Why We Cancelled Our November Navigator Cruise

[TXSAIL]

Hello. I am posting this for those of you like us who have done a lot of cruises and would like to try something different. Our Navigator 11/16 sailing was going to Roatan,Cozumel,and Costa Maya from Galveston , and I got it for $1265, total for both of us in balcony cabin 6296,which was really a deal as it is about 800-900 higher now.I also had $190 onboard credit...Anyway, we just went on an AI to Playa Del Carmen and just loved it. We had a 562 sq. ft. room with tons of room, giant shower,two jacuzzis,in room mini bar with beer and liquor. All food and drinks were included. Gratuities included.We have enjoyed all our cruises, as they were great experiences, but we have seen the same ports several times..There is something special about cruising, but for us ,it was time for a change, so this is only for those of you who have never done an AI and would like to compare. Please do not bash me. I am not knocking cruising at all. Here is a look at a nice resort that we stayed at.

 

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[champagne123]

Wow...that was beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

 

Do you think this is a good "honeymoon" destination?

[TXSAIL]

There were 3 weddings on the beach while we were there. I think so, but it is not adults only. We have another scheduled for Nov a little closer to the airport that is adults only and a nicer beach...But I do not think you would go wrong in most of them in this area.

Wow...that was beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

 

Do you think this is a good "honeymoon" destination?

[JDsafeman]

Thanks for the info and the video. We also live in Texas and drive to Galveston but we are tired of going to the same places. I have been looking at AI but everything I have seen is $300/day and up.

Would you mind sharing more information? What AI Resort and how much?

Looks like a fun place to relax.

[Aboat1]

What are AL's??

[TXSAIL]

Surely. This was Grand Riviera Princess just north of Playa Del Carmen. It was $2303 for a six night stay including flights, transfers , and gratuities, and we chose an upscale suite...We are going to Valentin Imperial Maya next which is a little higher at $2600. But when you consider the cost of all the booze some of us tend to drink on vacation, I think the cruise would be higher . There are also resorts that are nice at several hundred dollars less. We are 3 1/2 hours from Galveston and got tired of the interstate at our ripe old 65 year ages..We are going to Punta Cana next April ,. adults only for $2600. We are not rich people. I just want see some more places while we are able...Also,we were surprised how good the food was, absolutely wonderful. We are not picky eaters..

Thanks for the info and the video. We also live in Texas and drive to Galveston but we are tired of going to the same places. I have been looking at AI but everything I have seen is $300/day and up.

Would you mind sharing more information? What AI Resort and how much?

Looks like a fun place to relax.

[TXSAIL]

It means All Inclusive, food, drinks , tips, and there a jillion of them out there with a big price range..

What are AL's??

[JDsafeman]

Thanks for the info. I am looking them up now.:)

[SnakeBitten]

What are AL's??

 

AI's = all inclusive

 

Great video! We have stayed at Secrets Maroma two times. It's all adults, 30 min south of Cancun airport and a great resort! Maroma beach is fantastic! SB

[TXSAIL]

I meant to tell you I did a ton of research on these , using google earth looking for nice beaches with lots of shade, then I zoom in and click to see the name of the resort. There are bunches of web sites for booking,wish I could post those on here. One I found is very easy to navigate , and has great prices. You some threads about watered down drinks. Not so in this place. The will fix it to your desire,and have all the good brands.

Thanks for the info. I am looking them up now.:)

[JKrise]

Txsail, My wife and I totally get your point. Sometimes change is needed for a vacation. We happen to like sea days on cruising, cause it forces us to 'unplug' from technology. We have done AI on the past, and thru our travels have come across some really nice AI's. (Been keeping a list).

Hats off to you, glad you found a great deal and had a fantastic time.

 

 

 

JKrise

[TXSAIL]

I love the looks of Secrets Maroma, as all the buildings seem to face the beach.It is a little pricey for us but maybe one day. We are going to Valentin Maya next, supposed to be good..

AI's = all inclusive

 

Great video! We have stayed at Secrets Maroma two times. It's all adults, 30 min south of Cancun airport and a great resort! Maroma beach is fantastic! SB

[LMaxwell]

Thanks for sharing. Within our group of friends we are the "oddball" cruisers and the rest go to AI's. I think that price is pretty reasonable considering it has flights/transfers. I like the idea of one pay and no hassle. I still do love being on a ship at sea and since I am close to cruiseports will continue to cruise until we are "bored" and switch to some AI destinations most likely. No bashing here, appreciate other perspectives and options!

[TXSAIL]

Thanks for the nice comment. I was afraid I would get bashed when I posted this..For folks who still work ,sea days are a wonderful thing for sure..

Txsail, My wife and I totally get your point. Sometimes change is needed for a vacation. We happen to like sea days on cruising, cause it forces us to 'unplug' from technology. We have done AI on the past, and thru our travels have come across some really nice AI's. (Been keeping a list).

Hats off to you, glad you found a great deal and had a fantastic time.

 

 

 

JKrise

[akcruz]

While I love my cruises I really do not understand people who ONLY do cruises. We love to travel and see different places. Sometimes that is on a ship, sometimes it is not. I think it is a great thing to expand your vacations and see places you cannot get to on a cruise.

 

If AIs work for younabsolutely go for it.

[TXSAIL]

That's why I finally asked myself,why is this all you are doing..I was in the U.S.Air Force and flew on junkers to jets, and later in life did not want to fly anymore, but I put my wings back on after 25 years of ground travel and it was fine.

