That's a good strategy. The four of us cruised out NYC in November. We had a blast the three days we were NYC. It didn't hurt that my MIL comped us a suite in times square. My older son loved NYC wants to move there. The cruise was just meh for him. My younger son was like "get me out of this crazy city and on to a boat". Total opposites.Yes, we did. We found a Southern itinerary for 2019 that sounds amazing... So amazing that we lost interest for the Bermuda a little bit. The fact that longer Oasis class cruises were cheaper than cruises on the Anthem played a role in our decision as well.
We decided to invest the money for the Southern Caribbean itinerary for March 2019 and then pick a more affordable cruise for October 2018 instead.
There was two other options that were on our bucket list: A southern with Aruba/Curaçao or Half Moon Cay & Grand Turk.
HMC & GT was quite cheap. The total including taxes was 422$/pp for 5 nights, so we decided to book that one.
If the TA is more interesting and cheaper, I say: go for it. Ireland looks amazing.
DH and I always try to put one land trips or getaway between cruises. We used to do WDW but we needed a break.
Last year, we went for a week-end in NYC, then a Kingston/Niagara Fall/Niagara-on-the-Lake/Toronto getaway.
Someday, I would like to see Washington/Philadelphia... Dublin & Cork, Reikjavik, London or Paris.
We haven't been on the Breeze, but we have been on the Vista which is great. Most people I have spoken with say the Breeze is their favorite ccl ship. Apparently the layout and flow of the ship just really work. It also has almost everything the Vista has in terms of things to do/entertainment.
My husband still jokes about it. I have a weak knee since we've been hit by a car while crossing the street. Seems like my muscles are not quite strong enough yet. 
Tried the rope course on the Vista. Never been so terrified...
I asked the person working the course and she said, that yes, they did design it to be harder. Such a shame because I enjoy doing stuff like that but I am short and a bit fluffy and middle-aged!
The ropes course on Vista is a lot more difficult. I had no problems on Breeze and could not finish Vista (I had to be "rescued"). I am so ashamed
We have also been looking into a transatlantic cruise. Unfortunately, we started to make plans too late and my DH needs more lead time to take 3 weeks off: two weeks for the cruise and another week in Europe. The DCL Magic TA looks amazing! I've always wanted to visit Halifax. I've been to Scotland and the landscape looks very similar. I also want to visit Ireland. But ... that cruise is totally out of my price range.
. In any case, I'm looking at Spring 2019 now and I think that we'll go south to Italy instead of London. We've never been to Spain or Italy so I'd probably be able to visit both on the same trip.. So, that's why I'm posting and reading on the thread.
Don't you pay really high taxes for that "free healthcare".You would probably not like living in Canada. NYC is not that cold in November compared to winter (And Canada is even colder). Not gonna lie, we hate winter but free healthcare is the main reason we stay in Canada (that and because this part of Canada is very safe too).
We have a lot of snowbirds here. They spend winter in Florida (they stay as long as they can without losing Canadian's Healthcare) and they create small communities over there.
As you can imagine, all-included vacation in Caribbean resorts are extremely popular too!
And now you all understand why my husband refuses to go on a Alaska cruise.
Your China trips sounds amazing. There's only one other person in my family that wants to do this. I'm not a tour person but it sounds so much easier doing ABD. Cost wise I'm not sure, but it does include the flights around Asia and they put you up in some swanky hotels like the Ritz.We have also been looking into a transatlantic cruise. Unfortunately, we started to make plans too late and my DH needs more lead time to take 3 weeks off: two weeks for the cruise and another week in Europe. The DCL Magic TA looks amazing! I've always wanted to visit Halifax. I've been to Scotland and the landscape looks very similar. I also want to visit Ireland. But ... that cruise is totally out of my price range.
I think we'll probably end up with a TA next spring on Royal or Norwegian. The pricing is pretty close between RCCL and NCL "Sail Away" pricing and then adding the free drinks package costs only $20-$40 more per person per day and with sooooo many sea days I would come out ahead while the regularly priced drink packages don't even come close to breaking even. I had been pricing this spring until my DH told me that he couldn't take that much time off and we could be on a TA from Tampa to Barcelona on Rhapsody of the Seas for about $1600 for 14 days in May for BOTH of us in an outside cabin. It was $2300 on the NCL Jade for 13 days in April with free drinks and specialty dining. I'm sure that prices have changed a bit since I stopped tracking
BTW, we went to China in 2007 and it was AMAZING. We are not "tour" people so we did everything ourselves. We visited Hong Kong (and Disneyland), Beijing, then off to Japan and Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Yokohama and Toyko Disneyland. We saw a lot in China on our own but I do regret not having the time to see the terracotta warriors in Xi'an.
ETA: In the meantime, we're looking at a 5-7 day Carnival or RCCL cruise in April. I'm a last minute planner when it comes to most of my cruising
I stayed, no kidding, at the Holiday Inn Haidain in Beijing and it was wonderful. I think we paid less than $90 per night in USD. We had an amazing concierge that arranged for private tours, including a private car to the Great Wall and back for less than $80 and a private dinner for our anniversary complete with authentic folk singers for less than $100. It was off the beaten path and we did have to taxi or subway everywhere but that was OK. We also stayed at the Conrad in Hong Kong on points. Wowsa! My DH is Hilton Diamond and we were upgraded to the executive floor. It was probably the "swankiest" hotel I've ever been to.
(p.s.: I know my vision is not very popular as people don't like to pay taxes... but... I like to contribute to the wellness of others as much as I can...)
Sorry to be confusing. It was on our own but a cruise in Asia would be wonderful!
That question is not easy to answer as I am not an expert in taxes... But, here's what I understand:
Just like in the US, not everyone pays the same amount of taxes. If I am not mistaken U.S. tax brackets range from 10% to 35% for individuals? --Please correct me if I am wrong! --. In Canada, the range goes from 15% to 33%. Each year, the government of each province decides how much of that tax money will go into health care. I see it as a collective effort.
When my mom had bone cancer her chemo at 90 000$ per week had absolutely no impact on her budget. Like, outside of the taxes taken from her paycheck (like everybody else), she paid 0$.
So, last year, I paid around 8000$ in taxes. Not sure how much of this 8000$ went for health care, tbh. But if the most part of my 8000$ helps paying to cure someone's cancer, or hearth surgery or baby delivery, I'm very proud to contribute.
