7 night Royal Cruise or Grand Occidental All-Inclusive for $4,750 LESS??

[crusinthrough]

I agree with the others that said you can't compare an AI with a cruise. Seven days at an AI is torture to me. After 4 nights I'm ready to leave. There is nothing to do in the evenings. Entertainment is very lacking. Daytime activities is also very lacking.

 

When traveling with kids a cruise has always worked better to me. After dinner at an AI there was never anything to do but go back to the room and look at tv. At least on the cruise there is something for us to do together.

[Coralc]

I agree with the others that said you can't compare an AI with a cruise. Seven days at an AI is torture to me. After 4 nights I'm ready to leave. There is nothing to do in the evenings. Entertainment is very lacking. Daytime activities is also very lacking.

 

When traveling with kids a cruise has always worked better to me. After dinner at an AI there was never anything to do but go back to the room and look at tv. At least on the cruise there is something for us to do together.

 

That is an interesting comment. We did a Club Med in the 80's and an AI in Cabo last year. Both of them seemed to run on a 7 night schedule, and our stays were out of synch with their scheduling.

 

Both resorts had plenty of daytime and night time activities, the problem was that we never knew what they were?

 

In Cabo, we asked for a "Compass :D" or schedule. They had no such thing. So we would hear music, or see them setting things up, or there would be fireworks (after we went to bed). And we just felt a little discombobulated, unlike a cruise. :D

[Pipo]

Another point for AI: alcoholic beverages included! At least on the ones I have been.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Pipo

[ozscot01]

We did an AI in Cabo 2 years ago and we thoroughly enjoyed it. One of our best holidays ever.

Then last year we took our first cruise. Maybe our best holiday ever!

The differences I would note are that the entertainment at the AI, in the evenings anyway was pretty much take it or leave it. No choices, whereas on a cruise you have a number of options.

Daytime entertainment was more varied though centred around the pool.

Service, line ball for me.

Food, also hit and miss, though that applies to both the cruise and the AI.

With the price differential you've posted, AI all the way.

You can use the extra money on a mid year last minute cruise and get the best of both worlds.

[George C]

We do vacation at both but normally do more cruises. In general I like the day time activities much better at a/I easy to get a seat at pool , swim up bars ( at many a/I) . But entertainment is always lacking, much more walking to get to different places at a/I some are huge( and it may be raining) , I doubt any of them will match RCCL specialty restaurants. Also I am not familiar with the resort you mentioned , would not consider anything that was not 4 star. We have done 2 A/I recently Sandals Whitehouse which was great and Hard Rock in Punta cana, advertisement for Hard Rock showed a amazing resort, dozen pools , 7 or 8 restaurants, we did have a 1700 sq ft suite. But food and entertainment was pretty bad

 

I like Sandals since its adults only , top shelf drinks , food is better than MDR but not as good as RCCL specialty, also no tipping ( they will fire employee if they take a cash tip)

[Iluvmypuggle]

That's where we stayed! Great resort. Our 'budget' last minute trip turned into a Preferred Club Oceanfront swimout so that 'budget' part didn't quite work as planned :eek: I do feel like we would have to spend a lot more on a cruise to get the same experience as we had there. Maybe even would have to go to one of the premium lines (which I feel would be a little too stuffy for us). Secrets has the understated service down to an art. You never feel suffocated or that it's over the top but they are a step ahead of you 99% of the time.

 

Yes, there's nothing 'budget' about Secrets Akumal or an Oceanfront Preferred. lol. But totally worth it! And I think you hit the nail on the head when you said 'we would have to spend a lot more on a cruise to get the same experience'. My mom is a big NCL cruiser and they treat her well due to her status and repeat business, but if I go on the same vacation as her, I have a very different experience as we are not VIPs. lol I'm really looking forward to our RCCL cruise but on 9/3, but I anticipate no one catering to us. lol. I guess it's good to have those expectations, right?! I don't mean this negatively toward any cruise line either, but generally in my experience, it seems that the suite guests are treated much better on cruises.

[gkbiiii]

Yes, there's nothing 'budget' about Secrets Akumal or an Oceanfront Preferred. lol. But totally worth it! And I think you hit the nail on the head when you said 'we would have to spend a lot more on a cruise to get the same experience'. My mom is a big NCL cruiser and they treat her well due to her status and repeat business, but if I go on the same vacation as her, I have a very different experience as we are not VIPs. lol I'm really looking forward to our RCCL cruise but on 9/3, but I anticipate no one catering to us. lol. I guess it's good to have those expectations, right?! I don't mean this negatively toward any cruise line either, but generally in my experience, it seems that the suite guest

s are treated much better on cruises.

 

 

This is my thought exactly, but the Royal Loyalists seem to matter less, than people who might give Royal one try and then return to land based resorts. The deals with hotel/airfare inclusive(including ultra cheap upgrades) make cruising a more expensive option.

 

The pricing is getting high enough to consider Regent/Crystal/Cunard, for their more inclusive options. Cunard is even offering me $599 per person, Balconies for future, transatlantic Crossings.

 

With the ultra cheap sailing out of Panama, perhaps in a future trip, I could combine a AI resort stay, with a 7 night sailing.

[MaiseyM]

I have No opinion but you have some great choices

[xpcdoojk]

If your goal of vacation is sitting at the pool getting hammered day after day then, an AI or similar beach vacation is a great plan. After about 3 days at any AI I have visited, I am bored out of my mind. We did a good AI vacation 4 or 5 years ago in Costa Rica, spent a week visiting different places in the mountains, then a few nights at the Riu on the beach then 4 nights at the Westin on the beach with surfing lessons. I was fine, but there is absolutely no great memory of the AI, but the canyoning, white water rafting, climbing the volcano, zip lining thru the cloud forest, and other similar adventures in the mountains on our days not at the AI are memories we will forever treasure.

 

If you are wanting to save money, just stay home with a blender some pineapple juice, coconut milk and some rum.

 

JC

[Mrsdigi]

We just did our 20th anniversary trip to Sandals LaToc in St. Lucia. Absolutely fabulous vacation. Lots of inclusions like scuba diving and other excursions! Included alcohol and dining at any restaurant, without up charge. I really liked the all inclusive better. We are only cruising next year because of the kids-more options for them; however, I don't look forward to the up charges everywhere.

 

 

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[domm1e]

Having stayed at the Grand Occidental Xcaret all inclusive, for that price it wins all hands down. The complex is fabulous, and the free entry to the park is a nice bonus. The trip to Chicin Itza is fairly long (3 .5 hrs) and arrives around midday, the hottest part of the day. It is still a worthwhile trip to do. We booked ours directly in the hotel

 

 

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[Shivdan]

Go with the Xcaret for that price you can't beat it. We were there for 2 weeks and enjoyed the whole experience. We brought cash with us for tips and any extras however no matter how hard we tried we couldn't spend it, came home with money. Taxi in to playa del Carmen was good value, set price, from there you could catch the ferry to Cozumel. The price for diving was reasonable and when I went pretty much had one on one guide. In a nutshell for the different experience go with Xcaret you won't regret it.

 

 

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