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I went back and read the three or four posts about all inclusive but some were about 2 years old. What we want: Beach, comfort, activities - snorkeling, deep sea fishing, aquarium/gardens, ocean front. great food. What we don't want: Kids, overpriced, overcrowded Don't care about: Culture / homogenized / all white We have looked at Sandals All Inclusive, Atlantis and a few others. We would prefer to be in the Caribbean rather than in Mexico (if that makes sense). From previous threads we will stay away from AMR properties, Cancun. Been looking at the Excellence Resorts. We are looking to do probably 7 days - online deals seem to save quite a bit of money if you do 7 instead of 6. Budget approximately $4000 Any suggestions? Better to Island hop with a cruise? Thanks.
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Mar 9, 2016 19:52
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Congrats on the wedding  Unfortunately I can't help except to share my all-time favorite T&T post that I think of every time someone asks about Caribbean resorts: nessin posted:If you're willing/able to break out of Central America, and aren't looking for significant historical sites, then check out Madagascar. The resorts see a lot of international activity, are generally pretty isolated, are very safe, and don't try to cater to a very specific tourist crowd. It's so bad and so good at the same time.
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Mar 9, 2016 21:49
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How big of a hotel do you want to stay in? You'll have upsides and downsides staying in a megaresort like Atlantis. On the minus side, their beaches are going to be totally packed with people and, very frequently, irritating touts as well. On the plus side, those big hotels with crowded beaches generally have way better amenities like a nicer/bigger pool and better buffets. Can't help you specifically though, never stayed at a 5* resort in the Caribbean islands (unless Bocas del Toro counts).
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Mar 10, 2016 00:26
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Madagascar? Had not really thought of it. Had a friend work there for a year as a nurse. The flights look like it'll be almost 2k a piece to go. I was also thinking Fiji or something like that but run into flight prices.
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Mar 10, 2016 00:56
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Although you said you'd prefer no Mexico, I went to Cozumel Palace for mine and it was quite nice. You can snorkel right off the back dock of the property and you can arrange deep sea fishing or scuba trips onsite. I don't think it's adults only, but I don't remember any obnoxious children, or seeing very many children at all really. The food is superior to other Mexican/Caribbean AI's of similar price. The service is beyond any other hotel experience I've ever had in my life. You can arrange a trip to Tulum or go dive in cenotes or ride ATVs if you want to go to the mainland. There's not many proper beaches on the east side of Cozumel but you can always take the ferry to the mainland.
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Mar 10, 2016 01:44
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UnhealthyJoe posted:Madagascar? Had not really thought of it. Had a friend work there for a year as a nurse. The flights look like it'll be almost 2k a piece to go. I wasn't seriously suggesting it. It's just that this line of discussion always makes me think of the post I quoted, because it was the most hilariously unhelpful suggestion I've ever seen in a thread.
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Mar 10, 2016 04:14
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I've had good experiences with the Riu brand.
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Mar 10, 2016 07:02
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Why would you want to confine yourself to a single location, when you could have an even better luxury experience in multiple countries by going on a cruise? 4k for a week is more than I'd spend, but if you want to go that route you can have yourself quite a decadent experience. I recommend working with a travel agent regardless. They're paid via commission and (for me anyway), having someone do all the research/booking work is a huge asset. I'd be happy to refer you to my agent if you want a recommendation, but regardless, cruise>resort is definitely the way to go.
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Mar 19, 2016 20:51
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There's perks to either an all inclusive or a cruise. With a cruise you get to see multiple places, plus activities on the boat. Most of the cruises I've been on had really good dinners. However, you only have so much time on each port, the excursions scare tourists into spending much more for the same activity just because they're worried about getting back to the boat on time, and the boat itself can feel crowded and your stateroom tiny. There are great deals, but be warned they will try to nickel and dime you for every little thing; for example on an Alaskan cruise I got an unlimited drink package but shared drinks with my wife and brother. On a Caribbean cruise they not only jacked up the price but got much stricter about cracking down on sharing, so I didn't bother. All inclusive resorts cover alcohol and many have dispensers/fridge beers in the rooms. If you like the location you have as much time as you like to spend doing whatever. Quality varies between different resorts. Riu is okay in my opinion but the best (and admittedly most expensive) was Hotel Zilara in Cancun. Many of the places are 18+ so no kids. I met a ton of Canadians in Cancun. It was interesting how American tourists were in the minority in some resorts. I enjoyed socializing with people from other states/countries and getting absolutely smashed for seven days straight. On an all inclusive, you can spend the whole week never being hungry or sober. They don't nickel and dime you like on a cruise but you can get sucked into a stupid timeshare spiel if you're not careful.
