A Comprehensive Comparison of an All Inclusive Resort vs RCI Cruise

[rimmit]

Grandeur is actually SIGNIFICANTLY MORE expensive than Quantum and Oasis for a balcony, and I wouldn't want to take a cruise that's over 4- or 5-nights without a balcony. The rates for inside/outside and balcony vary greatly depending on how many are available on that class of ship, and there are a lot more balconies on an Oasis class than the Grandeur.

 

For the record we're booked on the Symphony next year on a balcony for about $800 less than we paid for the same type of balcony on the Grandeur, and the Symphony has the built-in "new ship" tax.

 

The algorithms RCI uses for cruise ship pricing can be pretty interesting at times. We went on the Grandeur for 9 nights this last Feb for a family of 4 for a little over $2,000 for an inside cabin. Category K, if I remember right. We were originally booked in a Aft view JS for a little over $3,000 and decided to just save the $1,000 as our kids tend to sleep better in the inside cabin.

 

That being said, some cruises I have definitely noticed the crazy prices for the Balcony cabins and suites on the Grandeur, due to supply and demand. The Balcony prices on the older ships are extremely volatile.

 

On the Ovation, it was cheaper to book a DO than an inside cabin due to the balcony discount.

 

The Oasis and Quantum ships get super expensive for the 3rd and 4th berth. The discount is much much less than the discount for a non Quantum or Oasis class ship. While the 3rd and 4th berth in a balcony tends to drop dramatically on the Grandeur, as there is so little for kids to do on the Grandeur. So the difference isn't as dramatic when booking for 4 people. For just two people in a balcony though, I agree, wholeheartedly that most times Oasis or Quantum has cheaper balconies. I just don't pay as much attention to only double occupancy as we travel as a family of four.

 

The kid friendlier the cruise the higher the cost. Hence, why we are paying a whopping $3,100 dollars for an inside stateroom on a 4 night Disney cruise out of San Diego in Oct. That is more than the cost of our 12 night Grandeur next Mar.

[Beachdude]

Our family has stayed at resorts (including Cancun). In general when it comes to travel in the Caribbean, my now adult kids only cruise mainly because of the crime. Specifically they won't go back to Cancun for any reason because of some past experiences with young aggressive locals. Sally and I like land vacations, but we don't do it in the Caribbean for the same reason. We feel much safer in places like Hawaii or Europe. We don't consider any cruises anywhere in Mexico anymore.

 

Burt

[bobmacliberty]

Very good review. We've stayed at AIs twice (both times family, not adult only) although it's been several years. I think you hit the nail on the head with your review. Service and food tends to be better at the AIs, destinations and activities tend to be better on a cruise. If you're happy sitting on the beach or by the pool and relaxing, an AI can be a great deal.

 

One of the AIs that we stayed at was Beaches Turks and Caicos. We had a few issues, some the fault of the resort and some that could have happened anywhere. Setting the issues aside, it was a great resort. I've looked a few times over the last couple of years at booking another family trip there and the price has become outrageous. We could probably book at GS for us and a JS for our kids for less money. Beaches has grown significantly since we stayed there and it's probably now considered one of the top family friendly AIs, so maybe you get what you pay for.

[rimmit]

Very good review. We've stayed at AIs twice (both times family, not adult only) although it's been several years. I think you hit the nail on the head with your review. Service and food tends to be better at the AIs, destinations and activities tend to be better on a cruise. If you're happy sitting on the beach or by the pool and relaxing, an AI can be a great deal.

 

One of the AIs that we stayed at was Beaches Turks and Caicos. We had a few issues, some the fault of the resort and some that could have happened anywhere. Setting the issues aside, it was a great resort. I've looked a few times over the last couple of years at booking another family trip there and the price has become outrageous. We could probably book at GS for us and a JS for our kids for less money. Beaches has grown significantly since we stayed there and it's probably now considered one of the top family friendly AIs, so maybe you get what you pay for.

 

Living in Cincy, you could get some killer deals on AI's with direct flights from there. We live in 2.5 hours south east of Cincy, and it is one of the airports we commonly fly out of. CVG and CMH are our main airports, both 2.5 hours from our home.

 

We rented a house on North Caicos when we went to T&C. Absolutely beautiful, and absolutely NO ONE on North Caicos. Not even a restaurant.

 

Have you done any other family friendly AI's? I'd love to hear people's opinions on Family Friendly AI's, as while we will still primarily stick to cruising, an AI in the right situation and the right deal is very tempting.

[jamesr3939]

Nice comparison, very similar to our thoughts when we did Club Med Ixtapa for Thanksgiving. Being on the west coast it was a much better travel situation for us. We had planned a family cruise for us and all the kids and grandkids. But, one DIL decided to give birth just six weeks before our sail date. So we switch to the Club Med.

 

DW and I picked Ixtapa due to the highly rated kids activities and we were not disappointed. We booked a concierge room, which is the only way to go. All in all it was as nice if not better than a cruise and a little cheaper; mostly due to travel costs. If it hadn't been for buying some photos we would have walked away with $0 bill at the end of the week.

[bobmacliberty]

Have you done any other family friendly AI's? I'd love to hear people's opinions on Family Friendly AI's, as while we will still primarily stick to cruising, an AI in the right situation and the right deal is very tempting.

 

The other family AI that we did was the Melia Caribe in Punta Cana. We did a 4 day long weekend in the middle of winter (President's Day) and it fit the bill perfectly. Kids were maybe 10 and 7 at the time and loved it. That was more than 10 years ago, so I don't know how the resort has fared since then.

 

Living in Cincy, you could get some killer deals on AI's with direct flights from there. We live in 2.5 hours south east of Cincy, and it is one of the airports we commonly fly out of. CVG and CMH are our main airports, both 2.5 hours from our home.

 

CVG has changed a lot in the last 10 years. Used to be a main Delta hub, which meant we had a very large selection of flights and could fly direct to a lot of places. The downside was that it was always one of the most expensive airports from which to fly, as Delta had little competition. We now have many more airlines including several low cost options, but less selection of flights. Delta is my go to airline but we've gotten some fantastic deals from Allegiant (less than $250 RT total for 2 people to Florida...twice).

[smtcan]

We enjoy cruising to see different parts of the world. We also like to have a winter week (or longer) away from the Canadian winter. Before we retired,it was always a week at an adult AI -Sandals or similar. Then we tried Caribbean cruises and enjoyed a few. Last year we decided these cruises had lost their appeal, so we booked an AI in the Dominican Republic.

 

We chose a fairly up market adult only resort. It was significantly cheaper than the cruises we would have considered and tips and drinks were included. DH could sail every day, which was a bonus for him. Service was impeccable and we could eat at three specialty restaurants at no extra charge. Entertainment was low key but we didn't really miss it. We could sit on a deck overlooking the beach and watch the sun set.

 

This winter, family commitments kept us at home, but next year it will be an AI again. Our cruise will take us to China and Japan,