Where else do you travel and how?

[hmire]

I LOVE Disney and want to do at least every year (we have the past 3 years since having kids). But want to do other places too. I thought by buying DVC an added perk (well not really a perk) would be to have RCI Exchange. But from what I am reading 1) not a good way to use points and 2) hard to make reservations less than a year out.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I can go other places? Blaspemous!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We head to the beach at Marco Island, FL sometimes. We like to stay at Marco Beach Ocean Resort for cash. Or we did rent from an owner at Club Regency once. We also like the looks of Charter Club there.

We also go to Yellowstone and Glacier and stay in the parks using the park lodging resources.

We went to DL twice several years ago and paid cash for GC and PP hotels.

We don't use DVC points for any of these.

 

[dgaston]

We cruise for cash (most often other lines than DCL), traveled to Rome on a faculty led art trip last spring break, and camp in the summer at our seasonal site in NH (34 ft trailer -- it's not really camping anymore!).

We were in THV in Nov with extended family, DH and I last week at HHI, and in May we'll be at AKV in a value studio, so we're not neglecting DVC.

 

[pixie08]

We go other places but usually with Disney involved at some point

Last year we visited Savannah, North Carolina Coast and Hilton head Island (Disney Resort) on points and did a trip to WDW (points) and DCL trip on the Dream.

The year before we did a DCL 10 day Med cruise and added a few days on in Paris (cash) and trip to WDW (points).

This year we have a trip planned To Seattle and a cruise to Alaska with DCL (cash) for our 5 year anni. Later in the summer we have a trip to Disney Vero beach on points , and maybe WW Harry potter (don't tell) because we have never been.

maybe we can fit in a trip to WDW later in the year for F&W or the holidays on points because I can't go a whole year without actually going to WDW

We take other smaller local trips like to Cape Cod, Hudson Valley,Hamptons, or to visit family in NC etc but none involve Disney or points.

 

[AirGoofy]

We have used our DVC points at the Disney Vero Beach Resort in October and are trying the Disney Resort at Hilton Head this Spring Break. We really liked Vero and would definitely go back there again.

 

[genmasjoy]

We have enjoyed the Concierge Collection - the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC, the Regency Hotel in New York, and the Royal Garden in London. All were 5 star properties. We also like HH and VB as alternatives to Disney. We own a one week timeshare in the Florida Keys which we exchange through Interval International.

 

[lovin'fl]

We cruise Carnival (been to Mexico, Bahamas, Canada and Caribbean). We also travel a bit with our DDs' select softball team...just weekends in pretty boring places about 1.5-4 hours away from home (less than 1.5 hours and we just travel back and forth, no hotel)...and 1 week for Nationals (last year it was at Disney and this year will be Spartanburg, SC). When kids were younger, and before we bought DVC, we did beach trips...we lived in NC and would go to the SE beaches...nice.

 

[Strawberry's mom&dad]

We like to go to Hawaii( island of Maui), the Ocean beaches in Washington and Oregon, all with another time share we own. We use DVC just for trips to WDW.

 

[bwvBound]

We do cruises, roadtrips, weekend getaways, and make heavy use of other timeshares besides DVC. Our personal travel generally consumes about 60 calendar nights each year and I'd guess that 70% or better of this travel is based on timeshare in some form: direct booking, cash rentals, exchanges, etc.

FWIW, we use our DVC points only for DVC stays. We typically stay 7-12 nights each year at DVC ... although last year saw 15 nights (7 @ BWV booked via RCI against South Africa exchange + 8 @ Aulani booked on DVC points) and this year will see 17 nights (10 @ BWV booked on DVC points + 7 @ Vero book through RCI against South Africa exchange).

As for cruising, we are working on our "World Cruise" in segments. At this point, we can connect our past cruising history from Alaska > down the US Pacific Coast > through the Panama Canal > up the US Atlantic Coast > TransAtlantic > UK. From the UK we have traveled both north through the Baltic to St. Petersburg, Russia and south through the Med to ports in Turkey, Israel and Egypt. We are on the watch for a reasonably priced Suez Canal transition as well as Trans-Pacific back to any of several US ports. Hmm, should go check those cruise boards ...

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We go on religous Pilgramages. Went to Mejugorje, Bosnia, Croatia. Now planning a trip to Fatima and Lisbon. Just came back from Rome, Florence, Sorrento and Barcelona.Usually we go with a group from our church, but last year we cruised the Med.

 

[backyardponder]

We definately like to mix it up.

Our favorites lately are trips with Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) which are tours focused on those of us who are 55+. Our upcoming trip this summer is to Alaska with 6 nights at Denali Nat'l Park and 5 nights on the Kenai Peninsula. We also have done a 5 night trip to Gettysburg with them and a 12 night one to Costa Rica. I have my eye on a 25 night tour of China in a few years.

