Honeymoon: Cruise or Resorts?

I love to cruise, so my vote is for that.
If you’ve never been out of the country, cruising is a good way to “sample” different places to give you some idea of where to pick if you do ever do a resort trip.
Also, I think cruising is easier than going to a resort. You don’t have to worry about how you’re getting from the airport to the resort, often times your don’t need a passport, and I think it’s cheaper. Those international flights are expensive!

I love cruises also !! It's so all inclusive. I suppose so are resorts though but if you've never been, it'll be a good experience

I've read cruises are much cheaper than a lot of resorts, but it depends on where you go. Have you been on a boat before? How is your motion sickness? I've heard of people booking a cruise and being sick a lot because they didn't know it would bother them. We chose a resort because it's more relaxing and if we get cabin fever we can jump from our over water bungalow into the water. But cruises look just as fun.

We haven't been on a cruise or flying lol so everything will be new to us. We just want the most all inclusive honeymoon no matter where

We chose to cruise to Bermuda for 7 days! I’ll update how it is when we come back!!

Personally I'd do a resort. Mexico is pretty inexpensive. Cruises are "all inclusive" but then you have to pay for all the extras (alcohol, excursions, gambling in the casino). You'll spend $1500 on the cruise tickets and then drop at least another $1500 while you're on the boat. There are limited things to do in my opinion, if the water is bad there are some nights you might get sick, and the rooms are CRAMPED. We're spending under $1500 for 6 days all inclusive in Cancun, Mexico and then using credit card points to pay for our flights. In my opinion, that's the way to go.

We're doing a resort! I wouldn't cruise again personally because I feel it's too restrictive. I would rather have a larger hotel room, freedom to go wherever, and avoid any kind of seasickness. Maybe talk to a travel agent! They can recommend things based on what you like, and make the planning process super easy.

My first flight was a year ago and we flew from Conn. to Florida. We boarded a cruise and went to the Bahamas. We went with Carnival and it was a blast! We purchases a drink pass for each day, so we had unlimited sodas a 15 alcoholic drinks/day. It was awesome sitting by the pool, grabbing margaritas and not worrying about paying for them. Extras were the casino, spa, a few specialty drinks, and the shops, and of course anything you want off board. But the food and the food choices were incredible and there was so much to do on the boat. It was my first experience on a plane and cruise ship and it was so so great!

I personally love cruises. My FH and I have taken the same vacation for the past 3 years we love it so much. We live in Northeast PA so we take a Carnival cruise out of Baltimore. We always go the week before Memorial Day, Sunday to Sunday, so we still have Monday off to recover. We choose to go to Baltimore because the port has a lot of parking and we can leave his truck there for the week for around $100. We always get a balcony because once we got one the first year we can't not have one now. I get how some people say it's restrictive with what you can do but personally I don't think so. On our cruise we stop at 3 different ports in the Bahamas and you can always choose an excursion. We never have because we love laying on the beach but the people we've met on board say the exclusions are great. The food is amazing. They have shows every night. It's so much fun for us. Obviously every cruise is different but I don't think you would be disappointed if that's the route you choose.

Hmmm, I would do something that you both never done before. Cruises are amazing but you are on a timeline when you go to different countries. Compared to resorts you are able to do a lot of different things and the only timeline you have to do is the amount of days you are staying. But whatever you choose have an amazing time!!!

We aren’t doing a cruise for our honeymoon because I don’t want to feel pressured to go explore a city I only get to spend one day in! I think people love cruises and there are lots of pro’s. I guess it matters what you want out of it! My plan is to relax in a beach, plan absolutely nothing, and not feel like I missed out if I say in bed with my new husband and relax and enjoy the first days of being married!

I’m a fan of cruises and FH and I will most likely go on one for our honeymoon (still deciding). FH and I have been on 3 cruises together (and I’ve been on a total of 8 overall). What I love about cruising is that you get the resort feeling but get to stop at different ports, instead of staying in one place. And there’s also the relaxation of being on the water.

