<p>^^i just got an email from Princess that they are discounting holiday cruises up to 50%…thought that was odd…in case that’s a possibility…</p>
<p>rodney, can you send me a link?</p>
<p>give me a minute…and I’ll send it via email forward…</p>
<p>Thanks…!</p>
<p>We did this ride every time we went to St Croix in the 1990s</p>
<p>[Paul</a> & Jill’s Horseback Riding Equestrian Stable and Tours, Inc. on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands](<a href=“http://www.paulandjills.com/]Paul”>http://www.paulandjills.com/)</p>
<p>Here is a very good sourse for activities and maps. Check out the map with all the beaches and links to photos of each (or almost all of them). As it points out ALL beaches upto 15’ above the waterline are public beaches no matter where they are located.</p>
<p>[St</a>. Croix Water Sports, Sailing, Buck Island Tours, Sport Fishing, Jet Skis, Golf, SCUBA, Snorkeling, Parasailing and Kiteboarding](<a href=“http://www.stcroixtourism.com/watersports.htm]St”>St. Croix Water Sports and Land Activities)</p>
<p>We spent a week in St. Croix last December - the week before Christmas, at the Buccaneer. The weather was great. There were several really good restaurants in the town about 10 minutes from the Buccaneer (unusually good for the Caribbean).</p>
<p>another huge St Croix/Buccaneer fan here. We’ve spent 3 of the last 4 Christmases at the Buccaneer and we’ve always had perfect weather. we’ve got several favorite restaurants, and we’ve tried most of the various snorkeling trips to Buck Island. feel free to PM me if you want details.</p>
<p>jrpar, we must have been there at the same time! we always arrive as many days as possible before Christmas, as soon as the kids are out of school. that way we catch a few nights at the non-high season rate and, if memory serves, doesn’t obligate us to the 9-night minimum.</p>
<p>Just for fun I looked up average December temperatures for Miami and also San Juan, Puerto Rico. Miami: 77 max, 62 low. San Juan: 83 max, 72 low.</p>
<p>Being raised and living in Florida it has always amazed me how so many folks visiting wintertime from cold places like Minnesota will sit in Florida resort hotel lobby bars for most of their visit here when they could have done the same thing back home and saved the travel expenses.</p>
<p>PRJ - small world! We were back home a couple of days before Christmas, so I think most of our stay was non high season rate. My sons were just talking about this vacation last weekend and both were campaigning for a return trip to the Buccaneer.</p>
<p>bumping this up. I think I almost have my H convinced to do a Christmas trip with the kids somewhere warm. H wants a boat but I think he is going to be outvoted.
Has anyone been to Panama?
Teri- would you minding sharing where you went last Christmas in Hawaii?</p>
<p>H and I started out in Honolulu as he had a conference to attend. We had been to Oahu/Honolulu before, and did not want to spend anymore time there, so as soon as the meeting was over, we flew to Maui, where our daughters met us from their respective cities on the mainland. This is where we stayed on Maui:
[Kapalua</a> Resort - Maui Hawaii Real Estate, Maui Resort, Hawaii Golf - Kapalua Resort](<a href=“http://kapalua.com/]Kapalua”>http://kapalua.com/)</p>
<p>We liked it because the resort basically had everything you’d need, a grocery store was less than ten minutes away (bigger ones were about 15 minutes away), and there were a lot of activities close by for those who wanted to participate. We did a snorkeling /whale watching tour, zipline tour, horseback riding, sunset sail (the girls called it the Christmas Eve Mai Tai booze cruise; saw whales that night, too), and did a tour that took us up to Haleakala Volcano for the sunrise, then we rode bikes down. Also had some days that we just hung at the beach. They have three on this property.</p>
<p>mom60, on Oahu, we prefer to steer clear of Waikiki and the urban jungle by staying at the Marriott villas located in the peaceful Ko Olina (but that experience will most likely be ruined now with the Disney resort opening soon :() I like the lagoons that are alwasy swimmable, the relaxed atmosphere and the friendly staff at the villas. A couple of weeks before Christmas the hotel displays a huge Christmas tree in the lobby, decorated with ukuleles, sea shells, etc. Totally cool.</p>
