Carnival cruise vs. all inclusive

[summersigh]

My fiancé and I are trying to decide what to do for our honeymoon in September. Right now I can't decide if we want to do a cruise or all inclusive resort somewhere. I've only been on a few cruises and only 1 resort. I was hoping I could get some insight from my more experienced travellers. Do you think one is better for a romantic week away. We do want adventure on our trip too. We are not big drinkers.

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

I didn't read all of the replies but .... Keep in mind ...... September is hurricane season. There'd be less effect on land than at sea. Just a thought if that's not the kind of "adventure" you desire.:cool:

[grandmarnnurse]

My fiancé and I are trying to decide what to do for our honeymoon in September. Right now I can't decide if we want to do a cruise or all inclusive resort somewhere. I've only been on a few cruises and only 1 resort. I was hoping I could get some insight from my more experienced travellers. Do you think one is better for a romantic week away. We do want adventure on our trip too. We are not big drinkers.

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

A cruise is a much better value. Especially if you are not big drinkers. We have cruised for years, but have stayed in an AI only once. We would choose a cruise any day over an AI---so much more to do and choose from! We have cruised both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Our last was on RCCL Oasis of the Seas. So much to do---endless activities! And we had a cabin off Central Park on Deck 8. Perfect! A great place for a quiet night cap at the end of your day. We love cruising so much, we are looking to relocate to Florida (from cold WNY) to be closer to ports, so we can forgo the airfare and all the hassles that go with flying now days!

[theriac]

I didn't read all of the replies but .... Keep in mind ...... September is hurricane season. There'd be less effect on land than at sea. Just a thought if that's not the kind of "adventure" you desire.:cool:

 

I don't think that's true. If a hurricane is coming you can reroute a cruise ship, but rerouting an island or particular area of the island is impossible.

 

You may have less of a chance being affected directly at an AI but with a cruise you go to different ports and/or have more seadays. At an AI you're trip will just be cancelled

[Utahrd]

We also book a all day tour with Mitch going to Tulum ruins and the snorkel a cenote and lunch on private beach and another snorkel in the afternoon and best part there be less the 8 people. Mitch tours are not cattle herding but relax time with time to ask questions. .

 

Do you mean Mitch, the Canadian guy? He used to work for a company called Yukatreks but I don't know if he does any more.

 

I went on one of those tours; it was great.

 

I love Playa del Carmen but airfare to there is expensive from here. So now I am checking out cruises.

 

Go ahead and laugh, but if you want to be a real Playa Local, you can go to one of the local minor league soccer team's matches. Cancun has a pro baseball team if you like that better.

 

When the referee (or umpire if it's baseball) makes a call against the home team, boy, do you learn some interesting words in Spanish.

[dhaza]

Do you mean Mitch, the Canadian guy? He used to work for a company called Yukatreks but I don't know if he does any more.

 

I went on one of those tours; it was great.

 

I love Playa del Carmen but airfare to there is expensive from here. So now I am checking out cruises.

 

Go ahead and laugh, but if you want to be a real Playa Local, you can go to one of the local minor league soccer team's matches. Cancun has a pro baseball team if you like that better.

 

When the referee (or umpire if it's baseball) makes a call against the home team, boy, do you learn some interesting words in Spanish.

 

We contact Mich direct I not sure who he is working for now. We love the smaller hotels but if you use Expedia to bundle airfare and hotel so much cheaper. We got airfare and hotel 7 nights at the Reef Playcar last year for 585 bucks person from Kansas City on a last minute deal. That was less than SW wanted just for airfare. To meet locals check out playa.info for peep meets, they are a blast. We even made time to tour WalMart in Playa LOL

Edited December 4, 2015 by dhaza

[singbluesilver1]

That's the other thing, it was so hot in Mexico when we went, I was expecting it but everything was outside only our room had ac so we spent a lot of time there watching Netflix on our iPad .

 

Plus the mosquitos were terrible even during the day, literally swarms of them all over, my husband was eaten alive

[summersigh]

I don't think that's true. If a hurricane is coming you can reroute a cruise ship, but rerouting an island or particular area of the island is impossible.

