Yeah, not to join the "we want" club but with the major disappointment and hassle of the cruise being canceled and having to try and get our money back etc... I'd need the Scottish trip to firm up reasonably fast so I could book it vs trying to salvage something else. Unfortunately I'm going to be out nearly $400 that I spent for my travel insurance because the cut off date for canceling it was a couple of days before I was notified the cruise was canceled. I have to book another vacation in order to have them apply the policy to it, otherwise they keep the money and I get nothing. So its pretty much a race on my part to find something else we want to do, that we can afford to do and then book it before I lose that chance (or it sells out). Most vacations are booked at least 6-9 months ahead in order to get a good airfare/room etc.
For us to go to Scotland on an Albannach tour we'd need very firm info by the end of October at the latest. And with money being an issue for so many of us I think most of us would agree we'd need a package price that was the same or nearly the same as the cruise.
Hubby and I had budgeted about $4500 for the trip which included round-trip airfare, hotel in the port town for the night before the cruise (mandatory really), the cruise itself (lodging and meals for 7 days), optional shore excursions, plus all taxes, fees and so forth.
That didn't include the bar tab
though, I was collecting quarters in a jar for that.
So the new trip would have to be around that price and take into account the higher airfare from the US to Glasgow. I just did a price check for flights in April and I'm seeing around $1000 - $1100 per person vs $450 or less for Fort Lauderdale. Some dates might be more or less - I just went with the same dates as the cruise except in April. And yes, to echo others we don't need fancy hotels - clean and safe will be fine but a good itenerary with lots of music is key.
