Carribbean Cruise or Mexico all inclusive. WWYD

[jrw118]

We are looking to vacation the last week in August this coming summer. I have two very good options and I would like some opinions. We are family of four me,DH,DS 9, DS 6
1) Norwegian getaway- family ocean view cabin $1950(fare was partially comped) -This does not include gratuities any charges on the ship or any excursions we may take. I am assuming this will be at least an additional $1000 if not more. Airfare Miami was booked with points( 50,000 ). We would also need to stay in Miami the night before the cruise$100. Total $3000(minimum). We have never been on a cruise before.

2) Hard rock Cancun or moon palace- This is an excellent deal as kids are free during the week we want to go. $1980 For 7 nights all inclusive This includes a $1500 resort credit to book excursions like swimming with dolphins, waterpark etc. We would probably have less than $500 expenses since everything else included. Airfare was booked with points (60,000 points) plus $360 in taxes out of pocket. Total would be less than $3000.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[rhiansmom]

Have you ever cruised before? We did our first ever this year and while it was a decent time we realized that cruising isn't our style. We loved the ports but found we were always rushing to get back to the boat on time. Then on our sea days we kept thinking we could be exploring had we been on land.

What is your vacation style? Are you looking to relax and hang at the pool with a few port days or do you like to explore a new location?

 

[jrw118]

We definitely want to relax! Hoping kids would enjoy kids club to have a little alone time. We do wan to explore a bit. Leaning toward cancun. Never cruised. Concerned about room size

 

[rhiansmom]

We definitely want to relax! Hoping kids would enjoy kids club to have a little alone time. We do wan to explore a bit. Leaning toward cancun. Never cruised. Concerned about room size

Room size was small but most people don't spend much time in the room. We explored the ship the first day but really then ended up watching TV a lot in our room after that first day. DD (14) enjoyed the kids club but for her age group the activities didn't really get started until later in the evening and then they could come and go so she ended up a lot of the time wondering with the kids she met. One night she broke our curfew and we found them on the Lido deck buffet eating ice cream with a group of 10.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I'd probably do the AI and save money. We love cruising though and just took our 3 and 4 year old. Our 4 year old LOVED it, especially the kids programs. Depends on the kids personalities. We paid less for our actual cruise but with excursions and such spent $1500 off the boat and then another 500 or so on the boat. It adds up quick.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

We love cruising. Bermuda twice, you are docked three days. Bahamas twice, mainly for relaxing not the port. I love having nothing to do but relax and be entertained. Great food, top bands, entertainment shows, can't find a fault with the variety of food and service. The rooms are. Not large but you are on a ship.

We have left out of NYC. Nice drive, easy boarding, smooth disembarking.

I don't think if I was given a choice between Atlantis and cruising I would stay on shore. The other thing is if you are in Mexico, can you safely leave the site and tour the local haunts? I wouldn't want that for a vacation. At least on cruise tours you can hook up with safe tours for a small cost on port.

 

[DCbride]

The NCL kids clubs are wonderful. I would do a bit of research on kids activities at each place. We did a cruise then an AI and my DD did not enjoy the club at the AI at all.

I know the HR in Vegas is very adult oriented. Might want to look I to that aspect too.

 

[Gigi22]

Cruise, no question. That said, I've been cruising for about 25 years, and I don't care for beaches.

 

[shoney]

we just came back from our first cruise as a family (my kids are 12 and 14).

We had a great time, but we prefer AI's.
The cruise felt very scheduled. We also didn't like the crowds. We found it much more expensive than an AI. Over $30 a person for bingo! I know there are cash prizes, but I'd rather play for free and win a t-shirt!
we purchased the drink package for the adults and that was an extra $55 per person per day.

At the AI's everything (mostly) is included. (spa, excursions are extra) Eventhough they say tips included, we do tip the staff during our stay.

AI's can be relaxing and/or loads of activity depending what you want.

Mexico is very safe and you have countless places to go and explore if that's what you want.

My kids like the kids clubs when they were little.

They wanted no part of the teen club on the ship.

We had fun on the cruise, but we aren't rushing to book another one any time soon. August we'll be back in Mexico for a week at an AI!

