What to do ? Please help me decide

[AnnaB]

I currently have a 7 day Eastern cruise booked for our family of 4 for this June, costing approx $6,400. We are also planing on staying for 5 days at PO-R before we leave. I have an annual pass and was able to get a great rate for the Land portion of the vacation. But I have been very worried about the sea portion. Here is my delima.

1. My DH and I desperatly want to spend some much needed alone time ( Thank you Oceanears Club) . We do not have family near by to act as babysitters so we specifically decided to go on the cruise and utuilize the clubs so that we could have some time together.
2. Counting the days till we leave...I would be very disapointed if we postponed.

But.....

1. Need to get passports in order (especially for DH who is from UK). ( we have 13 weeks to go ..so this hopefully will not be an issue)..he sent everything off today)
2. If I book in Feb 2003 I can save approx. 2000+ dollars.
3. Would like warm weather ( don't know how the Bahama's will be in Feb)
4. Concerned that my DH will be sea sick and we will be spending 6000.00 for him to be in the cabin the whole time.

So what would you do...would you just bite the bullet and stay with the original plans or would you hold off and book the Feb 2003 Cruise. ( BTW the kids don't even know about the cruise so they would not be dissapointed)

 

[dizneykids]

well, your biggest problem is ensuring dh's passport is in order. if he just sent it off, you are playing it close. you are also close to the 60-day mark where any changes will result in your incurring a penalty.

we returned from the eastern carribean the second week in march. you didn't say how early in feb you are talking, but the weather in the carribean is a fairly consistent 70-80 degrees. what will be the problem is more likely the water temp if y'all plan to do any snorkeling/scuba/swimming (the pools on the ship are heated, but the ocean is not). on the other hand, going in june, you are guaranteed much warmer (translated: hot!) air and water temps.

if money is an issue, given the passport issue, i'd wait until next february. i know we just booked our western carribean for next year and there was a $2000 difference between going the last week in may vs the second week in june. what i was told is the early booking discount depends on how full the ship already is for the date you want at the point that you book.

as for the seasick issue, unless the seas are really rough or your dh is really prone to motion sickness, it shouldn't be too big an issue. if it is, though, a lot of people have had luck with the patch (worn behind the ear...and believe me, lots of people wear them) or with the sea bands. me, when i've had a problem (only three nights over 5 cruises), i've had luck with walmart's generic motion sickness pills (generic version of dramamine).

just my two cents.

 

[AnnaB]

Thank you for your reply. As it turns out I called the Embassy yesterday and was informed that it will only take 4 weeks to receive the new passport for DH. I also realized that if we go now or Feb sea sickness would be an issue on either cruise...so can't let that influence our decision. The bottom line is we are going this June. Sometimes in life you just have to relax, spend the money and enjoy! Thanks Again!