All inclusive resorts...

I have always been skeptical of cruise ships and all inclusive beach resorts, but i sure like the idea of paying up front and enjoying the vacation. Cruise ships are really not an option as I don't like the idea of being stuck on a ship. Have any of you had a fantastic experience at an all inclusive resort? I'd love to be wrong about this one.

I had always been skeptical of cruises. My wife and two of her old friends planned a reunion cruise a couple of years ago. I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised. We cruised on Carnival. The ships are huge, I never once felt “stuck on a ship”. In fact over the course of four day’s I still had not explored the entire vessel.
The food and dining options also exceeded my expectations. The food was not adventurous by any means, mostly classic dishes in the main dining room, but all very well prepared. There are also many different options to quell the hunger. I recall a poolside grill, a 50’s themed diner, sushi bar and a large buffet room in addition to the 3 main dining rooms. It’s also very cool to dine whenever you want and never have to reach for your wallet.
The value is really hard to believe. I would recommend giving it a shot.

I've had an amazing experience with the Royal Hideaway Playacar resort in Mexico. It's the only Five Diamond resort in the area.

I have been to 2 all inclusive resorts. One was in St. Maarten and the other was in Puerto Rico. It would take a lot to convince me to do another all inclusive package. You just don't get a feel for the local culture by staying in the resort.

In my experience it's not that great of a deal, either. In St Maarten we found that we would have to eat way more than we normally do in order to get the full value of what we had paid for. If you pre-pay for the food you're stuck eating it, even if it's not good or worth what they are charging.

Hopefully other people will share some better experiences.

I stayed at a Sandals resort in St. Lucia this past summer for my honeymoon. My husband & I were a little weary at first about staying at an all-inclusive resort. We ended up loving it. We stayed on a higher level room plan with butler service which gave us special privileges. We had 24 hour room service and were able to dine at "butler-service" restaurants. The food and drinks were above our expectations. There are 3 Sandals on St. Lucia and we had free transportation to each of them. We could do the activities and eat at the restaurants at all 3 of the resorts. I must warn you that I overheard a few couples who were staying in the "standard" rooms say that the service did not live up to what they expected. It was nice not having to pay for every meal and drink throughout the week. The only thing we needed money for was the gift shop, to order off up-graded wine lists, and a tip for the butler at the end of the week. They offer really nice deals throughout the year during their off-seasons too.

I would also encourage you to not write off cruising. We prefer Royal Caribbean. The ships are like floating cities, the food was quite good and the four of us did different activities according to what each person or couple was interested in, then met up again for dinner and nightly activities. Ships have pools, spas, themed restaurants, some have rock climbing walls and golf.

We're going back to Jamaica for the Caribbean Holidaze concert series again this year, and i was very skeptical of "all inclusive" food buffets and bad drink deals as well.
I was incredibly surprised, top shelf liquor, fantastic food (all the way around, buffets, restaurants, breakfast), good beer wasn't an option, but the Rum is delicious.
We stayed at Hedonism and we were really pleased with the service, the staff, and the amenities.
Plus the stage for the concert was on the beach at the resort, doesn't get much better than that.

My wife and I went to the Aventura Spa Palace, about 15 minutes south of Playa del Carmen, MX about 2.5 years ago for our honeymoon. We had an absolutely wonderful time! 12 excellent and diverse restaurants, a "quiet" side and a more boisterous side, a nice dance club, plenty of swim up bars, and activities to do. It's not a "beach resort" per se, as there isn't direct access to the beach there. However, as it's part of the Palace Resorts group, you can visit any of their other facilities in the area (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel -- there were 7 facilities at the time) for free, eat at their restaurants for free, and, of course, drink for free -- all we had to do was ensure that we had transportation (rented a car, not the best nor worst idea, necessarily). We spent a couple afternoons at the Playacar Palace (has a beach) in Playa del Carmen, and a day in Cozumel, using the Cozumel Palace as a home base. We were even offered a free tour (we chose a temple site named Coba) due to the fact that we were honeymooning there, which was nice -- the trips were reasonably priced otherwise.

One of my favorite things to relate from our trip there was the wait staff. My aunt had cautioned us that while resorts like this discouraged tipping (any ideas why?), to tip heavily at the beginning of the trip, and reap the benefits. We frequented the bar in the lobby of the North side of the resort, and by mid way through the trip, the bartenders were already pouring our drinks when we walked up, and before we ordered. My wife's been asking to go back there, but we'll have to wait until the economy improves.