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Apr 16, 2016 23:12
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"Nickel and diming" seems a bit hyperbolic, but it is true that when you see a cruise ticket price of "wow only $499!!!" on a web site that's not really close to the final price. For info, there are two extra charges in particular that (almost?) all cruises have: 1) Port fees and taxes. Depends on location and number of stops, but for 5-7 day Caribbean cruises it's roughly $100-$150 per guest. Closer to $200 for Alaskan tours. 2) Aggregate tips. Back in Ye Olden Dayes (years that started with '19’) at the end of a cruise you would find envelopes in your cabin that would make it more convenient for you to show your appreciation to your room steward, the dining room staff, cleaning staff, etc. Nowadays they just charge you* a flat roughly $13/day per guest and supposedly the cruise line splits it up between people who served you. *Not technically a mandatory charge, more of a default. You can, with minimal effort, tell them you'd rather give tips on your own, or get part/all of the tips back at the end if you feel you've gotten poor service. Both charges are generally pretty clearly stated before you buy a ticket, especially the first.
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Apr 17, 2016 05:10
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I guess it's somewhat risky but one thing we did on our cruise was book a couple of private excursions. The ones the cruises offer can tend to be crowded, depending on the activity. Now, we were a pretty decent sized party (7 people), so that made the private trips a little cheaper for us, but it's a good option- I know there's no guarantee the ship will wait if you're late if you're on a private trip but the people my brother booked with were super-professional and had us back well within time to board. It was pretty great, since we were in a small van, I think we got to see more of the islands and we even had an awesome lunch at someone's house. Buuuuut, with all that said, if it were a honeymoon, I'd go with a resort. The food on the ship was pretty good (mainly at night) but I think you'll have a lot more options and find a resort more relaxing. I was on a Disney cruise and the swimming situation sucked. A tiny adult pool, a couple of always-crowded hot tubs and the kids' area. My wife and I are currently considering an all-inclusive for a trip next year and I think we'll have a much better time. A few other things kinda took the fun out of the cruise- ship rumors travel pretty fast and I think two cabins were quarantined pretty quickly for illness and that just puts you on edge. To help combat this, crew handed us sani-wipes constantly, which helps, I guess but it's a kinda constant reminder that you're on a floating petri dish. I think if we cruised again, we'd do a Viking river cruise, those seem to be more laid back and focus on the destinations.
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Apr 18, 2016 14:16
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Lincoln`s Wax posted:A few other things kinda took the fun out of the cruise- ship rumors travel pretty fast What does this mean? I imagine a bunch of high schoolers saying "ooooooooh!! what a SLUT" when finding out two people slept together. Otherwise I can't think of what rumors would go around on a cruise full of adults who mostly don't know each other.
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Apr 18, 2016 15:06
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Not really, but you'd overhear people talking about someone getting arrested or whatever it's called at sea (on our cruise, someone tried to steal some jewelry from a shop- I have no idea why- where are you going to run?), serious illness or rumors about quarantined passengers. I think a lot of it comes directly from the crew talking to each other and people hearing it- that's how I heard about the guy in the brig and some lady having to be admitted to a hospital in St. Thomas. I don't know how typical it is, but on our cruise you kinda saw the same people all the time and by the end, we didn't really know each other but were familiar enough to chat and talk about stuff we've heard.
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Apr 18, 2016 17:47
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Please don't go on a cruise for your honeymoon. You're stuck on a large floating hotel with several thousand of your closest friends with no means of having private time outside of sitting in your oversized closet room. Then when you get to whatever port of call they've pulled up to, guess what? All of those friends are now joining you and turning the port into a poo poo show. The touts know you're coming and will be swarming the port area. You'll mostly be relying on the cruise for excursion bookings due to their time constraints and as a result be a part of large groups. Snorkeling in particular is a mess as you have dozens of other people with you all trying to find nemo or whatever. Frankly I'd discourage an all inclusive for all of the same reasons. There's tons of gorgeous island destinations where you can have great service, good food, and cheap alcohol. Curaçao , Aruba, Dominica all come to mind.
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Apr 18, 2016 21:01
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If you know specific places there that would be cheaper and easier than an equivalent all inclusive, definitely let me know. Frankly I don't know what the bias against all-inclusives is; I've stayed in both regular and all-inclusive hotels and its not like the all-inclusives were arbitrarily more Americanized or sterile than the other places. Plus its pretty nice getting room service and not paying through the nose for it.
