Updated itinerary - should we go to Miami too?

[Kalice]

Hi all. I've finally made some bookings! After one night in Fort Worth. We drive to San Antonio for two nights. We will be taking a carnival cruise for 7 days from Galveston. Then flying to New Orleans for six nights including Christmas. Hiring a car from Boxing Day with intent to be in Orlando from January 3. Need to work out whether to do Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, savannah or drive the
Panhandle and Florida. I could also cut a couple of days off New Orleans. Suggestions anyone?

 

[mindy32]

How exciting Kalice, sounds like an amazing trip! Nashville is on my must do list next trip so I'm voting for that! I'd also love to get to Savannah one day, I've heard it's beautiful.

 

[Kalice]

Ok. Completely changed plans. We're now flying from NOLA to NYC on Christmas Eve! We decided Nashville etc might have been more interesting to us adults than the kids. So now we're driving from New York to Orlando. So need work out new route.

 

[Kalice]

Updated itinerary:
9 December: Perth to Sydney - Staying at YHA on the rocks, cheapest accommodation we could get in Sydney for one night and great location.
10 December: Flight with VA to LAX then Delta to DFW - we've managed to secure bulkhead seats with should provide more comfort, I know these get mixed reviews, but it's nice not having anyone reclining into you.
After long flights we will be picking up hire car then overnight in Fort Worth.
11 December: Drive to San Antonio: staying two nights in San Antonio.
13 December: Drive to Galveston drop off hire car then to Carnival cruise for 7 nights. I'm most apprehensive about this part as we have not cruised before, and there seem to be one in three bad reviews. However I'm goikng to be positive that most people seem to post a whinge and we are pretty flexible people so will enjoy ourselves. We have two cabins which will be fantastic. We are booking tours privately due to the outlandish costs and the terrible AU dollar.
15 December: Cozumel - undecided.
16 December: Belize - Cave tubing and ziplining
17 December: Mahogany bay Roatan - Banarama with maybe more ziplining, undecided about this
19 December: DS turns 17!
20 December: I turn much older than 17! Disembarkation then flights from Houston to New Orleans!
24 December: Back to New York, need to figure out something special to do for Christmas day, last time we went to the Rockettes at radio city music hall (which was fantastic, DS and DH weren't as in awe as the rest of us)
28 December: Amtrak to DC
29 December: DH to take train to airport to pick up car and then driving to Wilmington for overnight
30 December: Two nights in Charleston
1 January: Two nights in Savannah - booked little place downtown through VRBO.
3 January: Drive to Orlando with stop in St Augustine for lunch? Still tossing up between staying offsite at Bonnet creek or onsite at All star music suites. If we stay on site we will ditch the car and use Uber for any trips.
13 January Universal hotel, still not booked either, but definitely want that FOTL pass
16 January: back to DFW
19 January: DFW-LAX-SYD-PER

 

[zanzibar138]

Wow I got out of the loop on this trip lol! Your updated plans sound great. I spent 2 nights in San Antonio last year (solo) and really enjoyed it - it was a lovely city. Haven't been anywhere else in your plans, so can't really contribute much, but it all sounds awesome! I think you're going into the cruise with a great attitude, and will probably have a great time. Most people I know have loved cruising (I'd say a much higher percentage than 2/3).

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice plans! I'm totally envious. Looks like you're going to have a great time.
Did you want to stay around Cozumel or are you looking to do something else? We went to Xcaret and had a fantastic time there. It is high touristville but I thought it was worth the money and the day there.

 

[Kalice]

The cruise will be interesting, especially given I tend to get queasy on boats, haha. We're considering dropping on night off San Antonio to ensure we get to the cruise on time, the four hour drive might mean we get to the boat exhausted from the trip. Now, I'm wondering if we should take a couple of days out of our 13 in Orlando to check out Miami. It's likely we'll stay offsite for Disney, but will do 3 nights in Universal on-site. I'm really looking forward to Universal! Last trip we did 8 nights in WDW and didn't leave, thinking of doing six this time, one in each park with an extra day in both Epcot and MK. Has anybody gone to Miami, and was it worth it?

