Do any of you have a vacation wish list? Should I be embarrassed that I do? I love reading travel blogs and I can’t help but have a running list in the back my mind of all of the places I would like to visit. I was recently talking to a friend about this and found out that she does the same thing, which made me feel a little bit better. I decided to transfer my mental list to paper with the hopes that I will slowly be able to start crossing some of them off. If any of you have been to these places and have any advice or suggestions, please leave them in the comments below or send me an email at disneycruisemomblog@gmail.com. So, here is my current list, in no particular order:
Hawaii
I would love to visit Hawaii, especially the Aulani Resort. I don’t know that I would want to stay there the whole time, as I have also heard good things about renting a beach house on the North Shore and visiting the other islands as well. Unfortunately, we recently moved from Texas to North Carolina which means the plane ride will be a lot longer 🙁
Panama Canal cruise on DCL
I am so excited that I will be able to cross this one off next year! We are booked on the Westbound Panama Canal cruise with DCL in April 2017. I have wanted to do this for years and I can’t believe it will soon be a reality. (ETA: We are back from this adventure and you can read the trip report here.)
Rhine River Cruise with Adventures by Disney
This one I think will unfortunately stay on the wish list. The prices are SO high, but I’m sure that the old adage “you get what you pay for” is correct with this one. I’m sure it is fabulous if you can afford it.
Bermuda
Now that we are on the east coast, Bermuda is only a short plane ride away. The pictures look stunning and I think it would be perfect for a short getaway.
Alaska (by cruise & land)
I have been wanting to cruise to Alaska with DCL for years but the timing has never worked out. Now that the prices have gotten so ridiculously high, I am seriously considering sailing to Alaska on Celebrity. I have heard nothing but good things about them and the price is literally half of DCL. I know it is not apples to apples, but seeing as how this is a port-intensive itinerary and we will not be on the ship all that much, I think we will like it just fine. I also want to explore Alaska by land. I would love to do the Adventures by Disney trip to Alaska, but the prices are so high when you have 5 people. I have actually considered doing Alaska on our own but following the ABD Alaska itinerary as closely as possible. I know it wouldn’t be quite as magical, but considering it would be about 1/3 the price, I could live without the magic.
Universal Studios Orlando
We have some serious Harry Potter fans in our family that cannot wait to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This is another one that we will be able to cross off the list soon. In October we will spend a day at Universal, followed by a 3 night cruise on the Disney Dream.
Beaches Turks & Caicos
I have a confession to make. My family are resort people through and through. You will not find us exploring remote villages and mingling with indigenous peoples. As romantic as that sounds, it is just not who we are. We love ourselves a great resort with beautiful scenery and I have heard wonderful things about Beaches Turks & Caicos. We can catch a direct flight from a nearby airport which is also a huge plus in my book.
London
As I have already mentioned, my family loves Harry Potter and thus all things British. We have never been to Europe and I must admit that I think this would be a good way to start the process. We can fly direct (I am obsessed with direct flights because I hate to fly) and would have no language barrier to deal with. Of course visiting the Warner Brothers Studio to see the movie sets and props would be first thing on the list, but there are so, so many other things I want to see there.
American Southwest
My family visited the American southwest when I was a child and I still remember it to this day. This is another trip for which I have studied the Adventures by Disney itinerary but just cannot justify the price. I could definitely see us recreating the same itinerary on our own as closely as possible.
Private Charter in the British Virgin Islands
I recently read about just how easy (and affordable!) it can be to charter your own boat for a week in the British Virgin Islands. For our family of 5, it costs about what we pay for 7 nights in concierge on a Disney ship. This is for a catamaran that sleeps 5 plus a captain and chef. The website I have been looking at is called iyachtclub. The testimonials are pretty convincing! If you are looking for a relaxing week sailing from one beautiful beach to another, this looks perfect!
Austria & Switzerland
The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies and I have always been captivated by the scenery. I would love to one day see it for myself as well as visit some the locations where the movie was filmed. I am a Rick Steves fan and my favorite episodes of his are the ones where he visits Austria and Switzerland because it is just so beautiful.
Cruise to Norway & Iceland on DCL
I am dying to cruise to Norway & Iceland on DCL. This is one where I would want to stick with DCL instead of another cruise line because of the decent number of sea days and time on the ship. Plus, I think the Frozen tie-in is kind of cool.
