Rent a cottage.
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Need a last second getaway idea for this weekend!
- Thread starter PrivatePilot
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Yes. Their pizza is delicious.
So, just following up...we never did this exact weekend away, but I used one of the suggestions for a getaway this past weekend. We went to Hockley Valley Resort, and got a suite.
Overall, I was reasonably pleased, but I can't say I was blown away. For a place that purports to be a 5 star resort, it seemed decidedly 4 star to me. Still impressive, and we enjoyed our stay (and I won't nitpick here unless others are interested in hearing about it), but I think all our experience with cruising has really ingrained what 5-star should be to us, and this just wasn't quite there in both facilities, as well as service in a few areas.
But, I'd go again if the price was right. It was a nice relaxing getaway either way.
Overall, I was reasonably pleased, but I can't say I was blown away. For a place that purports to be a 5 star resort, it seemed decidedly 4 star to me. Still impressive, and we enjoyed our stay (and I won't nitpick here unless others are interested in hearing about it), but I think all our experience with cruising has really ingrained what 5-star should be to us, and this just wasn't quite there in both facilities, as well as service in a few areas.
But, I'd go again if the price was right. It was a nice relaxing getaway either way.
Thats a pretty nice looking suite, I could be happy there for a weekend.
That whole 3/4/5 star rating thing can be a crap shoot. 5 star in Cuba is a 3 star (2.5maybe) in Europe. And if your a veteran cruiser you can get pretty addicted to a good level of service, most cruise ships are pretty posh and even the lesser lines are still pretty nice.
That whole 3/4/5 star rating thing can be a crap shoot. 5 star in Cuba is a 3 star (2.5maybe) in Europe. And if your a veteran cruiser you can get pretty addicted to a good level of service, most cruise ships are pretty posh and even the lesser lines are still pretty nice.
I see you’ve drank the media koolaid.
For the record:
Norovirus is not a "cruise ship" virus, nor does it limit itself to sea-going vessels.
Norovirus spreads swiftly wherever there are many people in a small area, including nursing homes, restaurants, hotels, dormitories ... and cruise ships.
The common cold is the only illness more common, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates that there are more than 20 million cases of Norovirus annually.
Norovirus is associated with cruise travel simply because health officials are required to track illnesses on ships (and are not at hotels and resorts); therefore, outbreaks are found and reported more quickly at sea than on land.
We’ve been on over 10 cruises and never been sick, however I did get sick visiting a family member in a nursing home one time.
If you’ve never been on a cruise, you have no idea how seriously they take sanitation – they are literally cleaning 24 hours a day seven days a week. Unfortunately all it takes is one slob to spread germs, and then yes people can get sick (but cruise lines have strict rules and procedures to halt the spread and super sanitize the ship again), however once again Norovirus is every bit as common and contagious on land, you just don’t hear about it when people get sick because there are either no tracking mechanisms, no legal tracking requirements, or it is kept hush-hush.
And it’s far more sensational for the media to talk about an outbreak on a cruise ship perhaps once a year (across every cruise line, and thousands upon thousands of cruises - I think it’s been a few years now actually since a notable one) then it is about outbreaks that happen on a basicly daily basis in hospitals and nursing homes, right?
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J_F
Guest
glad to hear you liked Hockley, I've always enjoyed it there
as for the cruises...like anything, you get what you pay for
first one was a reward from my employer with Holland America, everything was 5 star
not sure what it cost, but based on the sort of upper middle class wasps on the boat
it was not cheap
second one I paid, Carnival, was populated with the Nascar crowd, just awful
as for the cruises...like anything, you get what you pay for
first one was a reward from my employer with Holland America, everything was 5 star
not sure what it cost, but based on the sort of upper middle class wasps on the boat
it was not cheap
second one I paid, Carnival, was populated with the Nascar crowd, just awful
I really don't want to go on a cruise because they seem like floating condos full of either elderly people or screaming families.....the Norwalk thing is just a side effect of "people". Luxury to me is not a lot of people around, wide open (beautiful) spaces and peace and quiet...that's luxury, anything else is a bonus.
my first cruise was Carnival, I'm sure its fine for many, I'll never board another.
