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    Default Thoughts on cruises vs all-inclusive vacation?

    We are planning on a vacation in April before wife goes back to work and one of the options we have is a 4 day cruise from Miami to the Bahamas.

    I've never been on a cruise as being stuck in a big ship is not my type of vacation, but my wife has always wanted to take one, plus for this cruise we get to check two locations in the Bahamas, Miami and maybe drive down to Key West as well.

    We will be travelling with a little one (11 months then) so we want a relaxing vacation with all-inclusive meals.
    Other vacation option that we are thinking is either Mexico, Cuba, last option is maybe Big Island but it wouldnt be all-inclusive.

    Anyone likes cruises here?
    Last edited by taemo; 01-03-2019 at 11:13 AM.

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    Interested in responses as well. My wife has done a cruise with some friends and wants to do one with the kids soon too. I've never thought they sounded that appealing, but love to hear opinions.
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    Do you have plans to conceive again in the near future? Beware of zika still prevalent in those areas.

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    Are cruises all-inclusive these days? I went with my family many years ago and you had to pay for everything you ate/drank on a card.

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    I want to try a cruise, but every time I talk to someone who has been on one (and I have talked to several now) they tell me they didn't like it. I'm sure it depends on the ship, but the stories that always turned me off from people who have been are along these lines:

    - Lineups / Crowds everywhere. More people = more money for the ships.
    - Every port is a giant tourist trap with more lineups / crowds, and that may be the only time you get to enjoy certain things on the boat when everyone else is trying to get off, so you have to choose.
    - Not enough to do to keep you entertained for a full week unless you are content spending significant time sunbathing (if you can get a chair) or in crowded pools
    - Drinks aren't free, and the packages that include booze are very expensive. You aren't allowed to bring you own booze, or at least not any significant amount.
    - The good food isn't free and you get nickel and dimed with 'extras'
    - No WiFi or very expensive/slow WiFi (may not be an issue for some), which would be needed for planning excursions outside the cruise company or arranging ground transportation to escape the crowds/tourist traps on land
    - Activities / excursions very expensive, but you can try book with a local agency if you're willing to put in the effort
    - An ~18% tip is added to everything you do unless you visit customer service and specifically opt out, and it's all in USD
    - Most of the time you're at open sea, so you have no real view of anything
    - Strict time limits on everything, you are never on your own schedule
    - If you get sick or injured you have fewer options and will probably wait a long time before you can see a proper doctor or hospital

    A close friend of mine worked on cruise ships for a year as an entertainer, and he did not recommend that I go on a cruise. He had a lot of stories though haha. He quit because he was going crazy with the crowded/restricted environment inherent to being confined to a ship.

    I might enjoy a European river cruise, an Alaskan cruise, or some sort of luxury/adventure cruise on a less crowded vessel, but the mainstream cruises would not appeal to me based on the research I've done and the people I've talked to who have been or worked on cruise ships. Some people love them though and I can see why they are so popular with older folks.

    Personally I see a lot more value out of an all inclusive where everything is actually included - if you go somewhere like Sandals, even SCUBA and other activities are included. For the same money as any decent all inclusive you can easily do Hawaii, which would be my top pick for this kind of holiday just personally speaking.

    Anyways - just what I've heard/read from people who have been and worked on ships. YMMV.

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    Quote Originally Posted by lasimmon View Post
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    Are cruises all-inclusive these days? I went with my family many years ago and you had to pay for everything you ate/drank on a card.
    Most aren't. You can buy some all-inclusive or mostly-inclusive packages and they are very expensive. For example Royal Caribbean is around $70 USD/person/day just for all-inclusive booze. If you just want regular drinks, not even booze, it's $29 USD/person/day for bottled water, juice, pop, etc. + gratuity unless you opt out. Just pop is $13 USD/person/day.
    Last edited by Mitsu3000gt; 01-03-2019 at 11:49 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by taemo View Post
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    We are planning on a vacation in April before wife goes back to work and one of the options we have is a 4 day cruise from Miami to the Bahamas.

    I've never been on a cruise as being stuck in a big ship is not my type of vacation, but my wife has always wanted to take one, plus for this cruise we get to check two locations in the Bahamas, Miami and maybe drive down to Key West as well.

    We will be travelling with a little one (11 months then) so we want a relaxing vacation with all-inclusive meals.
    Other vacation option that we are thinking is either Mexico, Cuba, last option is maybe Big Island but it wouldnt be all-inclusive.

    Anyone likes cruises here?
    Doing this in a few weeks . Miami, Keys, Nassau, Dominican and Turks & Caicos. Debating driving up to Orlando.
    We love cruises as they are an efficient way to see a bunch of places for relatively cheap with minimal planning. We like to book ones with least number of sea days.
    Wake up, you're in a new place, eat breakfast and go exploring.
    You can save money on shore excursions by booking your own local guides as well. We did this in Greece and Jamaica and it worked out very well.
    If you are going to Atlantis, it's cheaper to take a taxi and pay the hotel for admission on your own. They have the best lazy river I have ever been on.
    When your kid is older, Disney Cruise Line is the best in the business.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jwslam View Post
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    Do you have plans to conceive again in the near future? Beware of zika still prevalent in those areas.
    no plans within the next 12-24 months

    Zika in the bahamas or caribbeans in general as our other top choices are Cuba and Mexico.

