Here are the two cruises I am thinking about booking in July, 2010.
July 2, 2
010 aboard Princess Cruise Line's "Caribbean Princess". This is a 9 night cruise to Bermuda and the Caribbean which sails round trip from NYC. Since the 4th of July falls on Sunday in 2010, that means Monday is the legal holiday (even for the post office and banks). I would be able to take a 9 night vacation and still only use 5 days of vacation time.Here is the itinerary:
| Day | Location | Arrival | Departure |
| Friday, July 2, 2010 | New York, New York | -- | 05:00 PM |
| Saturday, July 3, 2010 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Sunday, July 4, 2010 | Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda | 08:00 AM | 05:00 PM |
| Monday, July 5, 2010 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Tuesday, July 6, 2010 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 01:00 PM | 11:00 PM |
| Wednesday, July 7, 2010 | St. Thomas, U.s. Virgin Islands | 07:00 AM | 04:00 PM |
| Thursday, July 8, 2010 | Grand Turk, Caicos Islands | 01:00 PM | 07:00 PM |
| Friday, July 9, 2010 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Saturday, July 10, 2010 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Sunday, July 11, 2010 | New York, New York | 07:15 AM | -- |
July 1, 2010 aboard Cunard Cruise Line's "Queen Mary 2". This is a 5 night cruise to New
England and Canada also sailing round trip from NYC. Once again, since the 4th of July is Sunday, the 5th is the legal holiday, and, I would only need to take 3 days vacation.And here is the itinerary for Cunard QM2:
| Day | Location | Arrival | Departure |
| Thursday, July 1, 2010 | New York | -- | 06:00 PM |
| Friday, July 2, 2010 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Saturday, July 3, 2010 | Halifax | 08:00 AM | 05:00 PM |
| Sunday, July 4, 2010 | Boston | 12:00 PM | 11:00 PM |
| Monday, July 5, 2010 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Tuesday, July 6, 2010 | New York | 07:00 AM | -- |
Interesting proposition. My family has been tossing around the idea of a Christmas cruise for 2010. Since everyone lives within 150 miles of NYC we are thinking about either taking Queen Mary 2 OR Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.
Here is the Explorer of the Seas itinerary:
| Day | Location | Arrival | Departure |
| Sunday, December 19, 2010 | Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.j. | -- | 04:00 PM |
| Monday, December 20, 2010 | Cruising | -- | -- |
| Tuesday, December 21, 2010 | Cruising | -- | -- |
| Wednesday, December 22, 2010 | Labadee, Haiti | 08:00 AM | 05:00 PM |
| Thursday, December 23, 2010 | Samana, Dominican Republic | 08:00 AM | 05:00 PM |
| Friday, December 24, 2010 | Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas | 08:00 AM | 05:00 PM |
| Saturday, December 25, 2010 | Cruising | -- | -- |
| Sunday, December 26, 2010 | Bridgetown, Barbados | 08:00 AM | 06:00 PM |
| Monday, December 27, 2010 | Roseau, Dominica | 08:00 AM | 06:00 PM |
| Tuesday, December 28, 2010 | St. Johns, Antigua | 08:00 AM | 05:00 PM |
| Wednesday, December 29, 2010 | Philipsburg, St. Maarten | 07:00 AM | 05:00 PM |
| Thursday, December 30, 2010 | Cruising | -- | -- |
| Friday, December 31, 2010 | Cruising | -- | -- |
| Saturday, January 1, 2011 | Cruising | -- | -- |
| Sunday, January 2, 2011 | Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.j. | 07:00 AM | -- |
And here is the Queen Mary 2 Itinerary:
| Sunday, December 19, 2010 | New York | -- | 06:00 PM |
| Monday, December 20, 2010 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Tuesday, December 21, 2010 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Wednesday, December 22, 2010 | Grand Turk | 08:00 AM | 01:00 PM |
| Thursday, December 23, 2010 | Tortola | 09:00 AM | 06:00 PM |
| Friday, December 24, 2010 | St Maarten | 08:00 AM | 06:00 PM |
| Saturday, December 25, 2010 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Sunday, December 26, 2010 | Curacao | 09:00 AM | 02:00 PM |
| Monday, December 27, 2010 | Grenada | 09:00 AM | 06:00 PM |
| Tuesday, December 28, 2010 | Barbados | 08:00 AM | 06:00 PM |
| Wednesday, December 29, 2010 | St Lucia | 08:00 AM | 06:00 PM |
| Thursday, December 30, 2010 | St Kitts | 08:00 AM | 06:00 PM |
| Friday, December 31, 2010 | St Thomas | 08:00 AM | 05:00 PM |
| Saturday, January 1, 2011 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Sunday, January 2, 2011 | At Sea | -- | -- |
| Monday, January 3, 2011 | New York | 06:30 AM | -- |
I am very fortunate that the company where I work automatically closes for the entire week between Christmas and New Year's so it's like a bonus week of vacation. And, other members of my family who are still in the work force and not retired also have this same great benefit with their respective companies.
Additionally, since Christmas falls on Saturday in 2010, that means my company will use December 24th as the holiday, and, therefore, the Christmas cruise will only cost me 4 vacation days on Royal Caribbean and 5 days on Cunard.
Vacation Carry Over
So, if I take the QM2 sailing in July, I will be able to carry an additional 2 to 3 days vacation into 2011 or no extra vacation days in 2011 if I select Caribbean Princess for the 4th of July in 2010 and QM2 for Christmas.
Confused yet? Help me decide! Vote in the poll (found in the upper right hand column)
On the right hand column you will see that I put up a poll. If you'd like to give your opinion of which you believe is the best vacation combination - based only on the choices I have presented, please take a moment to vote.
The polls is open for the next 10 days but, realistically, I'll probably book by next Monday or so.
1 comment:
Are you looking to travel with someone? I also have the same week off in the NY area.
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