All Inclusive Resorts Vs. Cruises - which do you prefer?

[JamesDouglas]

I've been on 10 cruises, and I absolutely love them. Being on a big luxurious cruise, waking up in a different city and/or country everyday, all the food you could ever eat available to you 24 hours a day, pools, activities, night time entertainment, it's just a lot of fun. I went on Oasis of the Seas in the summer, it was a blast.

I've never been to an all inclusive resort. How does it compare to a cruise? I'm not a big drinker so the allure of having unlimited booze is not such a big selling point for me. Besides the unlimited alcohol, what else makes all inclusive resorts great? If you've been on a cruise, how does it compare? Which do you prefer?

 

[Ms.FemmeFatale]

I've been on 10 cruises, and I absolutely love them. Being on a big luxurious cruise, waking up in a different city and/or country everyday, all the food you could ever eat available to you 24 hours a day, pools, activities, night time entertainment, it's just a lot of fun. I went on Oasis of the Seas in the summer, it was a blast.

I've never been to an all inclusive resort. How does it compare to a cruise? I'm not a big drinker so the allure of having unlimited booze is not such a big selling point for me. Besides the unlimited alcohol, what else makes all inclusive resorts great? If you've been on a cruise, how does it compare? Which do you prefer?

I am curious as well. I have done the AI thing all the time. But I find I don't drink as often anymore as well. I have wondered if now is the time to change to cruises. I LOVE the being on the water. Simply love it. So it seems logical, but I wonder about all the people. Is there the same sense of friendliness as you can get in AIs? And at the same time if you want privacy, how much of that is around?

Would love to hear from people who have done both.

JD, question for you though, what type of cruises would you recommend?

 

[Miss.Lexi]

Haven't been on a cruise, but it's definitely something on my list of things to do!

I've done the resort thing like 10 times myself though. What's the typical price for a cruise?

 

[JamesDouglas]

I am curious as well. I have done the AI thing all the time. But I find I don't drink as often anymore as well. I have wondered if now is the time to change to cruises. I LOVE the being on the water. Simply love it. So it seems logical, but I wonder about all the people. Is there the same sense of friendliness as you can get in AIs? And at the same time if you want privacy, how much of that is around?

Would love to hear from people who have done both.

JD, question for you though, what type of cruises would you recommend?

I've found people are extremely friendly on cruises, never had a problem in that regard. The waiters, housekeepers, and other cruise staff are always helpful, friendly, and go out of their way to treat you like royalty. There's more than enough privacy to be had, there's a lot of quiet lounges situated throughout ships, lots of quiet places by the pool, if you walk around you'll find some places very easily.

I've been on cruises ranging from the Caribbean, to Alaska, to Europe, to Australia and New Zealand. I loved them all, if you want a cruiseline with a lot of activities I'd recommend Royal Caribbean, and if you want the biggest ship in the world, go on Oasis of the Seas or its sister ship Allure of the Seas. They have pools, a boardwalk, a carousel, basketball court, mini golf, rock climbing, an ice rink, ziplining, a central park, about 25 restaurants, cafes etc., it's really stunning.

 

[Shakeandbake]

I have not done the cruise thing but done AI a dozen or so times and love it. Here are some points that come to mind:

You (usually) get a gorgeous resort with huge pools, swim up bars and great scenery and many activities.
You get to interact with the locals and become friends (sometimes more) and get to know a lot about the country you are in.
You get to do things that you like over and over and spend quality time doing so - an example would be snorkeling- you find a reef that's amazing and can go back a few times to explore it all-
The excursions are good on a AI because they are for the most part not rushed and you dont necessarily have to rush to meet a pre determined timeline

These are just a fewt hings that came to mind after reading the initial post , will add more if others don't beat me to it ...

I would love to hear the same (or diff) points to cruising as well please ...

 

[JamesDouglas]

Haven't been on a cruise, but it's definitely something on my list of things to do!

I've done the resort thing like 10 times myself though. What's the typical price for a cruise?

The price varies, it depends where you go, for how long, whether you want an inside cabin, an outside cabin, a cabin with a balcony, how much you drink, which excursions you take, how many pictures you buy onbard etc. It can be as little as $400 for a weeklong Caribbean cruise with an inside cabin, to more than $30,000 for a 3 and a half month world cruise in a balcony suite. The average cost is probably around $700-$800 for a weeklong cruise.

 

[Onelongfinger]

I have done both and I like the AI over a cruise. That said, I prefer long vacations to an area where I can explore over an AI. I am planning to go to SE Asia for a month soon. Then perhaps explore Eastern Europe for a month.

 

[shrek71]

I've never been on a cruise and I've done the AI several times. From the people I've talked to the rooms on a cruise ship are really small. The showers in most you can't turn around in without bumping your elbows on the walls. A staff member at my gym just got back from his first cruise, he loved it, his girlfriend didn't. She turns out to have sea sickness. One thing to keep in mind, is that while your cruise cost will be attractive, you also have to factor in getting their via plane. At least at an All Inclusive, everything is included in the one price.

So the advice for those that have never done a cruise, start with a short 3 - 4 day one as a test run, before you book that 2 week cruise of the Mediterranean or Alaska.

Cheers

Brian

 

[wetnose]

Also...not all cruises are created equally. Carnival = ugh. Princess or Celebrity = awesome.

 

[JamesDouglas]

Also...not all cruises are created equally. Carnival = ugh. Princess or Celebrity = awesome.

That's true, I've only ever been on Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity, I've had great experiences on all 3 cruiselines. I've always heard bad things about Carnival, how it's the McDonald's of cruising, so I'll stay away from it. I've heard Crystal is really great but expensive, I also heard the average age of the cruisers is 75 or so, so nowhere near my age bracket, I'll stay away for now.