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Apr 19, 2016 04:53
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The bias is that people who get all inclusives don't leave. And there are always better options for food/drink/activities if you leave. And if you leave, why pay for all inclusive? Do what you want, I went on a cruise for work and it was "fun" because I knew so many people and it was related to my work and thus we took over all activities. I cannot imagine being under 50 years old and being into a cruise for my honeymoon. poo poo is way too white bread american and boring to me. The no kids won't be a problem. The overpriced will be a problem if you care about quality; quantity reigns supreme so every thing is cheap as possible to make margins. Sugary sweet well drinks made from corn syrup mixes and a handful of beers, nothing top shelf I don't care if they call it ultra premium or not. The overcrowded is unpredictable but again assume quantity over quality. Most boutique / small hotels won't be all inclusive. That being said there are nice properties. It really depends on your previous experiences and barometer for luxury. sellouts fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Apr 19, 2016 |
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Apr 19, 2016 06:07
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Counterpoint: All-inclusives have, by definition (it's their purpose, after all), the sometimes very important benefit of "not worrying about poo poo", while often giving you the option to spread out a little while still being relatively economical. For example, Joe mentioned looking at Atlantis, which is a bridge and a stone's throw from downtown Nassau. So you could use Atlantis as your base, and easily (part of the time) take part in the activities, restaurants, etc.in/around the town proper including (if you want) the excursions that are already there for cruisers and other people. At not significantly more cost than if you stayed in a non-inclusive place. Possibly less, depending on your food/drink habits. Me, personally, I doubt I would consider a cruise for a honeymoon, but neither would I consider, say, staying in three different places in a week and handling transportation, reservations, hauling luggage, and the general hassle of handling things on the fly. Even if you stay at one not-inclusive place, lining up a handful or dozen activities/meals before your trip can be a pain, too. Especially if you're getting married right before the trip. An all-inclusive sounds like a viable middle-ground option. To me, at least.
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Apr 19, 2016 08:27
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Who lines up that many meals before they travel? Or Who lines up that many meals before they travel that would ever consider staying at an all inclusive resort.
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Apr 19, 2016 16:49
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I get the appeal for a certain type of traveller -- the person who just wants to sit on a beach all week, get drunk, eat some acceptable-quality buffet food, work on their tan, and read a book. IMO it's a lot of money to spend on that, but it's something that has appeal to a huge group of people. It just doesn't appeal to the type of people who actually like tourism and travel, i.e. not the general posters in this subforum. If you don't have much experience planning exotic vacations for yourself, then it really might not be worth it to DIY immediately after a wedding when all you really want to do is relax. If you think you'll get bored sitting on a beach for a week and think you'll be irritated that the only things to do available are massively overpriced ($100/hr jet ski style BS) and that every time you go out to do your own thing, you're essentially throwing the $50+/person/day that your all-inclusive resort is charging you for food and drinks, then don't go for an all-inclusive. If you think you'll be annoyed by the massive crowds everywhere you go and how nothing is private, don't go for a cruise. If neither of the cruise nor all-inclusive sound good to you, then you should look into 5* hotels in a region where there are things close enough where you can organize your own day trips. YMMV, and nothing wrong with enjoying a cruise or all-inclusive. But if you've never been on either, give a serious thought to you and your wife's personalities — do you think you'd enjoy it and love how you relaxed after the hustle and bustle of your wedding, or do you think you'd regret having spent your honeymoon on the same beach and never left the compound?
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Apr 19, 2016 17:37
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sellouts posted:Who lines up that many meals before they travel? In any case, just pointing out that minimizing planning and hassle can have significant allure to some people, in some situations (like right after hectic weddings). And gave an example of how with some all-inclusives at least, you're not completely "locked behind bars" and can spread out a bit. Like Saladman alluded to, there's so many personal preference variables (and the related necessary compromises due to time and budget constraints) involved in a trip like this I'm kind of glad I don't have to plan one for myself. Also I wonder if Joe's married yet.
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Apr 19, 2016 18:50
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I see a real disconnect between up to a dozen things (your number) being lined up beforehand yet the stress of anything additional being too much and the all inclusive being the best option. If you're doing more than an ounce of research I don't really understand the appeal of all inclusive and I don't believe the savings are there even when you take in convenience but I understand that's just an opinion and no way the right answer for anyone. My wife and I took a few days off after the wedding to say goodbye to departing family members and relax. Then we did our honeymoon a few months later when we had more time to easily take off and the weather was better in our destinations. I know many couples who loved their honeymoon but did laugh at the end of it because of all of the stress they put on themselves by having to pack for a trip that left the next day.
