Nouveau Club Meds vs. The Big Boat
I had a 17 hour trip from Mexico to Atlanta last week. I know, I know...you're probably thinking what a poor trip planner. Not the case, I was supposed to meet a friend of mine on my layover in Ft. Lauderdale and I thought I'd make a mini vacation out of the trip home. Well my friend had an illness in the family and couldn't meet me which left me with plenty of time to chat with my fellow travelers.
The one thing I realized was that most people had just disembarked from a cruise. When I asked them if they liked cruising better than an all inclusive I usually got that deer in a headlights look. Why had they taken so many cruises and no all inclusive vacations? Most people said the cruising was such a good value and was an easy vacation to take since you just board the ship and everything is taken care of from that point on. This made me think about the pros and cons of cruising vs. all inclusives.
Both offer the type of vacation that requires minimal planning, you show up and everything is taken care of. Draw.
Cruising covers your room, food and entertainment, but all of us have received the bill at the end of the cruise and can't imagine how we spent more on the drinks than we did for the entire cruise. The AI covers your room, food, entertainment and drinks. 1 point for the all inclusive.
Cruising offers a variety of locations, but sometimes you only have a few hours in a port or the times don't work. I once had a stop in Key West from 7am to noon, trust me there is not much to do in Key West at 7am. Also getting off the ship can take hours of standing in a cramped stairwell. I'm going to call this one a draw as well.
The entertainment on a ship generally surpasses that of an AI. Cruises offer a variety of entertainment from comedians, Broadway type shows, singers, dancers, magicians and I've even seen a Gaucho performance. 1 point for the cruise.
Rough seas can really make for a miserable trip. I once took a sea sickness pill and fell asleep in the middle of dinner and missed an entire night of my vacation. The next day I went for a massage and the table was rolling from one side of the room to the other and the masseuse looked like she was ready to hurl, so I canceled the massage. 1 point AI.
The food is a big draw for both vacations. Most gluttonous little vacationers gain 7 lbs. on a week long vacation. The cruise offers buffet for breakfast and lunch and a formal dinner. You can order as may entrees, appetizers or deserts as you spanx can handle. The drawback is that you have a set time every night for dinner and feel a little rushed as the staff has to seat another 700 guests once you are done eating. The AI offers a variety of dinning options and you can vary the time of your dinner. Another draw.
It looks like the all inclusive slightly edges out the cruise. I hope this helps you decide which option works best for you.