I haven’t vacationed at a resort yet. But in January, FH and I are traveling to Jamaica with another couple and staying at a resort. So we’ll get to compare the experiences and make a decision between a cruise or resort for our honeymoon.

Oh thank you guys so much! We still aren't set on what we want to do yet lol but these comments have helped a lot.

a few more questions....

If we did a cruise what line/ship do you recommend (and ports?)

if we choose a resort what places do you recommend so we can research everything.

also did any of your travel agents sit down with you and show you like brochures and plans?

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I have been on multiple cruises and stayed at multiple resorts. It all depends on what you want. I feel like a resort is much more relaxing because on a ship you usually only get to be on that island x amount of hours, usually 8-5. (Unless its an overnight cruise which I have also been on) I'm always tired when I am done with a cruise because I am getting up early everyday. Personally, I love all inclusive resorts and you can find good ones for cheap. Short honeymoon: cruise (I have done a 10 day cruise and it was nice but way too long to be on a boat). Long honeymoon: resort

All my opinions:

-I have been on carnival, Norwegian, and royal: Food wise I have liked carnival more. Accommodations wise, Royal allllll the way but they nickle and dime you for everythinggggg.

-Best relaxing port: Bermuda..... Best party port: Bahamas.....Port with the most excursions: Jamaica ( I have been to over 10 ports via cruises)

-Resorts are dependent on what you are looking for. Best party resorts: Mexico (Cabo and Cancun, playa del carmen is really nice to but a little more tame). Best activities resorts: Jamaica (Ochos Rios is close to everything but Negril has some of the best beaches in the world, you will have to ride an hour or 2 from the airport and to the more popular excursions in Jamaica if you stay in Negril)

-We just decided to do an overwater bungalow in Maldives for our honeymoon. Sooooo excited!

-I am a planner/searcher so I have always found better deals on my own. My entire family and his comes to me to plan their trips. It's fun to me at this point lol Hope that helps!

I thoroughly enjoy cruises. I think they are more worth it and a great bang for your buck. It's all inclusive, you get to experience did cuisines, so many different activities on the cruise ship. You never get bored and you're able to visit several places in a span of 7-10 or whatever length of your honeymoon is.

We are doing a cruise. i've been on a cruise before and loved it. my parents are big cruise people as well. FH has never been on a cruise and he's really looking forward to it. you can also get really great deals in cruises. for example, we booked our November honeymoon in January. Royal Caribbean was having a buy 1 guest, get 1 60% off. we got our 8 day, 7 night Bahamas cruise for $1500. can't beat that.

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I've only ever cruised through Royal. How does Carnival and Norwegian compare? (we're trying to explore all options for a honeymoon)
I'm into the way that Royal has their evening dining set up (made me feel kind of fancy lol), and I really enjoyed having the option to go to after dinner shows, art auctions, etc aboard the ship. If I understand correctly, Carnival and Norwegian are "freestyle". I'm just not really sure if I would like that compared to Royal since I'm not 100% sure what the difference would be outside of dress codes and dining times.

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All the cruises have an evening dining set up. "freestyle" and "my time" just means you don't have a set time to go to dinner because you want the option to eat at other places. Carnival is more of a "budget" travel cruise and most I have gone have less for me to do but great on board activities, if that makes sense. Royal and Norwegian have more but that may be because I went on their largest fleets. I probably will never do carnival again. Just not my favorite fleet of ships. I actually disliked cruising until I went on a royal cruise. Have you heard about the new Virgin Voyages Boats? Now that looks like it would be an awesome honeymoon cruise. It's adults only! Sets sail April 2020

We are cruising for our honeymoon through Royal! We are set to leave on Sunday, and I can't wait!! I agree with Cassidy, it's a good way to sample different areas and it's all inclusive!

We went on a cruise for our honeymoon and found it perfect! Normally we probably would have found it a bit restrictive because we had 5 days at sea, and all tender ports (can be a bit of a line getting in and out with those), but after the wedding all we wanted to do was relax. I would highly recommend a cruise if you are looking for relaxation and minimal effort (no rental car or walking long distances), easy dining access, and effortless entertainment (lots of evening shows).