I was recently invited to check out Club Med's newly redesigned cruise ship, the Club Med 2. They say it's the biggest five-masted sailing vessel in the world, and with its multiple restaurants and bars, roomy cabins, two pools, spa, and vast stretches of sundecks, I believe them.

During its summer travels, the ship docks in Nice, Portofino, St. Tropez, and Cannes, and in the winter, it takes guests around the Caribbean. And because kids under the age of 8 are not allowed (for safety reasons) it's the perfect adults-only getaway--beautiful scenery and the all-inclusive comforts Club Med is known for. Like food and drinks galore, including the fabulous daily teatime shown below.

This particular inaugural cruise was just for media and industry folks from 14 different countries. I was lucky enough to get a few minutes with the ship's designer, Sophie Jacqmin. She said she had a mere three weeks to implement her ideas, which came mostly from the writers and explorers who have been inspired by the sea. For example, the televisions in the cabins were installed periscope-style, her color palette came from sailor's uniforms, and you could find quotes from famous books and explorers everywhere--including on the bedding.

I loved learning that the little boy pictured digging in the sand above the beds is Jacqmin's nephew. (Her own 12-year-old son was too shy.)

Travel expert Andria Mitsakos spends more than 80% of her time on airplanes. When it comes to quick getaways, she knows that jetting away on just one flight means avoiding missed connections and long layovers. This is hugely helpful for families traveling too - easy flights mean happy kids!

Here are her favorite East Coast "one flight wonders" for families:

JAMAICA
Flight time from New York: 3hr 50min
Flight time from Miami: 1hr 40min

Laid back and relaxed accommodations: Goldeneye, Oracabessa
Family fun: Novelist Ian Fleming lived at Goldeneye and wrote all of the James Bond novels here. Your kids can channel their inner "Bond" in this Caribbean wonderland.   With the resort's "Big Fish Little Fish" program, nature takes center stage, with sandy beaches, fish, shells, private coves and cliffs, mangroves, gardens, birds, exotic trees and woodland, protected not manicured. Kids have a genuine experience of nature left natural with space to play, explore, and discover. There is even kid’s meditation and yoga.

Fun and exciting accommodations: Sunset Beach Resort & Spa, Montego Bay
Insider's tip: We love the new Dive In Movie and Dinner, where a movie is projected onto a large screen poolside while kids watch from seats and water tubes floating in the pool. A summer sale offers 35% off already great, all-inclusive rates. The Club Mongoose kid's program promises that the little ones stay occupied day and night.

ST. MAARTEN
Flight time from New York: 4 hours
Flight time from Miami: 2 hours 50 minutes

Accommodations: Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino
Family Fun: The resort's complimentary Just Us Kids program is designed for children ages 4 to 12 years old and boasts supervised activities and games at the pool, the beach or indoor in our "Just us Kids" rooms. Family-friendly options in St. Maarten abound including the famous Butterfly Farm, the St. Maarten Zoo and day trips to neighboring islands. 

Continue reading Andria Mitsakos' East Coast One Flight Wonders »

Lexy Schmertz, Contributor
"Get away" takes on a whole new meaning at Bitter End Yacht Club.  Located on a tiny island in Virgin Gorda, BVI, the Bitter End is a resort (that feels at once high-end and low-key) for anyone who's nuts about sailing.  Because it's so remote (we flew to San Juan, then took a hopper to Tortola, followed by a 45 minute ferry ride to the island), you can be sure to avoid groups of tacky tourists and commercial enterprise (except for the random conch shells you can buy from local divers).

It's basically sailing made easy. Fully rigged Hobie Cats are ready to go at a moment's notice, so you can grab your kids and go for a twenty-minute or a two-hour sail without any tedious planning or reserving, etc. They also offer a large selection of sloops that you can sail at any time.  Every day there are options for kids and adults, including sailing and windsurfing lessons and snorkeling or diving excursions.

The resort is very much geared toward families. Many meals are buffet, so famished kids aren't waiting for their eats to be ordered and cooked.  My favorite part about dining there, though, was how the main restaurant sits on the beach - literally, sand in toes. So our brood would eat (and eat, and eat!), then go off to play in plain view where we could keep an eye on them.  And because there are so many families, all the kids make friends. Before we knew it, everyone was building sandcastles and chasing lizards together.

