Advice Please! Great Family vacations other than Disney???

[KyBuckeye]

Hey, all you experienced travelers, I'm looking for some advice. I know this is somewhat early but I'm looking for a great (but reasonable) family vacation for spring break 05, (April) other than Disney. We live in Kentucky, so would like to go south to warmer climes at that time of year. Have any of you all done any of the all inclusive family resorts? Or any advice on cruise lines other than Disney that are family friendly? And yes, we do love Disney, we are going on a Western/Magic on Oct and plan to rebook then for the following fall or winter, but want to "widen our horizons". Thanks!

Heidi

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

All cruise lines are family friendly. Many have wonderful kids clubs. I believe there is a post farther down about a family that tried carnival and the kids loved the kids groups more than DCL. Worth reading. HAL and Princess will probably have the least about of kid aboard, but NCL, CCL, RCI are all excellent for families! Well worth trying them. I was just on the CDC reports green sheet last night (travel school) and saw that NCL had almost all 99 & 100's on their ships!! ( DCL's were both 94, which isn't bad). You may also want to look into Breezes or Beaches resorts. They have excellent childrens programs! (but can be a bit more expensive than a cruise). I wouldn't suggest Dominican Republic for kids. The beaches are tops optional. A great idea is to rent a villa for a reasonable cost and spend the week there. You can shop locally, rent things like jet skis, parasail, go snorkeling, rent a day of deep sea fishing etc, for about half (if not less) than if you do it through a resort! Stay away from Cancun with kids too. Stick to Riviera Maya (Playa del Carmen area) - Many all inclusives there for families, Jamaica can go either way, (choose Negril over Ocho Rios) some love it, some hate it. Bolongo Bay Beach Club in St. Thomas is one that comes to mind as family friendly, great snorkeling right outside your door, very nice beach and all-inclusive options.
A private club like that (other than a Sandals type) may be the way to go. Plenty of options.

 

[videoman]

We did Beaches Turks & Caicos & I didn't think it was worth the expense! Very nice resort, beautiful beach, mediocre activities, service, meals, and we were not impressed. If you are trying to sway from the cruise you should try a cancun all inclusive. They have the moonpalace, and several others that are extremely reasonable and have had very high praises for families. We are booked on the magic and are seeing if the budget also alows this trip too!

 

[CAMICKEY]

We've done an all inclusive in Jamaica (but without kids) and it was great. We also did an all inclusive at the Intercontinental in Cabo (with DS5 at the time) and really enjoyed it. If you can afford it, there is nothing like the Grand Wailea (sic) on Maui. The grounds are impeccable and very kid friendly. Includes the only glass elevator in the world. It is very pricey though (we got a special deal in the mail for 7 nights for 750 and did not even have to attend a timeshare meeting). We are big fans of all-inclusive vacations - just need to watch how much we drink. - Mike

 

[JuliaE]

Hi,

I'm a travel agent and actually, Princess is great for kids and family! They have some of the best kids programs outside of Disney, but they also have great stuff for adults, too. Holland America has a lot of kids in the Caribbean and are really expanding their program for children and families.

Look at going to Cozumel, too. Cozumel has a lot of great activities, really reasonable prices and you can often eat a late breakfast and late lunch. The all-inclusive rates at places like Beaches include premium alcohol, so it is less expensive to do a plan that isn't all-inclusive, especially if you don't drink a lot. A lot of resorts, especially in Jamaica, have both an all-inclusive plan and a regular plan. You don't have to pay for the expensive alcohol and meals, but still have access to all of the activities and secure environment that you would have at an all-inclusive resort.

Have a great day!
Julia

 

[Dodie]

I would recommend the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch in Tucson, AZ. It's a dude rance/resort that has wonderful kids' programming and is one of those places that families return to year after year. VERY different. Definitely all-inclusive with wonderful food.

www.tvgr.com

DH and I just did this in March. We don't have kids, but the families that were there were having a GREAT time riding horses, doing mountain biking, taking nature hikes, swimming (indoors and out), enjoying campfire cookouts and chuckwagon breakfasts, etc.

 

[chrisn]

We spent 5 days last year at the family friendly All Inclusive Iberostar Tucan in Playa Del Carmen. One of the best vacations we have EVER done. My 15 and 5 year old at the time loved every minute and neither of them wanted to leave at the end. The resort was breathtaking! Built sandwiched between beach and jungle. Monkey's in the trees, gorgeous and I mean gorgeous white sand beach with clear caribbean tourqoise water. Yummy food, all meals, snacks, alchohol activities included. Fun evening shows, available tours, daily activities and a wonderful enthusiastic and friendly star friends staff. We did an ATV jungle tour and a trip the the eco park X-caret. We also had a great time shopping in a CLEAN, safe town one evening and one afternoon. I would HIGHLY recommend this. We are going back. One thing though. If you are sessitive to this, i did see 2 or 3 topless ladies sunbathing the week we were there. It's not really a problem, just a culture thing as a lot of europeans vacation here. I would say 60% European and 40% American/Canadian while we were there.

 

[Mjasp]

Originally posted by videoman
We did Beaches Turks & Caicos & I didn't think it was worth the expense! Very nice resort, beautiful beach, mediocre activities, service, meals, and we were not impressed. If you are trying to sway from the cruise you should try a cancun all inclusive. They have the moonpalace, and several others that are extremely reasonable and have had very high praises for families. We are booked on the magic and are seeing if the budget also alows this trip too!

WOW Have been wanting to do Turks and Caicos for awhile now. I don't know anyone who has gone, so I'm quite disappointed in your experience. They make it sound that there are more activities than time to do them all. AHH what good advertising will do.

 

[KyBuckeye]

Thanks you all for all the great responses. Never heard of the AZ ranch but will look into it as my older daughter lives in Phoenix. I'm going to look into the all inclusive Carribean resorts mentioned as well. May even do another cruise, who knows. Just trying to gather some info. Thanks again!!!

Heidi

 

[hydster]

We could LIVE in Cancun! It is awesome there!! We did the Club Med all inclusive with the kids and it was phenomenal!!! Great stuff for the kids, great food, great rooms, great place! Cancun is a really fun place to go and they have great bargains. The beaches are SO nice and the locals are really nice as well. Good restaurants like Margaritaville, Carlos N Charlies as well as a Chilis and other things!

Heidi