All inclusive Family resorts

[madisonsmom]

We have always done "all-inclusive" resorts in Jamaica and I have yet to find any kind of vacation better(although I haven't "cruised" yet!). All of your food, which is great, alcohol(if you drink a BIG plus!), GRATUITIES and excursions such as snorkeling, scuba, waterskiing, sailing, sunset cruises, etc, etc, etc, is included. You really have to weigh your options and what would be beneficial to you, if you like to do excursions, drink and eat alot then you will find that the price is well worth it, we have paid for a one week vacation at an all inclusive at the same rate we are paying for a 4 night Disney cruise and that doesn't include alcohol/cocktails, excursions, gratiuties or transportation to the port(we are driving)! In Jamaica I have heard really great things about Breezes and particularly Beaches for a family resort(we have always done adults only(18+) at Couples Resort{pre child}). Good Luck and have a great time, there is no other kind of vacation as an all-inclusive resort, it is literally care-free(and wallet free once you get there) like none other. I am hoping to capture the essence of that on the "Wonder".

 

[dbond]

We have been to the Palace Resorts in the Cancun/Playa del Carmen area. There are several different resorts owned by Palace, one is an all adult, but I think you might like the XPuha Palace or the Moon Palace for your family. The Moon Palace is closer to Cancun, the Xpuha is a little more remote, south of Playa del Carmen. That location is actually my preference, you get away from the crowds of people up and around Cancun.

Also, watching the Travel Channel yesterday, the Club Med Ixtapa was listed as #3 in their Top Ten Family resorts. Animal Kingdom was #1, so it's in good company.

 

[debtman7]

I think the all inclusive resorts can be a good deal, if you plan to use everything that's included you can sometimes come out ahead.

I don't think they are for everyone though. This type of resort is probably perfect for the person who loves Disney cruises, because it's a similar deal, you don't have to worry about anything or budget for much.

My wife and I aren't really into the all inclusive resorts for this reason We prefer to be away from the crowds and explore, find local out of the way places to eat, etc. If you are this type of person, the all inclusive places probably aren't a great idea because you'll end up spending money and time outside of the resort, making it a not so good deal. If we were doing a vacation with the kids we'd probably consider an all inclusive, but just the two of us, we'd probably book a bed and breakfast in a non toursity location. Same reason we are doing a disney cruise with the kids vs a Windjammer cruise just for us

 

[dvcmomdeh]

DH wants me to keep up with this thread or anyone considering the all inclusives. We are schuedule for the DCL next June but at $6000 for 4 people Me, DH, DS (18) DD (15), we'd be able to save some money for extras going to an all-inclusive. I have a friend that books through a travel agent who uses apple vacations. I found some pretty GREAT deals, but then went to tripadvisor.com and found some not so good reviews. I'm concerned about be so far away from home and the community around me not exactly being enthused that I am there. I read on some reports that the natives don't exactly like tourists.

Keep posting please......

 

[madisonsmom]

dvcmomdeh... where are you talking about that the natives aren't enthused about tourists being there?

We have been to Jamaica a couple times, always stayed in either Negril or Ocho Rios, and never encountered anything but very friendly people. As always different experiences for different people. And of course if you go on to an all-inclusive and don't leave to resort which is what some do,(I like to explore the island a bit though) you don't even have to deal with "the natives", as you say, except for the ones that work at the resort which are always nicest of people. Of course in the markets you would have locals being somewhat "pushy" when it came to selling you things, but you can use this to an advatage to bargain a lower price by telling them you would go through the market and find to see if you could find it cheaper and they would always lower their price on the spot! But the choice is yours to go there, many times they bring a few people to the resort on certain days to sell local stuff.

Good luck in your search!

 

[kkana]

DH and I are talking about doing an all-inclusive as well, so I would be interested in following this thread.

 

[gouodux]

Our honeymoon was spent at Sandals in Jamaica. It by and far was the best vacation that we have ever been on. It has everything. We especially enjoyed the scuba diving. We went out four times. It was unbelievable.

As far as The Pointe at South Mountain. We live in Phoenix and have gone over to the Pointe on two occaissions even though we live here. It is a wonderful resort, however can become quite expensive in the winter months. If you don't mind the heat, come in the summer. It is well worth your time. The pool area alone is great for kids and adults. Don't be scared - it's a dry heat. 84 degrees this afternoon. Time to get the pool ready.

