Cruising vs All Inclusive vs Beach Rentals

So what is everyone's opinion on the value of a cruise vs all inclusive resort vs renting a house/condo on or near a beach-water-other attraction?

Obviously different benefits to each.

All-inclusives have air-fare costs and I have four in my family. I have only been on one in Cancun and really enjoyed it. I think food is better on cruises tho.

Beach or similar rental - might be slightly cheaper if bringing a family or splitting with another family than a cruise. But add in food/dining out, time buying food, prepping meals or dealing with tourist trap restaurants.

I keep coming back to cruising as the best value. We are a frugal family and don't do a lot of the extras $$$ on the cruise and we are fine with interior rooms. My wife and I both get the alcohol packages but we definitely come out ahead.

Depends what you want from a vacations. The food and accommodations are MUCH better on a land-based vacation....generally speaking!

For me, an inside cabin would be total hell...I like a bit of luxury! I want to be AT LEAST as comfortable on vacation as at home. Staying in a space the size of my closet is NOT comfortable!

We cruise for the ports, usually...and warm weather. If we can't get a good cabin/price, then it's land-based!

To each their own as the saying goes. I don't mind an interior cabin as I am not hanging out there except to sleep and get ready for the day and dinner. I will do a balcony as a splurge.

I think the food has been better on our cruises then it was at our Cancun all inclusive. But the living accommodations are much better at a resort - that is a given.

Renting a condo in Destin is a much better value and I enjoy it more than cruising. However, it is calendar specific and so for spring break we cruise and save Destin for the summer.

They're very different experiences......I love cruising for the relaxing time at sea, and I would hate an all-inclusive resort because it doesn't offer the "escape" that I get from a cruise. I don't care how much cheaper it would be, because the value, to me, would be much lower.

On the other hand, I love land vacations where I rent a cottage, cabin, or apartment in a particular location, and use it as a base for sightseeing and day trips to other places. It's very cost effective, I can do some of my own cooking (which I like - cheaper and healthier), and I can choose my own sights and experiences. But a land trip is very different type of vacation than a cruise, so I can't really compare the value without specific details that will determine how much I want it. A week at a beachside cabin in the Florida Keys? Not very good value, as I don't really want a week at a beach. A week in an apartment in Bologna? I'd love the opportunity to poke around Italy by train, so I'd say it's a better value than a Mediterranean cruise.

We looked at both two week all inclusive holidays to Mexico and Thailand (we live in the UK) over Christmas and cruises. We have not been on a cruise together but decided to go for it as it was significantly cheaper than the all inclusive holidays even considering that we need flights from the UK to the US close to Christmas and three hotel nights. The cruise option was over £1,000 cheaper! :D

I've been on one all inclusive holiday on the Dominican Republic and it was so-so in my opinion. The food wasn't great but the facilities were fantastic and the resort was right on the water.

I've found that we can save a lot of money by researching flight prices etc. then use one of the big flight TAs in the UK who does price matching. We've gotten some fantastic deals that way. They also usually offer a good deal for hotels if booked on the same day as the flight (they price match hotel prices too).

I did the same when I lived in the US and found very good deals for most things. It takes a little bit of time and effort but I quite like saving $$$ (or £££!) and a few hours research is worth it to me. :)

It really does depends on one's situation - for me my cruise port of choice is NY, which is alot easier, cheaper and faster to get to via subway than LaGuardia / JFK / Newark airports no matter the mode of transportation. The 'getting there' and associated fees is also a part of the cost of cruises / all-inclusive resorts / beach rental math too. :o

I think it also depends on what the purpose of the particular vacation is. We enjoy renting a big vacation home for a family Christmas get together. Then we can make cookies and hide presents and Santa can come down the chimney.

For a summer vacation we definitely love the cruise option. You're together as a family but you're not stuck in a couple of hotel rooms or vehicles on top of each other . It's easy to separate for excursions to fit every interest.

