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Hiya! How’s it going? I am back and ready to do a little more planning with you all. Not wedding planning this time though… now we’re on to HONEYMOON planning!
In case you’re new and don’t remember the Mary Janes, we got married on Sept. 9, 2009 in the courthouse. I just spent a shit-load of time updating my bio so that you can check out my wedding details in one nice little place. Enjoy!
Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Last year, Mr. Mary Jane and I made the decision to postpone our honeymoon. We had a lot of reasons for doing this, ranging from unstable finances to busy semester schedules. But boy, did we feel it! Going right back to work and school after getting married kind of sucked and really didn’t put the “exclamation point” on our wedded bliss. (So if you’re on the fence, definitely take some kind of honeymoon right after your wedding if at ALL possible. I highly recommend.)
Due to a friend’s May wedding an some classes we’re taking in May/June, our honeymoon would be pushed to July. Early August would be OK too, but we don’t want to return home and go directly back to school. And my job gets kind of busy during August too. Long story short, we’re now focused on finding something unforgettable and awesome to do between late June and mid-August.
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Here are some of the options we have been considering:
Focus on a certain area of the U.S. or Canada
Stay in a nice hotel or series of hotels, rent a car, and kind of road-trip around. (Suggestions: Boston area, Pacific Northwest, Nova Scotia/New England.) We kind of put the kibosh on this one though because while it’s probably the most cost-effective, it’s also the least fabulous. We want to do something amazing we wouldn’t otherwise do… and this may not fit the bill.
An All-Inclusive Resort
It just seems to EASY. And tropical. And relaxing. Relaxation is my friend.
A Cruise
It seems like so much fun! It’s kind of like a floating, traveling resort, right?
What will we choose? We do know a few things that we want, and a few things we’d like to avoid.
Tons of kids, families, and crowds? No.
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Adults-only isn’t really a requirement, but we are looking for places that don’t necessarily cater to kids/families. We want a quiet, romantic getaway… not a trip to Chuck E. Cheese.
Luxury? Yes.
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Neither of us has been on an extravagant vacation before (and we probably won’t be making a habit of it any time soon), so we want to splurge on this. We want to be spoiled.
Exhaustion and a tight schedule? No.
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“Exhaustion and a tight schedule” is an accurate representation of our day-to-day life. We’d love to do a little sight-seeing and touristy stuff, but we do not want an over-scheduled trip during which we would live out of our suitcases, move from hotel to hotel, and be constantly be checking our watches with worries about making it to our next destination on time.
Boredom? No.
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We don’t want to be bored out of our minds either, wishing we’d saved the money and just spent a week at home doing the laundry.
Relaxation? Yes Yes Yes.
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I am not sure I even know/remember how to relax. Good books, great scenery, yummy foods and tasty adult beverages sound like a nice start.
So basically, we’re looking for something similar to what the Snows and the PChips described. Stay tuned for part 2 of my “We Need A Vacation” Series. I’ll talk about some of our favorite cruise and all-inclusive resort options. In part 3, I’ll share with you our decision and *how* we decided!
Our honeymoon will take place about 10 months after our wedding. Are you postponing your honeymoon until significantly after the wedding?
So you already decided or are you looking for suggestions? I would recommend signing up for the Travelzoo.com Top 20 if you don’t already get it. We had very similar criteris (except immediately after the wedding) and are doing the all inclusive in the Caribbean option but I hear cruises are at all time low prices these days!
We’re waiting 2.5 months - so not as long as you - to avoid hurricane season. And to get a vacation as winter rolls in. All inclusive and adults only. That’s what we wanted.
I wouldn’t go on a cruise… especially if you’re trying to avoid crowds and children.. we went on a cruise this last fall and it. was. the. worst. experience. of. my. life. and I couldn’t imagine that experience being my honeymoon- I would have been sooo bummed out!
You guys should pick number two- a resort! Just chill on the beach, take books to read, go snorkeling, have nice dinners together and relax!