 

[DebMcDonald]

I think I would chose the AI, much more relaxing, you are almost forced to sit and relax and I mean that in a good way, and with all the talk about the stomach bug issues on cruises I'm a little leary.

 

[cvjw]

We have stayed at the Moon Palace and enjoyed it immensely. Just FYI, but the Moon Palace is not in the "heart" of Cancun if that is where you want to be - we have stayed in Cancun on a couple of other trips. They did have several excursions that would take you into to Cancun or into the Mexican Riveria area, but the Moon Palace was sort of by itself and isolated. Our only complaint about the Moon Palace was the beach. It was rocky and small. That may have been corrected since we last visited.

We are staying at the Hard Rock in Punta Cana this June. We have done multiple all-inclusive vacations in Mexico and Jamaica, but feel a little unsafe in those two countries at the present time. Other people will feel differently, but that is the way that we feel after multiple trips to both places.

We have also cruised and enjoyed all of our cruises.

Our favorite all-inclusive hands down is Beaches Turks and Caicos. It is very pricey, but soooo worth it!!

 

[trinchick]

We've done a ton of cruises and AIs. As beach lovers, we prefer the AI experience.

Having been on several cruises, we don't really tour the islands anymore as they all start to look the same a bit - to us anyway. When we're in port we head straight to the beach. That means walking through the cruise terminal, finding a taxi, traveling to the beach (and the ones closest to port usually aren't the best so you either have high cab fare/travel time or a lesser beach), and finding someone to rent chairs from before settling down on the beach. We usually ask the same cab driver to come back and get us at an established time. It feels like we'd like to get in one more swim but shouldn't because we don't want to be wet in the taxi. Or we're done with the beach but have to wait half an hour for the cab. All-in-all the beach trip can cost $100 plus an hour+ of travel time round trip.

With the AI, we just stroll onto the beach and have a nice drink in hand within 10 minutes. Ahhhhh.

We have children but don't use the kids clubs, so I can't comment on the difference between NCL or other resorts. Our kids have loved both AIs and cruises, but in our experience, the dining rooms have been more low-key and family friendly at the AIs we've visited.

 

[djbleach]

We like to cruise! I've been told a cruise is what you do when you are trying to find out what island you like. Then you can do the AI.
But for us, the "value" seems to go towards a cruise (if you find a deal)
Next week 3 of us $1635 (+tip $215)$1850/6nights=$305 a day/night.
We do have to drive down to FL..so you can add all of that cost(which I do)
But we could never fly to 3 different Islands. Stay at a hotel(beach or not) eat and have most entertainment for $305 a day.
I tried pricing St.Pete, FL hotels and they wanted off Priceline over $200 a night.
Since I've never been to an AI, I really don't have that experience. I have done a AI at Cozumel once we got off the ship. (that was like $40pp) If you drink you might be able to make it a value. If you don't, I don't think AI's can compare with a value of a cruise.
It all depends on the person. I really don't care to stay on the beach except for a couple hours. It's nice to be able to plan an excursion, get off the boat, explore the island, then get back and wake up in a different place the next day.
Have fun whatever you decide to do

 

[jrw118]

Those of you that are saying the cruises better would you mind sharing your experiences with the cost of excursions?

 

[MomToOne]

I've done a few of both. While I personally perfer the AIs, cruises are a better fit for DD13. I'm a beach person, she's not.

One piece of advice: I find getting a balcony cabin on a cruise makes a BIG difference in my enjoyment of a cruise. I can sit on the balcony for quite awhile, glass of wine in hand, watching the water go by or the action at the port. Without that, I find myself going stir crazy at times.

ETA: As far as excursions go, don't feel you HAVE to do one at every port. It's OK to stay on the boat if nothing interests you. In some cases we will do excursions, in other cases just do a bit of shopping at the port and call life good! I'll typically book 2 excursions for a 1 week cruise, at no more than $100 each per person - more than that makes me squirm. Also, check out CruiseCritic.com. You can sometimes book private excursions cheaper on your own, although there are some downsides to doing that - you can learn all the pros and cons at CruiseCritic.