Okay, I bet you have reached your limit so I think I will stop there for now. If you made it this far, thanks for hanging in there. If you have been to any of these places and have any advice, please send it my way!
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Our daughter is currently spending seven weeks in London. I will have to ask her how she enjoyed it when she gets back.
You forgot two of my favourite places…Canada and Ireland. We spent three weeks in Ireland and had a great time. Not to be missed are the FOTA zoo, where the animals just roam around the whole place for the most part, and dinner in a castle. (I think we dined at Bunratty.) There are tons of great places to go in Ireland. It is a beautiful and scenic area. Blarney Castle was one of the more disappointing stops on our tour, for all of the hype it gets. I could totally skip that place the next time. If you do make it to London, a quick plane ride will get you across to Ireland as well.
As for Canada, one of the most beautiful areas, if you enjoy hiking and the outdoors, is Lake Louise. A quick search for Lake Louise and Maligne Lake will give you an idea of what you would be experiencing. The waters really are THAT blue! It is a place where you would likely want to rent a car and travel through the parks looking at various waterfalls, glaciers, and wildlife. My husband and I honeymooned there.
I, too, have a list of places I would like to visit, however my list is much shorter than yours. I am not a very adventurous person. It is my husband who has managed to travel the globe and visit nearly every continent.
I have always had Lake Louise on my radar, I just forgot about it as I was recently writing down my list. That is definitely a must-do. The pictures look breathtaking. Ireland intrigues me as well. I would actually love to spend several weeks exploring all of the British Isles, but my husband has this thing called a job which limits the lengths of our vacations. Ha ha! I think we would have to make a separate trip over for England & Ireland. Like you, I am not an inherently adventurous person. I have to force myself to go out and do things, but I am always glad I did so that keeps me going. There is always part of me that wants to stay at home where I feel safe and comfortable. I have never travelled internationally (except for Mexico and the Caribbean) and I will definitely be a little bit anxious when I finally do, but I feel life it too short not to get out and explore the world!
Once again, we are so similar. My husband drags me kicking and screaming to places because he knows if he doesn’t, I would never go anywhere “fun.” Stage 2 of my psychosis, is that once I have been somewhere and I enjoy it, then that is the only place I want to go. I like things that are familiar and that takes a few visits to achieve. Of course my husband is always ready for the next new thing. It is a good thing (sometimes) that he has a job where he travels, because it means he gets to see other parts of the world. One advantage to his travels is, for places like Ireland, he had to be there for a 10 day conference/meeting. The kids and I explored local attractions during the day and in the evenings and weekends, we went places with my husband. We then rented a car and stayed an additional two weeks to tour the further reaches of the island before coming home. Now, of course, whenever he asks me where I would like to go, I say, “Ireland.” My “world travel” checklist would be extremely short if I ever tried to write it down.
My husband, my sons & I went to ‘Beaches’ Turks & Caicos summer 2003 & it was awesome. Clearest water ever. We all went to Bermuda in 2004, it was nice also but by far, kids (then 12 & 15) loved Beaches best since everything was all inclusive. This summer – 3 day cruise on Disney ‘Dream’.
Thanks for the feedback Linda! I think I will prioritize Turks & Caicos ahead of Bermuda then. I was actually thinking that perhaps Bermuda might be better for a getaway without the kids. How kid-friendly was it?
Oh I totally make bucket lists of where I want to go! How else would we make sure we don’t forget someplace important?! Norway and Iceland are way up on my list, too. Just the $$$. Yikes. And a river cruise on the Rhine – yes please! I’d also love to see Alaska. Maybe I will have to choose between Alaska and Norway, at least for the first round.
I love resorts but my husband – no way. He doesn’t like the structure. Basically, he’s not very social in that way! Oh well. Maybe one day the DCL will go to Bermuda from the East Coast. That would be amazing.
I do agree that Bermuda looks more like a place to tour around as well as a beach stop, and wouldn’t have the “relax” factor that a Caribbean resort would have.
I have a yen to see some of the National Parks out West. Have never managed to do that.
Also on my list are Amsterdam during tulip season, and Copenhagen (maybe as a place to start a cruise?) to see Tivoli Gardens!
We just need to retire rich and early.
🙂
Retire rich & early – I like that plan! And I am also adding Amsterdam during tulip season to the list…..