We’ll probably have to put off the honeymoon because we need to save up the funds for it and my out-of-town family wants to stay a week past our wedding to experience Disneyland and the like. Then we have three more weddings during the year, including one that requires a trip to Wichita. So we’ll probably have to wait until next fall at the earliest. But that’s not stopping me from pricing summer trips and dreaming.
i think a cruise could definitely work for you!! there are tons of smaller ships out there that are quieter and more relaxing. as my grandfather has become less mobile, my grandparents (who are travel fiends) have taken to cruising as grandpa can be entertained on the ship if need be while grandma goes and runs all over the place. they’ve recently done croatia and japan (separately of course). look around for some travel deals! while it is hurricane season, that could help you out price-wise, but july is somewhat less active (late august and all of september tend to have the worst of hurricane season). also, check the cruiseline’s policy on hurricane disruptions. they may simply re-route you–no harm done. also, i know you can book cruises through costco. cool, no?
We did a cruise in Hawaii for the honeymoon. The cruise allowed us to see more islands than we would have seen if we booked it ourselves. The cruise itself was feh, but Hawaii, ohmygoodness. I will say the benefit of the cruise in addition to the floating between islands on basically a floating hotel was the fact that due to time constraints, it forced us to have down time, where we would have been tempted to overschedule. Whereas here, we would go hiking/kayaking/waterfall hunting by day, and get on our floating hotel by whatever time was necessary and then have dinner and relax. The Norwegian Cruise was not all inclusive however, so the nicer dinners and drinks did really add up. Of course if you’re more motivated you can always sneak a bottle in.
@slicey19: We’ve narrowed it down a lot, but we’re not solid 
@what2bee: We were a little worried about that with a lot of the options - esp. Caribbean cruises. Pretty much any cruise site (or resort site) I looked at that showed a bunch of kids splashing around and screaming? I closed the tab immediately. hehe.
@fromcharleston: Hehe, Croatia and Japan together would be pretty cool tho! That’s great that your grandparents can cruise together. We have been looking at cruises that seem to be well enjoyed by the octogenarian crowd - we’re pretty mellow people ourselves! I’d totally check out a Costco to find deals if we had one in our region!
@tinab1181: A hawaii cruise is one option we’ve been looking at!
Ahh that sounds amazing! I know you’ve already decided, but I totally vote for cruise. I have been on two through Carnival, and even though it’s a super kid-friendly ship, we didn’t even notice the kids. It was SO amazing!!!
I can’t wait to see where you’re going! We’ll postpone our honeymoon for about a month when his college semester is over. We are planning on getting away for a minimoon right after the wedding for a couple of days to avoid the going straight back to work/school thing.
A cruise would be a great idea! You can pick and choose what events you attend to help set the pace of your vacation. I loved my cruise!!!
you two deserve a great honeymoon–can’t wait to see what you decided!
Your first option in basically all those areas we looked into and then I started to feel like it wasn’t as “special” as I was hoping it to be. We was luxury also because we have no idea if and when we will get a chance to go on a trip like that again. Very much looking forward to see what you guys choose!
I’m so glad you’re posting this! We were married in May 2009 and also postponed the honeymoon … we’re ALSO looking to travel between June and August this summer, and we’re split between a Pacific Northwest road trip and a tropical all-inclusive. Creepy coincidence, huh?! We have not decided yet, so I’ll be interested to see what you’ve learned …
i highly, highly recommend Esperanza in Cabo San Lucas, they will make you feel like royalty:) i can’t wait to see what you pick!
Great to see you back Mrs Mary Jane! I’ve missed your posts.
oooh yay! honeymoon. i’m sure you’ll both be glad you took the time to go on a vacation like that
I married in June of 2008 and STILL haven’t been on my honeymoon. The majority of it was due to lack of time and, having just bought our first house, some sound budgetary concerns.
However, we WERE able to take a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas (I wont a trip) and it was amazing! I would strongly recommend checking out cruise options to the Carribean. So relaxing! Good luck!
[...] When we left off, I told you what Mr. Mary Jane and I are looking for in a [belated] honeymoon. [...]
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Mrs. Mary Jane, Grand Forks, ND Age and Occupation: 26, Instructional Designer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Lead Programmer Engagement Date: February 28, 2009 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: City Hall About Me: I'm a career woman on the surface and a homemaker at heart. I love fast cars and high heels, and my favorite food is cake. Mr. Mary Jane and I are both full-time employees and students, and we just bought our first house. We love to curl up on the couch with buttery popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and the latest Netflix arrival -- whenever we can get a break from everyday life.
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