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Old 05-01-2019, 04:43 PM
 
35,508 posts, read 17,732,329 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkgourmet View Post
I agree. No passports required. One inside cabin for mom, dad and two kids. Five days. That would be pretty affordable - until you add in the cost of airplane tickets to get to the port.
I thought you had to have passports on a cruise? If you go anywhere besides the US, I think you do. That leaves a Mississippi River cruise and that's it, I think.
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Old 05-01-2019, 04:49 PM
 
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
10,312 posts, read 7,899,473 times
Reputation: 27642
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClaraC View Post
I thought you had to have passports on a cruise? If you go anywhere besides the US, I think you do. That leaves a Mississippi River cruise and that's it, I think.
No, technically a loop cruise in the Caribbean can be done with only a driver's license and a birth certificate. (It's a better idea to have a passport, though, as you can't catch a flight in case of an emergency without one. So if a family member has to be med-evaced back to the US, or the group gets back late from an excursion not run by the cruise line and misses the ship, there will be trouble.)
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Old 05-01-2019, 05:07 PM
 
1,320 posts, read 1,242,823 times
Reputation: 1854
No passport if the cruise ship is registered in the USA. Most ships are not so getting on the ship is entering a foreign country.

You say no cruises, but take a look at them. When I was on an Alaska cruise a few years back, I was boarding behind a large 50th anniversary party.

If the goal is to have the family together, a rental house at a lake/beach for a week is nice way to have the family together.
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Old 05-01-2019, 07:10 PM
 
4,985 posts, read 3,924,482 times
Reputation: 10145
well, we tried that.

2 families could go.
3 had almost no money to go.
(well, at least, that was the story)
so....it Had To Be domestic since the
passport costs were deemed too much.
if, and only if, the entire budget for everyone
that had to travel was $200 per family...THEN
we could get together. of course, it never happened.
eventually, the 3 who could not, could not stay married.
so...we will not use that again as our excuse to enjoy whatever.
do, or do not. there is no try. (Star Wars)
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Old 05-01-2019, 08:05 PM
 
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
10,312 posts, read 7,899,473 times
Reputation: 27642
Quote:
Originally Posted by 919 rtp View Post
No passport if the cruise ship is registered in the USA. Most ships are not so getting on the ship is entering a foreign country.
Flag of registry isn’t what matters, just whether the ship departs from and returns to a US port. (But this is valid only for a Caribbean cruise; any Alaska cruise that travels through Canadian waters requires a passport courtesy of Canadian law.)

As a practical matter, I always recommend that anyone going on a cruise that leaves US waters get a passport for the sake of safety. If you can’t afford a passport, you can’t afford the cruise.
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Old 05-01-2019, 11:24 PM
 
3,267 posts, read 1,780,670 times
Reputation: 10203
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aredhel View Post
Trying to find a middle ground is great, but if push comes to shove and a middle ground cannot be found, what is the priority? Getting the entire family together to celebrate MIL's 60th birthday, or going off on an exotic (and potentially expensive) vacation to a place your family and your in-laws have never seen before?

Knowing the answer to that question may hep with the planning. The sad reality is that even a cheap international vacation can be expensive compared to a domestic trip, as driving to get there is not an option (Canada and Mexico excepted). If the priority is getting everyone together, a domestic destination that BIL's family can drive to may be the only affordable option.
Yup. And I've been around the block.
If driving is a realistic option, how about the US Southwest.
I mean the deep stuff.. like Grand Canyon, Monument Valley (Gouldings), Mexican Hat, Second Mesa (Hopi Cultural Center), etc., out of Phoenix ..+ Sedona?
.. or Santa Fe/Taos/Durango/Mesa Verde out of Albuquerque?
Lots of driving, but really not uber touristy (ok, except for the GC) if you go shoulder, i.e. not summer.
Weather s/b great, culture and landscapes exceptional.
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Old 05-02-2019, 04:46 AM
 
Location: North Dakota
10,259 posts, read 13,774,819 times
Reputation: 18069
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegabern View Post
My mother in law would like to take a big family vacation for her 60th birthday next year. The trip would likely include three families with a total of six adults and four children (ages will be 10, 9, 8, and 6).

Now there are some pretty significant differences in our levels of travel comfort and budgets. Hubby and I and our kids are up for anything anywhere. Except the only suggestions offered of a cruise and Disney. Two things we want absolutely nothing to do with.

MIL and her spouse are fairly experienced travelers. They've only been out of the country once but it was recently and they really enjoyed it so I think they'd be up for doing it again under the right circumstances.

Now the other family rarely leaves their home county. Kids have never flown. They have virtually no budget. We're hoping if we can start planning early there will be more time to save.

Interests:

Adventure
New Experiences (though baby steps for the less traveled family)
Interesting topography
: Mountains/forest/beaches etc.
Culture (enough to entertain the adults but not too much where they kids will be miserable)
Reasonably affordable. We're hoping for a budget of <$5k per family.
Season is negotiable. Preferably later summer or fall.
Accommodations can vary. We prefer Airbnb but everyone might not. I've been digging around for accommodations for 10+ and they're pretty plentiful in various locations.

