Tropical vacation for your family, brought to you by your special needs child
I’m going to brag for a second, so bear with me. Because I am such a planner, we have some awesome family vacations under our belt. Our vacations have gotten better with time as we have adjusted to the needs of bringing two babies and a special needs child with us. Over the last couple of years we have done a beach trip, a week in Amish country, a family resort vacation and a stint in the Poconos, all of which have been fun and pretty successful. But I’ve got my sights set on a bigger fish this year, and even if we don’t get to go for one reason or another I thought I would share the fruits of my planning labor with all of you because this deal is just too good to go to waste.
Franklyn D. Resort— and sister resort FDR Pebbles— are all-inclusive resorts on the north coast of Jamaica with an outstanding feature: each family has their own vacation nanny included in the price of their stay. This is appealing to us for obvious reasons – with 3 kids even our best vacation involves very little “couple time” and we often have to try out the adult activities alone while the other parent stays with the kids, which is still fun but not quite so romantic.
It gets better. There are lots of promotions being offered every time I check, but both resorts are currently offering the following special:
- Not applicable during USA holiday or Destination holiday periods.
- May not be combined with any other promotion or special rate.
- Medical Certificate from a doctor required
So in our case, we would get one nanny for the babies, one nanny for James, and all of us would be half price. Half! I am only a little ashamed to say “Thank you, James!” for making my tropical dreams come true! The thought of a nanny sitting with him to play on the beach while we go in the ocean guilt-free and together is AMAZING! The thought of doing it all for half price is worth at least two more exclamation points!!
It gets better, no kidding. Before you come, the nanny will get a list from you of your kids’ favorite treats, foods and drinks (I plan to slip a few of my favorites in there too) and will have your fridge stocked when you arrive. We would be able to have yogurt for James’s meds instead of packing gross non-refrigerated pudding in a suitcase. Hooray! The nanny service is free until 4:40p.m. and then a mere $6 per hour afterward. Maybe we’ll splurge and hire a third nanny for a 1:1 adult/child ratio.
If you don’t have a special needs child, a.k.a. huge discount to Jamaica**, don’t fret. Check out fdrholidays.com for a long list of promotions and for all of the other awesome activities and services included in the all-inclusive price. And, don’t be too jealous. The round trip plane ride with 2 babies and a special needs child more than makes up for the discount in price.
**Hopefully nobody has been insulted by my characterization of James as my Jamaican meal ticket. Those of you who know me know that dark humor is my life jacket.
The Foorce 
holy crap! your own nanny?! i am doing the math and with the all inclusive this may be cheaper than rent in nyc, food, and daycare…I might be moving. Thanks as always for the great tips!