How Does an All-Inclusive Resort Compare to a Cruise?

Finding cruise vacations for our clients is usually our number one focus.  However, many of our clients like to alternate between cruising and staying at one location at an all-inclusive resort. In September 2010, my daughter and I traveled to Club Med Cancun. This is a comparison to that experience versus the ones we have had when taking a cruise.

ARRIVAL:

Do your research on this one. We got taken for about $15 more than we should have for the taxi ride to the resort. You would want to do the same type of research when getting from the airport to a seaport. Bad research on my part.

RESORT FACILITIES

Club Med Cancun is not the most glitziest on the playa. It was built in 1976, but heavily renovated for six months after hurricane Wilma in 2005. This is not at all like being on a cruise. Being on the beach in Cancun means humidity. While the air conditioner got the room cool, it never really was able to pull out the humidity from my room. Even the clean clothes I brought home still needed to be washed. The resort is three stories at its maximum height. It felt like being in someone's hacienda more than being at a mega-resort or even cruise ship. Very intimate. The room and bathroom of course was bigger than any we have had so far on a cruise ship. We had an oceanview room with a balcony. In Mexico, ocean fronts and walking out to the beach are nice but you can get a lot of people walking in front of your room and the view is usually blocked by fauna.

There is a building known as Jade with a semi-private pool, private in the sense that only people staying in Jade can use it, but still visible from parts of the resort. Jade has upgraded toiletries, room service, concierge services, and more.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Club Med was among the first at Punta Nizuc and as such was able to secure a prime location. When you visit other resorts, they are either located on prime swimming beaches or prime snorkeling beaches with rocks and reefs and coral, but rarely both.   You have this at Club Med Cancun as well as a lagoon at the back of the facility that is used for the included water-skiing activity. The resort is located in a national reserve so all of the animals are protected.  I saw a cruise ship at about 4:40 in the morning out at sea headed for Cozumel. It would leave again later that evening, but we were still located at this fantastic spot. We did get a heavy downpour and lightning on one day which was perfect for us was this was the day we took our excursion out to Chichen Itza.

During our stay, as you looked to the north there were red no swimming flags in front of many resorts. In the swimming area of the ocean in front of Club Med it was Yellow caution flags out. Tropical weather was managing to cover most of the beaches with seaweed, but this can happen at any time of year at any resort. I was told that usually there are no waves here and that this was very unusual. Certainly not the fault of Club Med.

You are somewhat isolated though if shopping is your thing. There are excursions though to prime shopping locations, and I even learned of a less costly way to accomplish important part of the experience for some people.

ACTIVITIES

There are no rock walls, surfing simulators or ice skating rinks. However, you can sail, kayak, snorkel, swim in the ocean, swim in the pools, or just relax in the sun. You can also play soccer, bocce, tennis or basketball. You can even swing on a trapeze if you so desire! Of course you can also water-ski. For an additional cost, you can take excursions to some pretty darn cool archeological locations or even go scuba diving. There was a schedule printed for the week located by the pool. I wish I had a daily schedule of events in my room to be able to highlight which ones I would like to witness or participate in. I missed a big one while working one day and glad I got to see the pictures. It looked very fun to watch. I missed my daily newspaper at turndown. Turndown was not available in my category of room, but it is offered at the resort depending on the category.

ENTERTAINMENT

Broadway style production shows? You won't find it at Club Med. The GO's, as the staff are called, still had fun putting on their skits, but it wasn't Hairspray or Blue Man Group.

DRINKS

I am not much of a drinker but I have had better drinks on a ship and paid for them too! There were plenty who had no issues with the quality of the drinks. Though I never saw any outrageous behaviour.

FOOD, WAITSTAFF, RESTAURANTS

I managed to gain three pounds, so I found plenty to eat. However, I have to give the edge to every cruise I have been on as far as food is concerned. Just know that we managed to find things we liked and things we didn't just as we have on any cruise. There are three restaurants at Club Med. A buffet, a specialty Mexican Cuisine and a steakhouse. The latter two serve as either a lunch buffet or late breakfast or late afternoon or night snack venues except in the evening. The waitstaff when we sat down one night was rather slow. We didn't go hungry but waited longer than we wanted. I am used to constant refills of water and drinks on a ship and this was not the case.

KIDS CLUB

We came during low season. The resort that holds as many as 860 people only had about 175-200 during our visit and as such there were half a dozen or so kids in the facilities. I shared my daughter's impressions of the kid's club in a prior post. My daughter made sure she said her goodbyes before we left. The counselors were great. Honestly though, I am not sure my daughter would have been as happy without individual attention she received, but she is also an only child. Your Child/Mileage may vary!

STAFF

We were sitting down to dinner when all of the sudden two GO's asked if we minded if they joined us. Not wanting to be rude, yet not sure what to think we said yes. By the end of our stay, this happened each night at the buffet dinner with a different GO. This would never happen on a cruise unless you asked a staff member and they were allowed. It took some getting used to, but we enjoyed it. Everywhere we walked, someone was always saying Hello, Bonjour or Hola. The Chief of the Village, Remy, was everywhere and always smiling. I likened him to the position of Cruise Director on a ship.

ALL INCLUSIVE?

Just as on a cruise ship, we managed to have extra expenses at this all-inclusive resort. Between an internet package (free for those staying in Jade), two hats, a cd of all our photos (not available on a ship), and the excursion to Chichen Itza, we managed to spend about $475. The photo CD was created by going to the photo shop and setting up our room folder. We then could look at all of the photos separated by day, time and activity and just move those of us or those we wanted to our folder. This was then burned to a CD along with stock photos of the resort. It costs just under $200 but a very cool way of sharing photos you didn't take and without printing tons and tons of photos you may never look at again.

OVERALL

My daughter and I had a great time. My initial impression when this opportunity came available was that of the hedonistic 70's and 80's Club Med. I thought Club Med Cancun was only for adults, and you would be handed condoms when you arrived. I wasn't sure if this would be appropriate for my daughter. A LA Times author was under the same impression before her visit to Turks and Caicos. My impression was so off the mark. The people I met from the US, Canada and Europe were all quite friendly. Many in the United States are not aware of Club Med as an option for an all-inclusive resort as it is not marketed as much as other resorts. However, I have several clients in mind that would find this a perfect fit for their wants and needs. Because of who comes to Club Med, your family will get an immersion not just in the culture of the resort's location, but that of other culture's as well as shared by the other visitors. By the end of the week, my daughter was answering me not only in Spanish but in French as well. We met a couple from Texas who had been coming to Club Med Cancun since the 70's and always stayed at the same lagoon view room.

Just how does Club Med Cancun compare to a cruise? Very well indeed. Just as every cruise ship or line is not for ever vacationer, the same holds true with all-inclusive resorts. That being said, Club Med Cancun would be a wonderful option for you and your family to consider.

Chuck and Laura Flagg are fee-based travel consultants.

We own The Flagg Agency in Canton, GA and our number is 770-355- 9569

We help people make better travel decisions so they may find

an experience that matches both their wants AND their needs.