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September 2011 Moms
abatkins
member
NBR: Where did you spend your honeymoon?
abatkins
member
My fiance and I are not taking our honeymoon until Jan or Feb. after the baby is born. My mom will be staying 7-10 days ~ depending if we can even make it that long (wishful thinking).
We have never been on a cruise and so we are debating on doing a cruise versus an all-inclusive location.
I have heard that cruises are amazing with lots to do and lots of food and drink! However, a part of us may not ever leave the room and the beds in the cruise staterooms are twin beds just shoved together, no?
WHERE DID YOU SPEND YOUR HONEYMOON AND DID YOU LOVE IT?
What do you suggest?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: NBR: Where did you spend your honeymoon?
We went to Greece and loved it! We spent a week on mainland Greece and then a week on Santorini. Would highly recommend.
Of course, it depends on what kind of honeymoon you want. If you want to relax and just enjoy each other, do an all-inclusive. My brother and SIL got married in February and did an all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic, at Punta Cana. They lazed at the beach, got massages, fun drinks, calypso and salsa dancing at the resort.
I was on a crusie once and was not a fan. I have a lot of trouble staying in one spot and not exploring. We had several port of calls, but I like to explore without having a serious time restriction placed on me. But, again, for relaxing and just getting away, a cruise would be a good choice.
Good luck with your decision.
Thanks for your input ladies! See, we are torn - we like the idea of all of the activities and things to do on a cruise, formal night, food, casino, food, rock climbing, did I mention food? LOL
But, he loves to golf and I love to shop - and we loooooove to be lazy and just lay in bed or on the beach and not feel harnessed to a schedule.
We went to the Bahamas, and stayed at the Sandals in Nassau. It was so wonderful, and I would recommend Sandals to anyone. There is a ton of different restaurants to choose from and also a lot of activities through out the day to participate in.
I want to go back!
We honeymooned in Jamaica, at a Sandals Royal Caribbean resort, which was all-inclusive. We went for 10 days, which we felt was too long. We were ready to leave after about 7 days. We were home-sick, and didn't have any children at home. Knowing what we know now, we would have saved some money and only went for 7 days. We had a great time, and would go again (but maybe to another resort), but would go for only 7 days.
Also, I would suggest using a travel agent. We booked ours through Sandals.com. But my friend went through a travel agent and went to a similar all-inclusive resort that was just as good, that isn't as "popular" or well known as Sandals, and spent thousands less than we did. Definitely shop around.
Edit: Regarding food and activities - there were several restaurants and eateries ranging from jerk huts on the beach to fancy restaurants that we could dress up to go to. Water activities were also included, so we went snorkeling, and could have done scuba diving and sailboating if we wanted to. We loved that we could sleep in to when we wanted to, order breakfast in bed, lay out on the beach, etc. Definitely fun and worth it.
We went on a Southern Caribbean cruise. Actually, we've been on about 12 in the last 5 years. It's our favorite way to travel.
www.cruisecritic.com if a great cruising website that can answer any question you may have.
We've done All Inclusives and just plain old go and stay vacations, but cruising is our favorite. We were a week away from booking 3 weeks in Europe (not a cruise) this summer when we got our huge surprise BFP. So glad we didn't!
What Jo said. I usually don't use travel agents, but I agree that using one for the honeymoon is a very good idea. DH and I were going to book on our own. We went to Liberty Travel and was able to knock over $4000 grand off our honeymoon.
I also wanted to throw in a recommendation for the Virgin Islands. Two friends honeymooned on St. Lucia and loved it. One did Sandals and the other used Beaches. They both raved about their experiences.
We stayed for a week at Sandals Whitehouse Resort in Jamaica ... its a new maybe 4 years old resort.... beautiful, secluted (no other hotels around) wonderful service rooms and food and had dinner on the beach at sunset ... we LOVED it!!! We were so relaxed after a busy week of wedding preparation .. just what we wanted!
The Bahama's at an all inclusive resort...we LOVED it. We took a cruise over, I got horribly sick and was so thankful we didn't do the whole honeymoon on a boat! It ended too soon and I wish we could go back...we probably will when the LO's are older.
That said...we didn't have a baby. Now I don't think we would want to be THAT far away in case anything happened. Honestly with a baby you might want to be somewhere you can be reached in case of an emergency...unless you bring mom and baby with you.
We went to Los Cabos in Mexico. We stayed in a beautiful little boutique hotel that was associated with a nearby resort that was absolutely breathtaking. (Infinity pools overlooking the beach, insanely attentive staff, etc.)
It was a nice trip, but if I could do it again I probably would do it differently. We ate out every single meal in different fancy, overpriced restauarants or had room service. That was great for the first few days, but eventually we got tired of the gourmet food, and felt like we were throwing money away.
I tink we also started to get bored! We were both getting over bad colds, so we couldn't do the water sports that we had planned. And a lot of the other things we like to do- go to book stores, check out museums, maybe a guided tour learning about the history of a place- nothing like that was possible. It was all extremely overpriced shops and bars with tourists getting hammered 24-7. Not our style.
We had a very nice time being together, but in the end, it just wasnt the best choice for us.I think a European city or something might have been better, but we got married in the dead of winter, so that didn't seem like a good idea.
I think you have to really consider how you and your DH most love to spend your time, and find a place where you can do those things!
We did a short cruise {4 nights} for our first honeymoon - we had to keep it short because DH was leaving for Navy bootcamp as soon as we got back ...
After his first deployment, we went on a 7 night cruise, as our 2nd honeymoon.
We love to cruise & travel, so we take every chance we can to do it.
We went to the Moon Palace in Rivera Maya, Mexico. It was great, the resort was HUGE so there was tons of stuff to do... lots of activities, tons of restaurants, and excursions... and the rooms were awesome so we spent a lot of time being lazy too. We got married right out of college and didn't have a ton of money for a honeymoon so Mexico was a great place to go... they have all the amenities but was less expensive than heading to the Carribean.
That being said, we recently (over last Christmas) took another trip to an AI resort- we went to the Secrets Wild Orchid in Jamaica. Smaller than the resort in Mexico and fewer activities, but it was just what we were looking for... adults only and SO relaxing and absolutely beautiful. We're hoping to get back to Jamaica in another couple of years.
Elliott Michael born 9/22/11
Couples Swept Away in Negril, Jamaica. It was absolutely amazing and we cannot wait to go back. The food was excellent, it was romantic and we could be as active or lazy as we wanted. They offer a lot of activies and we had a great time on the catamaran boat. That sailed to a cliff where we could watch the locals go cliff diving. You could also pay to get off the boat and dive as well. We just got off the boat and swam around. We also went snorkeling which was fun.
I would highly recommend it. I;ve never been on a cruise though so I can't speak to that.
Have fun wherever you decide!
We took a little weekend getaway to Palm Springs right after the wedding. We spent 4 days and 3 nights there. We mostly just relaxed, swam, and decompressed from all of the stress and activity of planning a wedding. We took our "real" honeymoon a few months later.
Our honeymoon trip was a cruise (I think 12 days?) with Royal Caribbean. We flew out to Miami and spent a day there on either end, so we were gone for about 2 weeks. It was a Panama cruise. We had an amazing time! I really love to cruise. It's so nice to only have to unpack once! And what I like about cruising vs. resorts is that while you have the schedule flexibility and built in food and activity opportunities with both, when you cruise, you get to visit several locales, instead of staying in one place. And we only did a shore excursion at one stop, but found fun things to do at each!
Colombia - ventured out with another couple we met from our ship. Took a taxi into town, and enjoyed an informal but informative free tour from our taxi driver's assistant. Then took another taxi ride to visit a beautiful monastery on op of a hill. It was really interesting, and a gorgeous view!
Costa Rica - took a zip lining shore excursion, which was awesome. Then tagged along with another tour (for really cheap, like $15/each!) that took us on a tour of a banana plantation, to a local fruit market, and a small local restaurant on the beach. Probably my favorite destination!
Aruba - spent the morning on the beach drinking, haha. It was beautiful, but probably our least interesting stop. We headed back to the ship mid-day and did some mini-golfing, swimming, and napping.
Grand Cayman - spent the day at a gorgeous beach! There were tours that went to the typical touristy beach spots, but we just took a walk and found our own quiet, unpopulated spot to swim. The water was amazingly clear and calm. It was a very nice relaxing day.
Panama - we got up early to see the locks. It was pretty coll, and DH was totally into it. When we stopped onshore mid-day, we were kind of tired, and ended up just doing a little bit of souvenir shopping and trying a few local beers.
Sorry to write a novel! It was a great trip, and I would recommend it!
We took a cruise from Seattle to Alaska (We are not beach people, at all).
I liked the cruise, but there were some very long periods at sea because of the geography, and some of those days we're a bit trying as the sea is very rough the further north you went.
We had no issues with the bed though!
I'm not married yet, but I love vacations and have been on both, although way more cruises. I like cruises better because I don't like being confined to one spot like with an AI. I like the food better too and I just like the ships.
It's just fun being around a grou of fun ppl the whole time.
I did like the AI, but it was the location more, in Punta Cana. I've only been to one, so it's the only experience I have. The beach was wonderful, but the dinners were not. Breakfast and lunch were great. I like trying different foods, but not every night without an option of something else.
Alone time and relaxing- AI
Fun, more than one island relaxing, but not complete alone time-cruise
Ditto to all the PP about the cruises restricting your time to explore. For me personally, I'd much rathe stay in one place and have no time restraints than be stuck at sea for a couple days.
We stayed at an all-inclusive in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. (Majestic Colonial) We loved every second of it! Food at all-inclusives can be iffy, so that was 1 of our main reasons for booking at this place since the food was so highly rated. Also, my home airport had a direct flight to Punta Cana which minimized travel time, which will be much more important to you since you'll have a baby at home. I also used a travel agent which saved us lots, and they will know this information regarding direct flights and food so they are good to help you pick a place as well.
Good luck and have fun with whichever you decide!
