Cruise vs resort question

[VPGPH]

We have been cruising since we got married with my DH. Now he wants to try a resort rather than another cruise.... I personally want to continue cruising though. Has anyone out there done both? How is food in a 4-5 star resort in Mexico vs M-class ships? Both me and my DH agree that nothing would ruin a vacation faster, than mediocre food. Any input? Thank you.

[rebeccalouise]

I had a wonderful experience at the Reef's in Bermuda. It included meals (not alcohol) and was wonderful.

[ocngypz]

My cruise clients who book all inclusives, don't book an AI again.

 

I would stick with 5*+ in Mexico. I don't recommend any of the 4* star properties.

[VPGPH]

I wouldn't do an All inclusive either..... I am not into heavy drinking. But how about a resort vs an M-class ship. We are in love with Constellation and we really enjoy cruising on her. How does it compare?

[cs1]

We have done many cruises and many vacations in Mexico. At our last AI, which people raved about and was 5 star, we thought the food was mediocre and would compare it to a Carnival Cruise. One the other hand, AIs can be a great deal and very relaxing. We have found most food to be mediocre at these AIs in Mexico unless you go the the top notch one which was very good and I would go back to.

CS

[Rubinof]

There are benefits, to doing both!! We enjoyed Sandles, believe it, or not, in Halcyon, St. Lucia. That was a few years ago. If we were to do a resort, again, we would, definately, return there. We know several other couples, who feel the same way. We have found that particular resort property lacking in night time activities. Food was wonderful!! We come from restaurant families, so we can address the food. It is much more relaxing, than a cruise. No running around changing your cloths, for every meal!!! I would suggest you try that, at least, once. Be careful which resort you select! Know people who have been there, and do not be seduced, by websites, or your local travel agent. Do your homework!!! We did another land vacation, during EEK!!! Spring Breeak, and ended up with a great room, facing the ocean, with hot tubs outside our window. Needless to say, the "young adults" entertained themselves, all night long, in the tubs!! No sleep there!! EVIL room!! As for cruising, what can I say?? It's everything!! We have cruised Celebrity, since the Meridian, was part, of their fleet. It was at that moment, that we fell, in love!, with Celebrity Cruise Line!! By the way, we are middle aged, and love a good time!

 

Hope we were able to help.

[Jarronwood]

We have only cruised once on RCCL Explorer the Caribbean Islands and we liked Jamaica so much we returned the year after to get married at Sandals Ocos Rios. It was wonderful 10 day holiday with the highlight us being married on the beach and although the resort needed a face lift there were no complaints.

 

However having said that it was unsafe to go out of the resort of a nightime although you could get the shuttle bus up to the Sandals at Dunns River so all in all you had about 6 restaurants to choose from. For us it was totally a chill time, no having to get dolled up of a nighttime. The food was very good especially in a couple of the restaurants and if you wanted total peace with your loved one then it could be the right holiday.

 

My husband says his best holiday was that one but for me it was the cruise the year before. You have to really really want to be 24/7 with your other half to go to a Sandals resort. The beauty of a cruise is that you get to meet other people and have the choice to get dressed up or not and grab a quick bite in your cabin or the burger bar.

 

I guess it would also depend on the AI you go to though but thought I would just write of my experience.

[VPGPH]

Thank you all for your input. I have looked around for a resort on the internet, but I believe that most of them are not as good as they make them look. The bad thing is that most of the people I know are into cruising as well, so it makes it even harder to find a good resort. I have read most of the reviews about Mexican 4/5* resorts, and almost all of them say that the food was not good, or the rooms were not clean.... I am used to Celebrity treatment and I find it very hard to switch:)

[osiebosie]

We have many cruises under our belts, but no resorts. However, we do love Las Vegas, and go there alot. (Sort of a resort!) I love both. For me, the big thing would be getting bored. I do like going different places, and staying on an island resort would be boring for me. I don't party, and I am not a huge sun worshipper and can stay on the beach all day. I had a friend once who had done the resorts vacations, and she said that you can only see so much of an island over and over in a couple of days.

 

I guess to honestly compare, we'd have to do a resort, but, even though we talk about it, we either end up cruising or going to Vegas.