 

[MPAsquared]

I've been on several AI's. Never a cruise. Love AI's!! Fun, simple, entertaining. Plus u can choose added excursions. My fav however was a resort which was super-inclusive. All excursions & luxuries were included. It was unreal!

 

[wigglee]

the most enjoyable vacations are when you just go somewhere and wing it....AI and cruises are generally safe, phony and silly.

 

[DanJ]

I've been on Princess 3x, Carnival 3x, RCI once, and Holland America once. Going on Carnival again in January. We like Carnival because of the value. Their bad rep was well earned back in the day, but they aren't the low brow frat party at sea anymore. It's definitely a family cruise line. However, all cruise lines have times of the year where they attract younger, more party hearty people, especially when it's school vacation time. Cruises longer than 7 days are well known for attracting older clientele.

IMO, Royal Caribbean has cornered the market on large ships, since they entered the fray 13 years ago this week. (I only remember that because we were on the Grand Princess 13 years ago this week when it lost it's title as largest cruise ship to the Voyager of the Seas). Our one RCI cruise was on the Navigator, which is in the smallest of their 3 classes of megaship. That experience makes we want to sail them all the time, but finding affordable fare for 4 people is brutal. The same week I'm on Carnival Dream for $2400 in a balcony for the 4 of us was well over $4000 for a window cabin on Oasis of the Seas. Add in the $1200 for flights and the $320 in tips, and we are coming in at $4000 for the trip, which I think compares favourably to many of the decent AI's I have looked at.

It really depends on what you like to do. I don't really want to spend a week in a resort. I'm not a drinker or a beach person. So, I would have to find a place with lots of stuff to do. I could spend a week in Aruba. St Thomas is up there as well, amongst the places we have cruised to. Cruises don't involve a lot of adventure, that's for sure. They do give you a chance to sample different places though. I disagree with the suggestion to try a 4 day cruise to see if you like it. Ships doing those routes are generally smaller with less amenities, generally attract a more party crowd, and don't give a great representation of the whole experience. I would only do one if I happened to be in the port area for other reasons.

 

[MuffinMuncher]

There is nothing at all wrong with Carnival. Great mix of people, good destinations, good excursions, great value compared to the competition. And it tends to skew toward a younger (i.e. greater percentage of people under 30 rather than over 50) crowd, so the nightlife is alot more fun. Even if you upgrade to one of the highest decks with a balcony (awesome way to spend a week) it's still cheaper than getting one by the engine room on Royal Caribbean.

If you do it right you're barely in the cabin anyway. I'd go every year if I could find people who liked to do it.

Hey... what about a TERB cruise? LOL

 

[DELETDrileydaniels]

I love Olivia Cruise lines

 

[thecuriousgeorge]

I've done about 15 AI's and 5 cruises (rc/carnival/norwegian) and if you arent a big drinker or a morning person then cruises are for you! I could not stand waking up that early to hit the ports..it prohibits u from having a late night the night before, and on cruises late nights are where the action is at... The price of drinks was more than the cruise itself!
I am a drinker and a night person..so my preference is AI's but i do see the value in cruises...
Depends on what you are looking for..with cruises the time at the ports are so limited that u cannot take it all in..ur rushed and really only have time for 1 or 2 things...with an AI you have time to do what you want..the only thing if ur in a crumby place then u may not want to do anything...

 

[Smash]

I've never been on a cruise but whenever I stay at an resort I end up banging natives all day. In 98 I went to Dom Republic and ended up smashing a super hot 18 year old native for the entire 2 weeks that I was there. I paid the night gaurd $50. to look the other way and she stayed the nights wit me. I gave her $100.US and told her that its my Xmas present to her. She had such a cute smile and was so affectionate I was in heaven the entire trip.

 

[rld]

I am curious as well. I have done the AI thing all the time. But I find I don't drink as often anymore as well. I have wondered if now is the time to change to cruises. I LOVE the being on the water. Simply love it. So it seems logical, but I wonder about all the people. Is there the same sense of friendliness as you can get in AIs? And at the same time if you want privacy, how much of that is around?

Would love to hear from people who have done both.

JD, question for you though, what type of cruises would you recommend?

I have done lots of AI's of all levels and some excellent cruises.

For me one of the biggest considerations is where am I going? If I am going somewhere warm for a beach vacation say in the Carribean, do I really need a ship to take me from one beach and shopping area to another? Probably not.

But say, I am going to the Med, a cruise from Istanbul to Athens, or Barcelona to Niece, allows you to see a lot of great and different destinations without the trouble of packing and unpacking etc.

AI's all have different character. Some are couples only, some are party places, some are high class, and some are just drunk fests. Lots of options to suit your taste.

When it comes to cruises, I have not, and will never cruise on a ship that holds more than about 400 people. I don't like lines and the cattle car approach. I know lots of people who have done some of the bigger ships and their style holds no interest for me.

I am thinking of trying a river cruise on the Danube some time, just to add variety.

 

[DanJ]

True that the cost of drinking on the ship can run more than the cost of the cruise, if that's what you like to do. Carnival and I believe Royal Caribbean, is rolling out a drink package. Carnival's costs about $320 for a 7 day cruise, which gives you 15 drinks per day. The kicker is that all adults in a cabin have to buy it if one person wants it (haven't looked into it enough to know why), so depending on how much you drink, it can work out good or not.

 

[Art Mann]

Don't think there are any cruise lines out there that can compete with this "all-inclusive" vacation spot: