Where should we go for Spring Vacation?

kit_kats_mom wrote: It is time to plan our annual vacations. We will be taking another round the nation drive to visit Nana & Papa in Illinois but since K wants to see snow, we are going to put that off until near Christmas. This trip would be about a week long give or take.

so....
Caribbean Cruise-
the docks are nearby, 30 mins away at most, so no travel involved really
most have daycare so we could have some one on one time
probably the least expensive option
I've heard good and bad things about cruises so I'm not totally sold
Neither one of us are real "beach" people.
or real drinkers
has the potential to be kind of cheesy.

Niagra Falls/New York City
DH's flight would be paid for by his company since he would work in the Buffalo office one day
We have one free frequent flyer ticket for me so we'd just have to pay for the girls
Would visit the falls for a couple of days then drive to NYC for a day or two of sightseeing, probably stay somewhere in between for a night.
May get to meet up with Jeanne & her family

Guatemaela
This would be more of a visiting/family type trip with some sightseeing
I have family that live here. A cousin and his Guatemalean (I'm positive I just slaughtered that spelling LOL) wife & their two babies.
Free place to stay
Short flight
Not a lot to do since the ruins and stuff are not reccomended for children under 10
Lots of extended family with tons of kids. Would probably have sitters if we wanted them
I've never been out of the country (ok, Vancouver but that doesn't really count) so probably going to the market would be pretty exciting to me.

So, if you were us...what would you do???

Oh lordy! I just realized that the poll says "help us decided" should say "decide" or maybe "help Cary learn to type a little better"

Our Lil' Family replied: I LOVE cruising so that's my vote! But of course going to visit family would be wonderful too!!

booey2 replied: I voted cruise because I always wanted to do one and DH won't, also there is a ton of stuff to do on the ships these days so you could all have fun.

coasterqueen replied: I'm not a big cruise person and I freak out at the thought of taking my children out of the country let alone me so I'd say NYC/Niagra Falls. If I had to chose between the later two for some odd reason I'd pick Guatamala over the cruise.

Quite frankly I'd take any of them. We will NEVER get to go on family vacations like that.

BTW, let me know when you come through IL this time K might not see snow even in December. Especially around central IL. It's a hit or miss situation.

kit_kats_mom replied:
Will do! I'm always looking for an excuse to escape the farm.

I know it's hit or miss but poor K has been dying for snow this year. I told her we'd try our best. If it doesn't snow there, hopefully it will snow somewhere along the way for her.

amynicole21 replied: No cruises!!!!! Trust me on that one. Especially since L is too young to go to an all day daycare (usually 3 is the min age, sometimes 4). It was so freaking stressful when we took Sophia that it was hardly a vacation. If you and W went by yourselves, that would be a totally different story. I love cruising WITHOUT kids.

Niagra Falls - never been there, don't know what there is to do other than look at the waterfall

Guatemaela sounds fascinating! It would be a good way to expose K to new cultures, and to see relatives she wouldn't see otherwise. That one gets my vote!

coasterqueen replied:
not sure what direction you would be coming from...south I guess since you are coming from Florida. Yeah, forget I even said that Northern IL gets a lot more snow...could make a trip towards Chicago if she REALLY wants to see snow .

MomToJade&Jordan replied: Oh gee I voted for the cruise until I saw Amy's post. Strike that. Go to Niagra.

DansMom replied: Niagara Falls.

(1) Norwalk viruses---avoid.

(2) A cruise could be "cheesy" and you already live in a tropical climate.

(3) Check it out: upstate New York = Jeanne---maybe you guys could meet up? That would be awesome. Of course you'll post pics.

(4) If you've never seen the falls, you've got to! The kids will be amazed. You'll be amazed.

(5) Do you want to deal with passports and all that? No.

edited to fix numbering.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I agree with Karen, I would be too scared to take young children out of the country. So I would pick Niagra Falls/NYC. Cruises aren't really my thing either, I guess for what you said...we don't drink (or at least I don't now, but DH doesn't) and we love good food, so we're not into buffets whatsoever. And games and shows on the boat just seem cheesy IMO. I would be counting the minutes we get to land! Although my parents said the Alaskan cruises are phenomenal! Guatemala sounds nice, especially if you have family there, but like you said, not much to do for the kids. Stay in the States...there's probably a lot more options for the kids that way.

kimberley replied: i voted niagara but i am biased there are a ton of kid things to do up here on our side of the falls. we actually took the boys and jade two winters ago and had a blast. there are arcades, museums, swimming and other stuff at the hotel, seeing the falls, rainforest cafe... etc etc.

Freckled Momma replied: I voted for Niagra because of the kids...so much for the family to do and easier with younger ones.

I LOVED the cruise my hubby and I went on back in 94...but it was before kids...totally recommend this if you were doing just the couple thing w/out kids.

Guatemala sounds fascinating, but I would wait til my kids were a lil older before going...but that's just my opinion.

HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT TIME, NO MATTER WHAT YOU CHOOSE!

coasterqueen replied:
I've heard the Alaskan ones are awesome too. That is one cruise Dh and I have thought about someday in our dream world.

A&A'smommy replied: I would go to either go to new york (since I have ALWAYS wanted to go) or gautemala (bad speller here) that would be a hard choice

Kaitlin'smom replied: New York/Niagra deffinalty I went to Nigara for our 10th wedding ann last year LOVED it and there is soooo much for kids to do, I wished i had taken Kait, we will take her, it was nice to see it just us but i missed her all the same. I also LOVE NEW YORK CITY, I woudl so be living there had I not met DH almost 14 years ago. I so cant wait to go again and to take Kait.

I dunno what our vacation will be this year DH has promised granma in FL we woudl come see her, So I know were goign to FL just dunno when and what else we might squeese in this year.

CantWait replied: I like Gautemala better, but that might be just me thinking of me. I think the history of it would be really neat, and if your family could sit for a day, it would be perfect. Although I'm sure there are beaches there so not so perfect. It's a tough choice with kids. Good Luck deciding.

kimberley replied: thinking about guatemala reminds me of my trip to the philippines when i was 6yo. i really wish my parents had waited to take me there until i was older and could appreciate the history and culture. the vaccinations were horrible, flights were long, the food didn't agree with me and the bugs scared the you know what out of me because they were the size of dogs and to a 6yo, a hotel at home or in the philippines was all the same to me.

jcc64 replied: Pick me, pick me, pick me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to admit, I was only to Niagra Falls once, and like Amy said, once you're done being mesmermized by the awesomeness (is that a word?) of it, I'm not sure what else there is to do, but apparently others here found things.
New York City is of course another story entirely-I could go on ad infinitum about all the great things to do, especially when it's warm. But you are aware that Niagra Falls is very far from NYC? (like 8 hrs?) You are more than welcome to park yourselves at my house in between the two- I'm about 2 hrs north of NYC, and it's very pretty here in the summer months. Let me know.....