Houseboat in Deland, FL

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

I didn't really expect this, but at lunch one of my gal pals mentioned that she had always wanted to go on a houseboat. There are 2 of us married in the group, and the other said "My husband would never go on one" and I said "Mine either - I'll go look for one!" and sure enuf, we are now booked about a year advance for the Royal Holiday out of Deland, FL.

Anyone here been on this particular river and have tips to share?

tia!

[JimJ Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JimJ]

Look in the TUG Reviews under the Daytona area for some review comments. We did them a few years ago and it was a fun experience. Make sure you have 4 adults as it will make handling the boat much easier. You didn't mention what time of year you are going. We went in June and weather was great. If it hadn't been for timesharing and exchanging we probabbly never would have done it or even considered it.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

We're going in early September, so I expect it will still be very warm. Yes, we do have 4 adults and it's a near certainty that everyone will want to drive!!

As you said, prob'ly not something I'd do were it not for timesharing!! My friends were shocked and amazed at the low low rate.

The other option was the OK one in late October. Nah...

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

I didn't really expect this, but at lunch one of my gal pals mentioned that she had always wanted to go on a houseboat. There are 2 of us married in the group, and the other said "My husband would never go on one" and I said "Mine either - I'll go look for one!" and sure enuf, we are now booked about a year advance for the Royal Holiday out of Deland, FL.

Anyone here been on this particular river and have tips to share?

tia!

Take a sleeping bag along just in case you like to sleep under the stars. Of course, I don't know about your area if that is possible or not?

Our neighbors used to go houseboating all the time and absolutely loved it. They used to go to Lake Powell which has so many crooks and crannies to hide in and they wouldn't see another soul and even could get lost. I have seen their many pictures and the lake is beautiful. They really enjoyed sleeping outside so that is my tip to you.

[bevvy5 Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bevvy5]

My EOY houseboat timeshare in the Shuswaps in British Columbia is my FAVOURITE timeshare. We used it this year in August and had a blast. Sorry I can't comment on the particular area you're going to.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

DAE gets these houseboats on the St. Johns River in Florida fairly often.

We traded for a week on a St. Johns River houseboat a couple of years ago, and I think it was my wife's favorite exchange.

As an experienced boater (cabin cruiser rather than houseboat), I found the instruction given too superficial and extremely overpriced at $100, but it was mandatory. The range availible from north to south can be covered in less than half a week, so it is good to stop and smell the roses along the way. There was a town on the lake at the south end of the range where we enjoyed spending the day. On the north end there is a warm spring (a little hard to find) on the lake that is a good place to pass some time. There is also a state park just south of the base marina that is worth some time.

The resort is very helpful in letting you borrow a vehicle to go into town for groceries. We travelled there by Amtrak and the resort also picked us up and took us back to the station at no charge.

The boat was spacious and comfortable. The lack of a boat hook among the equipment was a major deficiency I noticed. The river and lake bottoms were mud, in which anchors don't do as well in holding and the large superstructure acts as a sail, so I was surprised the boat had only one anchor. Two of them would have been very useful, especially when there was much wind.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Thanks, folks, this is excellent feedback!!!!

This is something I've always wanted to do and while it's always exciting to have a future trip planned, this one feels really special. I feel really blessed to have some friends that I can travel with on those trips that DH really doesn't want to do.

Thanks, also, Caro, for the tip about these being on DAE frequently - that'll save some money if we make this an annual trip!!