I was skeptical about cruises until embarking on a Celebrity Cruise Lines voyage in the Caribbean, a few years ago....definitely didn't feel "stuck" on the ship....food and overall service exceeded my expectations....Celebrity tends to be a little more adult-oriented, so you'll see fewer families running about onboard (vs. Carnival or Disney)....

...as far all-inclusive resorts, check-out the Lago Mar, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (http://www.lagomar.com)...very nice beachfront resort, located in a quiet, predominantly residential area off the beaten path....typical resort amenities, including spa, tennis, plus some fine on-site dining and great restaurants nearby....

Ditto on the cruises - figured I'd absolutely hate it and ended up having a great time. What I didn't realize was thast a cruise vacation like the one we took was, basically, a really fancy road trip where somebody else drives, you take your hotel room with you and don't have to pack and unpack every day. Many cruises in the Carribean call on different ports almost daily, and do much of their steaming at night. So there is a new city/country/activity to explore most days. I'm confident that we spent more waking time off the boat than on. There are some good cruise values to be had out there, too.

As to all inclusive resrt, we went to Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic several years ago. 4 of us. We had a 3 br condo with private jacuzzi, butler and maid/cook for breakfast and lunch. Also included was unlimited golf at world class courses (Pete Dye - Teeth of the Dog and Links - both terrific). Dinner was on a voucher basis at various restaurants either on the premises or at Altos de Chavon, a Columbian replica village at the top of a nearby small mountain (large hill?). Ridiculously low cost then. Probably considerably more now. But worth checking out, especially if you're interested in the golf.

This is the review I posted on tripadvisor.com for the Riu Palace Cancun.


I can't imagine a better hotel choice in Cancun. From check-in to check-out the service was outstanding.

Rooms:
Very large and clean. 4 bottles of liquor, Corona, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Water, and 7-Up restocked every other day. I you run out of something call the front desk and they will bring more.

Food:
The buffets were amazing. The were around 10-15 main dishes, and 25-30 side dishes for lunch and dinner. The breakfast menu includes standard American fare along with some Mexican dishes. All buffets include chips, salsa, and guacamole.

Outside Steakhouse:
The seafood appetizer was the worst food I had all week. It was shrimp, crab, snail, and mussels. Everything was almost frozen and had little taste. The steak and lobster we pretty good, nothing to write home about.

Crystal (Gourmet Restaurant):
Smoked salmon and watermelon appetizer was interesting and pretty good. The lamb entree and chocolate dessert were delicious.

Brazilian Steakhouse:
More food than any person should ever eat. Meat, meat, and more meat. All the food was great there was just too much. Another problem I had with this place is that the meat is carved on your plate. They do not give you a clean plate between meats. You would never see anything like this in the U.S.

Beach & Pool:
There was always plenty of room on the beach and no shortage of sun. The pools gave us slight problems of finding chairs a few days, but a Riu worker would always get us extra/spare chairs when we needed them.

Entertainment:
Some of the nightly entertainment (9:45) is a little cheesy, but still enjoyable.

Disco: My least favorite. Impersonators lip-syncing to 60's songs.

Hollywood: Impersonators lip-syncing to songs from famous movies

Grease: Impersonators acting out the movie Grease. O.K.

Mexican: Live Mariachi band. Awesome!

Mayan: Traditional Mayan Indian dance and rituals. Great!


Attractions:
Get on a bus. The public transportation is amazing. It is 65 pesos or .65 cents each time you get on. We took the bus everywhere.

El Ruins Del Dey:
10 minutes bus ride to a pretty cool set of ruins. I haven't been to the big ruins but these were well worth the time and $3.

Downtown:
A major disappointment for my group. A constant hounding of vendors made it impossible to enjoy the markets.

Carlos & Charlies: (walking distance from Riu)
Loud, Loud, Loud! The food was good; better than expected. This place is crazy. There are workers everywhere screwing with everyone. The make you dance, wear balloon hats, congo lines, magic tricks, take shots, and anything else they think of. This place annoyed the hell out of me at first, but I liked it by the time I left.

Isla Mujeres: (Island of Women)
Get on a bus the says Puerto Juarez and ride it to the UltraMar ferry station. The ferry cost $7 roundtrip and takes 15 minutes. This was the highlight of our trip. Once you get off the ferry start looking for a golf cart. You should be able to rent one for $45 for the day.

Go to Hacienda Murcado (sp?) $2, The turtle farm $3, the cemetery, playa norte (north beach), and downtown.

Just drive a circle around the island and enjoy. We ate at Jax's and had a great meal. It wasn't mexican by anymeans, but the had the IU basketball game on.

As awesome as the RIU was I will probably stay on Isla Mujeres my next trip.