OT - all inclusive vacations

[jacksonpt]

Anyone ever done one? I'm starting to plan a vacation for my GF and I, and at first the all inclusive option sounded pretty appealing for obvious reasons. But, the more I think about it...

• are they really ALL inclusive? I assume things like tours and snorkeling trips and water sports are extra?
• neither one of us drink very much... seems like having drinks included is what really makes these trips a value. True?
• I assume the restaurant options are limited with all inclusive deals?
• anything else I need to know?

 

[frofan]

I've been to Sandals Grande St. Lucia and Sandals Antigua. Sandals is an adult only all inclusive. It was a great experience both times.

You will most likely get what you pay for. The cheaper all inclusive resorts will have limited restaurants and restaurant hours. Same is true for included activities. The more expensive resorts will include snorkeling, wind sailing, water skiing, etc. They also offer more extravagant tours and activities, but they are at an additional fee. For example, zip lining would run you around $125.

A big part of the all inclusive price is definitely alcohol. Sandals has all top shelf liquor, and all you can drink of it all day. The food at sandals was very good. They advertise as a 5 star dining experience, but I would say it is more like a 4 star. You can eat as much as you want as often as you want. They normally have at least 3 or 4 restaurants open at any given time during the day or night. The lower end resorts will only offer you food during certain hours of the day, and you won't have as many choices.

The other nice thing about all inclusive is you don't have to bring any money with you if you don't want to go off the resort. Everything is included, and tips are not accepted.

 

[jacksonpt]

That's helpful, thanks. Sandals, St. Lucia is one of the leading candidates.

 

[frofan]

Sandals Grande St. Lucia was absolutely gorgeous! My wife and I liked it better than Antigua. St. Lucia has 3 Sandals resorts, so you can visit any of them and everything is included. The island has some poverty, as does most of the Caribbean, but the mountains and rain forest were awesome! The staff at the Grande was over the top friendly and really made the trip. We enjoyed it so much we booked our trip to Antigua with family while we were there. St. Lucia has also been named one of the best travel destinations for a few years running now.

I've only stayed at Sandals, so my knowledge is limited on other all inclusive resorts. I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives that are comparable to Sandals. I have heard a few bad stories about cheaper all inclusive resorts in the Bahamas. Friends complained that you had to wear a bracelet all day to show you are a guest of the resort, the beach wasn't private and locals would hassle you to buy stuff, everything was dirty, and the food was poor and dinner hours were strictly between 5 and 7.

If you decide to book with Sandals, shoot me a PM and I'll see if I can get you any referral credits towards the spa.

 

[IronMan72]

It sounds like you are looking for an "All Inclusive" resort but my wife and I enjoy to go on cruises. It's been some time since we last took a cruise but they were mostly "All Inclusive". The food and the non-alcoholic beverages, as well as most of the on-ship activities were included. Many of the ports had a free beach or access to local shopping. They also offer off ship excursions that they charge a fee for though none of the fees seemed too overly outrageous. On the ship they usually have several night clubs and lounges with cash bars. The dining room generally has an early and late seating for dinner, usually it's assigned seating. There were a number of places to eat, and food was available somewhere 24 hours a day. If you book early, or watch for last minute deals, and are willing to sleep in a smaller room with only a port hole you can cruise on a budget as well.

Tips are expected on the last day of your cruise and are generally suggested for the waiter and the room service staff. You should definitely ask and prepare for these before you book your cruise. We were seated with an obnoxious group of people for dinner on one of our cruises and chose to eat elsewhere on the ship for the duration of the cruise. The waiter approached us at the end of the cruise and asked about our tip. He was quite rude when we explained that we ate dinner only one of seven nights. We actually left a tip equal to 2/7 of the suggested tip, we thought that it was more than fair, he did not.

 

[pilotguy]

Following along as I need to plan my honeymoon st. Lucia was a leading place to go as well and my dad has always spoke very highly of sandals resorts.

 

[smogl00]

Went to Almond Smuggler's Cove St. Lucia for our honeymoon and really liked it. It was all-inclusive as well. The room was super nice, alcohol was great, and there were 4 restaurants on the property. Usually 1 of them was closed each day, so you got to pick between 3 different restaurants each day. Each restaurant had a Tuesday, Thursday and a Monday Wednesday, Friday menu for some variety. I believe they were all open on Saturday and Sunday.

activities included at the resort were snorkeling, kayaking, wind surfing, and water skiiing. Other activities such as zip lining, dolphin/whale watching tours, volcano tour, horseback riding, etc were available via representatives that came to the resort every other day or so. They were reasonably priced, usually ranging from $60 pp to $100 pp and were either half day or whole day tours including food and drink.

Overall, we had an amazing experience. The fact that they had their own cove and mini reef setup in the water really added to the snorkeling experience as well. I was ripping big pieces of seaweed off floating ropes and then diving down so tangs would chase after me to try and get some. Unreal

 

[kelso1980]

My husband and I just got back from Sandals Grand Caribbean. We have nothign but good thigns to say about it! WE figured that they had to cut corners SOMEWHERE, but we couldn't find it. The food was awesome, along with the quality of the rooms, cleaning service, shows at night and they really went out of their way to provide things for us to do. Excursions were extra, but there was a lot included too. Snorkeling, kayaking, windsurfing, catamaran, vollyball, shows at night, ect all included. We loved it. Best part was the snorkling. I think that was the coolest thing I've ever done!