Replacing Cruising with All-Inclusive Land Vacation for now...

[DirtyDawg]

We book a small condo. We are going to the Dominican Republic for 2 Weeks in September. Far cheaper to book a condo and eat out than be tied to an AI. The condo we book is very close to lots of beach restaurants and bars...as well as a supermarket for breakfast/lunch stuff. Has a great pool and daily cleaning service...it is heaven. We created a spreadsheet to work out the costs.....Just something for you to think about

 

We've never done that in the Caribbean but we have rented houses in Florida and Myrtle Beach for family vacations. It's nice to have a private pool where I'm the only chair hog!

 

We can do a very nice AI in Cuba for about half of what a cruise and flight is costing today. The DR AI's are more expensive but still about 75% of the cost of a cruise. The value proposition for cruising (for us)is just not there these days.:(

Edited April 16, 2015 by DirtyDawg

[navybankerteacher]

It doesn't have to be either/or. Being retired we do both sea and land. In January we spend a couple of weeks in St. Maarten - but have no use for the AI approach; rather rent sonething on/near a beach with cooking facilities so we can eat in or out at places of our choosing. We usually fly to Europe in the fall and sail back - combining land travel with the cruise feeling --- this is the most cost effective and comfortable way of combining experiences, as repositionings (which give a number of ports in addition to where we stay pre-cruise) are usually half as expensive per day than European itineraries.

[American Bear]

It doesn't have to be either/or. Being retired we do both sea and land. In January we spend a couple of weeks in St. Maarten - but have no use for the AI approach; rather rent sonething on/near a beach with cooking facilities so we can eat in or out at places of our choosing. We usually fly to Europe in the fall and sail back - combining land travel with the cruise feeling --- this is the most cost effective and comfortable way of combining experiences, as repositionings (which give a number of ports in addition to where we stay pre-cruise) are usually half as expensive per day than European itineraries.

 

When you fly to Europe to cruise back, do you book your air through the cruise line?

If not, how do you buy, 1 way or 2 ways? We've noticed some crazy fares where the 2 way is less then the 1 way!