Cancun - April 30 - May 7th - RPLA

[RizzoLee]

Hey all,

 

DH and I will be staying at RIU Palace Las Americas April 30th-May 7th, if you have any questions on Cancun fire them off here and I`ll do my best to answer them for you. I`ve been to Cancun in 2006 as well.

 

Sacrificing our annual cruise for an AI - we`ll see how DH likes it compared to a cruise!

[flatman]

Hey all,

 

DH and I will be staying at RIU Palace Las Americas April 30th-May 7th, if you have any questions on Cancun fire them off here and I`ll do my best to answer them for you. I`ve been to Cancun in 2006 as well.

 

Sacrificing our annual cruise for an AI - we`ll see how DH likes it compared to a cruise!

 

Hi RizzoLee, this is the post I've been looking for. My DW and I are also thinking about doing an AI instead of our yearly cruise too. We are also looking at the Riu Palace as one of our choices to pick from. We've never been to Cancun so we don't know what to expect. We've heard and read a lot of good things about it. I wish I could find a website like cruisecritic for various AI's so I could get more info on it. We're very interested in how you liked your trip, and all about the resort and what was all included, and if you had any surprises extra to pay for. We have a TA that we use for things like this and we've just had to trust her on all of our cruises so far and now we're really trusting that she'll do us right on this trip too. What's the nightlife like? Was there lots of things to do during the days? Was this much cheaper than cruising?

Can't wait to hear back from you. Thanks in advance..

[BSQ]

Hi RizzoLee, this is the post I've been looking for. My DW and I are also thinking about doing an AI instead of our yearly cruise too. We are also looking at the Riu Palace as one of our choices to pick from. We've never been to Cancun so we don't know what to expect. We've heard and read a lot of good things about it. I wish I could find a website like cruisecritic for various AI's so I could get more info on it. We're very interested in how you liked your trip, and all about the resort and what was all included, and if you had any surprises extra to pay for. We have a TA that we use for things like this and we've just had to trust her on all of our cruises so far and now we're really trusting that she'll do us right on this trip too. What's the nightlife like? Was there lots of things to do during the days? Was this much cheaper than cruising?

Can't wait to hear back from you. Thanks in advance..

 

flatman, it's not quite like cruise critic, but on sister site Trip Advisor the Cancun forum is very active. Many frequent posters have stayed at different AIs and the RUIs in particular. You might not get a clear cut answer on if it's cheaper than cruising since many of the frequent posters are not cruisers, though some have been on a few.

 

For me, I find my annual vacations to Cancun cheaper than a cruise ... but I own a timeshare there, we stay EP and over the years we have found great places to dine that don't break the piggy bank. The resort we stay at also keeps meal prices reasonable which helps with breakfast, lunch and happy hour. : )

 

Trip Advisor - Cancun Forum

[flatman]

flatman, it's not quite like cruise critic, but on sister site Trip Advisor the Cancun forum is very active. Many frequent posters have stayed at different AIs and the RUIs in particular. You might not get a clear cut answer on if it's cheaper than cruising since many of the frequent posters are not cruisers, though some have been on a few.

 

For me, I find my annual vacations to Cancun cheaper than a cruise ... but I own a timeshare there, we stay EP and over the years we have found great places to dine that don't break the piggy bank. The resort we stay at also keeps meal prices reasonable which helps with breakfast, lunch and happy hour. : )

 

Trip Advisor - Cancun Forum

 

BSQ, thanks for your responce, do you like the idea of owning a time share and having to take all of your vacations at this same place? I can see it being cool and beautiful, and family coming with you, or friends. I could get talked into that. But I'd rather just have an all inclusive there once and then maybe somewhere else like Cabo San Lucas.

[gizmo]

Depending on the AI it can be much cheaper than cruising. Also, it depends on what type of cabin you get on a cruise ship and what type of room you choose at an AI.

 

I stayed at RPLA last year. The room was very large, larger than the mini suites on most ships.

 

There are good sales that you can watch for.

