Vacation Review: All-inclusive Resort vs. Cruise

As many of you may know, I was in Mexico not too long ago for a little vacation. The hubby and I decided to try our first all-inclusive resort after spending many of our previous vacations cruising. We stayed at the Barcelo Mayo Beach Resort in the Riviera Maya. Today I want to share my thoughts on cruising vs. staying at an all inclusive resort and hopefully provide some insight for those of you thinking of booking either for your next vacation.

Keep in mind, this is my personal opinion and experience and others may feel differently.

All-inclusive Resort:

1. Unlimited drinks and alcohol. This may be a selling point to some people, but personally I'm not a big drinker. 

2. You don't have a gratuity bill to pay at the end of your trip. The hubby and I tipped for exceptional service around the resort, but there was no bill for expected gratuities like there is for cruising.  

3. It felt quieter. The resort we stayed at expanded over 6 kms so we never felt like we were around too many people. It felt very peaceful and we usually had a good portion of the beach to ourselves. 

4. You only visit one destination. This may not be a problem for some people as it can be very relaxing to have no agenda and stay in one play for the entire time. Personally, I like visiting and experiencing as many cities/destinations as possible. 

5. The food quality varied. This might only be valid for the resort we stayed at but I personally found the variety and quality to be inconsistent compared with cruises. Mind you I cruise mostly with Norwegian as I find their quality to be exceptional in all areas so I could not vouch for ever single cruise line out there. 

Cruise:

1. Wake up in a new city every morning. Nothing gets me more excited than knowing that I get to explore a new place the next day. Cruising allows you to visit multiple destinations in one trip. 

2. The food options and quality. Eating is a big part of travelling for me so good food is a must. Most cruises offer a wide variety of options including a buffet, grills, specialty dining, formal dining and entertainment with dining. There is a fee for specialty dining, unless they happen to have a promotion when you book. 

3. Better entertainment. In my opinion, cruises offer better productions and have many more organized activities happening at all times. Broadway productions, duelling piano bars, Cirque-du-Soleil type performances, ballroom dancing performances are some examples of the entertainment often offered on cruises

4. Pay for drinks/alcohol. They usually include an assortment of juices but you have to purchase an alcoholic beverage package or pay per drink. As mentioned above, this doesn't bother me too much as I'm not a big drinker to begin with. 

5. Expect to pay gratuities per person at the end of your trip. Most cruises charge roughly $14 per day per person which can definitely add up after a week long cruise. 

6. It can feel crowded at times. Depending on the cruise line you take, there can be up to 5000 passengers on one ship plus the staff at one given time. It never really bothered me but sometimes there can be difficulty finding a poolside chair. If you want to avoid bigger crowds, I recommend taking a smaller ship for your first cruise.

7. If you are prone to motion sickness you may need to constantly take medication.  My hubby needs to take Meclazine for our entire cruise duration which can cause him to feel sleepy. He also can't drink any alcohol when taking this medication.

Personally, I still love cruising over staying in an all-inclusive resort as I love exploring multiple cities in one trip. I also find the overall quality of the food and entertainment better on a cruise, but with that being said, I've only been to one all-inclusive resort before.

Have you ever cruised or stayed at an all-inclusive resort before? What has your experience been like?

S H O P  M Y  L O O K:

1. Dress: H&M similar
2. Bag: Amuse Society c/o Mad Monkey Style
3. Shades: c/o Clearly.ca
4. Kimono: c/o Courtney Boutique
5. Sandals: c/o Sanuk
6. Necklace: Aldo
7. Hat: similar