Cruise vs land vaca

[ihrtcruise]

So I'm sitting here trying to plan a little romantic getaway in the fall, hubs isn't keen on the cruise idea because of the price but man - all of the *nice* land based options I'm finding locally cost close to the cost of a cruise! And you get more days with a cruise at the similar cost! Or maybe I'm just really pro cruise lol

 

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[apkjoe]

Do the land ones your looking at include shows, and food? That's the main selling point for us.

 

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[Luckynana]

Perhaps you could persuade your husband with all the food onboard that he won't have to pay extra for, since it's included in the price of the cruise!

 

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[ihrtcruise]

Do the land ones your looking at include shows, and food? That's the main selling point for us.

 

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Yeah that's what I always think about - the cost of the nice meals we enjoy are not included in these hotels which cost the same as a 4-7 day cruise for only ONE night. ><

[ihrtcruise]

Perhaps you could persuade your husband with all the food onboard that he won't have to pay extra for, since it's included in the price of the cruise!

 

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Yeah that's a BIG plus for cruising - our fancy meals are included lol. PLUS some of these cruises even include open bar - so that's saves money on drinks too.

[grouchomarx]

An all inclusive in Mexico or the DR would be cheaper than a cruise. If you choose a nice one, lots of different a la carte dining options are included as well as just about everything else including drinks and nightly entertainment. Only extra cost really is the spa.

[PATRLR]

We're struggling with this right now, planning a trip with SIL and her kids. They are looking at Disney, but wow, after we add it up, a cruise is way cheaper.

 

One word of caution - be sure to click through when booking so you see all the costs, port charges, taxes, gratuities on dining or beverage packages, DSC, etc. In other words, don't go by just the first number you see on various cruise sites.

[Indykitten]

I like both. Any vacation is a good one for me. Life is too short to commit myself to only one type of vacation. Sometimes we do cruises, sometimes we do all inclusive resorts, sometimes we do DIY land-based Airbnb stuff.

 

We did an AI in Jamaica (the Hyatt Zilara) last fall for our anniversary and it was off the hook amazing. Huge ocean view suite with a giant soaking tub that they filled with bubble bath and rose petals and had champagne chilling when we came back. But this year we are doing two cruises, so it just depends.

 

When comparing costs you really have to sit down and add up all the "extras" and not just the base price of any vacation - flights, transportation, parking, gratuities, dining, alcohol, excursions, etc. Although I think many people prefer not to - plausible deniability! I find it interesting that so many people say that cruising is a "cheap" vacation but that hasn't really been the case for me. I pride myself on my bargain huntress skills for any vacation, though.

[buddylover]

Just another thought to throw out there...aside from food/entertainment being included, a plus for cruising for us is that your hotel 'moves' with you and you get to see different places. At an AI resort you are at one place only for an extended time frame. For us, we are not 'beach' lovers, so we enjoy the different itineraries and ports that a cruise offers that an AI does not!!

[RD29P5]

The way I looked at it (and I used to be on his side of things) is that a cruise gives me the opportunity to go places that I can't drive to, or that it would cost a significant amount to fly to, plus food and a hotel. To be perfectly honest my first cruise experience 17 years ago was a huge disappointment, and I really didn't want to go again. After giving in and going on the second cruise, I'm hooked.

 

Being on the west coast there aren't as many cruise option's as there are on the east coast, but the value is still there. We've gone to Alaska twice now, yes it's expensive but where we went and what we did would have cost more if we had done it on our own, since parts of it are not accessible by road.

[njkate]

I like both. Any vacation is a good one for me. Life is too short to commit myself to only one type of vacation. Sometimes we do cruises, sometimes we do all inclusive resorts, sometimes we do DIY land-based Airbnb stuff.

 

We did an AI in Jamaica (the Hyatt Zilara) last fall for our anniversary and it was off the hook amazing. Huge ocean view suite with a giant soaking tub that they filled with bubble bath and rose petals and had champagne chilling when we came back. But this year we are doing two cruises, so it just depends.

 

When comparing costs you really have to sit down and add up all the "extras" and not just the base price of any vacation - flights, transportation, parking, gratuities, dining, alcohol, excursions, etc. Although I think many people prefer not to - plausible deniability! I find it interesting that so many people say that cruising is a "cheap" vacation but that hasn't really been the case for me. I pride myself on my bargain huntress skills for any vacation, though.

I agree, there are plenty of web sites out there where you can get awesome prices on vacations in Caribbean, we can't post here or I would.. Cruising is not cheap at all

[njkate]

Perhaps you could persuade your husband with all the food onboard that he won't have to pay extra for, since it's included in the price of the cruise!

 

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Well in reality if you do a land based AI food and drinks are included

[PTC DAWG]

I enjoy any type of vacation...but cruises are very relaxing to me...no decisions to make really....

[grouchomarx]

I enjoy any type of vacation...but cruises are very relaxing to me...no decisions to make really....

 

That is so funny, I feel the total opposite! I feel I've got so many things to plan on a cruise. Dinner reservations, show reservations, shore excursions, reserving the adults only area, trying to board early to do so, etc. I guess I should just relax next time. I can't help it. If there is something to plan, I'm planning it so I don't miss out. At an AI, I just show up, order drinks, eat when I want and nothing to think about. But I love both type vacations. Just depends on the mood.

[cb at sea]

You will get a larger, better room on land than on a ship. Ship cabins are pretty tight, unless you pay the big $$$ for a suite! Food will generally be better on land, too...depending where you're going!

