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All-Inclusive Examined!

tante

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I find all-inclusive resorts great when you are traveling with friends that are cheap. They type that is always the last one to buy a round of beers or just doesn't want to pay their fair share.
 

Talent312

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The issue that I have with AI's is that if you don't eat+drink as much as the next guy, the rate you pay is, at least in part, subsidizing his eating+drinking. Thus, your incentive is to keep up so as to get your "fair share."

OTOH, we're doing an AI in September and hoping to get a fair share of the goodies. ;-)
.
 

geekette

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I did AI for the first time in December and it was very convenient and relaxing. There was also some special kind of liberation in not having to carry money around (tips were included) nor caring about menu prices.

Of course, the price has to be right as I am not a big eater nor big drinker. We paid 60 per person per day and thought that was a good deal. Food and service were both great, we would do it again if the vacation were R&R, like this one was vs more exploratory / not at resort much.
 

geekette

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The issue that I have with AI's is that if you don't eat+drink as much as the next guy, the rate you pay is, at least in part, subsidizing his eating+drinking. Thus, your incentive is to keep up so as to get your "fair share."

OTOH, we're doing an AI in September and hoping to get a fair share of the goodies. ;-)
.
I definitely don't see it as subsidizing the next guy. You pay your fee and consume what you consume regardless of what the other guy consumes, as he paid, too.

If it were the case that at the end of the week, everything consumed is totalled up to be split by all guests that week, then, yeah, you're subsidizing everyone that consumed more than you did, but those that consumed less than you did are subsidizing you. I can't imagine there is any resort that has this policy!
 

Passepartout

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To each, his/her own. We don't travel to see how much we can eat/drink or try to get our perceived money's worth. We want to participate in local culture, and help the local economy.

AI is simply not for me. Nope. Not interested.

Jim
 

tschwa2

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The issue that I have with AI's is that if you don't eat+drink as much as the next guy, the rate you pay is, at least in part, subsidizing his eating+drinking. Thus, your incentive is to keep up so as to get your "fair share."

OTOH, we're doing an AI in September and hoping to get a fair share of the goodies. ;-)
.

My husband really likes AI's. I don't mind them as a splurge if we can find the right one at the right price. In my real life it is not unusual for me to go a month or more with no alcohol. At an AI I do have 1-3 a day, a glass of wine with dinner and 1 or 2 fruity frozen bartender specials with fresh fruit.

I try to make sure we get our money's worth in the water sports and activity department. Every day that doesn;t have a red flag out for wind or other weather we take out a catamaran for a 1/2-1hr ride. I sign up for the included snorkel trip 1 or 2 times during the week. Basically anything on the water that is included I will try- Ocean kayaks, wind surfing, harbor cruise, etc. I am a go for rock climbing walls. We were at one that had a circus type trapeze thingy but I didn't have the nerve for that one.

It is a different type of vacation but it doesn't have to be able trying to eat and drink as much as possible.
 

LisaRex

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I've never done an AI. AI's incentivizes you to stick to the resort for your food and beverages. I want to explore the place and eat at the local establishments. If I wanted to sit my ass at a resort and never leave, why travel at all?

geekette said:
I definitely don't see it as subsidizing the next guy. You pay your fee and consume what you consume regardless of what the other guy consumes, as he paid, too.

Yes, but if everyone ate/drank like the most gluttonous customer they have, the price of the AI would go up. No? The price stays lower because (I assume) the price is based on average consumption. Which means, of course, that those who consume less subsidize those who consume more.

Just as those who are slender subsidize those who are heavier on an airplane, since they base their fuel consumption (which impacts ticket price) on the average weight of their consumer.
 

geekette

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To each, his/her own. We don't travel to see how much we can eat/drink or try to get our perceived money's worth. We want to participate in local culture, and help the local economy.

AI is simply not for me. Nope. Not interested.

Jim

I always had same mindset (in most ways still do), but I'd been to Cabo multiple times so have literally been there and done that. I definitely travel to explore and immerse myself in local culture.

This last trip, we were both exhausted from life and so sitting around doing Not Much but watching whales and having food and beverages brought to us was very appealling. We did not seek to consume as much as possible 'to get our money's worth' as that's not me, ever. We simply wanted the convenience, and having it all prepaid was indeed convenient. We knew before we ever left for the airport exactly what our trip cost and did not need to spend one penny more than we already had.

