Cruise or All inclusive Resorts?
 

Hey guys I need your opinions...I never been on a cruise before. But my family is wanting to do that this year since they never been. I've been to Mexico twice and once in Punta Cana to all inclusive resorts and loved it...I guess my question is..Is a Cruise fun..worth it? Cheaper? I heard cruises you have to pay for sodas and alcohol. Not sure what to do here..Cruise or All inclusive resorts. Or Any Cruise recomendation?

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or

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Thanks for your time guys!
Jason

I've been to both. I would definitely go all inclusive. Much more fun, not cooped on a ship either. And better value.

I would go for the all inclusive resort instead of the cruise. At the very least you won't sink.

How do you say all inclusive resort in Spanish? "Todo inclusivo awesomo resorte"?? ;)
I've always found it much better and much more enjoyable to explore places at my own pace and without being rushed.

I agree..Although I never been on a cruise..I just dont like to be rushed. I rather spend my money on a all inclusive resort..Man this is a hard decision..go with the family on a cruise or go to a resort..hmmm

If this is a planned family event, I would suck it up and pick the cruise; you will have fun either way. You can always make it back to that resort another time with your intimate one ;-)

Should you pick the cruise, grab some Dramamine just in case.

Lol actually my wife wants to go to a all inclusive resort too...its her family that wants to go on a cruise..She wants to go one last trip before we starting dropping out kids left and right

You wouldn't want to get jiggy jiggy with it with your in-laws next door (you might start getting signals from your sister-in-law; did I just say that?) :icon17: TODO INCLUSIVO RESORTE for the pre-baby trip.

The resort.

When you arrive at the destination, you have to pay for excursions. That's like 100 a head. I think the resort is more worth it.

Definitely all inclusive. We used to cruise, and if you drink, the alcohol bill is very expensive, plus you see the same people every day. At an all inclusive, at least people are coming and going every day.

Plus, if you've been on cruises, then you know, if you've been to one island, you pretty much have been to all of them.

I'm an airline pilot and on a layover in Aruba today. While I was out walking, I was thinking that someone should sell T-shirts for cruisers that say SSDI, Same $hit, Different Island!

:icon18:

I want to go on a cruise, its definitely on my "to do" list.

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I know it was the captain fault or something..but this is scary!

sorry to revive this thread, but the wife and I were just discussing this today. We have always done cruises. Can you guys recommend all inclusive resorts that you have stayed at and can vouch for?

My cousin told me about Sandals....but they are definitely not cheap

Not sure if you want to do Mexico..but i've been to Gran Principe Tulum Riviera Maya and Gran Sirenis Riviera Maya in Mexico....those were great! Near the water parks too! I've also been to Dominican Republic Punta Cana Riu Palace..that place was huge but ok..

My wife and her family decided in MAY were goin on a 8 nights 9 days cruise...bahamas..antigua..and british virgin island or something..hope his is fun

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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!

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

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

Yes and Yes. Awesome water and snorkeling there.

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!

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.

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..