 

Shay

[bigreckster]

With over 30 cruises under our belts, we decided to try a resort vacation and went to the Sandals Grand in St. Lucia where our daughter/son-in-law had honeymooned. At 60, we were among the oldest there but that wasn't a problem at all. We loved the all inclusive nature of not signing for anything and the reciprocal dining at the other two Sandals on the island but the food certainly wasn't near the quality that you experience on an X cruise! Also, it was very restful but quite boring as compared to any cruise...you're not visiting different ports, night life was next to non-existent (no, not because the honeymooners were "occupied" - most told us they fell asleep early because of drinking and sun all daylong!!!) and there just wasn't the variety of activities that appealed to us. By the fifth day we were ready to get back home as opposed to a longer cruise when each day is totally different from the last one. We'll be glad to be back on the Galaxy in Jan. to the Cari., the Med. aboard Millie next summer and on Mercury to Australia the following Jan.!!! This is just our personal opinion but for us in the future, we'll stick to cruisin'!!!

[bunduo]

There are benefits, to doing both!! .

 

I'm with Runinof. Give it a shot. Before you cruised, I'm sure you had your doubts. I was the first in my family to cruise. They had all sorts of reason why we shouldn't try it. Now, most of them have cruised and they love it. Either way, you'll be on vacation. How bad can it be?

[caviargal]

I have done many AIs and they vary in quality as much as cruises.

 

Sandals IMO is good but not great.

 

For great, consider LaBlanc in Cancun. All adult, top quality. read the reviews and see for yourself.

 

Royal PLantation in Ocho Rios is on my list to try. Jamaica Inn is a primo property as well and I very much enjoyed Grand Lido Negril.

 

For my money, an AI is a great option. No nickel and diming like may lines are adopting, and we opt for all adult which is our favorite type of vacation.

[amagar]

Hi,

 

We would do either depending on what we're looking for.

 

If you think a cruise is relaxing, wait until you try an AI. I thought we (late 30s) would be bored, bored, bored after a week at an AI. Same food, same beaches, etc. But we weren't. And at Dreams in Cancun, we found the food to be better than either Celebrity or Princess. The cruise lines haven't caught on to America's changing tastes...please some spice, some fusion, some adventure! Staff as accomodating as cruise...only the waiters often left free, full bottles of wine on the table...and it wasn't bad...as good as the $30 bottles on the ships.

 

The key, I think, is to find an AI that suits your needs. Some are adults only. Some are very family friendly. Some are Vegas-style. Some are environmentally-conscious. Take that into account.

[newmexicoNita]

There is no right answer to this one: I have cliants that do one of each every year and those who only cruise. In Mexico one of the favorites is the Palaces or Iberostar. I just have cliants that did Iberostar (have had many) and loved it. As some have said, the most important thing is to research. I beleive TripAdvisor is the best site to get reviews. My reasoning: for some reason travelers who post there are very critical so if you read lots of poisitives you can be comfortable with your decision. Give it one try, at least, then you can decide what is best for you. The positive about AI, if you choose a really good one: you have more activities, more choices for dining and of course larger accommodations plus everything is included. I think this is the most positive thing, especially if you do like your cocktails. The negative, you probably won't get quite as good service, you won't get to visit several places in one week and AI really can be more expensive even with the added freebies.

 

Hope this does help a little,

 

Nita

[cthyssen]

Hi there. My DH and I have been alternating between cruising and going to an all-inclusive for a few years now. We find that if we're looking to stay rather busy and see a lot of new things the cruise is the best way to go. We like to go ashore wherever we stop and are on the go pretty much all the time. When we just want to relax and lie on the beach for a week opt for an all-inclusive. Definately not as much nightlife or things to do away from the resort in most of locations, but there are watersports activities / golf / tours to keep you amused. Our favorite one (and the only place we have visited where the food is as good, if not better than Celebrity) would be the Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios. Been there twice, and both times the service and the food was excellent. In fact, if you have special requests for the chef he will go out of his way to make them for you. We are not big drinkers, but the quality of alcohol was also much better than that offered at the Sandals properties. Hope this helps!

[Tatka]

There is no right answer to this one: I have cliants that do one of each every year and those who only cruise. In Mexico one of the favorites is the Palaces or Iberostar.

 

I second that.. We've been to Iberostar Punta Cana and Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus (La Romana) . Both in Dominican Republic.

 

We didn't go to the restaurants (there was 3-4 special dining restaurants for free), because buffets were great. Accomodations was 1st class. Grounds were beautiful. Nightly shows much weaker than on the ships , but still nice.

 

One of the huge advantages of A/I is possibility to swim at the wonderful sea/ocean at any time.

 

We won't be back to A/I , but only because we discovered cruising and we much prefer going to different places...

[VPGPH]

I would like to thank everyone for the input. Very useful... I will check the websites mentioned and try to make up my mind. The hard part is that I have looked at the Celebrity website and I have found a good deal for the March 4th sailing on Millenium. I will try to read all the reviews for the resorts mentioned and discuss it with my husband. He really wants to try a resort, sooooo I might need to bite the bullet and go for a few days so that we can have a personal opinion on the matter. Thanks again for all the advise....

