Carnival really needs to work hard in the days ahead to restore trust. That should start with a public explanation of how this happened and how it intends to prevent a recurrence. But instead, Carnival has so far offered only to refund passengers the cost of their cruise, is busing them home and initially offered them $500 each. That seems to fall short.
Wherever you are this winter or wherever you’re planning to go for spring break (check out our ideas for Spring Break 2013, take time to visit a museum exhibit that would especially interest your family.
Jetlagged, hungry, and in need of a bed, we found our way to our hotel for the night — Chateau de Goville–an old manor in the Norman countryside. I kept saying the château would be Downton Abbey-esque, but it wasn’t until we settled into our room and found a plaque on the wall stating that the Duchess of the Estate had lived (and died!) in this very room nearly seventy years ago that we really felt the chateau’s history.
When you are after an adult’s getaway, you don’t want a lot of kids around to either spoil your tranquility or make you feel guilty. If you wanted to be with kids, you would have brought your own.
Snowbasin is more than just a mountain to me, it’s my home. I have many sweet memories of my life on skis here. Like when I first got onto a pair of skis at the age of three.
In the summer this working ranch, which has welcomed guests since 1919, is famous for its family riding programs and kids’ programs that guarantee families a memorable vacation. There is a herd of 175 horses, but no more than 100 or so guests, and families return year after year.
My kids would have loved the chance to hike along the ridge and drop into the resort’s famous Honeycomb Canyon, so named because 19th century mining trails are honeycombed under the snow covered mountains. The view from the summit—10,035 feet is spectacular—the Wasatch Mountain Range in all its glory without a condo or mega mansion in site.
No, we’re not in Paris or a big city patisserie. We’re in Park City, Utah at Deer Valley Ski Resort, one of Utah’s 14 ski resorts. At Snow Park Lodge, besides the freshly baked French pastries and muffins, the breakfast offerings include eggs benedict, home-made granola, house-smoked salmon omelets and challah French Toast.
Truth be told, it was only my second morning on skis this season, it was dumping snow and I wasn’t feeling too confident. But two runs later from the top of the mountain—I loved that the gondola kept us warm—I was smiling— and still smiling after I got pulled out from where I’d fallen off the trail.
All the times I’ve been to Utah to ski—there are 14 ski areas to choose from—I’ve never stayed in Salt Lake City, but I could turn into a convert. You can get discounted gear and lift tickets at www.skinsee.com downtown and get discounted lift tickets at the Salt Lake City Costco.
I wish I were at the beach.I’m guessing so do a lot of people right about now when it is freezing across the country. At least I can think about the fun times on the beach in recent months:
Locals are quick to tell you Anguilla, a British territory, isn’t only about the beaches, though their motto is “tranquility wrapped in blue.” “I have lived in Anguilla for 20 years and the thing that never changes is the people,” says children’s book author Jo-Anne Mason, originally from Brooklyn.
Even in the most terrific locales, nothing goes as planned. Someone gets sick (we’ve had lots of ear infections). Someone ends up in the ER (me, here three years ago after a bad fall). Someone has a meltdown. And someone just doesn’t want to spend that much time with mom and dad.
No we’re not at a ski resort –there isn’t even a ski lift or any other skiers anywhere in the vicinity. That’s because we’re on some of the 8,000-plus acres at nine thousand elevation at the C Lazy U Ranch in Granby CO.
Dog sledding, is just one of the ways you might not have thought of to have fun in the snow here in New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Valley that includes 27 towns surrounding Mount Washington, the pinnacle of the 6,288-foot White Mountains
“The people are what make this place so special,” said Hearon. In fact, much of the staff is culled from young people who came here for vacation with their families. No wonder more than 60 per cent of the guests return to this 8, 500 acre ranch that is about 20 miles north of Winter Park.
The Hotel Jerome has just reopened before Christmas in the heart of downtown Aspen after a multi-million dollar renovation (every one of the 93 rooms and suites has its own luxurious bathroom, of course) and its not unusual in ski season for room rates to be over $800 a night.
I’ve always thought Snowmass was terrific for families with younger kids—its Treehouse kids’ learning facility is a standout in the industry complete with indoor climbing wall. There’s a climbing room, teen activities like movie night, and six interactive themed rooms for infants 8 weeks and older.
When we mentioned San Francisco to our kids Ethan (10) and Hannah (8) they both immediately were excited because it has so much to offer, and mostly, for the chance to go and visit Alcatraz Island.
Our past trips to San Diego and New York have been made more enjoyable, and more cost-effective by using the great benefits that CityPass offers. Our hope was that our holiday trip to San Francisco would be enhanced by using the CityPass book.