<p>Thanks for the Ko Olina suggestion. I have never been to Oahu. I am easy to please. My H is the difficult one. He likes low key and casual so it is hard to sell him on a large resort property. I am just passing links on to him.We also need to consider that one of the kids will be coming from the midwest. We also need somewhere where we can accommodate 5 people. The villa or condo idea is nice since it is nice to not have to go out every meal.</p>
<p>“He likes low key and casual so it is hard to sell him on a large resort property.”</p>
<p>Ko Olina is as casual as they get. People walk around in bathing suits and barefoot. Not a single Gucci bag in sight. Making your own food on your own terms is a breeze. A new Costco store is just 2 miles away. Villas come in 1 and 2-bedroom sizes, equipped with a full kitchen, and the outdoor grills are a nice gathering place where we met a lot of interesting folks from all over the country.</p>
<p>Try Waileau/Mckenna on Maui for a bit less touristy. [Maui</a> Hawaii Villas | Wailea Beach Villas - Destination Resorts Hawaii | Hawaii Villa Rentals](<a href=“http://drhmaui3-px.trvlclick.com/wailea-beach-villas/maui-luxury-villas.php?utm_source=TRAVELCLICK&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Luxury]Maui”>http://drhmaui3-px.trvlclick.com/wailea-beach-villas/maui-luxury-villas.php?utm_source=TRAVELCLICK&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Luxury)</p>
<p>For something less expensive, the next town on the coast is Hilei (starts with H, sp?) which also has nice condos.</p>
<p>North coast of Kauai is also nice. In Maui and probably Kauai your husband can rent or charter all kinds of boats. I remember the Kauai waters being a bit rougher, but that may have been due to the weather.</p>
<p>Hi Mom60! :)</p>
<p>You’re on the west coast? My H & I took the NCL Pride of America cruise around all the Hawaiian Islands as our introduction to that state. It began in Honoloulou and stopped at each island, some stops were overnight! It may be too expensive if you are going with 5 people altogether, but for the two of us it was awesome. This way, we got a feel for each island and where we’d want to go back to in the future. And beause it was a cruise, all meals were included of course!</p>
<p>If you do make it to Oahu, there is a fabulous shrimp truck on the side of the road all the way up where the surfers go (only one road, I think!) We actually stopped twice, at the beginning of our vacation and then again at the end! YUM! Oahu also has the Dole Pineapple Farm.</p>
<p>If you make it to Kauai, there is a place called “Grand Canyon of the West” called Waimea Canyon that was spectacular. We happen to see it and a few years later saw the “real” Grand Canyon!</p>
<p>We have been to Maui several times. Ko Olina Marriot villas are all booked for the time we have available.
Just got off the phone with my midwest child. She doesn’t want to go to Hawaii.Trying to please everyone is a pain in the you know where! She pointed out that we need to go somewhere that doesn’t require to much decision making while we are there or the 3 siblings will kill each other.</p>
<p>Mom60, it sounds like your family needs to go on a cruise or charter a sailboat in the British Virgin Islands. Folks at work were raving about their recent experience with a sailboat trip. The crew took care of all meals, etc. All they had to do is to have fun.</p>
<p>Bunsenburner-I am laughing. My H sent me an email this afternoon that said there are 2 catamarans available Christmas week in Belize. We have chartered a sailboat in the British Virgin Islands 3 times. In our case the cook taking care of all the meals was ME. Sailboat chartering is my H’s idea of a vacation. It is a wonderful type of trip but I think we have done 5 sailboat charters in the last 8 yrs. I am ready for something different.
What I am reminded of tonight is that I should just book something and tell all of them about two months before where we are going. So far every place I have suggested someone has a negative reaction. No wonder it is easier to stay home.
Keep the ideas coming. I am still looking.</p>
<p>LOL, mom60! 5 sailboat trips in 8 years would be a sailboat OD for me. :)</p>
<p>If you want something different (and a little rugged and adventurous), here is a good place to check:</p>
<p>[December</a> 2011 Adventure Travel Tours & Holiday Vacations | REI Adventures](<a href=“http://www.rei.com/adventures/date/december.html]December”>http://www.rei.com/adventures/date/december.html)</p>