 

[zanzibar138]

I would definitely recommend at least 2 nights in San Antonio. I had 2 and felt like I needed much more time! Having said that, given that it's your first cruise and you're a bit nervous about it, it would make sense to minimise any additional stress by staying close by the night before. Hmm tough decision!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Sounds like a brilliant trip - can I come? The YHA in Sydney is great all round. Pick up some Bonine in the US for your cruise - I have very sea sick prone friends (like me) who swear it is better than Aussie Kwells as doesn't make you quite as sleepy though 1 of these friends said they still felt a bit dopey so after a couple of days stopped taking it as she got her sealegs and felt fine..this is someone who gets VERY sick very easily. Staying onsite at Universal was great. I researched Charleston and Savannah for our last trip - ended up not going that way but they looked very interesting and pretty places to visit. Again not seen in person only vicariously through others' photos and stories but apart from the art deco buildings in Miami it hasn't really grabbed me- I thought it looked like our Gold Coast - which is not my favourite spot, especially around Surfers.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm wondering if we should take a couple of days out of our 13 in Orlando to check out Miami.

It's a decent drive from Orlando to Miami.

Yes, I liked Miami but that was because it was different and I was specifically looking for the Art Deco, SoBe and the Everglades. YYMV.
For 2 days, I don't know if that would be giving it enough time to do it justice.

 

[Kalice]

would definitely recommend at least 2 nights in San Antonio. I had 2 and felt like I needed much more time! Having said that, given that it's your first cruise and you're a bit nervous about it, it would make sense to minimise any additional stress by staying close by the night before. Hmm tough decision!

I think we'll just bite the bullet and have a really early morning and enjoy two days in San Antonio. so much to see and so little time.

Sounds like a brilliant trip - can I come? The YHA in Sydney is great all round. Pick up some Bonine in the US for your cruise - I have very sea sick prone friends (like me) who swear it is better than Aussie Kwells as doesn't make you quite as sleepy though 1 of these friends said they still felt a bit dopey so after a couple of days stopped taking it as she got her sealegs and felt fine..this is someone who gets VERY sick very easily. Staying onsite at Universal was great. I researched Charleston and Savannah for our last trip - ended up not going that way but they looked very interesting and pretty places to visit. Again not seen in person only vicariously through others' photos and stories but apart from the art deco buildings in Miami it hasn't really grabbed me- I thought it looked like our Gold Coast - which is not my favourite spot, especially around Surfers.

Thanks for the tip, we usually take Travacalm but it makes me so tired, I've popped it in my notes in my phone. Still tossing up which hotel between HRH and Portofino Bay, the theming for both doesn't really excite me as I've stayed in a couple of Hard Rocks and the Pacific Bay looks like a Balinese hotel (we go to Bali once or twice a year).

Yes, I liked Miami but that was because it was different and I was specifically looking for the Art Deco, SoBe and the Everglades. YYMV.
For 2 days, I don't know if that would be giving it enough time to do it justice.

I think we'll miss Miami this trip and just enjoy Orlando with a couple of rest days this time. We really went hard last time and were completely exhausted most days.

Now just to figure out sim cards, as the teenagers are going to be desperate, given most have 30 days we'll have to activate them after the cruise.
Also, thinking of putting Tom Tom US on my phone, has anyone used it? was it successful?

 

[jacs1234]

That sounds so exciting. I wish we had more time. We're staying at HRH but I regret this decision a little because it's not really our style. I wish I'd chosen the Portifino bay resort hotel instead.

 

[Kalice]

Oops, I didn't mean portofino I meant Royal pacific. Portofino is not as well located as hard rock or pacific. I've booked Royal Pacific club level. The space will be tight with the five of us, but we won't be in the room much.

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

I don't know about on your phone, but we took our Tom Tom unit with us with USA maps loaded on it and it worked perfectly.