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I had a bad experience on a 9-day cruise several years ago, so I gave up cruising for a few years to take land-based vacations at luxury timeshare resorts in Mexico. It's beautiful and laid back with the opportunity to explore and relax at your own pace. However, it is very expensive once you add up the costs of flights, dining, excursions and incidentals like tips, local transportation, souvenirs and liquor.

I'm a single parent and it made more sense to go back to cruises as our yearly vacation once my kids were past the 12-year old child discounted rates. We tried Carnival as an option in 2013 because of itinerary matching the dates we planned to be in Orlando for a college tour and we loved it. I was surprised at the value of Carnival cruises compared to other lines. They have a great teen program. The cruises fit our family's love of relaxed fun and adventure with cool port of calls and lack of pretentiousness. We have since tried Disney again and Princess for the first time but I still prefer Carnival overall for value.

Funny enough, I priced out a beach rental in DE for when we usually travel around 4th of July and a Caribbean cruise was $1000 cheaper. Better choice for us even when you factor in travel costs for flights and pre-cruise hotel. Just can't see paying so much to stay at a local beach when I can go to 3-4 beach destinations on a cruise.

We love to cruise, but not for the beaches. We don't even take bathing suits any more. We go for the sightseeing.

Funny enough, I priced out a beach rental in DE for when we usually travel around 4th of July and a Caribbean cruise was $1000 cheaper. Better choice for us even when you factor in travel costs for flights and pre-cruise hotel. Just can't see paying so much to stay at a local beach when I can go to 3-4 beach destinations on a cruise.

Wow that is amazing. Were estimating for meals for the beach rental too? If not that would make the difference even larger.

No, I hadn't even factored in food and incidentals. To be fair, I was pricing a duplex condo for my family of 3 and my sister's family of 3 so we would've split the costs. However, $350-400/night for a week's rental not even in walking distance to the beach was just too much. I like Rehoboth Beach but not choosing to go there when I can go on a cruise for less money.

It's just my bf & I so it is much, much cheaper going on a cruise than it would be to rent a condo at the beach for a week, even with the alcohol package. We haven't looked at the all inclusives but I have gone before and my week was about $5000 total and we are around $1600 for a week total with our cruise coming up. If we could find a better deal at a condo or all inclusive we'd probably take it just to change things up, but for now the cruise deals can't be beat!

It's just my bf & I so it is much, much cheaper going on a cruise than it would be to rent a condo at the beach for a week, even with the alcohol package. We haven't looked at the all inclusives but I have gone before and my week was about $5000 total and we are around $1600 for a week total with our cruise coming up. If we could find a better deal at a condo or all inclusive we'd probably take it just to change things up, but for now the cruise deals can't be beat!

Nice! Wife and I just did a cruise sans kids and it was $875 plus alcohol package of $600. Full disclosure, we went the discount route with the cheapest room, no excursions, etc. We looked at all inclusives which add airfare and I believe the total was $3000

Nice! Wife and I just did a cruise sans kids and it was $875 plus alcohol package of $600. Full disclosure, we went the discount route with the cheapest room, no excursions, etc. We looked at all inclusives which add airfare and I believe the total was $3000

Which cruise did you go on? Hope you had a great time! [emoji4]

Nice! Wife and I just did a cruise sans kids and it was $875 plus alcohol package of $600. Full disclosure, we went the discount route with the cheapest room, no excursions, etc. We looked at all inclusives which add airfare and I believe the total was $3000

That's how we did it too. Went with a guaranteed room (ended up with a 4g instead of 4a room). We are going on a 7 day for $1050 total. but by the time we get the drink plan & pay for the hotel the night before it goes up quite a bit. Still an amazing deal though & much, much cheaper than an all inclusive or condo at the beach for a week.

Hey! :)

Theres nothing better for me than spending a week in our vacation house in our vacation condo in Pompano area, South Florida (Sabbia Beach Resort). It may be due to the fact that it has sentimental value to me, cause i met my wife there. Its cozy unlike all inclusive hotels (what actually happens is that we come home 5kg heavier ..) And about cruises.. I love them, but its another feeling, just chilling at the beach house :)

Max