 

But, there is a "feel" about cruising you don't get on land...so it's really an either/or thing!

[klfhngr]

That is so funny, I feel the total opposite! I feel I've got so many things to plan on a cruise. Dinner reservations, show reservations, shore excursions, reserving the adults only area, trying to board early to do so, etc. I guess I should just relax next time. I can't help it. If there is something to plan, I'm planning it so I don't miss out. At an AI, I just show up, order drinks, eat when I want and nothing to think about. But I love both type vacations. Just depends on the mood.

 

 

I agree!!!!!!!

[Whimsy]

I have a strong love/hate relationship with both cruising and all inclusives. I have been to many of both.

 

IMO, between the two, the food and entertainment on cruises wins hands down. The service is always better, I feel the ships are cleaner and I'm not looking at my food some nights wondering what this is made of. I cannot recall a single stand out dinner at an all inclusive but I can tell you about many on cruises.

 

The beach relaxation at the all inclusive wins hands down. I'm not laying on a beach, relaxing and having to watch the time to get back to the ship. Laying on the beach at the all inclusive we can think about going back to the room to get ready for dinner and then just close our eyes and listen to the waves a little more with no rush.

 

The beauty of the All inclusive is you know up front this is exactly how much the trip costs, air fare, hotel, food and drink. You can never leave the resort or you can spend extra doing excursions and shopping. Cruising there is always ports you will want to explore, a lot of temptation with shopping and on extras on the ship. A drink will cost, extra dining venues, casinos. etc. Can you say no? Sure but the vast majority are going to have "extras" on their bill at the end.

 

They both have a purpose and meet different needs. I am cruising in a few weeks then looking forward to 3 nights on the beach at the end of September. I can hang out next to the ocean from the time I wake up till the time I decide to call it a day and there is never a shortage of loungers!

[meglet]

Since you mentioned romantic getaway...having no children, my cruises and vacations were always that. We found that we loved cruising, but really had to research and plan to avoid the crowds and many children now found on cruise ships. On NCL we were most successful in doing that with a suite.

[Warm Breezes]

We do both. We started cruising when our kids were 4 and 7. We did a 3 night Disney Cruise with 4 nights at Disney World. We were cruising rookies and our friends who we went with planned it all. It was 3 years before we did another 7 night Disney Cruise with them again. It was too expensive to do that type of trip every year. In between times we purchased a used motor home and had a lot of camping trips with the kids and a few adult trips to Vegas. After that we discovered Carnival and NCL and found that we could cruise a lot cheaper than we did when we let our friends do the planning. We started cruising about once a year with the kids and doing some long camping weekends and week long land trips centering around DD's National Dance competitions with some Pro Sports games on some weekends thrown in there for good measure. We also tried to combine cruises with land vacations around the embarkation port.

 

Kids are grown now. But DH and I still try to go on 1-2 cruises a year with/without the adult kids and 1-2 land vacations with/without the adult kids. Last year we rented a house in Orlando for a week and flew the kids and my Mom there to spend a week with us plus we did a 7 night cruise on NCL and a 5 night cruise on CCL. This year DH and I flew to Vegas for 6 nights, drove to ND with my Mom for 2 weeks to visit DS and sight-see in North and South Dakota, Duluth, and the UP, and we have an upcoming 7 night cruise booked on NCL for just the 2 of us for our 30th anniversary. Next year we have an 8 night cruise planned for the kids and us. Still debating what else we want to do. Could be land. Could be sea. Could be a combination of both.

 

In 3 years it will be time for me to retire. DH beat me to it this year. I'm looking forward to spending a majority of our time traveling...by air, land, and sea . Sometimes we go into our vacation planning knowing we want to do a cruise or land vacation. Sometimes we look at both options. Sometimes we have an incentive to look at one over the other like a Casino Rate on a cruise, a Future Cruise Credit to use or a free night package offer from a casino in Vegas (just got one of those for 4 nights but ran out of vacation time in the time we need to use it by). Sometimes land is cheaper and sometimes cruising is. It all depends on the extra we decide to do and the deals we can get. Love them all!! I just want to travel :).

[Warm Breezes]

That is so funny, I feel the total opposite! I feel I've got so many things to plan on a cruise. Dinner reservations, show reservations, shore excursions, reserving the adults only area, trying to board early to do so, etc. I guess I should just relax next time. I can't help it. If there is something to plan, I'm planning it so I don't miss out. At an AI, I just show up, order drinks, eat when I want and nothing to think about. But I love both type vacations. Just depends on the mood.

 

I find the more we cruise the less I "have" to do and the less I worry about missing out on anything. We no longer get off at every port. We rarely book any excursions, especially if it is just the 2 of us. If we want to do something we find a taxi to the beach or an excursion for an island tour with a beach stop when we get off the ship or just get off to do a little shopping. If we don't want to do anything we stay on-board and enjoy and empty ship. I do book show and diner reservations on NCL but that is done pre-cruise and no need to plan at all once on-board. It's already done. For our next cruise I have one Dinner or Show reservation every night except 1 where we are in port later. The rest of the night we will play it by ear. We book balconies and would much rather spend my time there than worrying about getting into an adult area. Our last cruise on NCL Escape I came back more relaxed than on any other other cruise we have been ever been on. We had an angle balcony with a lounger and I loved it. I am so looking forward to that again in October on the Getaway with our Aft balcony.