My wife and I are considering our options for vacation this year.
We are considering a Cruise ( Western Caribbean)or All inclusive (Mexico). What are your thoughts and Why?

I've done both and I say do the all inclusive. I went to Puerto Vallarta in 2007 and stayed at the Dreams Resort. It was a blast. Not to mention, there is a lot to do like zip-lining, biking, hitting the hiking trails, horse back riding, whale watching, going to the city, swim up bars, etc.

I went to Puerto Rico last year and had a good time as well. It was not an all-inclusive, but I would recommend it to anyone.

Have done both. The main advantage of the all-inclusive for us is the nearly complete lack of a schedule.

OTOH, for one's first trip to the Caribbean, I might suggest a cruise as a "test drive" for possible future vacations at the various ports of call. For example, we really enjoyed our day in Cozumel on a cruise, and ended up going there for a week a few years later.

queencitybuckeye wrote: OTOH, for one's first trip to the Caribbean, I might suggest a cruise as a "test drive" for possible future vacations at the various ports of call. For example, we really enjoyed our day in Cozumel on a cruise, and ended up going there for a week a few years later.

This. Did a cruise a few years ago. Loved St. Thomas, St. Lucia and Barbados, hated the other 2 ports (Antigua and Dominica). We're working on planning a 1-2 week trip to either Barbados or St. Thomas now.

I'm also considering just a 2 week trip to Alaska for shiggles. I'm pretty sure that's where my next job assignment will be and I want to see if I like it before I agree to 1 year of it.

Just did Puerta Vallarta all inclusive at the Dreams Villamagna Resort at the end of September, it was fantastic!!

Cruise, IMO.

Royal Caribbean cruise lines (I've tried carnival x1, royal x4, and Princess x1).

^^^^
What make Royal better?

I've been on two cruises and been to two all inclusive resorts. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either. For me, I prefer a cruise. I love the different scenary. However, you are constantly checking your watch because you are stuck to a schedule which is the main complaint.

A resort is so much more relaxing. Usually not nearly as crowded, so whatever you want whenever you want.

Have fun, and you certainly will either route.

Preacher wrote: ^^^^
What make Royal better?

Don’t let me scare you, the Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruise (just 3 weeks ago) were completely awesome, my favorite vacations ever. If you go to review sites and message boards, the consensus is generally that Royal Caribbean is the best bang for the buck and usually is reviewed more highly than many other cruise lines….I tend to agree with that, but you can’t go wrong with probably any cruise line…


Royal > Princess >>>> Carnival in my opinion because:




Better on board entertainment

Overall nicer/cleaner ships (our latest Princess one had a slight musty/smoky smell, and it’s only a 4 year old ship, the Crown Princess)

Friendlier staff on all 4 royal ships in comparison to the 2 others (could have just been a bad trip/ship…nothing terrible, just not as friendly in comparison).

Better food (both dinner and lunch buffets) and better dining staff

1 large /awesome dining room (our latest Princess cruise had 3 very tiny dining rooms, not very impressive….

Getting on and off the ship, the process on Royal is awesome from my experience….Carnival is about the same….Princess was horrible with this, very confusing and not a lot of friendly people to help….This seems to be the consensus with Princess, but it’s just getting on the ship, once you are on it’s great.

I was charged for a gift store purchase on Princess and was informed when I received my receipt hours before getting off the boat…I then had to wait in an extremely long line for only 3 workers, who had to go through the receipts from all of the onboard shops 1 by 1 only to find that my wife’s name was printed on a receipt that was meant for another gentleman on board, they MANUALLY write down a lot of the receipts, and obviously screwed up…..Was a pain in the butt on a hectic morning…This wasn’t that big of a deal and didn’t ruin the trip by any means, was just frustrating.


From my research when I booked, most Royal Caribbean cruises for what we wanted ran around $500 - $800 per person at least, but I snagged the Princess Cruise, 7 nights, for just $349 per person, which quickly rose to $550 per person after I booked. For the price, we had an awesome time, I just would probably go on Royal Caribbean each time from now on after sampling a couple of the other cruise lines.

If you have any additional questions or need opinions on different ports to visit, just PM me, I’ve been to a lot and have done a lot of excursions.

Thanks
We are leaning toward Cozomel ( All inclusive) looks best bang for buck but like the idea of multiple port of calls

Preacher wrote: Thanks
We are leaning toward Cozomel ( All inclusive) looks best bang for buck but like the idea of multiple port of calls

Ehh, been to Cozumel. Not much to do unless you just wanna relax for a week.

QueenCity- what didn't you like about Dominica? We went there on a cruise and had nothing bad to say about it.

I have been on both.

Thinking about it now, I would say I enjoyed the all inclusive in Cancun, Mexico better.

The cruise was great. The all inclusive was more relaxing and I felt I had more privacy at dinner, pool-side, etc. On the cruise, we ate with the same people for every meal. Enjoyed the people......

However, (don't want to scare you)... butt, one of the couples at our table got into a fight at dinner and ice tea hit someone's lap and then the other one threw a roll and it hit an old person celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at the next table in the head.....

Always had a private table in Cancun. It was more relaxing overall.

I don't remember what the price for each was, but, the cabin in the ship also was very tiny. Had a nice room with a balcony overlooking the ocean in Cancun. I would have to price shop to see what the difference in cost would be for similar accomodations in Cancun and a cruise now.

Cruise if it was me.

iclfan2 wrote:
QueenCity- what didn't you like about Dominica? We went there on a cruise and had nothing bad to say about it.

Actually, that was j_crazy's comment. We loved Dominica. Next time I'd like to take the rain forest aerial tram.

ttt

for sure all inclusive in mexico, went to the Gran Bahia Principe in Riviera Maya Mexico 2 years ago for senior spring break, had a blast...all you can eat, all you can drink...great fun things to do as wel like jet skiing, rainforest ATVing, snorkeling, big ass ziplines through the rainforest, deep sea fishing...place was amazing

Personally, I feel like all inclusives are the way to go. Then again, I don't think you'll ever find many Navy guys who really want to go on a cruise. Even though its completely different from a deployment, its still being at sea on a ship.

I'm a former Navy guy.lol

Cruise! Depending on what you'd plan to do on a cruise vs. All inclusive should weigh in to how much you pay. A cruise to where we went was far better than the all inclusive choice at the time. Though we are looking to go somewhere in mexico all inclusive 7 nights for six or seven hundred.

If you like ancient history and like exploring I recommend Mexico.

Cost right now are very simular

We are really into history. Any ruins around Cozumel?

Preacher wrote: Cost right now are very simular

We are really into history. Any ruins around Cozumel?

You'd be better off with Cancun or the area south of it known as the Mayan Riviera. Multiple sites to see (Tulum, Chichen Itza).

ttt

I do not like to cruise....Been on 7 total. There's just something about having to be on their schedule that I do not like and I hate the bar-tab at the end. Once we found an all-inclusive in Cancun...that was it. We no longer cruise and find ourselves going to the same spot again and again. All-inclusive there are no tickets to sign and no bar tab....just bring me a drink.......We tip those that deserve it as needed but it is not required or expected.. We meet so many more people at an all-inclusive resort than we ever did cruising. The food is amazing and you eat and drink when you want to and have many choices in doing so. Go through Apple Vacations and in our case, you direct fly out of Cincy and can be drinking a beer on the beach in 3 hours. Can't beat it for $2200 for a couple. We thoroughly enjoy the Crown Paradise...All rooms are ocean view, the beach is fabulous, the pools are large and the people are wonderful. Haven't been in a couple of years and anything can change but we will be heading back there later this year I am promised.