We did this as well but stayed in The White House in Jamaica. When you go on a cruise, not all of the food is included and you have a large drink bill at the end to pay.... just a thought. When you do all inclusive, you don't pay a thing once you are there. We loved the food and ate in all the restaurants and really loved the fact that we did nothing except lay on the beach, eat and drink. If you want a touristy vacation with things to see and do, this might not be for you. Although Jo&Matt said, there are a lot of water activites and what not.
DH and I did an all-inclusive to the Mayan Riviera. We LOVED it! We stayed at the Barcelo Maya Palace and it was amazing! I recommend it to everyone who asks for ideas of places to go.
Tons of food, the beach is amazing (we snorkeled right on the beach), the Palace is the higher end of all 5 Barcelos so you have access to the other ones, tons of daily activities (on and off the resort), the room was fabulous, the food is amazing, the service is amazing... I could go on!
We would definitely go back again should we choose Mexico as a destination.
We didn't do your typical honeymoon. We spent two weeks camping at an amazingly beautiful state park about an hour and a half outside of Chicago. It was mid/late October and the park was nearly empty, so we had a lot of fun enjoying the peace and quiet. There was wildlife everywhere and we walked miles of hiking trails, took a canoe out on the very serene lake, and sat and played cards. We cooked a lot of meals right there at the site. We also went into Chicago several times and saw some really amazing things and met some great people.
The little town that was about 5 minutes from the state park was SO cute and we spent a whole day wandering around the little shops and meeting people.
Overall, we would both say it was the most perfect honeymoon we could have had.
Did you go to Starved Rock?
We went to Paris for 1 week, Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan for 2 weeks and to Bern, Switzerland. We had an awesome time!
We had been to Paris before so it was nice to return somewhere and relax. I would totally recommend France and Switzerland. I liked Italy, but we went in the summer and it was uber hot. If I go back, it will be to the Lake District and at a cooler time of year.
DH & I spent a week in Maui. Not all-inclusive, but our package included breakfast and we got some vouchers for dinner every night. (Didn't use them all because we love trying new places to eat).
Maui was amazing! We had an adventure everyday -- the waterfalls were amazing and driving up the mountain was breath-taking. Lots of activity if you want it... but lots of beach bumming if you don't.
When I look back at my pictures, I want to go back so badly! There's a little piece of me that just wanted to stay and be a bum on the beach the rest of my life!!
Wow - all of you ladies had fabulous honeymoon locations!
Throwing in my two cents late - if you want to stay stateside with a little one at home, we went to Hilton Head, SC (and go back often) and highly recommend it. It's become like a 2nd home to us. It's very low key, but has the golf, relaxation, etc. that you mentioned you wanted. Sunset dinner cruises, dolphin excursions, great restaurants (on the water & inland), great beaches, bike paths, etc. You can also get very cheap lodging off season. We had a private house with a private pool within walking distance to the beach. Savannah, GA is about 30 mins away, which is very romantic.
I also recommend the Florida Keys. We went there for our 1 year anniversary and it was absolutely amazing. Key West is the most lively of the islands, with tons of restaurants, shopping, historical tours/sightseeing, etc. The other islands are much more quiet and relaxed. Good luck and have fun!!
ETA: SC is much better, weather-wise, in April-May.
We spent our honeymoon in Hawaii, mainly on Oahu. We did take 1-day trips to Maui and the Big Island though. We loved it, have been there together twice so far and plan on going back. It only gets better there.
Cruises are fun. I've been on several to the West and East Carribean islands. I didn't enjoy Nassau so much, if you dock there I would suggest going to Atlantis.
Be warned (not saying this will happen to you, but) I never get sea sick... ever. But ever since I got pregnant I have been very motion sick and sea sick. I couldn't enjoy some water excursions while in Hawaii (back in Feb) because of this. I'm not saying you won't enjoy yourself on a cruise because of this, I'm just sharing my experience with you. I heard sea bands are great for this, I just drank a whole lot of Ginger Ale and that seemed to help a bit, too. Also, dramamine did wonders.
Have fun wherever you decide to go!
DH & I went to an all inclusive on our honeymoon for 10 days. We had done the cruise thing a couple times, and let me tell you there is ZERO privacy on a cruise. You will be in a crowd the entire time & the rooms are gross. Go to an all inclusive where you'll have your nice bathtub, pretty king sized bed & tropical flowers around you! Cruises are great for families, and groups of friends - but not for a honeymoon!
We love to travel to exotic places, so we spent our honeymoon in India. It was amazing and quite the adventure.
I'm sure anything you pick will be great. I've only been on one cruise before, but they are very nice and a convenient way to travel.
We went to Punta Cana in Dominican Republic. We stayed at the Riu Palace Macao. It was really nice. I've stayed a a couple of the Riu resorts and really like them. My MIL swears by them. I know AAA uses them a lot too.
We are going to Sandals in St Lucia next week and I can't believe how freaking expensive Sandals is. Evern with the 65% discount on the package through their sale and the 10% military discount on the room we are still spending more than double what we did on our HM. When we were looking we quickly eliminated Sandals because they are so expensive compared to similar resorts with the same amenities and activities.
No, that doesn't sound familiar.