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Talk to me about cruises (1 Viewer)

Wife and I have discussed both in the past. We settled on the all inclusive resorts. We loved it. We have gone a total of three times. We usually go with 2-8 other people. Last place we went to had 7 pools and beach/ocean access. We hung out at a few different pools. The best part of the trip was hanging out on the beach.

Hit the water for an hour or so, hit the beach bar, relax. Rinse (literally) and repeat. The resorts also have anywhere from 6-10 high end restaurants. I don't think we ever ate at the same place twice unless it was a must have.

The last one we went to had evening entertainment on the beach every night. Fire shows, concerts, plays, ect....

Were probably going to do another one in APR to celebrate our 30th.
 
Doing our first all-inclusive this Jan. I know in theory that these are just money losers (you cannot possibly drink/eat/activity your monies worth), but we are comfortable enough now that the idea of not carrying a wallet is just exhilarating and worth the financial loss.

Now if I could get that all-inclusive to also include a card room...
 
I’ve done 8 cruises and 6 all inclusive resorts. I like both for different reasons. The cruise I don’t usually care about the port visits. I’m a beach guy. We pull into port, I hit up a local restaurant and bar and then park my ass on the beach for 5 hours. Wife is a huge reader so she sits under an umbrella and does that.

I do like the variety a cruise ship offers Bingo, casino, plenty of restaurants, and on demand entertainment. I like to drink and smoke cigars. We love the shows on the ship and the comedy club. Trivia, piano bar, poolside dance contests.

For the all inclusive I like that I park my ass in one place for a week. I like that I can choose to stay in the room all day and have relations, or we can pool/beach it. I find most restaurants similar quality to the cruise ships, and that’s decent but nothing that’s getting a 5 star review. If the respite has a swim up bar - huge plus. However my last trip to an all inclusive was a week at the Ritz Carlton in Aruba. WAY outside my price range as it was a rewards trip. Unfortunately no resort I stay at now (that I can afford) will come close :cautious:

If I had to pick one versus the other, I’m probably picking the cruise for the variety offered. But I won’t turn down an all inclusive resort.

Edit - I’ve found that cash tips go A LONG WAY at all inclusive resorts. Same as cruises, but not nearly as much.
 
Background/TLDR: father of two teenagers and a tween, and we've sailed several Caribbean cruises with Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Holland America. We keep coming back to RC.

Holland America (sorry Larry) was a snooze-fest for us. Lots of older, childless passengers, so the kids club and other family activities were extremely limited. Casino and clubs seemed to all be closed by 10pm - fortunately we were sailing with a large group, so we ended up doing most of our nighttime partying in our cabins.

Carnival was fine. There were plenty of things to keep the kids busy (active kids club, waterslides, basketball and lots of other sports, etc.), nightlife was good, and we had fun. The ship decor was a bit gaudy, and the food was definitely sub-par. The food was probably the biggest issue I had personally - it wasn't BAD (except for the desserts), but it wasn't really good either. I'm not a picky eater, but I do expect a certain level of quality that I mostly didn't get.

I've sailed RC twice in the last year (Oasis-class both times). Good food, plenty of on-board activities for everyone, good poker action in the casino in spite of the exorbitant rake (10% to $15), the ships are clean and well-maintained, great shows and crew. We're already starting to plan our next cruise, and it will be with RC.

I don't talk about ports or excursions because these don't really change from one cruise line to the other. Also, if you are sailing in the Caribbean, you don't need a passport, though they are encouraged. Birth certificate and drivers license (if 18+) are sufficient.
 
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Lemonzest said:
Just my 2c. but for the money I would book an all inclusive in Mexico or Cuba and not be bound to a vessel unless you like the idea of being on a ship.
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I would be very careful researching all-inclusives in Cuba, considering that the majority of them are government owned. The ones who are privately owned are ridiculously overpriced and have to give a cut to the government.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Doing our first all-inclusive this Jan. I know in theory that these are just money losers (you cannot possibly drink/eat/activity your monies worth)
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I don't know about this. I certainly don't see it like this. I mean if you tried to do this all separately it would be very expensive. If I booked my flight, and then booked a hotel, and then ate out for 7-10 days the cost would be way above an all inclusive.

What creates the value IMO is being in Mexico on an amazing beach. How much is that worth? Staying a week in San Diego or Miami would be way above the cost of staying at a Mexico resort.

It is also a fantastic feeling to go out for dinner with your wife and leave your wallet at home and not think about the cost of anything. There are intangibles like the beach and using swim up bars that are hard to factor in. I personally think all inclusives are a great deal for what you get.
 
My company does an annual trip every year for employees and the last 5 years we have done secrets all inclusive and they are very nice. My favorite was the one in riveria maya south of Cancun. Unbelievable snorkeling right off the beach. The sea turtles were cool but the 6 foot barracuda made me poop myself a little.
 
If you want a cruise to truly remember... go to TAHITI.
Book on the Paul Gauguin cruise ship [always rates high in small cruise ships of the world - only has ~150 passengers and ~100 staff] -- https://www.pgcruises.com/
Fly into Papeete [capital of French Polynesia]. If you can stay an extra night or two on the front or back end of cruise in one of the huts out on the water [we stayed at the InterContinental Hotel there].
Then set sail on the cruise.
We made stops and saw the islands of:
Tahiti
Bora Bora
Moorea
Raiatea
& Taha'a

You won't find water clearer than here and there were tons of things to do at every stop! Service is incredible! Hands down, best cruise we have been on above Royal Caribbean, Carnival, etc.
 
