What is your "alternate" vacation?

[oteixeira]

I haven't seen this here, so I was wondering, if you had a cruise cancelled or not, with what is going on, what is your vacation looking like for this year?

I was lucky enough to cruise in early February this year, but have now booked a home right on Lake Lure NC for a week in September for my family.  This is not something I would normally do for a full week (we have done a weekend trip there), but my brain is telling me it is time for a break from everything.

What are your alternate vacations looking like?  If you already went I would love to see a picture or two.

[sverigecruiser]

We will take short trips over the day, or just for some hours, close to home.

 

For example around Lake Siljan and to Högbo bruk and Gåsholma. (Google it for pictures!)

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

We booked a VRBO for a long weekend in Gatlinburg, TN.  Get to hike in the great outdoors, have a hot tub on the deck, and room enough for 10 of us (all family) going.  I forsee lots of card playing.  Maybe frisbee and movies!  Likely will stay clear of crowds and enjoy Mother Nature's gifts!

I do miss cruising, though.  Three down and the fourth one suspect!

[Travelling2Some]

I planned out a 3 week road trip but now we're leaning towards not going as, frankly, it just might be too boring to bother, especially with all the social distancing still going on.  I guess its going to be "hard to keep us down on the farm after we've seen Paree".  We're still booked for Alaska in June 2021 but if that isn't looking good we will do a road trip from Santa Fe to Moab, Bryce, Zion and Las Vegas. 

[DCGuy64]

Mostly short local trips here in Virginia, but planning to go to Mexico next month.

[HowardK]

Nothing- just staying in- sometimes I'll go to a park. 

My particular cruise -(ship/week/port) wasn't even offerred after this year- so I am looking at 2022 ones

[HowardK]

My last two cruises were May and September of 2018- sometimes I regret not going through in August of 2019 with Alaska- but went to Aerosmith, Billy Joel and a broadway show instead.

[pmd98052]

Renting a narrow boat and doing our own cruise on English canals.

[Budget Queen]

I’ve always extended my cruises with land travel.     So next month hopefully the Alaska door will still be open I’m open ended for about 2 weeks.     September.  If Hawaii-  drops the  quarantine  10 days +.  
 

I have very tentative plans for London and Barcelona end of October-    But border likely to remain closed.    99%.  Likely my NCL Star-   End of November-  from Lisbon will NOT go.    
 

Then. WHO knows???🤩🤩🤩

[Budget Queen]

26 minutes ago, HowardK said:

My last two cruises were May and September of 2018- sometimes I regret not going through in August of 2019 with Alaska- but went to Aerosmith, Billy Joel and a broadway show instead.

Alaska was the bargain jackpot last year.   Sorry you missed it.  
 

[Peachypooh]

We are not planing any trips. Our May 11 cruise refund left us with a nice cushion which we are using to

financially help relatives  and also to  treat ourselves to the fanciest restaurants in town (because they take your temperature when you get there and they offer food I don't normally cook at home like blackened snapper. We have reservations to visit NYC area around Thanksgiving but it is looking iffy since our state is on the quarantine list.

Edited July 23, 2020 by Peachypooh

[billyu]

Did a land based vacation to Banff at the beginning of July for a week.

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by billyu

[HowardK]

12 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

We are not planing any trips. Our May 11 cruise refund left us with a nice cushion which we are using to

financially help relatives  and also to  treat ourselves to the fanciest restaurants in town (because they take your temperature when you get there and they offer food I don't normally cook at home like blackened snapper. We have reservations to visit NYC area around Thanksgiving but it is looking iffy since our state is on the quarantine list.

That's very kind of you to help your family- I hope you make it to NYC

[HowardK]

23 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

Alaska was the bargain jackpot last year.   Sorry you missed it.  
 

Even though it would have been 2x the cost (going to Seattle etc,) I wish I would have done it if not August another month- I am looking at it for 2022 for a big birthday

[SeahawkSiren]

We've just been doing road trip getaways here locally in Washington state.  We have a lakeside cabin to escape to that's been in the family for over 40 years.  I have always treasured that place but even more so now.

 

We have also been to a couple VRBO rentals that are just awesome (we had been to both prior to the pandemic as well).  Both are on huge pieces of property with no neighbors nearby.  I've called those trips social distancing to the extreme!  Peaceful and quiet locations.

 

I have a Bliss Mexican Riviera cruise scheduled for October which I know will be cancelled any day now and understandably so.

[Sweetnspicy]

Nothing for us unfortunately. We were able to do an 11 day Southern Caribbean in January so at least we had that. If our jobs permitted travel we were hoping to drive to  our hometown in New Mexico for a visit but our cases have spiked in WA and we don’t want to bring the plague with us to a small community that doesn’t have a lot of resources. I’m hoping to take a week off and we can drive the WA coast but we will see. 

