Warm, family vacation in early November Ideas! (cruise, hotel, vacations)

[Liza54]

Hey, all! Any suggestions on an affordable ( on a budget ) vacation for a couple w/ 2 babies ( 2yr and 9 mos )?? I've got the first week in Nov. off work and am going crazy trying to plan something. In Raleigh, NC and am looking for definitely warm weather, maybe beach, but something nice for kids and adults. Prefer driving b/c it's a bit cheaper, but will consider air or vacation packages. Disney cruise turned out to be just too much....help!!!

[cmacf1]

Originally Posted by amymcc

Hey, all! Any suggestions on an affordable ( on a budget ) vacation for a couple w/ 2 babies ( 2yr and 9 mos )?? I've got the first week in Nov. off work and am going crazy trying to plan something. In Raleigh, NC and am looking for definitely warm weather, maybe beach, but something nice for kids and adults. Prefer driving b/c it's a bit cheaper, but will consider air or vacation packages. Disney cruise turned out to be just too much....help!!!

HOw about a cruise on a different and much cheaper cruiseline? We did a Disney cruise and I'd say that with the ages of kids you have, the extra price would absolutely not be worth it. Ours were 3 and 5 when we went and the 3 year old was fine, but the 5 year old was freaked out by the characters and the kids club, etc. Most cruiselines are much cheaper than Disney and for your family, would offer you a great time. Some cruiselines have babysitting for very young kids. I know Princess does not, but Carnival might. Holland America may have babysitting for really young kids, but I can't remember. You should check out Carnival. It used to have a party boat reputation and the shorter cruises may still have that reputation (I really don't know, so please nobody jump on me for mistating this!!!). But it's worth looking into. A cruise on a less-expensive cruiseline in the off season (early November is a great time for cheaper cruises,) would possibly be cheaper than any other vacation with 4 people. If the cruise left out of Florida, you could drive there, thereby foregoing the costs of flying. Also, I know that NOrwegian cruiselines has cruises out of Charleston, SC and some ships sail out of Norfolk. Have you checked out cruisecritic.com? Good luck on finding a vacation!! Vacationing does get easier as the kids get older. Just take LOTS of photos!!

[5FLgirls]

It wouldn't be the most fun but driving to Florida is doable from Raleigh. We've driven from Palm Beach County to Raleigh and Charlotte with four kids. We did it once at night and drove straight through. It was easy for the kids because they slept but we were exhausted. Another time we did it during the day and made lots of stops. You could stay anywhere on the Florida coast from Vero south and have great beach weather in November. We've also visited the panhandle in November and it was a little too cold for "beach" weather. We went to the beach but stayed in our clothes and went to the heated pool but were freezing when we got out. Affordable vacations with kids are always a dilemma for me!

[Dd714]

Yeah just drive to Florida and stay at a cheap beach hotel. Weather may be a bit too cool for swimming however. But you get off-season rates.

That would be your cheapest option.

I can't see your children enjoying or appreciating a cruise at that age.

[cmacf1]

Originally Posted by Dd714

Yeah just drive to Florida and stay at a cheap beach hotel. Weather may be a bit too cool for swimming however. But you get off-season rates.

That would be your cheapest option.

I can't see your children enjoying or appreciating a cruise at that age.

My 2 year old LOVED the cruise we went on back in 2005. I was surprised by how totally thrilled she was with everything. Of course, she doesn't remember it now, but we still look at the photos and she knows my stories that I tell from our time on that cruise. My second child also went on a cruise at the age of 2 and she also LOVED it. I didn't force either child to sit for long periods of time at meals or to do things on the cruise that they wouldn't enjoy. I was very surprised on the first cruise in 2005 how much she (and I) enjoyed it.

Now, the 9 month old -- don't know about that one. I saw a baby as young as 12 weeks on our last cruise which was a Disney cruise.

But you're right that driving down to Florida and staying in a cheap motel would be the cheapest. I think I'd have a far better time, even with the kids, going on a cruise, though, and price-wise, it might be surprising how closely comparable they can be.

[magnusiax]

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