For older kids, I second the Royal Carribean (RC) recommendation. They have an absurd amount of things to do: multiple pools, many small on-board restaurants in addition to formal dining (e.g., pizza, ice cream, burger joints/snack places located around the ship), wave surfing on board, ice skating rink, kids clubs, multiple shows, etc. My kids loved the fact that we'd wake up in the morning, get quick breakfast and off the ship to do an adventure on land--someplace completely new with zero perceived travel time. One day we'd wake up in Grand Caymen to visit a turtle farm, the next day we'd be in Cozumel ocean snorking, or tubing down a river in Jamaica, or being first off the boat in Labadee (a privately owned tip of Haiti) to get all the good shells. After a long day, we'd come back to a great dinner + ordering one of every dessert we could get to share at the table. Definitely some great memories, and everything is very clean, safe, and organized so you can let them roam the boat with little concern while they have non-stop things to do that are appropriate for their ages. The kids can do their thing while you do yours, plus tons of things together. The boats are so large, that seasickness from motion is extremely rare. Huge mass + advanced stabilizers mean you don't feel any motion unless you are in very heavy seas. If you are in very heavy seas, you still barely feel anything. The RC staff is extremely well trained, and the kids still remember towel creatures they would make and the names of folks who waited on us at dinner. Can't really go wrong, imho.
 
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Lemonzest said:
I don't know about this. I certainly don't see it like this. I mean if you tried to do this all separately it would be very expensive. If I booked my flight, and then booked a hotel, and then ate out for 7-10 days the cost would be way above an all inclusive.
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No, it wouldn't.

However, peace of mind is priceless. Not having to find a parasailing operation (or other activities), and a quality restaurant (or 6), and transport between them - while in a 3rd world country? Yeah, if I'm going to do this, I'm doing it all-inclusive.
 
We love cruising. You have to try it to see. We preferred royal Caribbean to carnival and ncl. Haven’t tried celebrity or princess. Loved the specialty restaurants on Rc. I recommend chefs table if you like that kind of thing. We just missed the kids sail free promotion. Best time to book is Black Friday or when that kids free promo is on. Or 60% off second guest and 50 on every other guest. Also you can save money if you can drive to the port. NY Or Fort Lauderdale or Miami.

Also you can sneak on booze in a corked wine bottle. 2 per stateroom. Saves a fortune.
 
Poker Zombie said:
....However, peace of mind is priceless. Not having to find a parasailing operation (or other activities), and a quality restaurant (or 6), and transport between them - while in a 3rd world country? Yeah, if I'm going to do this, I'm doing it all-inclusive.
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OK, but then you are not seeing any of that third world country. You might as well be in Florida.

I can see the kids being a major consideration, but not having kids, we've never even considered staying at an all-inclusive anywhere.

As to cruises, for the lines we've been on, I'd rank them: 1. Royal Caribbean (Tampa to Barcelona; all the rest in the Caribbean) and MSC, tied. 3. Norwegian 4. Carnival. We're going on Holland-American next week for 21 nights, and hoping for the best. We'll probably try Princess next.

We generally choose our cruises as a way to visit some of the islands that we haven't been to and see if they'd be worth flying to for a week's stay or longer.

In the future, we plan to take a cruise from FL through the Panama Canal and up the Mexican coast. You can find them ending in San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver. We'd probably choose San Francisco, and then drive or fly up to Seattle to see my wife's older brother, then wander east to Colorado.
 
Main reason I enjoy the beaches

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First for me. Weird, but interesting.

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Can you which one of us started sampling the drinks early that day

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This event is why I haven't had tequila in "FIVE" years.

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pltrgyst said:
OK, but then you are not seeing any of that third world country. You might as well be in Florida.
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Very good point. There are a lot of great places to discover in Central and South America. I spent many port visits drunk exploring many third world countries in my time in the Navy. I did three counter narcotic operations to this region. Great places to visit for very cheap.
pltrgyst said:
we've never even considered staying at an all-inclusive anywhere
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Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea - but it can be a very relaxing vacation and it’s WAY cheaper than Florida!
 
CraigT78 said:
and it’s WAY cheaper than Florida!
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Comparing apples to apples, where the apples are how the Zombies vacation...

Our most recent costs:
Florida 2012, 6 nights: $4,819
Florida 2017, 6 nights: $4,443 (includes losses from SQM)
Caribbean all-inclusive 2019, 6 nights: $5,856 (expected cost)

All inclusive ≠ cheaper than Florida, even when dumping cash in a poker game.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Comparing apples to apples, where the apples are how the Zombies vacation...

Our most recent costs:
Florida 2012, 6 nights: $4,819
Florida 2017, 6 nights: $4,443 (includes losses from SQM)
Caribbean all-inclusive 2019, 6 nights: $5,856 (expected cost)

All inclusive ≠ cheaper than Florida, even when dumping cash in a poker game.
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Well daym. Our all inclusive in Mexico was 1/2 your cost. High roller!!
 

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