Every few days the resort offered Kids' Night, which included an activity (usually a boat trip to a small island a stone's throw from where they might race hermit crabs), a dinner, and a movie in the outdoor theatre. This lasted from 5pm - 9pm, letting parents enjoy multiple cocktails and - yes, true story - a romantic dinner!

Yolanda Edwards, Travel & Lifestyle Editor

A friend of ours recommended the Natura Cabañas property in the Dominican Republic, when we were talking about how hard it is to find really non-commercial properties, that are easy to fly into. This completely fit the ticket. We landed into Puerto Plata, after a very quick (3 hours and nonstop) Jet Blue flight from JFK. A taxi that the hotel had booked was waiting for us, and within a half an hour we were walking into our beautiful bungalow. It was a three bedroom, since that was what was available, and they charge just by the person--which is $90 per person, and $40 per child, and includes breakfast. The bungalow was really well appointed, the beds comfortable enough, and the bathroom lovely, although the water pressure was non-existent, and there was no way we were going to take a bath, since it would have taken hours to fill up. Never mind, there was a pool (although not heated, Clara didn't mind), and the Caribbean right in front. I was able to sit in the hammock on the front porch, while Clara played on the wooden swingset out front, right next to the very cute treehouse. The beach was beautiful, with lovely little purple and pink shells, and although the water was rough in spots, it didn't have a strong undertow. The food was really good, and very homemade, with its only drawback being that it took a long time to come out. In fact, our friend who sent us there told us that we should order, then come back 45 minutes later. Since we knew that going in, it wasn't a problem. We would order dinner, then grab a couple of mojitos for us and pineapple juice for Clara, head to the beach, and swing on the silk rope swing.

 

Rebecca Etter, Travel Assistant

Summer is right around the corner, and with the Cayman Islands "Summer Splash" deal an  island escape is not out of the question this year. When you book a 5-night stay on the island your kids stay, eat, and fly for free. And as if that wasn't enough, the package also offers savings on local activities like water sports and wildlife tours.

When you add up all you can save, suddenly an island getaway isn't as expensive as you once thought, and you don't have to feel so guilty daydreaming about summer vacation. 

Visit Caymanislands.ky/summersplash/ for a full list of savings and more details.

Photo from: Brides.com

Sean Woods, Contributor

The last gasps of winter, a work overload and continued news of a world wide economic meltdown were beginning to take its toll on my family unit, so we decided it was time to do something we've never done before : go to a swank all-inclusive resort someplace warm and sunny. My pregnant wife and I packed up our three-year-old son and flew to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic and stayed at the Reserve at the Palma Real. Now, you would think that a Caribbean vacation with an overcast sky and a sand-whipping wind that made the beach inhospitable would be a real bummer and extremely disappointing but our trip couldn't have been more relaxing--all because of the elegance and comfort of the resort.

With its low-key, European-villa design, red tiled roofs, maze of free-form pools and Jacuzzis, the Reserve at Palma Real is all about relaxed elegance and, somehow, the place pulls it off without ever lapsing into cheesiness.  When we arrived, the exceptionally nice and friendly staff had a frozen cocktail waiting for me, a sure way to my heart, anyway.  The Reserve is set back from the much bigger, main Palma Real hotel, which has a grander but more standard resort vibe, and houses most of your eating choices (as well as some pretty fabulous flamingos, a big hit with the kid). 

Now if you're like me and traveling with small children gives you major agita (the thought of the plane ride alone fills me with icy dread), then the Palma Real's Family Concierge service is for you.  As soon as we arrived they handled everything. A package of kid supplies (toiletries, a robe, bath toys, snacks) was set up in our room. We were given a walkie-talkie and told that the woman at the other end of the line would handle our every need during our stay, and she pretty much did just that: reservations at the various restaurants, transportation, extra towels when I flooded the bathroom by overfilling the hot tub etc. In fact, our concierge service lady seemed almost disappointed we weren't asking her to do more for us, but it was all so easy that we didn't require much. That's because the whole place is designed to make travel with kids easier and still feel luxurious (they have babysitting available, a rec-center for kids with an outdoor playground, a kids pool with various animal-shaped water slides and waiters constantly running drinks to the thirsty parents).