We like to cruise once every 3 years or so. We have no interest in DCL...right now our favorite is Celebrity. We have a 14 night cruise coming in February 2013.

And, road trips, trips to Seattle to visit our son, etc.

 

[pixie08]

We like to go to Hawaii( island of Maui), the Ocean beaches in Washington and Oregon, all with another time share we own. We use DVC just for trips to WDW.

We love Maui! We were there 4 years ago for our honeymoon. Stayed at the four seasons. It was incredible.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

We love exploring the western U.S. Last summer we went to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

One thing we are doing over time is visiting all of the places in "Soarin (Over California)." We still have Malibu, Camarillio, Redwood Creek and Palm Springs to go. Yes we went to Anza-Borrego last spring. It really gives you a different perspective of the places on the ride.

See this thread from last year: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2708402

HBC

 

[kimberh]

What a interesting Thread. We cruise a lot. Been to the Caribbean more than I can count. We love Grand Cayman so we use a Time Share Trade there.
Cruised the Mediterranean 3 times, Absolutely love Italy.
Bermuda, Bahamas, Savannah, Gatlinburg, Charleston, St. Martian RCI Trade
Hawaii, Oahu, Kauai, Big Island, Maui is our favorite.
Alaska 3 times, one with a land tour.
This year we are going to The Grand Canyon. Touring all the surrounding areas.
We will be in Disney next week. It is a must at least 3 times a year.

 

[mjc2003]

We have two small children, so we keep it simple. We live in NJ, and made 5 trips to Florida last year. We spent 12 days in March on Captiva Island and Naples. We visited WDW in August for 5 days. We went back to Naples for 4 days in October. We went to WDW for 10 days in November, and finally just returned from a week long new years trip to Naples. We have friends who have a place in Naples, and love it down there on the gulf coast. We really like Captiva as well, it's got that Caribbean feel.

We won't be back to WDW until later in 2013, which really stinks....but we are going back to Florida in March (probably Captiva) and are renting a beach house at the Jersey shore (fist pump!) for 2 weeks this summer.

 

[Lew]

For the past few years we have been taking one or two cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale in January and then driving up to WDW where we'll stay at OKW until mid to late March. This year we'll cruise from January 27th - February 16, then enjoy OKW until March 21st.

We like to cruise the Med in September or October. This year we're doing a transatlantic cruise aboard the Ruby Princess from Venice to Ft. Lauderdale. Prior to embarking, we're planning to spend some time in Munich, Innsbruck and Venice.

We love cruising and travel in general. Getting out of Vermont this time of year thru cruising and stays at OKW has worked well for us.

Lew

 

[pixie08]

What a interesting Thread. We cruise a lot. Been to the Caribbean more than I can count. We love Grand Cayman so we use a Time Share Trade there.
Cruised the Mediterranean 3 times, Absolutely love Italy.
Bermuda, Bahamas, Savannah, Gatlinburg, Charleston, St. Martian RCI Trade
Hawaii, Oahu, Kauai, Big Island, Maui is our favorite.
Alaska 3 times, one with a land tour.
This year we are going to The Grand Canyon. Touring all the surrounding areas.
We will be in Disney next week. It is a must at least 3 times a year.

We have similiar traveling paths. I really would love to get out to the Grand Canyon it is on my must do list! Have an amazing time... I am sure it will be spectacular.

 

[taaren]

Currently sitting in the Marriott Mountainside (Park City Utah) villa my mom owns with a view of the slopes. Gorgeous. That is our only other annual trip (we usually try to come here once in the summer too, combined with a quick DLR non-DVC stay). Otherwise we often add on to the Disney trips by hitting San Diego or Magic Mountain on the way in or out of DLR. Every 3-5 years we get the itch to go somewhere different, this last year we went to Victoria via DCL which was awesome. Previous trips included France on horseback, a cooking class in Provence, and we're contemplating a New England horse riding vacation that we haven't been able to make the dates work for the last couple of years yet. Other than DVC and the ski trips we usually stay in Marriott hotels since they're reliable and start to give you extra nights and perks when you travel as much as my family does. When we move back to California we're planning on some Tahoe weekends.
I'd like to see if we could do more timeshare stays eventually but we never seem to be able to commit really far in advance for the non-timeshare ones so hotels work best for us for now.

 

[com_op_2000]

With DVC:
Concierge Collection - the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC and Doral, in Miami (played the Blue Monster)
DCL - six times with points, one on cash
Two RCI exchanges - Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers
All DVC resorts on the east coast of US.
Without DVC:
Road trip to Washington, DC - stayed in a hotel.
San Francisco, Los Angles, and Washington, DC - work conventions.
Jamaica - 2 weeks in a condo rental.