I'd much rather hang out at an all-inclusive resort for a week than a cruise. Nicer rooms, better food, stronger (free) drinks, 24/7 access to the beach, better service. You can rent a car and drive to the nearest town if shopping is your thing. Go when a cruise ship is NOT docked and you'll only pay a 3rd of the price you would pay when a ship is docked. It's all about the Riviera Maya, Mexico.
I have been on 9 cruises. Depending on what you want out the cruise will determine which one to choose. Carnival - Younger crowd and more of a party boat Royal Caribbean - A little older crowd but still a party boat just not as much carnival Princess - Very nice ships but a much old crowd - Relaxation cruise This website has everything you want to know about cruises: www. cruisecritic .com Go to the forums and you can find out everything about each cruise line, roll calls for each cruise and what to do at each port. I am leaving on the conquest on April 20th this year. To me it is the best vacation for the price...They have entertainment, gambling and awesome weather
IMO cruises are great, if you are looking for a great bang for your buck vacation it's the way to go.. I think the problem people have is word of mouth from other people saying how excellent cruising is, from the beaches, the ship, the service and the food.. For the price people need to expect something more realistic, IMO most Mexican ports are ok, the ships are nice, the service is hit and miss, cabin size is a joke (even in most lines balcony rooms) and the food is OK.. With all that said I love cruising.. I understand that while Cruises don't excel in any one area, they however do lots of things well.. I like going to different places over the course of a vacation and not worrying about getting from point A to point B.. Cruises keep me busy enough to have a great time, yet I'm never stressed out about worrying what I have to do next.. I'm a diamond member on RC (almost diamond plus) so the extra perks keep me going back (private lounge with all you can drink bar before and after dinner, cabin upgrades, free wine with dinner ex.) Most ships out of Galveston aren't the greatest, but RC has a Voyager class (mega ship) starting to sail from there which is nice.. between RC and Carnival IMO RC is a better line than Carnival, both seem to cater to different age groups.. RC is populated with older people while Carnival seems to have more of the family crowd with younger children on board.. Our next cruise I'm taking is a Mediterranean cruise in May that will stop in Spain, France and Italy and I'm pumped, for the price you cant beat seeing three different countries and getting a little sample of each.. If you cant tell I would differently recommend cruising, but just don't expect the Titanic..
davidoff, i see you love to cruise like I do. have you had a chance to visit the site I mentioned above. It is the clutchcity of cruise forums.
I don't do all-inclusive. It seems you would feel obligated not to go out anywhere to get your money worth.
Yeah, I like to lurk.. I really only have time to post here, I agree it is a great site for cruising..
WTF?! Why the hell would you go to another country like Jamaica and then go to ****ing Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville? That's like flying to Paris and then going to eat at ****ing La Madeleine! This actually makes me sad.
We do all inclusive every summer, sometimes twice. We've been to Riviera Maya several times, and LOVE it there. I was just trying to fit in something a bit different early in the summer, and head somewhere all inclusive late in the summer. And by the way, shopping is NOT my thing, but I do like to go to Playa del Carmen on occasion just to haggle with the shop owners. Ultimately, we end up bringing back some souvenirs for friends and family. Get in, get stuff, eat lunch, get out. But I agree.....Riviera Maya is great. Secrets Capri was the last resort we stayed at there....and it was really really great.
Yes, we just got back from there a few weeks ago. We stayed at El Dorado Royale. You should try that one next. It was perfect. I've never been on a cruise, but aren't they cheaper than AI's? We may try that next year to save some money. I'm bookmarking this thread for future reference.
I've been on 9 cruises and highly recommend them. I've done the all-inclusive resort thing a few times, but never had as much fun as I do on a cruise. I agree with earlier postings that a cruise is a lot more fun with a big group as opposed to just going with your girl. Last summer I went on the Carnival Conquest with my family out of Galveston and it was a good one. You should go, you'll love it.
But you could say that about almost any vacation destination if you talked to enough people. The only cruise I've taken was for my honeymoon. It was a Carnival cruise from Galveston to Progresso, Cozumel and Belize. Ours went out the day before Katrina hit and we definitely felt it the first night. I literally thought the ship was going to capsize a couple of times. Other than that, it was a blast. The food was awesome (not to mention plentiful), the service was amazing and the way they had it set up, it was easy meeting new people. We were never at a loss for something to do and we were given tips by the crew on where to go and not to go when we were in port. Highly, highly recommended. I can't wait to go again.
Maybe true. It's just that on a cruise ship...you're stuck. If you're seasick...you're stuck. If there's a virus going around the ship...you're stuck. If something goes wrong withthe ship...you're stuck. I've never been on a vacation and had the kinds of problems I've heard multiple people report to me they have on a cruise. I'd rather just get to the beach and lay there.
You're not really stuck. At least in our situation, when there were a lot of people sick and/or scared, Carnival was offering to fly people home once we got to port. If you want to lay on a beach all day every day, of course a cruise isn't for you. Honestly, I never thought I would like a cruise, it just seemed for our situation to be perfect because of the price. I can't wait to take another one.
no, i'm right and you're wrong. i'm very smart. do you know who i am? i am a manager! i drive a dodge stratus!
