If it's not okay to ask this in here, I totally understand if you have to erase it. I just am having the hardest time, and when I asked all my friends, their responses were split 50/50.
I was wondering if I could ask ya'lls opinion on a trip. Have any of you ever been on a cruise or stayed in a resort in Jamaica? We went on a Disney Cruise with the kids a few years ago, and have decided that it's about time for just hubby and I to get a vacation. Here's the catch though, I have found an all-inclusive resort vacation in Jamaica for 7 days and 6 nights...and also a 5 night cruise on Carnival that goes to both the Caymen Islands AND Jamaica...and both of the trips are pretty much the same price.
The problem I am having is the the pros and cons to each. With the resort, there is unlimited alcohol, whereas, on the cruise it costs extra. I am not a big drinker, so that one isn't really a big deal but wanted to throw it in there The pro to the resort is that we would have unlimited access to the ocean and snorkeling. But the cons is that I have read reviews and some people complain about the rooms and the food (the food is buffet style). I don't know how to take the reviews because I think sometimes people can be overly critical. Also, the resort includes non-motorized water sports like kayaking and wind surfing, but that's about it. If we wanted to do things like horseback riding on the beach, parasailing, or any tours, it would cost extra.
As for the cruise, the pros is that I wouldn't have to worry about getting a room with problems or the food being bad. Since I have been on a cruise before, I know what to expect in that area and thought both were very nice. Another pro to the cruise is that it goes to two locations, Grand Caymen and Jamaica instead of us just staying at one. And it pretty much has all the same things the resort has, except you only get to swim in the ocean the days you are in port, and you are only in port 2 times for about 8 hours each time. The cruise has Las Vegas type shows, plays, comedians, singers and dancers and a movie theatre, but it doesn't have the kayaking or windsailing like the resort. Also, it is the same as the resort in that, if we wanted to do activities like horseback riding and such, it would be extra. But one thing nice about the cruise is that it is offering a special right now where if you just purchase the standard room (no windows, smaller space) then you can get a free upgrade if there are other rooms available. So we might be able to even get a room with a balcony if the ship isn't totally booked when we go and wouldn't have to pay extra for it.
Basically, they both have casinos and access to shopping if you pay extra, and they both have pools (although the cruise's pool is better) and they both have unlimited foods and drink.
I guess what it comes down to is whether we would like to spend a week doing a few activities, but mostly relaxing and swimming in the ocean...OR, having a lot of activities to do, and still getting to swim in the ocean and hang out on the beach, but not as much.
I just can't decide! And my hubby wants me to put down a deposit soon and I just don't know what to do. My reservations about the cruise is if we run into bad weather. When we went on a cruise before, there was bad weather and we were not able to go to one of the ports. So everything we were going to do got cancelled. But my reservations about the resort is that it could get repetitive just lounging around and swimming in the ocean for a week, and what if we did get a bad room where the A/C didn't work or the food was gross? What are ya'll thoughts? Or has anyone ever done either and would recommend one over the other? Thanks guys! Sorry this is a novel!
-- Edited by HunterNellasmom at 10:18, 2005-07-16
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-The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all
My opinion is to take the cruise. Here's why. Jamaica is a very dangerous place unless you stay on the resort. It is a third world country. Have you checked out the resort? Do you know the exact location it's in and they type of area in Jamaica its in? My husband and I spent 2 weeks at a resort in Jamaica and although it was nice and relaxing it was very boring. Going off of the resort in Jamaica is a big no-no. I have several friends who got married in Jamaica and than spent the rest of their honeymoon there and they all have said they wish they hadn't done that. If you take the cruise, when the cruise ship drops you off in Jamaica it will drop you off at a safe enough place. Just don't give in to ALL of the people who will come up to you begging for money. It's like Manhattan, they don't really need it but they know they can get away with it. The average bum in Manhattan makes over a hundred thousand dollars a year (Philly also). For safety reasons and fun reasons, if you're very inclined to go to Jamaica, take the cruise.
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Saving just one dog won't save the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog. -Richard C. Call
Zoe, can I ask what part of Jamaica you stayed in? This resort is in Negril. All the reviews that I read about poverty, crimes, or crowds was in Montego Bay. But I'm sure it could be everywhere.
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-The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all
That makes sense...Zoe would know. Hey, why did you think that you shouldn't ask? We get around to dogs and cats eventually, but much of our discussions are off-topic. Hey, Tuna Chaser would know about boats and stuff...