    Thanks for the long response Mitsu, yeah some of those points are some of the reasons why cruises doesn't appeal to me at all.
    With an 11 month infant, not much we can do really so all I really want is a pool for her to go swim and good food. The traveller in me was enticed to see the Bahamas as it was on our bucket list to visit anyway.

    I've considered flying to the Bahamas or Barbados as well.

    Hawaii is our very last resort as we were just in Oahu in November so we would like to visit some other countries.

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    Quote Originally Posted by taemo View Post
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    Zika in the bahamas or caribbeans in general as our other top choices are Cuba and Mexico.
    https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/wo...reas-with-zika

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    Cruises are fucking terrible. No better way to feel like your cattle being round up for the slaughterhouse.

    If you already think it's not your type of vacation, you're going to hate it even more when your standing in line for hours to board/unboard and eat meals.

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    Cruises around Mediterranean I could see being a good and cost effective way to be in a new City each day or 2. For beach vacations its all sand and relax to me so I would rather one location where you don't feel claustrophobic. Agree with comments that ship feels cramped. This is based on our Bahamas cruise from 10 years ago and never did one again.

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    Quote Originally Posted by taemo View Post
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    Thanks for the long response Mitsu, yeah some of those points are some of the reasons why cruises doesn't appeal to me at all.
    With an 11 month infant, not much we can do really so all I really want is a pool for her to go swim and good food. The traveller in me was enticed to see the Bahamas as it was on our bucket list to visit anyway.
    .
    You're welcome. Also if all you are going to do is eat and sit at a pool, there are plenty of places to go where you can do that without 5,000-7,000 other passengers around, and restaurants to eat at that don't need to cook in a way that can serve 500-1000 people per night. For me anyway, there is nothing worse than crowds while I am on vacation.

    I've been to the Sandals in the Exuma, which is basically the Bahamas. It was pretty awesome, but the same as any other premium all-inclusive unless you left the resort and went out on the water (the land was nothing special at all). They are building a Beaches resort (allows kids) next door but I don't know if it's open yet. It's fairly expensive to go to the Bahamas though, at least in comparison to the usual Caribbean destinations, and you almost always have to connect through Toronto which sucks. If you are already going to Hawaii, I can understand not wanting to book another visit. Lots of nice places in the USA too with pools, good weather, and good food - like California, Arizona, Florida, the Keys, etc. Not as exotic though for sure. If you do decide to go to Hawaii (big island) it's probably the cheapest island and has a ton of stuff to do that is very different from Kauai/Oahu/Maui - it's actually my second favorite island after Kauai and most people don't go there.
    Last edited by Mitsu3000gt; 01-03-2019 at 12:13 PM.

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    I would rather just book a train with a sleeper cabin between cities in the med.
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    I had a 15 year gap between my last cruise and the most recent one. Didn't realize how much I missed the experience. It's nice being able to just relax and have almost everything taken care of for you and not have to think at all. Maybe it's because I'm a decision maker 24/7, but man it was nice being the cattle for once lol.

    Ports are great, seeing multiple countries in a week without worrying and doing random excursions there, does the trick for me. Throw on my excursion specific sticker and follow the herd. Good shit.

    To counter some of Mitsu's points, On a good cruise ship, there are no real line ups anywhere. Everything is managed well. On the Disney cruise that I was just on, the only lineups were character meets for the big ones. The 2nd tier characters had no lineups. Food had no lineups. The included dinners are typically "good" food. For the baller food experiences, it's not expensive at all. $30 extra per person, but this is like a Rouge quality dinner in Calgary, which is easily $200/person. Royal Caribbean is the same setup from what I'm told. Expensive WiFi was a plus for me. Really needed to disconnect for a week. You know, except when someone posted that I died lol. Also missed my first F1 race live since '93, that sucked a little. On board alcohol wasn't expensive, no different than Florida prices. You can bring your own booze on board, 2 bottles per person at each port. Not even checked at security, I went in on my own with 2 people's worth during embarkation cuz I carried the alcohol/drinks luggage on my own, no probs. Thought we needed more at each port, but nope. So yea, we had more than enough booze from the allowable limits.

    I don't think cruises are for everyone, but there are so many cruises to choose from that caters to different people that you should be able to find one that meets your needs.
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    Have done both and I really think it depends on the resort and the cruise line - I was also of the opinion that I would never like a cruise but in all honestly, the cruise was the most relaxing holiday I've ever had. We were on a Holland boat and once I figured out that the outside world wasn't there anymore in the firm of news or Internet (my choice) then my most difficult decision of the day was where and when I'd have my ice cream. Line ups never were an issue on the boat and the food was very good, ours was an all inclusive minus booze because we're not drinkers for the most part but we did enjoy a bottle of bubbly every night on our balcony. Now I was in my forties and we left the kids at home so I can not comment on having kids with us.
    Will fuck off, again.

