7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise or 7 nights at Sandals All-Inclusive St. Lucia??

FutureMrsG2013 · December 2011

So, FI and I are torn between these two options for our honeymoon. Granted, we won't be honeymooning for a year and a half, but I'm a planner so I'm trying to figure this out so we can at least get a deposit down once we decide. Any thoughts?

casims3 · December 2011

To me - the downside about cruises is that so much is scheduled ahead of time. Dinner is at a certain time, you have to wake up at a certain time to get off the boat, you have to be back at a certain time, etc. It depends what kind of people you are but on my honeymoon I want to just relax and be able to do whatever, so we opted for an All-Inclusive instead. But really, I think it's just your personal preference!

Ajoyd · December 2011

We are thinking about a cruise too. I'm not wild about having so much of the time scheduled for me, but I do love the idea of being able to see a lot of different places.

It just seems to me that if we are spending so much money on a trip I want to get my money's worth!

[Deleted User] · December 2011

We did Sandals for our HM and would recommend it. I also think AI is the way to go. No cash (except for like maybe $100) needed = no worries. It was the best time of my life.

osuchica85 · December 2011

     So my FI has been on probably 30 cruises. He loves them but says that he actually likes being on the boat more than port...for the reason that when they are cruising, he feels like there is more freedom. (Like everyone is saying with scheduling). Anyway, we looked into going on one (I have never been) for my graduation that is next week but opted in saving the money instead. He also said depending on the cruise, they sometimes have strict rules on dinner (not only time, but dress code- esp guys needing to basically wear suit or tux). He is also pretty picky on the cruise line too. If I remember he said he likes Royal Caribbean and Disney the best. (I thought it was interesting he liked a Disney cruise but whatever).
      I've been on two all inclusive vacations (one in Mexico, one Jamaica). The one in Jamaica was at a beaches resort for a destination wedding. Since it was a sister resort to Sandals, we were able to take the shuttle to sandals and eat at their restaurants and go on their beach, etc. for free as well. I absolutely loved both trips but I think Mexico was better. There was no tipping allowed at beaches but it was allowed at the resort we stayed at in Mexico. I actually liked that I could tip because the staff went out of their way to come out to you on the beach and ask if you wanted a refill on your drink, etc. It was not annoying though. I feel like they didn't do that at the beaches and sandals resorts because there was no extra incentive to go above and beyond. I also liked hearing Spanish instead of English which is dumb but I felt like it was more exotic. On the other hand, the beaches/sandals had better food and more restaurant options.
   St. Lucia looks amazing. One of my roommates in college went to one of the sandals in st. Lucia for her honeymoon and seemed to like it. Unfortunately, it's extremely expensive. I think it was like 4K for 7 nights without flight when I briefly looked (this was last dec, and I was looking for Jan 2012). They do have like 3 resorts there and if I remember one is a bit cheaper. So....although, I have never been on a cruise....knowing what I know about both types of vacays, I would choose an all-inclusive resort. I would consider all types of major all inclusive brands though. My sister did one with Melia and Riu. Up until about March last year I had a destination wedding in Costa Rica at the barcelo langosta. It looked pretty good too.

Belle0000 · December 2011

One thing to think about with cruises is whether or not you mind honeymooning with kids around. We considered it, but since we're going in the summer, there will be lots of family vacations going on (unless you find an adults-only cruise of course).

And I don't mean any offense to parents out there; I've been on cruises during the summer and in February/March, and it's just a much different atmosphere during summer vs. when school is in. For example, on the Feb/March cruise, the pool was nothing but adults lounging and relaxing in the pool; in the summer, it was a lot of kids jumping in and out, so it was harder to spend much time in the pool.

csh96 · December 2011

We took a cruise a couple years ago and then went all-inclusive for the honeymoon. The food was MUCH better on the cruise but we loved everything else about the all-inclusive more. We took a couple of excursions to get away from the resort but after all the wedding planning, it was so nice to just relax with the new H on the beach and not have to worry about the crowded boat. Plus the free bottle of champagne in the room everyday was wonderful!

77Angie · December 2011

We actually just booked our HM last month and we are planning on going to Sandals Grand in St. Lucia. We went through a travel agent to book it and I feel like wasn't extremely expensive. We didn't get the most expensive room either though. The nice thing about St. Lucia Sandals is that you can resort hop between the three Sandals resorts for no cost AND they are adult only. That was huge for us when we were looking. I can't wait to go!

FutureMrsG2013 · December 2011

I think we decided on a cruise just because there is a little bit more to do. I do like the adult-only part of Sandals, but we decided to make Sandals a diff. newlywed trip, maybe a year or 2 after we get married. The cruise is a pretty good option because it gives us lazy time as well as things to do and different places to see. We're going on the Oasis of the Seas by Royal Caribbean. We went on a cruise in Sept. (where FI was originally going to propose...but he surprised me and did it earlier

) and had a blast, so I think it'll be good for us.

Thanks for all your input ladies!

FutureMrsG2013 · December 2011

Also, we didn't feel super scheduled on the cruise. You can choose to make your dinner at the same time everyday, or you can choose to make a reservation day by day for the time you want. But on this cruise, there's a chance we would only eat in the main dining room once or twice since there are 20+ restaurants to eat at on the cruiseship.

spainstacey · December 2011

we went on an all inclusive to Jamicia.

We are normally go everywhere see everything type of vacationers so it was DEFINITLY a change of pace.

Toward the end of the trip we did start to get bored, however the unlimited everything was super nice

cohenry · December 2011

Ive been on 8 different cruises, and royal caribbean is by far the best and then princess. The only problem I see is if you are drinkers and looking for a party on a cruise alcohol is not included. My fiance and I are going to Sandals becuase EVERYTHING is included. And you'll be getting EVERYTHING included, plus excursions and all drinks and food. Cruises are great to visit many places, but youll also have MANY kids on the cruise and families...

7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise or 7 nights at Sandals All-Inclusive St. Lucia??

Re: 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise or 7 nights at Sandals All-Inclusive St. Lucia??

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