Beaches Family Resort

[jenandkam]

OK - I know this is a cruise loving bunch!

I'm just wondering if anyone has been to the Beaches Family Resorts and what your thoughts were compared to a Disney Cruise. I have a friend who recently went to the resort in Negril and just loved it. Just looking for other opinions!

TIA!
Jen

 

[hawky7]

Hi...never stayed at a Beaches (no kids) but we stay at Sandals which is the same company no kids allowed, every year! And let me just say...it is AMAZING!!!! My aunt has traveled to Beaches when her kids were younger and said she loved it because there was so much for the kids to do so her and the hubby could relax.

If Beaches is anything like Sandals you will have the time of your life, now I only wish there were a Sandals on Turks and Caicos .... just a Beaches. Sad for me.

Good luck.

 

[ladyvet]

We have stayed at Beaches Boscobel once and Beaches Negril twice. We love it. We like Negril better because the beach is better, and you can travel to Beaches Sandy Bay for dinner for variety.

They have a great game room, several pools water bikes, etc. The spa is wonderful and the restaurant are good. It is one of our favorite destinations. I'll answer specific questions if you have any.
Beth

 

[lulu0506]

Subscribing .... I am also interested.

Funny... we stressed months over whether to do a DCL vacation or Beaches Turks and Caicos. We decided on a 7 night cruise and I know we will not be disappointed. For starters, there isn't half as much planning involved in a Beaches vacation ... what fun is that?

 

[kittymarcy]

Can't speak about a DCL, as we are trying to plan that now. But we've been on other cruises. We love Beaches Negril!!! My kids were 1 & almost 4 when we went and they loved it! Seriously, almost not a day goes by STILL that my 6 year old doesn't ask to go back to Jamaica. There is plenty to do, but not so much that you feel overwhelmed, like I sometimes do on a cruise. And of course, the sesame characters were a big plus.

 

[jhoshowski]

This is interesting for me, because we are hoping to do a Beaches trip in the future. I even got a brochure and "ranked" my favorites. It will probably be a few years yet, but they seem like they really offer a lot for the price (I really like that hurricane guarantee)!

 

[JoiseyMom]

I have never been to Beaches...but have looked into it. Right now the rates for August..when we are supposed to be cruising..are wonderful. They are 50% off!! Very tempting...cheaper then DCL..no tips..free booze... They have up to 60% off for other times.

 

[jenandkam]

Thanks for all the replies - good to know that others are feeling my pain as well. I went ahead and booked the cruise for 2010 and will probably do Beaches in 2011.

The prices are very tempting right now for Beaches (I looked into Negril myself), but I'm hoping they will still be decent later in the year when I book for 2011.

 

[Mini Sorcerer's Mom]

We have been to both BEACHES Negril and Turks and Caicos and just returned from a 7 day Disney Crusie and I, myself have analyzed this one. Personally, I like BEACHES better though my husband likes the Disney Cruise, and son loved both.
Here is the low-down....
First, I prefer BEACHES Turks and Caicos over Negril for a few reason:
*Much shorter trip from airport to resort.
*Rooms are much nicer in Turks and Caicos.
*Larger resort so there are more restaurants and more food choices.
*New water park is amazing!!!
Now, here is my comparison of BEACHES and Disney Crusie
Pro's of BEACHES
*It was truly relaxing.......you went to the beach, the pool, and you ate when YOU wanted at your own pace. While I am a schedule oriented person, I felt as if I were constantly looking at my watch because the crusie is so time schedule oriented. I'll never forget in NEGRIL I was going down the waterslide and the lifeguard made me take my watch off. WHAT??? I can't take my watch off...how will I know what time it is??? He answered, "Hey Lady, where you gotta go"?
*While the food was just as good I felt that I ate soooo much more on the cruise. It seemed as if the entire day revolved around the dinner. While the dining experience may be a highlight for some, I felt like such a stuffed pig!
*EVERYTHING at BEACHES was included! Drinks, scuba diving, snorkling, boat excursions, kyaks, tips, transportation to and from the airport....EVERYTHING. While, with airfare, it may seem that BEACHES is more..it really is not. I did not like the fact that I was constantly signing my name for every little charge here and there. In the end, we payed far more for the cuise!
Here are the benefits of the crusie:
*You were able to see four different places.
*The shows were better...after all, it is Disney!
*My husband liked the crusie because there is only so much pool and beach he can take. I, on the otherhand, can lie in the sun all day long!!!
*The kids programs were amazing at both and I felt one was no better than the other.

I'd be happy to answer any questions. Either way, they are both TOP NOTCH vacations!!!

 

[DLW8]

Thanks for the comparison. After reading the original post, I started looking at Beaches as well....for 2010 or beyond.

I am such a Disney-fan, that it's hard to think of another type of vacation. And, like your DH, my hubby wouldn't like the beach for a whole week (but I would!), so don't know if that would be a good choice.

When in the year have you gone to beaches? I know the summer is cheaper, but it's hard for me to get excited about warm weather and beaches when I can be at the pool right here in CT and not spend lots of $$$....

 

[Mini Sorcerer's Mom]

We have gone February break for the last three years. 2007 Negril, 2008 Turks and Caicos and 2009 Cruise. I would love to do BEACHES again next year but with my job as stable as quicksand we are going to utilize our DVC and do Disney...we NEVER get sick of Disney!!! BEACHES has fabulous deals in February as well, we got an amazing deal last year.

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

We are actually going through the same decision right now. We have been to Beaches Negril and also on DCL. We are looking to take the kids in November and when pricing both out, it seems as we can go to Beaches for 5 nights for the same price as a 3 night DCL cruise. We are waiting a little more to see what specials DCL may have, since the last promo is for the 3 night cruise.

I feel that the type of vacation is similar, but I was VERY relaxed at Beaches and more scheduled, as pp said, on the cruise. Either way, you just can't lose - both are phenominal vacation destinations.

 

[KrisannB]

We have done both also - we stayed 2 weeks at Turks and Cacios in September in 2007 and LOVED it - but it was only 35% occupied and we were able to upgrade to the butler suite for very little and that really made the trip and now I cannot imagine going back to a regular room and the butler rooms are so much to book on the front end and I can do a cruise on Disney for less.

With that being said - I love the beach and I love the Disney Cruises we have been on but they to me are different vacations. I long to once again go back to Turks and Caicos (they actually told us as we were passing the islands on the Panama Canal cruise and I wanted to jump off and swim over there ) I love both of these vacations for differnt reasons and am glad we have done them both. What has happened to us now though is that after we went on the PC cruise we decided only to go on special cruises and not carribian ones - if we want the carribian we will go to Turks and Caicos because we have done both an eastern and western Disney cruise.

So our next cruise is the EB TA and I like another poster LOVE the planning that goes with the disney cruise as well as meeting people on here and the fish extenders, etc. but one day I will get back to Turks and Caicos! (the pictures below where we are dressed in white is from the Turks and Caicos trip)

Krisann