I've done Celebrity, Holland American (several), Royal Carribean , Royal Norwegian, Clipper and a Euroline, They all have redeeming qualities, so far never sick.
Also been to the Teamoto Atoll last year (its near Fakarava) (more people went to Everest last yr than Teamoto) , you want to be alone go there, we had an entire Island to the 4 of us, only way on or off is private boat, Gilligans Island literally.
Every bodies idea of vacation is different.
I've done Celebrity, Holland American (several), Royal Carribean , Royal Norwegian, Clipper and a Euroline, They all have redeeming qualities, so far never sick.
Also been to the Teamoto Atoll last year (its near Fakarava) (more people went to Everest last yr than Teamoto) , you want to be alone go there, we had an entire Island to the 4 of us, only way on or off is private boat, Gilligans Island literally.
Every bodies idea of vacation is different.
Don't knock if until you try it. You'd be surprised. You can be involved in as much activity as you want on a cruise ship, or none at all if that's your thing.
For example, here's a photo of a little nook I found where I sat for over 2 hours before I saw a single other passenger. No, that's not our balcony either, that was a public space, just one that was seldom frequented.
And here's a spot on a different ship where I often went to relax - aft muster/lifeboat deck. Often you don't see another passenger for 10-15 minutes at a time, and they're usually just passing by. I was here alone for nearly 30 minutes when I snapped this photo.
Speaking of the muster deck, it's usually pretty quiet at the best of time - you can walk the entire circumference of the ship and maybe only see 5 or 10 other people many hours of the day - often none at all.
One of the biggest ships we were ever on (Allure of the seas) had over 6000 passengers and it NEVER felt crowded - it's just that massive.
And there's a lot to be said for experiencing sunsets and sunrises at sea.
Lets not discus the service (and the food) if you're still not interested though.
It's a common misconception that you are "stuck with a million people" on a cruise ship. They are big and there's NO issue with finding a little private nook somewhere (usually there's tons of them) where you can relax your day away watching the sea roll by in that exact wide open space and peace you mention you like.
I too like open spaces and quiet areas - I share traits of an introvert personality and sometimes I just need to get away from everyone and go somewhere quiet and decompress. Although I don't mind crowds and social interaction within reason, after a while, I need to be alone somewhere quiet afterwards (if even for just 10-20 minutes), and I never have an issue on a cruise ship. There's ALWAYS a spot with a great view or something to do all alone if you so desire.
We have over 10 cruises strictly with Royal Caribbean under our belt but are trying Carnival for our next one. We are going in with an open mind and realistic expectation (not expecting it to live up to the RCI standards, which we've been told it will not), but we wanted to experience the alternatives. And hey, we got a suite, so even if the ship and the service sucks, well....we have a suite to retreat to.
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We pick itinerary , not the cruise line, I need the port of call to be places I need to see which is how we wound up on many different lines. I spend a lot of times on boats and end up at a lot of mooring fields the cruise ships dont get into. My wife hates my sailing friends (for valid reasons) so we cruise ship for her.
I bought a pop up camper last year , mostly for the dog to go camping, and its been a riot traveling around with it. Wife wife has been in 28 countries and never been to Tobermory, Long Point or North of Sudbury in Ontario, and shes lived in Ontario most of her life.
All vacations are ok and travel is important, otherwise all the stories when your in the home will suck.
I bought a pop up camper last year , mostly for the dog to go camping, and its been a riot traveling around with it. Wife wife has been in 28 countries and never been to Tobermory, Long Point or North of Sudbury in Ontario, and shes lived in Ontario most of her life.
All vacations are ok and travel is important, otherwise all the stories when your in the home will suck.
I'm about to head out on vacation soon to a town with maybe a couple of hundred inhabitants downtown and a few hundred more scattered about but most of them live in shanty dwellings outside the centre, the place I'm staying in has jungle as a backdrop and you can't really see your nearest neighbour and the entire town is surrounded by the walls of an extinct volcano, the town is in the old crater. There's sloths in the garden and when I get there there'll be a big sloth in the house too. The local hot springs are $3 and I plan on using them every day if I can. There's deserted golden sand beaches 40 mins drive away. That's my luxury and it's surprisingly affordable too.
Iceman
Well-known member
Now that's a vacation! I get my fill of people and crowds at home.
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