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Apr 20, 2016 03:08
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Yeah I really don't see what's so encumbering about vacation planning. Pick a destination, pick a range of dates, pick general activities you'd like to see and do, find places to stay that have those activities. Fill in the gaps as necessary. Congratulations, you planned a vacation. No one is saying you have to be Rick Steves about this and plan an itinerary down to the minute. All-Inclusive is just a conveyor belt of bland and with a $4000 budget you can build a really great experience with a modicum of planning. Like seriously, with $4000 you can gently caress off to Southeast Asia for a couple weeks and come back with money still in your pocket. Or you can go to Sandals for a week. Whip Slagcheek fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Apr 20, 2016 |
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Apr 20, 2016 03:20
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Lotta people upset about how others choose to spend their honeymoons... My wife and I have traveled all over the world together. It is just as you say...pick a destination, find cool poo poo to do, find a place to stay around there, book a flight that takes you there and then gets you home. Done. Know what we wanted to do for our honeymoon? Jack poo poo. I planned two trips and we mutually decided on the one we wanted: a driving trip around the Mediterranean coast of France and Italy, or Sandals. We chose Sandals. Not your cup of tea? Think we are wasting our money? Upset we aren't optimizing our honeymoon budget? Good, that's your opinion. We are looking forward to sitting on our asses on the beach, with our butler bringing us fruity drinks, eating decent food, occassionally getting up to paddle a kayak or go out on a hobby cat. Our next trip will be more adventurous, as have been the others. But for our honeymoon, this is what we wanted.
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Apr 20, 2016 17:21
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No one is upset about how you choose to spend your honeymoon. However, OP specifically asked for no kids, not overpriced and not overcrowded, three things all inclusive's tend to have in abundance. Unless you go to an "adults only" resort and pay a premium price, though they're still overcrowded. They also tend to have pretty subpar food because they're churning out massive quantities for their guests. Hence I presented several options for destinations that tend to be quieter while offering the same activities, however they won't be all inclusive, they'll be ala carte.
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Apr 20, 2016 18:10
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My wife and I managed to go to an all-inclusive resort for $1500, seven days including airfare. There were also no kids there. So it's possible. Many all-inclusives also offer 'European style' packages that are cheaper and minus the food and booze, so you can go out to restaurants and stuff without feeling like you're not getting your money's worth at the resort. Often you'll get access (and free parking ) to sister resorts as well.
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Apr 20, 2016 19:18
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Panfilo posted:My wife and I managed to go to an all-inclusive resort for $1500, seven days including airfare. There were also no kids there. So it's possible. $1500 total, or each? If total that sounds like an amazing deal. Also I don't quite understand what you mean by "European style" packages. Unless I missed something, if you stay at an all-inclusive that doesn't include the food and the booze, you're staying at what people would call "a resort".
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Apr 20, 2016 20:43
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Saladman posted:$1500 total, or each? If total that sounds like an amazing deal. Total, yeah. And 'European style' is just what they call it if you go to the resort but don't want to pay for food and drinks there, basically like staying in a hotel. So there's two per-night price tiers; one that's all-inclusive, and one that's European style.
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Apr 20, 2016 22:25
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I couldn't care less about how anyone else spends their honeymoon. Have a fun trip!
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Apr 21, 2016 05:37
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Panfilo posted:Total, yeah. And 'European style' is just what they call it if you go to the resort but don't want to pay for food and drinks there, basically like staying in a hotel. So there's two per-night price tiers; one that's all-inclusive, and one that's European style. This is what the all-inclusive the wife and I ended up staying in Belize offered. We ended up doing the higher price tier, which looking back on it probably was not really worth it, but the location itself was really nice. It isn't all that complicated to look around and we probably would have saved a fair amount of money had we done more investigating. "All inclusive" is basically just a concept that you are paying for, which under the OPs criteria can probably done on a cheaper budget.
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Apr 21, 2016 16:39
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Unless you like to drink a ton and don't want to pay per drink you should ask about half board. Covers breakfast and dinner as you can imagine.
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Apr 22, 2016 08:52
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There's also plenty of places with all-inclusive resorts where liquor is cheap as dirt. Getting all drinks included isn't a real value proposition when you can buy cold beer from the store for $.50 or a bottle of rum for $4.