Hubby and I have been asked to try to come up with ideas (and I love to do this kind of thing). We're trying to come up with a few international as a best case scenario and a few domestic as a back up.

So far;

Greece
Scotland


New England/Eastern Canada

MIL's spouse won't go to Mexico.
We're all in the Midwest
We could either fly or drive.
No budget? How will they afford anything?
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Old 05-02-2019, 05:28 AM
 
Location: Brew City
4,865 posts, read 4,141,662 times
Reputation: 6826
Quote:
Originally Posted by PamelaIamela View Post
Yup. And I've been around the block.
If driving is a realistic option, how about the US Southwest.
I mean the deep stuff.. like Grand Canyon, Monument Valley (Gouldings), Mexican Hat, Second Mesa (Hopi Cultural Center), etc., out of Phoenix ..+ Sedona?
.. or Santa Fe/Taos/Durango/Mesa Verde out of Albuquerque?
Lots of driving, but really not uber touristy (ok, except for the GC) if you go shoulder, i.e. not summer.
Weather s/b great, culture and landscapes exceptional.
We're considering this. I'll ask the group. There are just so many great locations in the southwest. We all love National Parks.

The length of the trip will likely depend on the location. Any family can obviously extend the vacation on their own before or after the group get together.

We're more than happy to rent a big house on a lake somewhere. Just preferably not in the Midwest. I've found several large homes in Maine and Vermont.
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Old 05-02-2019, 06:16 AM
 
Location: Niceville, FL
13,259 posts, read 22,695,732 times
Reputation: 16409
If you don’t camp, lodging near top tier national parks hotels like Zion, Moab/Arches, Grand Canyon, etc. can be shockingly expensive. Think $200+ a night for the Moab Super 8 during peak times. And getting a camping spot at a place with flush toilets and water can be extremely competitive.

It’s not so bad at the lesser-used parks and recreation areas but there is a lot more demand for local lodging at so many of them that cannot be fully met because of structural limits on land near park entrances
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Old 05-02-2019, 06:24 AM
 
5,989 posts, read 6,726,745 times
Reputation: 18485
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegabern View Post
My mother in law would like to take a big family vacation for her 60th birthday next year. The trip would likely include three families with a total of six adults and four children (ages will be 10, 9, 8, and 6).

Now there are some pretty significant differences in our levels of travel comfort and budgets. Hubby and I and our kids are up for anything anywhere. Except the only suggestions offered of a cruise and Disney. Two things we want absolutely nothing to do with.

MIL and her spouse are fairly experienced travelers. They've only been out of the country once but it was recently and they really enjoyed it so I think they'd be up for doing it again under the right circumstances.

Now the other family rarely leaves their home county. Kids have never flown. They have virtually no budget. We're hoping if we can start planning early there will be more time to save.

Interests:

Adventure
New Experiences (though baby steps for the less traveled family)
Interesting topography
: Mountains/forest/beaches etc.
Culture (enough to entertain the adults but not too much where they kids will be miserable)
Reasonably affordable. We're hoping for a budget of <$5k per family.
Season is negotiable. Preferably later summer or fall.
Accommodations can vary. We prefer Airbnb but everyone might not. I've been digging around for accommodations for 10+ and they're pretty plentiful in various locations.

Hubby and I have been asked to try to come up with ideas (and I love to do this kind of thing). We're trying to come up with a few international as a best case scenario and a few domestic as a back up.

So far;

Greece
Scotland


New England/Eastern Canada

MIL's spouse won't go to Mexico.
We're all in the Midwest
We could either fly or drive.
Okay, first of all, if MIL wants the family to take a big trip together, MIL should pay for it entirely. If she cannot afford to do that, then the family should plan something that fits the budget of the poorest family - and it sounds as if the poorest family can't afford anything. So we're back to planning something that MIL can afford to foot the bill for.

That's going to be a week at a giant house at the beach , within driving distance.

A giant house in Orlando with a pool might have fit the bill, and those who wanted to go to Disney/Universal/Sea World could have, but you aren't interested in that, and I can understand it. A cruise together would definitely have fit the bill, with stops at interesting ports, but you're not interested in that, and I can understand that, too. You have to realized that your MIL's goal is family togetherness. It seems that your goal is youthful, active, adventure vacation to culturally enriching locales. The other family's goal is probably not to go into massive debt to pay for a week's vacation with MIL.

I think that you have to let go of your vacation goals. If you're in the midwest, maybe renting a gigantic beach house for all of you for a week along the Gulf Coast, with daily trips to the beach (and all kids LOVE the beach, and the grownups like to sit around under umbrellas and talk), barbecues at the house, some meals out, maybe a day or half day fishing trip for those who desire it, etc. Maybe even a day drive to the nearest city, to sight see, or historic plantations type day trip.

That way, Grandma gets family togetherness, you get active, the cousins get to hang and play together a LOT, at the best place in the world for a kid, the beach, families can drive or fly to it, and the cost would be reasonable. Hopefully MIL can pick up the tab for the beach house rental and the big dinners out together, and maybe each family can make a dinner once at the house for everyone.

Hurry. Your oldest kids will very soon not be interested in this trip - they will resent being taken away from their friends. And life happens, especially to older people. Go as soon as school is out, if possible.
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