Well, the economy is on everyone’s mind, hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs. So I feel kind of bad griping about my choices for my February vacation. It’s a dirty job, someone has to do it, so here goes.

At tonight’s Christmas party one of my fellow vacationers brought out printouts from a cruise site. In my last post I said price might be the determining factor in our choice, and in this tough economy the travel industry has some real bargains.

Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival all have very enticing packages. 7 day Bahama’s cruises, interior rooms, for under $400 bucks, tack on a $200 airfare to get to Miami, less than $100 day for vacation. Not bad. Still 4 days “at sea”, 3 days off.

“All inclusive” resorts have become very popular over the years and I have had good experiences in several of them.

Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, and Cabo San Lucas, to name a few. Same amenities as a cruise ship. Room, food, entertainment are covered in price, as usually is the flight to get there. But now I would have a beach to lay on and a ocean to play in…(DundeDundeDundeDunde…Damn you Speilberg! Previous readers will understand, lol) …everday plus as many excursions as we can muster.

Problem…Most of the “All Inclusive” destinations are running about 40-50% higher than a cruise. These resorts are actually posting good value pricing, it’s just the cruises are being given away dirt cheap!

Over the next few weeks I will continue to watch the prices of my choices and try and swing the group my way, but it may be hard to overcome the cheap cruise mentality.

I’ve heard from some of you, saying “Oh, what a tough choice..cruise or vacation spot”, I wish I had to make such a tough choice”. And I said it before, you are all right. When February rolls around and it’s -6 wind chill, ANYWHERE but here will be a relief, it just would be nice if it was somewhere other than a cramped boat. So what do you think? To much of a whiner? lol

We all got together over the holiday to discuss our February trip, and the dreaded word reared its ugly head…cruise.

Now it’s not that I’m 100% opposed to cruises. I did one in 2000 that went to Jamaica, Cozumel and the Cayman Islands, and had a blast..in Jamaica, Cozumel and the Cayman Islands. It was the 4 days at sea that drove me nuts.

To crowded, everyone fighting over deck chairs by the pool (There actually was a fistfight between two woman over saving deck chairs. I guess there is an etiquette to it and it wasn’t observed. It was entertaining though!) Being herded in and out of dinner like cattle, bad, bad, entertainment, it just wasn’t that much fun.

Now I know today they show you all these great things you can do on your cruise, free style dining, rock climbing, putting greens,etc, but the bottom line is, your still stuck on a boat, and the time off ship you usually have time for one excursion, then your back on the ship.

I like going to a destination, getting to spend time there, checking out local haunts, meeting the locals, getting to do numerous excursions, which you don’t get on a cruise.

Now the one factor that could sway the group, price. Cruises are very economical. Everything is covered in its price, except alcohol, and since I don’t drink, that’s not a factor. We’re all more budget travelers than luxury travelers, so price is a consideration. I’m up in the air about this, but a friend did make a good point.

While it might not be my first choice, a cruise in the Caribbean beats a cold week in the February Midwest every time. Amen