There are also plenty of women’s clinics around the country designed for women to hone their skills, whether they are skiers or snowboarders. I wish every resort had a Ladies’ Club like the one offered at Park City Mountain Resort. All it takes is 2 hours and $60.
Sue and Robin Ricketts started Anguilla’s flourishing villa business—ideal for multigenerational families and now manage some 80 villas on the island from the most luxurious ($1,000,000 a week) to totally affordable (a few thousand). Now they also run the boutique 27-room Anacona where rooms can be as low as $150 a night and all kinds of special programs—tennis, sailing, wellness, biking, yoga, art……
The Anguilla Youth Sailing Club that teaches local as well as visiting kids to sail (look for programs through the Viceroy Hotel and others) “Kids really rally round the boat racing…we start to teach them at age four,” says Paul Koeniger, who oversees the youth sailing club.
This January, of course, also marks the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and I can’t think of a better time than this winter — February is Black History Month — to explore civil rights in Washington and beyond.
We spent the afternoon at the stunning Viceroy Resort down the road from where we are staying that employs 600 people for their 166 rooms. Did I mention the five-bedroom villas that rent for as much as $17,500 a night?
At the CuisinArt Resort in Anguila. I indulged in a facial (anti-aging of course) and a soak in the “healing waters” pool that offers a combination, I’m told, of mineral sea salt and fresh water that is supposed to help my aching knee.
We’re here on a girlfriends’ getaway ensconced in a huge three-bedroom villa with its own pool, kitchen, and beach. I’m sitting aside the pool and hear the crashing waves as I write this. Did I mention the mile-long beach?
There is no better time than the week we celebrate Martin Luther King Day and the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation to embrace teachable moments with kids about slavery—no more so than at the Lincoln Memorial and Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington DC.
No, you’re not dreaming. Welcome to Fowl Cay Resort in the famous Bahamian Exumas that boast more than 300 tiny islands. This is the most unique Caribbean all-inclusive resort that I’ve ever seen.
I wish the travel industry would stop trying to convince us that if we only stay at this hotel, chose that cruise line or use a particular credit card, the kids won’t bicker, rooms will be ready when we arrive without any delays, of course, and all will be wonderful every moment.
Africa and in particular Ethiopia may not cross many minds as being a number one choice for a family holiday. What you should know is that with 8 world heritage sites, some stunning scenery, and many opportunities to inspire and educate the children, Ethiopia may well be a fantastic destination for a family holiday.
You can have as much fun off the slopes as on at a snow resort, especially in January, which is designated as Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month with special programs at resorts around the country.
Charlottesville, VA and the surrounding Piedmont region offers remarkable history, breathtaking scenery, a dining scene that blends upscale with down home and boutique inns that make for a uniquely charming getaway for your family.
Yhe Bretton Woods Ski Area Canopy Tour is a combination of nine progressively thrilling zip line rides, two hikes across suspension bridges way up in the trees, and a couple of incredible rappelling experiences. It was the latter that really tested our mettle.
There is plenty to do at this historic resort—from NH largest ski area, plenty of groomed cross country and snow shoe trails, dog sledding, sleigh rides and indoor and outdoor pool and gargantuan spa where my daughter and I indulged in blissful massages yesterday.
We’re hiking in the snow—micro crampons on our feet on the Crawford Trail in New Hampshire, with a guide from the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Highlands Center. In case you are wondering, the needles on the spruce are spikey–thus “spikey spruce” and the needles on the balsam are soft (“friendly fir”!).
Welcome to the Appalachian Mountain Club Highland Center, a short drive from Mount Washington, New England’s tallest peak. Some of the families we meet the weekend before Christmas have made a visit here an annual tradition, like the Canes, who have come nearly every year since their nine year-old was a baby.
As I thought back about this past year’s trips, I realized that each one enabled us to challenge ourselves in different ways, whether in the outdoors, navigating in an unfamiliar culture, or learning a new skill. That’s not counting the challenge of getting along with each other along the way — not always easy, especially these days as families who don’t spend a lot of time together gather for vacation.
Did I mention this resort is owned by Sandals? Yet it couldn’t be more different than Sandals expect that your stay is all inclusive. That means your villa is stocked with every food and drink you want. We fix our own breakfast and hot freshly baked muffins and fruit are delivered every morning.
Did you ever think it was possible to eat too much chocolate? If you are a chocolate lover, The Chicago Fine Chocolate Festival might just be the challenge for you.