Although I have never had the pleasure of doing either I will tell you what friends just experienced when they booked a trip to St. Croix for a week through Expedia. Everything Expedia showed on line was absolutely wonderful. The truth of the matter was found once they got there. The hotel they were booked at was disgusting. No maid service; if you needed clean towels in your room you had to go get them & pay $5 for them; the pool was so disgustingly filthy there was no way they could use it; the hotel's beach was unusable for swimming due to the large amount of seaweed; although there was supposed to be security it was non-existent; it was actually located in a dangerous section of the island; where they were supposed to be able to rent wave-runners, etc. was on a 3 wk shutdown with none others available w/i a reasonable distance. The hotel refused a refund and since they had paid out so much money on the trip they didn't have funds readily available to pay for another hotel so they were stuck staying there. The jeep they rented through Thrifty had bad brakes, the directional signals didn't work, nor did the A/C and it looked at tho it had been in alot of accidents. So far Expedia has refunded them $500 towards the 2 rooms they rented (one for them & one for their son & his friend) and no response so far from Thrifty.
I guess my warning would be is if you decide to not do the cruise, make sure you know exactly where you will be staying and find out what recourse you have once you get there if you find it isn't what it was cracked up to be.
Yeah, that is my biggest worry about staying at a resort, is it not being all it's cracked up to be. Especially because you see all these commercials of these tropical paradises and expect so much. I know I did when we went to Nassau on our cruise. Yuck! It was very poor and dirty and we had to take a cab to the other side of island just to go to a swim worthy beach.
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-The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all
I would difintitly go with the cruise. Sounds much better to me. Me and Brad plan on talking a vacation next year but I plan on staying in the states. No flying for me.
I have been to Montego Bay for a wedding, but my husband and I have stayed at Sandals resorts on Negril and Ocho Rios. One was for work and one was for fun. I can't remember which was which. I couldn't tell that big of a difference in any of them. Most cruises drop you off on Montego Bay. They do give you boundaries of where you should stay.
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Saving just one dog won't save the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog. -Richard C. Call
You've been to Sandals Negril???! That is my dream vacation! Out of all the resorts I have researched, it's my favorite. Too expensive though, will have to wait awhile to do that one. The deal that I found was Negril Garden Beach Resort in Negril. Did you like Sandals? And what is the ocean like? Can you snorkel right off the beach or do you have to be taken to a reef to do that? Thanks for all your help by the way!
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-The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all
maybe im a tad bias as i work on the water, but i say take the cruise. the idea of a vacation is to have fun and relax, and cruise ships are taylor made for that. as far as your tours and parasailing and such, the ships usually have onboard agents to set u up for whatever you would like to do. i hope you have alot of fun!!! and take lots of pics!!!!!!!!!
Sorry I didn't see this until now. I'm really not impressed with sandals. I have only stayed at 2. Both in Jamaica. We stayed in Negril for 2 weeks and Ocho Rios for just a few days while my husband did some computer work in Jamaica. I'm not impressed with Sandals. I don't know where I would recommend staying. Sandals is probably the nicest. Didn't impress me but than again I have extremely high standards when it comes to hotels and resorts so you may love it. I don't snorkel so I have no idea about the snorkeling thing. The ocean, however, is very clear and beautiful. One of the most beautiful I've ever seen.
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Saving just one dog won't save the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog. -Richard C. Call
i would go with the cruise from the info you gave .. cape towns (in South Africa) a great place to go/my parteners from their .sorry cant help but give it a plug
Thanks so much you guys for all your advice! I really appreciate it! I think, based on ya'll opinions and talking to hubby that we are going to do a cruise. It just seems like it has more activities, and plus, the ship goes to those islands, so we can see what they are like and then if we really like them, maybe stay at a resort in a few years. I'm really looking forward to a trip just hubby and I. We have never been away from the kids for more than a night since they were born, and my oldest is almost 5. Plus, we never got to go on a honeymoon. Thanks again!
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-The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all
The pro to the resort is that we would have unlimited access to the ocean and snorkeling. But the cons is that I have read reviews and some people complain about the rooms and the food (the food is buffet style). I don't know how to take the reviews because I think sometimes people can be overly critical. Also, the resort includes non-motorized water sports like kayaking and wind surfing, but that's about it. If we wanted to do things like horseback riding on the beach, parasailing, or any tours, it would cost extra.