 

Trip Advisor is an excellent source of information. Lots of reviews and they have a forum to ask questions. ;)

[BSQ]

BSQ, thanks for your responce, do you like the idea of owning a time share and having to take all of your vacations at this same place? I can see it being cool and beautiful, and family coming with you, or friends. I could get talked into that. But I'd rather just have an all inclusive there once and then maybe somewhere else like Cabo San Lucas.

 

It's worked well for me!

[RizzoLee]

For some reason CC doesn't show me when I have new posts on my threads I've replied to, so I'm sorry I missed the replies!

 

As pp, Trip Advisor was very helpful for me; there's a bus system that runs 24/7 up and down the hotel strip, anywhere from every 3 mins to every 10 mins. You can also take cabs. Beware, everyone drives like maniacs.

 

The main tourist area is a 6 minute walk from RPLA - it has bars like Senor Frog's and Carlos n Charlies, as well as night clubs like Coco Bongo's (a must, do it on your own or with a party hopper, skip the hotel night out), Roo, Dos Equis, etc. They all play pretty much the same music, but pretty much provide awesome nights out.

 

We found it cost about the same for a 7 day AI as compared to booking a BL on Carnival with hotel and spending money. So, approx. $3,500 (CDN) with spending money and excursions for an AI, and about $3,000 (CDN) for 2 days pre-cruise, flight, excursions, drinks, meals, spending money, drinks, casino, BL gty on the cruise.

 

You can always go to a cheaper resort as well, and obviously you can book a cheaper cabin on a cruise. I really wanted DH to try an AI before we had munchkins, so it won out this time. :)

[gizmo]

I found an AI much cheaper than a cruise. I just returned from 10 days at RPLA. :)

 

I am comparing apples to apples.

10 days

Same time of the year for both AI and a cruise. (Caribbean cruise)

Size of room about the same.

Taxes included in both prices

 

When we cruise, we get an S cabin on Hal. Approximately 500 sq ft.

Ball park cost for the cabin $6,000.00

This breaks out to 300.00 PP per day.

(An S is not the most expensive on Hal. They also have a full suite)

 

At RPLA we got an ocean view, Junior suite which is approximatley 500 sq ft. (my husband thought it was bigger than the cabin on Hal)

Cost for RPLA room $2088.00.

This breaks out to 104.00 PP, Per Day

This was not the cheapest room availabe, nor the most expensive.

(There was a Jr Suite , and a Full suite with multiple rooms.)

 

Drinks and shops on Hal Our typical bill is 800.00 - 1,000.00

Drinks and shops at RPLA - 25.00 at the shop. ALL DRINKS are included (booze, beer, sodas)

 

Tips on Hal 11.00 PP per day. 220.00 (this is without extra tipping)

Tips at RPLA - included in price. (we did tip certain people extra)

 

Plane fare - we used FF miles for both.

From Atlanta you can get air to Cancun for maybe 100.00 to 150.00 more than Florida. (almost 100.00 is in Mexico taxes)

 

One benefit is a hotel is not needed the night before. This is optional for a cruise, but we usually get one to eliminate the worry of missing the ship.

Hotel would cost around 100.00 plus dinner.

 

Service is much better at RPLA than Hal.

 

Food was excellent, and better than Hal. (food is subjective, this is only my opinion)

 

RPLA is not the top hotel in Cancun but it is not anywhere near the bottom.

 

I did price some "top of the line" AI's and they were running around 3,000.00 - 3,300.00 for 10 days. Still, much cheaper than a cruise.

 

Tours are optional on both a cruise and a resort. We did not take any in Cancun. I found the prices not much different than cruise tour prices.

 

Both have shows each night. I would say the shows were almost equal, maybe with RPLA a little better. (again, this is subjective)

 

Transportation to and from the airport was included in the price of the AI. We did tip the driver a couple of bucks.

For a cruise it would be around 30.00 round trip.

 

Since the AI price was cheaper, trip insurance was also less than a cruise.

 

I think an AI can be a much better value. ;)

[ne4184]

Hi, I am staying there also. What is there to do besides staying in the resort and relaxing? Do I need to book anything ahead of times?