While I love my cruises I really do not understand people who ONLY do cruises. We love to travel and see different places. Sometimes that is on a ship, sometimes it is not. I think it is a great thing to expand your vacations and see places you cannot get to on a cruise.

 

If AIs work for younabsolutely go for it.

[hairymelon]

Think it is a good idea. We all have to do what is right for us at the time. I love cruising at the moment and haven't done that many so it is still a novelty for me and there are lots of places to be explored but I wouldn't close my eyes to anything. I did an AI in 2011 which was lovely and so I think it is good to keep avenues open. Glad you had such a lovely time :)

[pinkrosesdeb]

Not sure why this is still on the Royal thread when it is NOT about cruising. Just wondering.

[masspector]

Thanks for posting. Just a few quick questions. I, like you, started researching these about a year ago. There were so many discrepancies and price ranges it made my head spin. I gave up. I would like to ask you about the things I saw the most complaints about and see what your experience was.

 

Drinks... I think you already addressed that but I saw people complain about watered down drinks and not top shelf brands. Can you mention some of the liquor brands available at this place?

 

Food....a lot of complaints about food was served buffet style. I would like more of a restaurant atmosphere. Some complained that ones that did have restaurants there was only one and you had to make reservations and could only go to the restaurant one night of your stay. What was your experience at this resort?

 

People...cheaper resorts tended to have a bunch of young drunks. What were the clientele like, age ranges?

 

Location...I would like a place were there is more to do then just lay at the beach or pool. Is there much else to do near this place? Did you feel safe leaving the compound?

 

Water sports...a lot of complaints about what is included in the water activities and what costs extra. Can you comment on that?

 

Thanks for including your price, can you give a break down of what the resort cost was and the airfare separate? Thanks

[PCWalton1]

Not sure why this is still on the Royal thread when it is NOT about cruising. Just wondering.

 

It's only an hour old. Give the moderators time, they will move it to where it belongs.

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

[matj2000]

I prefer the All Inclusive resorts over cruises.

But since we have kids, the ships work out better for now.

[Yurita]

Last year we didn't cruise, we stayed a week at Sandos caracol Riviera Maya, Mexico. Riviera Maya has very good prices and nice beach. Most resorts are ALL inclusive.

 

Seems like Riviera Maya, Mexico and Punta Cana, Dominican republic offers excellent all inclusive resorts, with amazing beaches. I do enjoy mixing all inclusive land vacations and cruising; especially when cruising caribbean itineraries seem to be the same old, same old western and eastern... that means it's time for Riviera Maya!!!!

[dfishner]

I think it is great that you have tried other vacation options we like to mix our vacations up between different cruise companies as well as doing non cruise vacation variety is the spice of life. Glad you had a great time

[Badgertr]

We're back to cruising. We're going on Freedom in March. What brought us back was the drink package. When we were on the cruise I had to monitor my DH's drinking. I know it's vacation and all, but, I work very hard for my money and at $8-9 dollars a pop (x2) I made a limit of 5 a day. We didn't really stay with that, but I gave myself the guilt trip and my DH didn't like me counting. With the drink package I don't have to count in my head. Whether I get my money's worth or not is not the issue, it's my programming.

 

Our usual AI price jumped up quite a bit and RCI BOGOHO sale had me looking then the drink pkg iced it.

 

When looking at AI know what details you like before your research. Ie do you have to wake up at 7am to go down and reserve dinner for a specialty restaurant? Do they have "open-air"dining. We ate at one with sweat dripping down our backs, not pleasant. Now we always look for air conditioned bars and dining options. And no reservation specialty dining.

 

We did AI's liked them, we also like Florida. Until we can do all 3 we have to bounce around.

[TXSAIL]

I mostly drink Vodka and Bourbon. I really did not look at all the sheer number of bottles but I saw Jack Daniels, Smirnoff, Absolute..There was so much.We ate in the buffet for breakfast where a la carte was available, did a different restaurant each night, tremendous service, and we thought the food much better than all our cruises. It may vary by resort, This was our first.We did reservations the first evening for the rest of our stay, no problems getting them at all.Of all the free flowing booze we never saw a drunk.Ages were probably for the most part 20-50. We are 65 and there were others our age and older. Maybe an all adults resort may have a little older crowd.We shall find out.We were near Playa Del Carmen, a fun place, 5th ave with no vehicles. There are tons of bars and restaurants there, safe as could be.A lot of people were doing excursions as well. They did include non motorized water toys but I did not even take notice.Out of our $2300 $900 was airfare..Going home was no problem. Our transfer was right on time. You do go through security screening. The longest part was going through U S customs at Houston going home..

Thanks for posting. Just a few quick questions. I, like you, started researching these about a year ago. There were so many discrepancies and price ranges it made my head spin. I gave up. I would like to ask you about the things I saw the most complaints about and see what your experience was.

 

Drinks... I think you already addressed that but I saw people complain about watered down drinks and not top shelf brands. Can you mention some of the liquor brands available at this place?

 

Food....a lot of complaints about food was served buffet style. I would like more of a restaurant atmosphere. Some complained that ones that did have restaurants there was only one and you had to make reservations and could only go to the restaurant one night of your stay. What was your experience at this resort?

 

People...cheaper resorts tended to have a bunch of young drunks. What were the clientele like, age ranges?

 

Location...I would like a place were there is more to do then just lay at the beach or pool. Is there much else to do near this place? Did you feel safe leaving the compound?

 

Water sports...a lot of complaints about what is included in the water activities and what costs extra. Can you comment on that?

 

Thanks for including your price, can you give a break down of what the resort cost was and the airfare separate? Thanks

Edited June 15, 2014 by TXSAIL