Cruise or All inclusive Resorts?

Mike

what are you looking for? 5 star or 3 star? We've been to several, but usually stay at the upper end, like Sandals. However, on the medium end, The Grand Oasis in cancun is pretty nice. Not as nice as it was before the hurricane a couple years ago, but still good service. They have 2 resorts on property, the Grand, which includes all facilities, and the other one that doesn't have access to a couple restaurants and a pool. The other one is a bit cheaper though and the remaining restaurants are nice.

If you want to go all out, Sandals in Nassau is awesome, as well as Excellence Playa Mujeres and LeBlanc in Cancun. All of the above are adults only also, so no kiddies running around.

We also went to a non-memorable one in Punta Cana. It was really cheap, but not that great. The thing about Dominican Republic is they want $40 cash per passenger to leave the airport. Since we were going to an AI, I only had 100 cash, and it wiped us out. At least there are credit cards!

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bsramzy

i guess 5 star is the way to go based on what your saying.

I would love to do a Mediterranean sea cruise one day.

Mike

well of all the 5 stars, I would say Excellence Playa Mujeres, at around 600 per night for a couple.

Sandals #2. We had butler service @ 500/nt, but they have less expensive, and then we really loved LeBlanc at about 400 with butler service also, but it was a little sterile, with no music at the pools and just a little too quiet all around.

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happytheman

If you go to the Excellence, splurge a little and get the ocean view with the rooftop terrace! It has its own wading pool complete with waterfall! We went to the Excellence for our second anniversary, and found the accomodations to be superior to the room we stayed in at Sandals. The food is not as good as at Sandals, nor are the drinks..but it's a bit cheaper than Sandals.

If you go to Sandals do NOT stay at the Sandals Montego Bay. While the resort itself is nice, you will have to listen to the jet airliners take off ALL DAY LONG directly across the street. They're so loud that they set off all the car alarms on every liftoff! My wife and I did not stay there, we just visited.. During our visit, we decided that we were lucky to have chosen to stay at the Royal Carribbean.

At the Royal Carribbean, we had a Concierge level room which entitled us to butler service which in hindsight was AWESOME! Our butlers brought us cheese and fruit plates daily, and if we needed ANYTHING we simply called them on the Resort supplied cell phone and regardless of where we were at we recieved what we wanted within minutes. The butlers booked all of our excursions for us, and escorted us to dinner each evening. Oh yeah, we also had a private pool within steps of our front door. This was a perk of the concierge level rooms!

A great thing about staying at Sandals in Jamaica is that you can go to any other Sandals on the island and enjoy the activities, pools and restaurants at no charge. The food is excellent and so is the service! One last thing: you can swim in a myriad of different pools. On a cruise ship...it's ridiculous trying to swim with a million other people (not to mention thousands of kids). I don't mind kids, I just sometimes like some quiet time with my wife. Cruises are VERY kid friendly.

Ok ,it's obvious...my vote is for the all-inclusive resorts.

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alb84z31t

My wife and I did all inclusive at sandals in St. Lucia. It was awesome and good price off season.

happytheman

When is off season in St Lucia, Spring and Fall perhaps?

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dAvenue

I've done them both as well. On a cruise, you're on the ship 10 - 24 hours a day (depending on the gap between destinations) but there is always something fun to do, places to visit, an abundance of scenic views, and the food is always delightful (I've never had a bad meal on a cruise). The downside to cruises are the kids; they are everywhere and can be annoying, but the mere size of the ship will be so vast, you will forget about them in no time. If you're looking to distress and relax to the max, this would be the option for you.

The all-inclusive trips, on the other hand, can be fun and exciting (especially when you first arrive and get the "tour" of your campus). The views never change, though, and their beauty tragically becomes an after-thought within the week. The food is not that great when compared to a cruise line, but at least two of the restaurants within your network will be categorized as "premier" and they will have very good food. However, the resort recycles the same group of servers for all restaurants (the restaurants alternate the nights they're open) and tipping is prohibited; this typically results in poor customer service and poor attention to detail when dining at the non-premier places. The good news is that the premier restaurants will staff only the best servers from the aforementioned group of recycled servers. The experience in a premier place is significantly better than the others. The beaches are nice and can be very relaxing. The biggest advantage of all-inclusive resorts are, of course, the drinks. If you're just wanting to party your *** off, this would be the one for you.

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Jasonle

We just booked our family trip! In May were going on a 8 nights..9 day carnival freedom cruise.. Antigua..st. Thomas..tortola and Nassau Bahamas!. Hopefully ill enjoy this!

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dAvenue

I did the same cruise for our honeymoon. You will love it! St. Thomas is breath-taking.

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Jasonle

They want to take me to the "baths" i guess its very clear water there? Snorkeling area?

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dAvenue

Yes and Yes. Awesome water and snorkeling there.

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Jasonle

Sorry to bring up a old thread but I just got back from my 8 nights 9 day cruise...I had fun gained 10lbs eating and drinking. BUT I will not do a cruise again..unless its the alaskan cruise. It was like some of you said "different island same ****" and we felt like we were rushed to get on and off we didnt like the time schedule. But Antigua and Tortola was my favorite! We got to see some celebrity vacation homes in Antigua like Oprahs and Eric Clapton houses... Norman Island in B.V.I was awesome so clear and blue!

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happytheman

We recently booked a 7 day cruise on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. We're hoping it'll be better than the Carnival cruise we went on last August.

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Bucketlist2012

I do the fancy Hotel thing, and no cruises.

I like to go 4 and 5 stars and enjoy the experience of the grand hotels and dining, and doing things on my time..

The wife and I then have great experiences. We have been many places and we always have a great time..

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