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    I just did a cruise Earl, and also did one when my youngest was the same age as yours now. Lots of all inclusive experience as well. I’m too lazy to type, so let’s grab a coffee next week and I’ll fill you in.

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    We LOVE cruises, way more than all inclusive. We've been lucky enough to do at least one per year for the last 14 or so years. We are expecting our first now and we want to go on at least 2 cruises before the wife goes back to work.

    With that said, all the comments above are correct, especially if you try to do it for the cheap, like getting an inside room with no windows and counting your money every time you get a drink. We also avoid Caribbean cruises now and just do Europe or Asia cruise- way better bang for bucks. If you don't mind spending more $$$ for a cruise, here are some of the ways to get around all the issues listed in the other comments:

    - Pick a newer and BIG ship ( 4000+ passengers). The newer ships have so much stuff to do, you will wish you have more sea days! One of the new NCL ship has a go-kart track, some have roller coasters, zip line, laser tag, comedy show, dueling piano, etc.. we also spend alot of time at the casino and the big ships have poker tourneys and stuff.

    - Get a balcony room or above. If you can, avoid inside or even window rooms. You can schedule room service (for free) to deliver coffee and bfast every morning to your door, and waking up to a hot cup of coffee and fresh fruits on your private balcony overlooking the ocean is sooooooo nice.

    - Hire private tour. Forget the on board excursion. They are overpriced and they just stuff you in a big coach bus where you spend half your time waiting for everyone else. For half the price, hire a local private tour ahead of time. You get off the boat and someone will be waiting for you in a private van to show you around for the whole day.. it's awesome.

    - Thermal Spa (if available). Alot of newer ships have a thermal spa area where they have hot tubs, massage chairs, heated loungers, steam showers, sauna, relaxation room, etc.. and they limit how many passes they sell so the area is never crowded. They are the best thing ever after a long day of discovering a new city. If your ship offers it, buy it!! This is literately the first thing we look for now when we decide which cruise to go on next; whether they have a thermal spa (and not that many ships do)

    - VIP suites - If you really want to feel VIP and avoid as many people as possible on the boat, get a room in the private VIP area. it's Yacht club for MSC and the Haven for NCL for example. They are ~ 2-3X more than normal room rate (e.g Haven starts at ~$5000/pp), but you get access to private dining rooms, private swimming pool and sun deck, open bar, and private service to get on and off the ship. For the yacht club you even get prior access to elevator. The elevator will literately go straight to your floor first and won't pick up anyone else along the way up or down...

    Anyway cruising can be alot of fun but you need to be willing to pay... if you want to enjoy it proper it'll probably end up being 2-4X more than an all-inclusive. If you want to do it for the cheap... I wouldn't recommend cruising unless you just want to visit as many places as possible in 7 days.
    Last edited by RX_EVOLV; 01-03-2019 at 01:05 PM.

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    ^^ Damn. I never thought I'd like a cruise but you kinda sold me on your summary to try it at least once VIP lol.

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    Cruises are awesome. We went on a 13 day Viking cruise in the Mediterranean last spring and it blew me away. My wife had been on several previously, it was my maiden voyage.

    Loved everything about it, pack/unpack once, new ports with excursions every 1-2 days, time at sea. The buffet surprisingly was great all the time without lineups, the restaurants requiring reservations were a bit more variable but overall good. Events and concerts at night, or movies, people get together at the bar after dinner, what's not to like?! Everything was "included" in our ticket price. No tips needed, wine and beer with all meals, they were quite generous and hospitable with all their offerings.

    There's a difference in cruise lines and service offered. My wife says Disney is quite good. Viking, Crystal and Princess are upper tier.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Disoblige View Post
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    ^^ Damn. I never thought I'd like a cruise but you kinda sold me on your summary to try it at least once VIP lol.
    If you're willing to pay $5K+/person you can either do VIP on the big boats or go on smaller more intimate luxury yachts that focus on food and customer experience. Definitely better than being with the rest of the 'herd' but it's just like anything, if you pay 5X what everyone else is paying, of course you're going to have a way better time haha.

    I have actually read very recently that several cruise lines are currently renovating to include more private suites and premium areas/accommodations for exclusive use.
    Last edited by Mitsu3000gt; 01-03-2019 at 12:52 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kJUMP View Post
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    Cruises are awesome. We went on a 13 day Viking cruise in the Mediterranean last spring and it blew me away. My wife had been on several previously, it was my maiden voyage.

    Loved everything about it, pack/unpack once, new ports with excursions every 1-2 days, time at sea. The buffet surprisingly was great all the time without lineups, the restaurants requiring reservations were a bit more variable but overall good. Events and concerts at night, or movies, people get together at the bar after dinner, what's not to like?! Everything was "included" in our ticket price. No tips needed, wine and beer with all meals, they were quite generous and hospitable with all their offerings.

    There's a difference in cruise lines and service offered. My wife says Disney is quite good. Viking, Crystal and Princess are upper tier.
    Yeah Viking, Crystal, Seven Seas for examples are on the upper tiers and you get WAY better service and food. Princess is not in that class. They are more along the line of Royal Caribbean.
    Last edited by RX_EVOLV; 01-03-2019 at 12:55 PM.

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