Had the price not been right, I would have done what I always do - schlep some groceries and make most of our own food (which I have no problem with) and otherwise stop in for food and beverages wherever we find ourselves. It was a huge time (and energy) savings to let someone else deal with all of that for us, and we could either pick up the phone for room service, walk over to a venue or summon the waiter to our pool loungers. easy. perfect for the exhausted state I was in.

I would do it again in the same place, but maybe not somewhere I had not previously visited UNLESS it was a bargain, which I think is rare for AI.
 

LisaRex

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It is a different type of vacation but it doesn't have to be able trying to eat and drink as much as possible.

To me, it's not that I'd want to eat and drink as much as possible, but that I'd tend to stay at the resort to eat/drink because I'd already paid for it.
 

tschwa2

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To me, it's not that I'd want to eat and drink as much as possible, but that I'd tend to stay at the resort to eat/drink because I'd already paid for it.

I agree and that is why I wouldn't want to only vacation at an AI but sometimes its nice to have the kind of vacations where you can sleep as late as you want and your biggest worries are do I want to start a new book in the shade at the quiet part of the beach or do I want to put on my sneakers and take the guided walk through the gardens with the head gardener. After lunch I have an hour snorkel trip and do I want to squeeze in a cooking lesson before dinner. For dinner which of the 11 restaurants on the property and sister property (by included shuttle- which I nick named the lazy bus or take a walk to get there) what do I want tonight, Spanish, Brazilian, Japanese, etc? Do I want one of the formal dress restaurants or do I want to stay in my shorts and sandals. Will I have enough energy for the beach party afterwards or will I just stop by the piano bar for a little while.

It is more for a been there done that type of island and not one you want to experience and explore because you do feel like you already paid for staying at the resort. With that said I do typically still want to take one day with a full or 3/4 day trip either by guided tour or by hiring a taxi to do or see something I haven't seen or done before.
 

CatLovers

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To each, his/her own. We don't travel to see how much we can eat/drink or try to get our perceived money's worth. We want to participate in local culture, and help the local economy.

AI is simply not for me. Nope. Not interested.

Our sentiments exactly!
 

patty5ia

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There are times when you just want to rest and enjoy yourselves and AI can do that. It is kinda like a cruise, I think. Not the way I travel most of the time. But a year ago we enjoyed two weeks with many relaxing massages and facials and some included tours that we found was a very good deal at an AI. Each to his own.
 

Passepartout

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There are times when you just want to rest and enjoy yourselves and AI can do that. It is kinda like a cruise, I think. Not the way I travel most of the time. But a year ago we enjoyed two weeks with many relaxing massages and facials and some included tours that we found was a very good deal at an AI. Each to his own.

You must take different cruises than I do. By the time we disembark, there is a healthy bill for drinks at $7-8 for a beer or glass of wine or up to $12-15 for a fancy frozen one with a little umbrella. A dinner in the specialty restaurants can be up to $50 premium, and I don't know what spa treatments cost by the each, but they are NOT included.

Yes, basic meals, room service and snacks are included, but most cruises are hardly 'All Inclusive'.

We get along fine with cruises, because I bring the allowed wine aboard for enjoying in the cabin, and we do not do spa treatments and limit ourselves to just a couple of fancy specialty meals on each cruise. This allows us to cruise more often instead of going all-out on perhaps one a year.

It's tough being a tightwad. :)
 

dioxide45

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My main concern with All Inclusive is what happens if you go and the food is awful? Someone I know from work went to Cancun last year on an AI package. They hated the food. They really should have talked to me before they booked. I could have given them a lot of information about dining in Cancun and saved them a lot of money over an AI package.
 

am1

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Stayed two nights at the Flamingo in Cancun and the food was bad. That was the end of a 12 night trip visiting isla mujueres, chichen itza and a week at El Cid which I find to be a great all inclusive. We will be going back for our 3rd time next month. With two 16 month olds it is really the only way to go. I'll be happy taking the resort snorkel tour which is out front and visiting PM once. The rest of the time staying at the resort. There will be other times to explore the area.

It is not the way I always want to travel. I really prefer the El Cids in Mazatlan where you can purchase the all inclusive 24 hours at a time. Once or twice over a week is plenty considering all the other places nearby.

The people that eat/drink a lot are getting a great deal and the ones that do not are offsetting that.


My main concern with All Inclusive is what happens if you go and the food is awful? Someone I know from work went to Cancun last year on an AI package. They hated the food. They really should have talked to me before they booked. I could have given them a lot of information about dining in Cancun and saved them a lot of money over an AI package.
 
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