

See what covid cost me. Lol. I think if I'd been able to cruise I wouldnt have started looking for another way to see the ocean. I lived hawaii for 10 years and absolutely loved it, but decided mainland has some good things to say about it. Hawaii most condos are on rented land, not what they call fee simple so you pay land rent. 

 

I'll be glad to get to where all I need to worry about is where to eat! 🙂 cant wait.

Typical! I bet when you get there all your new neighbors will already know all about you - this is such a small town.  LOL  But I love it.

 

I know what you mean - I need to see the ocean too (which is why we didn't want a ground floor either).  

[IntrepidFromDC]

We just added Marco Island in May, to our (fingers crossed) plans for MSC cruise out of Venice in July and Carnival cruise out of Baltimore in September.

[bitemyfly]

1 hour ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

We just added Marco Island in May, to our (fingers crossed) plans for MSC cruise out of Venice in July and Carnival cruise out of Baltimore in September.

Nice , snook fishing should be outstanding in may ! So hoping  they open italy  , would love to b at my favorite restaurant in Burano in September! 

[C_hasRedBottoms]

We are headed to the Maldives in May.

[kona_wahine]

Heading for KONA in 11 hours and 18 minutes, but who’s counting.  ME!

[dbrucern]

19 hours ago, mbarker10 said:

We went to Key West and Islamorada last summer. Have you been before?

Yes we go every year the first week of December, as we will this year too.  However since our May cruise out of California was cancelled we decided to use the airline credits and go back to Key West in May.  What is funny is that we would take a yearly cruise on the Victory or Sensation right after Christmas (to rejuvenate after the holidays) and it always went to Key West and Cozumel and we kept saying we should just come here for a week.  So we still take the 4 day cruise but instead of flying home from Miami we fly in to Key West spend a week and then fly home. Love the relaxed life style.

Edited April 22, 2021 by dbrucern

[teknoge3k]

Been to Mexico, Dominican Republic, Gatlinburg, Myrtle Beach, and Florida twice since Covid began and ruined cruises last year. This year we're going back to Mexico (Cancun) and the Dominican Republic. We're also going back to Florida later in the year as well. 

[dbrucern]

3 minutes ago, teknoge3k said:

Been to Mexico, Dominican Republic, Gatlinburg, Myrtle Beach, and Florida twice since Covid began and ruined cruises last year. This year we're going back to Mexico (Cancun) and the Dominican Republic. We're also going back to Florida later in the year as well. 

We are only two hours to Myrtle so have been there frequently but stay away in June, July and August just too much traffic

[teknoge3k]

3 minutes ago, dbrucern said:

We are only two hours to Myrtle so have been there frequently but stay away in June, July and August just too much traffic

 

We went to Myrtle a week after Memorial Day. Normally I avoid Myrtle Beach as I am not a fan but with everything being closed, we needed a vacation so that's where we went. We typically stay in the Surfside area. It was really nice because a lot of people were scared to travel so it wasn't as busy. We always eat in Murrells Inlet and the restaurants there we only waited about 45 minutes each night for a table. Normally it would be a 2+hr wait. 

[dbrucern]

4 minutes ago, teknoge3k said:

 

We went to Myrtle a week after Memorial Day. Normally I avoid Myrtle Beach as I am not a fan but with everything being closed, we needed a vacation so that's where we went. We typically stay in the Surfside area. It was really nice because a lot of people were scared to travel so it wasn't as busy. We always eat in Murrells Inlet and the restaurants there we only waited about 45 minutes each night for a table. Normally it would be a 2+hr wait. 

We stay at North Myrtle and always have lunch in Murrell's Inlet (the Crab nacho's at the Dead Dog can't be beat)

[teknoge3k]

2 minutes ago, dbrucern said:

We stay at North Myrtle and always have lunch in Murrell's Inlet (the Crab nacho's at the Dead Dog can't be beat)

 

We love Dead Dog. The hushpuppies are heaven. Drunken' Jacks' is our favorite. We either always eat in Murrell's Inlet or Calabash. (The town, not the cheesy restaurants in MB) Dockside is my go-to there. 

[nissach]

Being from Canada and the border being closed, we are hoping to travel December 2021 to Kona for 10 days(rebooked from December 2020) and then March 2021(rebooked twice from 2019 and 2020) board the Panorama?? 

In the meantime we will spend all of our free time at our cottage at the lake.

[Saint Greg]

Just got back from Cancun. If August gets canceled I’ll be going back to Mexico.

 

 

[krobb1053]

On 4/17/2021 at 4:10 PM, Tippyton said:

DW and I are longing to relax on a big boat but it does not seem likely for a while.  We are planning a getaway to Gatlinburg TN, a part of the country we've never spent time in, and a week exploring Costa Rica, to see all of the natural wonders there - rain forests, birds, wildlife, volcanoes, etc..  How about you? (And why that spot?)

In Gatlinburg visit the Titanic exhibit. Your ticket assigns you as a passenger on the original Titanic. At the end of the tour you get to see if you survived or went down with the ship. They also have many costumes from the movie. It was a great experience.

[elcuchio24]

On 4/17/2021 at 4:10 PM, Tippyton said:

DW and I are longing to relax on a big boat but it does not seem likely for a while.  We are planning a getaway to Gatlinburg TN, a part of the country we've never spent time in, and a week exploring Costa Rica, to see all of the natural wonders there - rain forests, birds, wildlife, volcanoes, etc..  How about you? (And why that spot?)

 

We've been to Mexico all inclusive multiple times over the past year, they have been fantastic. Basically paying us to stay there for most of last year, although the cost has shot up in the past 6 months now. We have one more booked for November we booked last summer.

 

Pretty lax with masks, although there were so few people there last year it was easy to distance. Had a great time!

[mbarker10]

5 hours ago, dbrucern said:

Yes we go every year the first week of December, as we will this year too.  However since our May cruise out of California was cancelled we decided to use the airline credits and go back to Key West in May.  What is funny is that we would take a yearly cruise on the Victory or Sensation right after Christmas (to rejuvenate after the holidays) and it always went to Key West and Cozumel and we kept saying we should just come here for a week.  So we still take the 4 day cruise but instead of flying home from Miami we fly in to Key West spend a week and then fly home. Love the relaxed life style.

Gotcha! Fun.