 

[djbleach]

We have used the cruise line tours, and found they are expensive. We didn't know any better the first few times we cruised. Then we found cruise critic and trip advisor and things change.
For 3 of us this time in Grand Caymen. $150 for a 3 person jet ski. Stingray city tour. WE got a $50 discount for being past guest.
In Jamaica, we are docking in Falmouth. So, it's more of a ride to Dunns Falls and the "secret falls or hole"..That's $205 for 2 adults, 1 kid. Pick up at port, do Dunns River, then stop at the secret hole".
To me, these excursions will never be free. So even if you do an AI, you'd have to pay to do either.
At the cruise ships port, well just beach day. Nothing planned.
One advantage if you take the cruise ship excursion, the boat want leave you.
Private tour, they can. (that's what insurance is for…lol)

 

[mommytoxzande]

I just wanted to say that we have stayed at Moon Palace and loved it. We went when our boys were 6,4, & 2. The boys loved going mini golfing and have huge lizards sitting on the course!

We have also cruised before and my boys love, love the kids clubs.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I am sure you guys will have a great time either way.

 

[JenLanDisney]

Those of you that are saying the cruises better would you mind sharing your experiences with the cost of excursions?

We have cruise 4 times with DS (at ages 3-7). He, too, loves NCL's kid club.

For excursions, we normally book our own via the Internet or use buses to get around. This saves us lots of money.

You'll get tons of ideas and good advice at cruisecritic.com
Go to the Community boards and either Norwegian's board or your port of call.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

Excursions vary. Just a day at the beach can be a cheap taxi ride. Tulum mayan ruins is about $100/pp. Swimming with dolphins at least $100/pp. Snorkeling is in the 30-60 range. We almost always book independent shore excursions unless it's something like Tulum where the boat excursion makes more sense. We have 4 people in our family so times it by 4 and some of the excursions can really add up. Some places have beaches you can walk to though and those are cheaper excursion days if you just want to chill on the beach.

My favorite cruise we've done is Southern out of San Juan and will definitely be our next cruise most likely also.

 

[ekatiel]

We are looking to vacation the last week in August this coming summer. I have two very good options and I would like some opinions. We are family of four me,DH,DS 9, DS 6
1) Norwegian getaway- family ocean view cabin $1950(fare was partially comped) -This does not include gratuities any charges on the ship or any excursions we may take. I am assuming this will be at least an additional $1000 if not more. Airfare Miami was booked with points( 50,000 ). We would also need to stay in Miami the night before the cruise$100. Total $3000(minimum). We have never been on a cruise before.

2) Hard rock Cancun or moon palace- This is an excellent deal as kids are free during the week we want to go. $1980 For 7 nights all inclusive This includes a $1500 resort credit to book excursions like swimming with dolphins, waterpark etc. We would probably have less than $500 expenses since everything else included. Airfare was booked with points (60,000 points) plus $360 in taxes out of pocket. Total would be less than $3000.

Any help would be appreciated.

That all-inclusive sounds like a stellar deal. I went on the Hard Rock's website, and the best I could do with 2 adults and our two kids (ages 8 and 10 at the time of travel) was $3,700 for the last week in August, and the best I could do at Moon Palace was $2850. They both did include the resort credit you were talking about, and the kids *seemed* to be free. Are you sure the deal you priced out is still available?

As far as the cruise is concerned, you are right to add about $1000 for gratuities, ship charges and excursions. We just got off a 7 day cruise, and that's about what our family of four spent (and we do not drink much at all, nor do we buy a ton of souvenirs-- over $300 was on gratuities alone, and we spent about $500 on excursions-- we swam with the stingrays in Grand Cayman, went to an AI in Jamaica for the day, and just went to the beach in Cozumel.)

So, if you can still get the prices you found at the AI's, I would do one of those, as that's an AWESOME deal. If the prices are no longer available, and they are now what I priced out, the Moon Palace and the cruise will be priced about the same, so that's a harder decision.

We love cruising, but we've never done an AI (DH and I will be going to our first at the end of this month!). Good luck with your decision!