 

You may have less of a chance being affected directly at an AI but with a cruise you go to different ports and/or have more seadays. At an AI you're trip will just be cancelled

 

My only intention was to throw something out there that might or might not affect a trip at that time of year. There was a lot of angst happening on these boards when a storm was going to affect the eastern seaboard last summer.

 

There were folks who did discuss seasickness from rough seas :rolleyes:

[coevan]

We have done both and love both for different reasons. No doubt, if you don't drink an all inclusive might be wasting money. To the folks that said there is nothing to do or the food was bland, were probably in an inexpensive A.I. Sandals food has far superior to cruise ship food. All the restaurants are Steak House quality. There is free Scuba diving, costing over $100 a day anywhere. There is also free golf, you have to rent a cart. You have Hobi Cats, SUPs, water bikes, volley ball, and many, many activities, and none have anything to do with hairy chests. A.I.'s are definitely more expensive.

We still love cruising. This 21 day B2B is about $6000 with Cheers on both legs. Sandals would be about $10,000

[SweetPea0517]

You might want to talk to a travel agent for some help. All inclusive would be a waste of your money, there are wonderful places to go that would not include the alcohol. Cruises & some locations are a risk for hurricanes but some areas are less prone. Research the areas.

[Lerin]

Done both, love both and there are pros/cons to each.

The two of you need to decide what sort of vacation you want and then decide which will work best for your Honeymoon.

You can always do the other at a later date :D

[knight2096]

AI resorts are awesome I prefer them over cruising and I love cruising. If you look hard you can find some great deals. I usually choose cruising because of the cheaper pricing, but with cruise prices going up that gap is closing, so my family will be doing more AI resorts instead. We enjoy AI's more anyways. I also agree with the poster above, Sandals resorts food is far superior to cruise ship food.

Edited December 5, 2015 by knight2096

[coevan]

Why would you say this? "All inclusive would be a waste of your money" Have you ever been to a top rated AI? For a honeymoon couple, an AI would be much more romantic. you can arrange a private dinner on the beach, awesome. The absolute best thing about Sandals is NO KIDS, all couples, and always quiet.

[DandDM]

We did both on our honeymoon - a week at Sandals in Jamaica, then a week on the Carnival Victory. While I love cruising and it is my favorite vacation, the week at Sandals was perfect for our honeymoon. As others have pointed out, there is usually more to do and see on a cruise, but that wasn't a priority on our honeymoon - we just loved sleeping in and hanging out at the beach. It was also much less crowded than a cruise, which was important to us.

 

In fact, we just had our five year anniversary and went to Grand Cayman instead of a cruise, thinking back on the great memories from our Honeymoon. This time we got a small apartment on the beach, not an AI, and had a fantastic trip.

[living at the beach]

I have only done three Ai vacation; two in Jamaica and one in Barbados and approaching 40 cruises now. However, with the changes that have been happening across most of the major cruise lines, I am reconsidering my choice of cruise over IA. why, because the cruise lines have carved out exclusive areas with insanely high costs, increased onboard costs for almost everything way beyond inflation, and have decreased the offerings that used to be included in the base price. So be prepared to pay high prices for Internet, usually included in an AI, bar prices for even a drink you would like to have in your cabin getting ready for dinner, high prices for cruise line sponsored excursions, as you will likely be docked far from points of interest, tiny cabins unless you pay lots more fora squire , tiny pools crowded with folks, I could go on on on!

but on the plus side, depending on the cruise line, evening entertainment, often very good is included,candy if you are a young couple, complimentary daytime into early evening activities are included, letting parents enjoy some adult time while the children are happily entertained. Just be advised that the lower up front price of a cruise can be misleading because when you add up all the extra costs on a cruise that are included without cost at an Ai, the price may well add up to be higher on a cruise if you would like to have a balcony, enjoy internet access, take some shoe excursions, and have a few drinks everyday.

Hope that helps.