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Apr 22, 2016 18:37
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Also I wonder if Joe's married yet. Newly Married on the 14th! Got married in the French Quarter, was pretty awesome! We won't do a cruise ship. If I didn't want input/advice on what to do for an all-inclusive or any other trip I would not have posted here. How I usually travel: Get a place to stay, set up transportation and have one "Event" a day. Other than that it is free reign. I like getting somewhere and meeting people and them telling me something that was too good to miss. Whip Slagcheek posted:Yeah I really don't see what's so encumbering about vacation planning. Pick a destination, pick a range of dates, pick general activities you'd like to see and do, find places to stay that have those activities. Fill in the gaps as necessary. Congratulations, you planned a vacation. No one is saying you have to be Rick Steves about this and plan an itinerary down to the minute. I would rather do SE Asia but my wife has never been out of the United States. This causes some issue since she is worried about BS crap - bathroom / food. (also worried about safety) If we don't do an all inclusive, i think we have also picked Iceland and London. Pricier but maybe an easier step into foreign travel for her. I've been lucky enough to travel around the world. Lived in Spain and Japan for extended bits of time. I know how to travel and plan. Not hard at all... But the stress for me is pleasing everyone. If its just me, gently caress it i got this. But I want to make sure she will enjoy it.
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Apr 22, 2016 19:52
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FWIW SE Asia is incredibly safe as long as you don't go around doing stupid things. Most of the locals won't want to gently caress with a tourist because it creates bad press and causes tourists to change plans, thus impacting their ability to make money. Sure you'll deal with touts and cabbies, but a stern "no" in the case of a tout will suffice. Cabbies it's just part of the game, haggle the price down and get where you're going. Food safety isn't a huge concern, just use common sense. Bottled water is in abundant supply and dirt cheap. My wife and I carried medication for diarrhea while we were over there and didn't need it once. The SE Asia thread is incredibly helpful if you were to give that region consideration.
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Apr 22, 2016 22:07
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PT6A posted:There's also plenty of places with all-inclusive resorts where liquor is cheap as dirt. Getting all drinks included isn't a real value proposition when you can buy cold beer from the store for $.50 or a bottle of rum for $4. Such as?....
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Apr 22, 2016 23:25
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I was under the impression your honeymoon was right after your wedding (congrats!) in which case I saw the appeal of an easy all-inclusive to relax. Since it isn't, I'd suggest Ireland or Scotland. Rent a car, go around for 10-14 days in the romantic countryside. It'll be a poo poo ton more interesting than an all-inclusive, which would only technically count as ever leaving the US but would have no more lasting impression than going to Florida. SEA or more exotic places might be cool, but it depends how you think your wife would like it (and you too). Do you want a backpackers style adventure, in which case SEA or the Balkans could be amazing, do you want something private and 19th century poet romantic? Iceland or Ireland or Norway or Scotland would all hit the mark there. Does you want to get a tan and not have to cook for a week? A resort in the yucatan or something would work. IMO if you do for the last, pick somewhere like the Yucatan where you can have at least one novel experience for her first trip out of the US. It would seem too bad--to me--to go to somewhere like Atlantis in the Bahamas which doesn't really offer anything you couldn't do closer and probably for less money and higher quality. Not that you could really go wrong with an activites-centered honeymoon vacations (jet skiing and snorkeling and etc).
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Apr 22, 2016 23:34
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PT6A posted:There's also plenty of places with all-inclusive resorts where liquor is cheap as dirt. Getting all drinks included isn't a real value proposition when you can buy cold beer from the store for $.50 or a bottle of rum for $4. Panfilo posted:Such as?.... He doesn't mean the liquor is that cheap -at- the resort, he means you go to wherever the closest grocery store is where locals shop and stock up there on their local rum and beer. For a honeymoon I'd rather pay more to drink cocktails at the swim-up bar instead of mixing my own rum and cokes in the room and pregaming, but if I time travel back to spring break college senior year, I'd definitely do it the other way.
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Apr 22, 2016 23:43
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Panfilo posted:Such as?.... Well, it's been a while since I've been so I might be a bit off, but Havana Club was always $3.85/bottle in Cuba, even in Havana itself, for as long as I can remember, and beer was anywhere between $.50-$1 depending on where you bought it. Admittedly, that's the only experience I have with all-inclusive resorts, since once was enough for me, and I suppose other places might be quite different.
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Apr 23, 2016 00:11
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