Continue reading just back from: punta cana »

The Westin Aruba Resort has a nice little perk for families staying at their beachfront property. Every Monday night, the Westin Little Chefs Program gives kids the exciting opportunity to cook along side the resort's chefs. They make their very own customized pizza creations (a great option for finicky eaters!), as well as a homemade appetizer and desert for their proud parents. The program costs $50 per adult (the main course is prepared by the resort chefs), and it's free for children under age 12. Bon Appetit!

Posted by: Elena North-Kelly, Home Assistant

A fancy new Waterford crystal-encrusted ball will drop in Times Square tonight, but we love this New York Times photo of the 1978 version. New Year's Eve has put us in a reflective mood, and while we're more than ready to see 2008 come to an end, we can't deny the amazing trips we've taken. From Caribbean escapes to sweet roadtrips and exploring the country from Seattle to Washington, D.C., plus trips abroad to the City of Lights and the City of Canals, it's been an incredible year of travel. We at cookiemag.com wish you and your family more travel adventures in 2009!

Laurent Vernhes | Co-founder & CEO, Tablet Hotels

I have three kids, ages 5 1/2, 4, and 2.  When we had two kids, they traveled with us on business every month to Asia or Europe. We love to stay in beautiful hotels and don't avoid them just because we are with our kids. With three kids, it's more complicated, especially for last-minute vacations, but we haven't changed our approach. Still, to make it worth taking the whole circus, our trips -- especially the last-minute ones -- have to be:

1. Priced reasonably (all the kids now require a seat on the plane even though they don't spend a minute in them);
2. Safe for the kids (I don't want to spend every minute worrying whether they can fall off the balcony); and
3. A direct flight away. 

The shaky economy will mean more options for last-minute trips and Tablet Hotels is planning to launch a new section devoted to this early next year.  For the moment, big cities offer the best value with hotels like The Pelican in Miami offering interesting rates for families.

Though Washington, D.C. is chilly, there is a surprising amount for the children to see indoors. After this historic election, my kids would love to go see the "withouse" (my older son is learning to write...).  In D.C., I would recommend staying at the Sofitel.

If warmth is the absolute criteria, then I would pick Jamaica. Maybe it will wear off one day, but I still find the vibe original and decompressing.  My personal favorite is Jake's.  It's cool and funky, a genuine Jamaican experience. They are currently offering free art classes with a famous local mosaic artist for the kids but I want to go, too!

All this week we're posting last-minute getaway ideas from some of our favorite travel experts, so keep checking back!

Yolanda Edwards | Cookie Travel & Lifestyle Editor

We went to Half Moon in Jamaica for three nights...it seemed like it might be too quick to make the trip, but it was so easy to get there, that it was totally worth it.  With so many nonstop flights into Montego Bay, and Half Moon just an eight-minute drive from the airport, it was so hassle free.  As you can see from these pictures, the weather wasn't that great, but that just meant less time at the pool and the beach, and more time exploring the
property, which had so many things going on. The Friday night beach BBQ is amazing--completely caught in time. There was live music that was actually really good, several amazing contortionists, delicious goat curry (lots of regular things as well, but this seemed special), and we ate on wooden picnic benches in the sand, right next to the sea.

There is a kids club there, with a pool, and a playground, which you can use even when the kids club isn't going on. The spa is really good--I opted for a consultation with the 'spa elder,' who talked to me and figured out what treatment and therapist would be best for me, and it ended up being an amazing fit...i would never have opted to get a body scrub and wrap, and it was so so good. The gym is great, too.

The new thing they have there is a children's farm, which is very sweet, and was a nice rainy day option. Clara was able to feed rabbits, goats, donkeys, and go on a pony ride. One of our other favorite moments was walking on the Half Moon beach, searching for shells, and then having a drink in the bar area, listening to the band.  On our way out, we checked out all the old pictures on the wall, and realized that Jackie and John Kennedy came here on a getaway way back when... so perfect, as the glamour of the 1950s seems very alive and well at Half Moon-the architecture, the decor, the crowd (lots of people who have been coming here for years)...it has managed to feel caught in time, with the right amount of update.

Continue reading Just Back From: Half Moon, Jamaica »