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Travel on a dime

Resorts offering steep honeymoon discount packages

By Rebecca Bria rbria@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

It’s the perfect time to get married in the honeymoon world. Due to the nation’s economic crisis, newly married couples can travel to just about anywhere at a deep discount. “Prices have been reduced up to 30 to 40 percent across the board,” said Barry Tenenbaum, owner of Tenenbaum’s Travel in Kingston. “If you have money, now is the time to travel.”

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Jim and Tricia (Stager) Heffron of Minersville were married on Jan. 7 on the Explorer of the Seas ship on the Royal Caribbean International cruise line. The couple decided to forgo a traditional church wedding to marry and honeymoon right on the ship. They chose the Caribbean cruise because they enjoy the warm weather and beautiful water.

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Jim and Tricia (Stager) Heffron, of Minersville, were married on Jan. 7 on the Explorer of the Seas ship on the Royal Caribbean International cruise line. The couple decided to forgo a traditional church wedding to marry and honeymoon right on the ship. They chose the Caribbean cruise because they enjoy the warm weather and beautiful water.

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Karen Monko-Nagle, owner of Sea the World Travel in Forty Fort, says the Caribbean is the hottest honeymoon destination because of its relaxed and romantic nature and many of the resorts are for couples or adults only.

Monko-Nagle says Sandals Resorts – with locations in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Antigua and St. Lucia – are the honeymoon paradise capitals of the world. The resorts are now offering free nights plus 30 percent to 55 percent off depending on location. A resort called Excellence in Punta Cana also is having hot sales for the spring and summer and is slashing prices by 30 percent.

Tenenbaum agrees that Caribbean resorts are very popular, as well as Caribbean cruises, due to their accessibility from Northeastern Pennsylvania.

“I think the all-inclusive resorts are probably best suited for a honeymoon because you pay upfront and you don’t have to worry about taking a penny out of your pocket,” Tenenbaum said.

Jim and Tricia (Stager) Heffron of Minersville were married on Jan. 7 on the Explorer of the Seas ship on the Royal Caribbean International cruise line. The couple, who used Monko-Nagle as their travel agent, decided to forgo a traditional church wedding to marry and honeymoon right on the ship.

“We’d been together for 18 years and never got married,” Tricia Heffron said. “We have two children, 14 and 3. We were a little too far past the church and white-gown reception kind of thing. That kind of fit our lifestyle, and we thought, ‘Let’s just go away and get married.’ ”

The Heffrons’ cruise ship departed from Bayonne, N.J., and ported in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. The bride and groom chose the Caribbean cruise because they enjoy the warm weather and beautiful water. Costwise, they say, the combination wedding and honeymoon was cheaper than a typical wedding.

“I liked everything,” Tricia Heffron said. “It was very well-organized. I really didn’t dislike anything.”

While Las Vegas is popular for travel, it’s not as desired for honeymooners, unless of course, they get married there. Tenenbaum says Disneyworld is a big honeymoon destination, but Monko-Nagle says it’s not for her customers.

“Honeymooners on my side -- they’re not really heading toward those areas (Vegas and Disney),” Monko-Nagle said. “They want to be pampered, and they like that whole beach setting.”

Both travel-agency owners agree that international vacations to places such as Europe are not popular for honeymoons. Monko-Nagle credits the lack of interest in international trips to their energetic nature and the high cost of the Euro compared with the dollar.

Local destinations such as the Poconos, an almost mythically famous honeymoon spot, and New York City have always been trendy among Tenenbaum’s clients. Monko-Nagle, on the other hand, says many locals don’t think of the Poconos and New York City as exciting getaways because they are so close.

During the 20 years Monko-Nagle has been a travel agent, she says, the honeymoon industry really hasn’t changed. No matter what the state of the economy or vacation world is, recently married couples typically don’t hold back when it comes to their honeymoons.

“It’s their special time,” Monko-Nagle said. “They still pay whatever they have to pay. There are no cutbacks on that side.”