[bob brown]

I am glad that we did our 180 day full world cruise in January thru July of 2019, followed by a 14 day Caribbean cruise in December, and got in a  20 day Panama Canal cruise in January, and a 26 day Antarctic cruise in Feb and March of this year.   That's a lot in a relatively short span for me, and helps me with cruise 'withdrawal', somewhat.   Our September 2020 Baltic cruise was canceled, so our next booking is a 53 day Baltic roundtrip from NY via Greenland, Iceland, and Norway in July thru September of 2021.   Hopefully, that will go.   

 

If cruising is not in our near future, we are thinking of going "land yachting" (recreational vehicle) around the country...

[jaja]

Nothing planned ....  We cancelled our fall cruise and with all the travel restrictions/ and quarantine on returning to NJ from so many places...out of state road trips..not a great idea.   Even in state..would have been nice...but with no indoor dining and mandatory masks...not so much fun.

We were going to use the money to get some work done around the house...but our handyman (and so many workmen) is staying home due to virus...

I can't win.......

[sammee]

Even my alternate got cancelled. It started my husband had to quarantine when he returned back to NJ for work. Now he can't leave. We were planning a roadtrip to Florida and possibly Texas for family.

[Biffire]

We cruised the last week of February, returned just as this was all ramping up.

We hope to go up to Maine after Labor Day when I retire. I checked and no restrictions (quarantine)  as a NY resident. Just want to walk the beach and east some Lobster.

Not making reservations until the end of August in case things change.

Hoping to cruise in 2021.

 

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

36 minutes ago, SeahawkSiren said:

We've just been doing road trip getaways here locally in Washington state.  We have a lakeside cabin to escape to that's been in the family for over 40 years.  I have always treasured that place but even more so now.

 

We have also been to a couple VRBO rentals that are just awesome (we had been to both prior to the pandemic as well).  Both are on huge pieces of property with no neighbors nearby.  I've called those trips social distancing to the extreme!  Peaceful and quiet locations.

 

I have a Bliss Mexican Riviera cruise scheduled for October which I know will be cancelled any day now and understandably so.

We did the Bliss Mexican Riviera cruise in 2019 (the last of our planned cruises that actually panned out).  We had a wonderful time.  Best thing we did was catch the Game of Thrones symphony at the Hollywood Bowl.  Had a box seat with dinner.  It was lovely and the other couple that joined our box was quite enjoyable.  They had come down from WA to see it again!

I really liked the Camel ride on the beach, which was an NCL excursion.  Very hot unless you were on the beach for all of the stops....even in October!

I hope that you get to go, but we know none of us are in control!

[Barb Nahoumi]

We were supposed to be on the Gem this week, Boston to Bermuda.  This would have been our last full day aboard.  WAHHHH.  The only good thing is we're spared the sadness of packing to go home, because we're already here.

 

Anyway, we will spend some time on Cape Cod.

 

 

[Peachypooh]

1 hour ago, HowardK said:

That's very kind of you to help your family- I hope you make it to NYC

Thank you for the kind words.

[farmersfight]

I haven't reserved yet but I'm seriously considering. I live on the west coast of Michigan (Muskegon) and there is a fast ferry "Lake Express" that runs to/from Milwaukee, WI. Possible plan is to take the Lake Express (does 32 kts by the way) to Milwaukee, stay 2 or 3 nights at a hotel then drive up to Manitowoc, WI and stay 1 or 2 nights at a hotel there, then board the SS Badger (the only coal fired steam ship remaining in the U.S. and a designated NHL) and sail back east to Ludington, MI, which is about a 40 min drive north from Muskegon. Btw- both the Lake Express and the Badger are auto ferries, so I would bring my Tacoma pick up truck.

 

Not quite cruising on large cruise ships, but at least it's something on board vessels and on the water (the fresh water "inland sea" of Lake Michigan). Actually, the Badger is pretty big, just like a full size ship. Besides carrying cars/trucks, she also has numerous staterooms for rent, 2 bars, a restaurant (o.k., really a snack bar), a TV lounge, a movie theater and a gift shop, to name a few amenities on board.

 

I call this potential plan "The Circuit". If anyone is interested on what they look like or interested in their operations, I recommend just Googling "Lake Express" and/or "SS Badger". I too hope to be salt water cruising again sometime in 2021.

 

P.S. To give you an idea of the speed difference between the two vessels, the Lake Express crosses Lake Michigan in 2.5 hrs. It takes the Badger 4 hrs to cross Lake Michigan (Badger max speed is 14 kts).

Edited July 24, 2020 by farmersfight

[farmersfight]

Release the Kraken!!   

                    

Sweetnspicy

• Cool Cruiser
• 
• January 30, 2016
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• 469 posts
• Seattle
  
  SeahawkSiren  

 

• Cool Cruiser
• 
• November 28, 2013
•  
• 878 posts
• Bremerton, WA

 

Congrats on your new NHL team's name!