[SusieV]

I was looking at AIs but it seems if you want a decent one, it's much, much more expensive than a cruise. An AI for the same week as our Century cruise in February is over $2000; the cruise is less than half the price.

[thatbloominplace]

we have gone on around 20 cruises and 3 ai's. i was bored to tears with the ai after 2 days. i am, however, a very active 55. a compromise that worked for us was to go to a good, but not lavish, hotel and travel around the area. we have tried this in puerto rico, aruba and barbados and will be doing this again this february in curacao and next year in st. maarten. this allows you to explore the island or have beach days, much as you would in ports.. also, since you didn't already pay for the food upfront, you can explore the local food as well. i found the ai to be restrictive because we did already pay for everything, so why leave to eat elsewhere or miss meals. ai's are very popular, so they must appeal to a lot of people. but, in my opinion, a cruise is not really on a par with an ai.

 

steve

[rebeccalouise]

I have heard good things and bad things about all inclusives. From my standpoint I love ships because they have consistently good food, consistently good service and the thrill of being at sea- away from the real world.

But other people would rather be on the beach and have a larger room, etc.

 

It is all a matter of taste. If my husband wanted to try an all-inclusive I would give it a go. Why not? Then both of you will have your answer.

 

go on a site where people have tried the all-inclusive you are thinking of trying.

 

How bad can a vacation really be!

[VPGPH]

You are right guys. How bad can a vacation be? Well, in my opinion no vacation is bad.... I would take anything besides going to work at 7:00am every morning. But, the other thing that I noticed today, is that the price of a land vacation is MUCH higher than a cruise. I have been talking to my DH and we might choose the cruise because of the price.... You can't beat it!!! Also, it seems like this specific sailing has the "Savor the Caribbean" program (?). Has anybody been a cruise that offers this? How was it? Let me know. Thanks again for all the info.....:)

[rebeccalouise]

Don't get me wrong- I am with you on the cruise idea. However, my husband really liked other modes of travel. He liked driving trips and trips to Key West, etc.

I do think cruising is cost effective. But the average cruise is about $1000 per person plus airfare and then tips, onboard expenses, taxis to and fro. So there are some additional costs.

I think there are lovely places right here in the USA and have found that resorts in the US are a better value than Caribbean ones.

The only reason I suggested the Reef's in Bermuda is because that place was just lovely and they couldn't do enough for you. The food was fantastic. The beach lovely and there were moped rentals across the street. Just a suggestion.

[VPGPH]

Don't get me wrong- I am with you on the cruise idea. However, my husband really liked other modes of travel. He liked driving trips and trips to Key West, etc.

I do think cruising is cost effective. But the average cruise is about $1000 per person plus airfare and then tips, onboard expenses, taxis to and fro. So there are some additional costs.

I think there are lovely places right here in the USA and have found that resorts in the US are a better value than Caribbean ones.

The only reason I suggested the Reef's in Bermuda is because that place was just lovely and they couldn't do enough for you. The food was fantastic. The beach lovely and there were moped rentals across the street. Just a suggestion.

 

No, I do not take you wrong rebeccalouise....:) We have travelled around the US and we really enjoy it. We haven't done a resort here in the US, but we have been at the usual spots (Vegas, LA, SF, NY, Ft. Lauderdale etc) and we love it. I am OCD when it comes to organizing a trip, and I try to get as much info as possible about the place before visiting. I am a little skeptical about the Caribbean resorts just because I love cruising that much. I am afraid that I will get bored in a resort. I know all about the costs of the cruise, but I hear that even AIs have hidden costs (tipping etc), so it ends up quite a bit more than the cruise... As for Bermuda, I haven't been there yet and I really want to go there. The timing of our vacation is such that Bermuda will be a little hard to get to. We are looking at vacationing during the first week of March. I will for sure look into your suggestion when our vacations are closer to the summer months... Thank you very much for all the info though, it really helps to talk to others:) .

[rebeccalouise]

Life is an adventure! Decisions, decisions!

I research thing to death to. Don't worry you aren't weird.

[VPGPH]

Life is an adventure! Decisions, decisions!

I research thing to death to. Don't worry you aren't weird.

 

I hope that the most complicated decisions I have to make in my lifetime, would be similar to this one: Cruise or resort? Most people do not have the opportunity to go on a cruise in their lifetime:( and here I am contemplating this question with three cruises booked already for the next year!!! I am just spoiled:D