 

[CTFamilyCruisers]

Last year, we went to Club Med in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It was fantastic. We looked into Beaches, but it was $$$$. Club Med was great for us - but a few caveats. First, the food is all buffet. This was not a problem for us, because our kids were 4 and 8, so we didn't want to spend a lot of time waiting for dinner to be served. The kids always had their favorites and we tried lots of interesting food. We enjoyed the foods (and we like to dine in nice restaurants) but we heard others complain. Second, you generally are seated with another family. Unlike cruises, your dining companions change from night to night and sometimes you end up with a family that doesn't speak english. No big deal. Third, Club Med is very popular with Europeans and this Club Med had a lot of French tourists. As a result, there is some topless sunbathing (typically on one part of the beach) and lots of smokers. Fourth, be prepared to say good bye to your kids the moment you arrive! They have circus school complete with a trapeze; archery; tennis lessons; beach volleyball; soccer; roller blading; swimming; ping pong; sand castle contests; kareoke; hip hop dance contests; scavenger hunts; and more! And on Thursday nights the kids all get to play a role in their big show. They wear costumes and make up and put on a really fabulous show. Better than anything you would ever see in a school play, holiday concert or something like that. Definitely worth video taping! Club Med is all-inclusive, including tips. You literally don't pay for ANYTHING unless you want to buy something at the gift shop or buy some photos. They will do an entire "shoot" of your family on the beach and you can buy whatever you want. They are the best pictures ever taken of us as a family! In short, we had a fabulous time. We are headed on our first Disney Cruise next month, but plan to return to an all-inclusive resort again next year. Hope this helps.

 

[my3princesses]

We always stay on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico (south of Cancun) as we love the snorkeling and great excursions you can take (ruins, more snorkeling, etc). We stay at the Paradisis Resort if it is just my husband and I or the Bahia Principe Akumul if we are with the kids (more pools here and things to do with the kids). Either way you can't go wrong here as there are lots of different resorts. Bahia has both a buffet restaurant and 3 a la carte restaurants which gives you a great choice and their children's programming and the staff are great.

To be honest with you, for our family of five, including flights from Canada our all inclusive holidays are always cheaper than what we just spent on our land and sea cruise package. Not just the actual accomdations and flights but the fact that your food and drinks are all included makes it cheaper. My kids really found it hard on the ship to not have all of the strawberry daquires they can drink.

We plan to go back to taking the inclusive holidays as we tried cruising and found it wasn't for us for many reasons. We are looking into trying somewhere else for a change, maybe Turks & Caicos or Aruba. If your husband loved CC then he will definitely love going to a beach resort.

Have fun deciding!

 

[minniemoms]

So if you don't drink alcohol aren't you spending more for that in an all inclusive? I would love to do the all inclusive, and I was told if you like to drink a lot of alcohol it is a very good deal, but if you don't you are paying for that.?? Having never been I just wondered.

 

[suesings]

Does Moon Palace allow children?

 

[madisonsmom]

Minniesmom.. There are lots of other things that are included in an all-inclusive resort, alcohol is obviously one, and for people who like to drink a definite perk, but even if you don't I don't think you lose out on what you paid for if you use everything that is offered to you, excursions and all. Especially after looking at the prices for excursions in the ports for DCL, it is ridiculous the prices they are charging for some of the activities.

All inclusive's generally include transfers to and from airport to resort, ALL gratuities(except for luggage attendents at airports, which I think the norm in Jamaica is $1.00 a bag), all meals, room service, drinks(alcoholic or not, ie smoothies, virgin daq. or colada's, sodas, juice, etc.), entertainment(nightly shows, dance clubs, bingo, scavenger hunts, volleyball games, etc), excursions(which usually include shuttles to local markets/town, local sites(ruins, waterfalls, historic sites), sunset cruises, snorkeling, scuba diving, water skiing, sailing, tennis, horseback riding,etc.), all resort services(tennis lessons, suba instruction, aerobics classes, etc) except for spa services.

There are many resorts to choose from and vary in price depending upon what all is included. You really just have to figure out what activities you would utilize and go from there. Some resorts like Sandals will even let you "hop" between resorts(I think in Jamaica they have something like 7 or 8 resorts) and transfer you between them for free.

Hope this helps!