We creep up on them. Clifton casts in a line with a gob of hermit crab for bait. There’s a small tug, them a bigger one and then “Wham,” a bonefish takes the bait and runs. And I mean runs. The drag on the spincast reel screeches as the fish tries to get off the line. Clifton hands me the rod and says “hang on.” I’ve had a lot of fish on the line in my day and this one fights better than most, if not all.
This tiny resort and these outer islands are the antithesis of giant resorts like Atlantis in Nassau. It is also expensive—over $1500 a night for a villa that sleeps four. But you could easily be spending that much at many tony Caribbean resorts for two rooms and not have the comfort or exclusivity as here, not to mention your own boat for the length of your stay.
I love this place! Where else can you feed swimming pigs and snorkel amid schools of brightly colored fish. We can putter around our kitchen but don’t have to shop for groceries or clean up.. There are plenty of books and movies in the library as well as a pool table. Did I mention the outdoor shower with views of the water? Nice!
Think Black Friday at the busiest mall — times 1,000 — combined with Times Square on New Year’s Eve. That only begins to describe Hong Kong on Christmas Eve when thousands take to the streets — no cars are permitted in the hotel district — to shop and shop some more until 2 a.m. (the subways run all night).
All of us who covered that story were deeply impacted by it, just as those have been covering Sandy Hook. My kids were the same age as the children who were shot and went to a suburban school two towns away. That tragedy made us as young parents mindful not only of our mortality but that of our children. It made us resolve to make the most of the happy times together while we could.
Until the kids finally insisted I stop buying ornaments wherever we went, I’d buy one for each of them wherever we went. The sillier the better. And even now years later, they make me smile and bring back memories—the real memories of traveling with kids.
Welcome to Disney’s new Art of Animation Resort with four different wings that celebrate favorite characters—Finding Nemo, Cars and Lion King. And there’s plenty of room to spread out with 1120 family suites (there are 864 rooms too).
We’re at Walt Disney World’s Epcot where at the new Test Track Presented by Chevrolet we create our own design, then board a “simCar” to race through performance tests—how does it handle extreme weather conditions? How efficient is it? How responsive? How Powerful?
You’ll find New Fantasyland just past the existing Fantasyland, beyond Cinderella’s castle. Did I mention that there are now three castles here for all those princess lovers? All of this as Orlando heads into the holiday season, one of the busiest of the year with special attractions at every park.
Welcome to the Candlelight Procession at Walt Disney World’s Epcot that is a popular tradition here drawing locals and visitors alike that is performed three times an evening during the holiday season.
My kids have been to Disneyland and Walt Disney World innumerable times but I don’t think I have any photos of them on Dumbo either. Maybe it was too hot waiting in the sun? Actually I think it was because the first time, 3-year-old Matt was afraid of the Dumbo ride. And Peter Pan too.
No worries if you can’t make it to the New Fantasyland for a while either. There’s more to come. Next year, Princess Fairytale Hall will open complete with chambers where you can meet Aurora, Cinderella, Tiana and Rapunzel.
Did you know that most of the plants and animals we raise for food today barely resemble their wild ancestors? Did you know that more than a billion people work in agriculture today? Did you know that 40 million children are overweight? Did you know that 30 per cent of all food produced is never eaten? Did you know the average American family of four wastes 1,656 pounds of food a year?
If you’re taking the little ones on the snowy slopes for the first time it is important you introduce them to the wonder of skiing in a way that will have them pleading to return the year after. And, of course, make sure you protect your investment in the trip in case your plans go awry.
Need a saddle blanket? Not to keep warm, to eat. In cowboy parlance, a saddle blanket is a pancake; belly wash is coffee and Pecos strawberries are beans. Welcome to Fort Worth, Texas, which prides itself on being known as the City of Cowboys.
But then we all gather around the table and, as is our tradition, we tell each other what we’re thankful for this year. “Thank you for being such wonderful kids and such terrific, responsible adults. We can’t imagine our lives without you!” Eileen says.
It’s worth the effort, I promise, to take the kids and grandkids. For a few hours you can forget the baking, the shopping and the wrapping and just enjoy the holidays and each other.
Let’s play the what-if game. What if Mother Nature derails your holiday travel plans — as it did for so many people I know earlier this month during Hurricane Sandy and during the Christmas blizzard that crippled the East Coast two years ago?
I couldn’t help but smile as I looked out at the room filled with family travel writers and bloggers, some with their kids beside them, busily learning how to become better travel communicators.
Our first day on the mountain my daughter’s instructor got her set up with a bi-ski and we all headed out onto the lift. It was a short run and I’m not sure if I breathed the whole way down, anxiously wondering how she was doing. We got to the bottom of the run and I was greeted by a wide smile. Game o!.