How I found the best resort for my friend’s 40th birthday large group trip:

A college fraternity brother called me up looking for an upscale adults-only, all-inclusive Caribbean resort that will accommodate a group of 10 couples to celebrate his 40th birthday.  Easy enough.

He let me know that last year this same group stayed at an Excellence property and that they found the resort to be too focused on Honeymooners and Romance. They did not have tables to accommodate large groups at dinner and they felt they were too loud for the honeymooners.

My expertise when it comes to cruising is pretty well documented here on CruiseSource, but I consider myself fairly novice when it comes to land-based resorts due to a lack of first-hand experience.

So, like most consumers the first thing I did was Google “All-Inclusive, Adult-Only Caribbean Resorts”.

I quickly found that this request wasn’t as easy as it sounds. There appears to be two primary types of “adult-only” resorts, neither of which my friends were looking for: 1. Focused on Honeymooners and couples looking for a romantic retreat. 2. Geared toward couples and singles looking for more sexually charged experience similar to Hedonism or Temptations.

After Google, I hit TripAdvisor. I found that so many of the reviews contradicted each other. Reviews claim that some of these resorts were tame while others said they were too wild.

Search through TripAdvisor and you’ll find reviews for the same resort that said service was awesome and some that service was horrible.

So the key with that site is not to look too much at individual reviews… but more at the overall scores for the resorts.

In general, individual consumer reviews tough to rely on. There are some people who will have a bad time no matter where they go… and they seem to be more likely to post reviews then those of us who are generally happy with most of our vacation experiences.

Plus, you never know which reviews are fake. A really positive review could be written by an employee of the property. A negative review could be made by their competitors.

How to save time and stress

Thanks to managing Cruise Holidays social media strategy, I’m privately connected to a large online group of Cruise Holidays franchisees.

Cruise Holidays is the oldest cruise focused travel franchise in North America – but don’t be fooled by the name… Cruise Holiday’s franchisees are extremely well-traveled and they sell a lot of land-based resort vacations.

Lucky me…. I have access to trusted advice from professionals who have experienced it first-hand and who have no agenda outside of the desire to help my friend find the best resort for his vacation.

I posted message to the private group of travel professionals and I got responses within minutes.

Two of the resorts recommended multiple times were the Majestic Elegance in Punta Cana and The Royal Playa del Carmen.   Between the two, my friend chose the Majestic Elegance [Club Elegance which is adult only].

Do like I did – Use a professional [or even better; a whole network]

The average person planning a vacation now goes to 17+ websites during the research process. Who really has time for this?

When I was doing my own online research, I did not come across the two most recommended resorts I received in the private Cruise Holidays group. Without the private group, I may have never found the best two resort for my friends.

I only went to 6 sites before realizing that I would find a better match in less time the network of travel professionals.

GOOD NEWS FOR YOU: You can have access to this same private group of travel professionals by contacting your local Cruise Holidays franchise.

You will save yourself time and money by doing it. You will not have decipher between real and fake reviews. A true travel professional’s goal is that you enjoy your vacation and booking experience so much that you never book with another agent.

So use the power of the network of one of most trusted travel franchises in North America.  Click to Locate your local Cruise Holidays Franchise now.

Author Note: Rich Tucker is founder/editor of CruiseSource.  He is a vacation addict who happens to focus on cruising.  Follow him on Twitter.

El Dorado Royale Swimup Suite

The growth of the all-inclusive resort scene has been substantial in both the Caribbean and in Mexico. We just returned from Karisma Resorts El Dorado Royale just south of Cancun on the Mexican Mayan Riviera and found it to be an excellent value as a restful vacation option compared to a premium cruise vacation.

The Royale features two levels of rooms, a spacious junior suite (higher priced if ocean front) and the more deluxe and larger casitas (comparable to a suite level on a cruise ship). All meals, drinks (except for wine list upgrades), tips and entertainment is included in the price. This resort featured eight different restaurant choices ranging from Asian Fusion to Italian to Caribbean, and the food was excellent at each locale. Drinks were available at many swim-up and other bars throughout the property and one bar featured nightly entertainment. The beach was not spectacular, but many covered beach lounging platforms were available and were popular with the guests. A couple of large spas (extra cost), a large gym and several small shops were spotted around the property.

Just like a cruise, side trips were available for an extra price. Some choices included swimming with the dolphins, a camel jungle safari and visits to both the Mayan seaside ruin at Tulum and the pyramid at Chichen Itza. Jet skis, scuba diving and fishing were other options available at an extra charge.

The clientele at this resort tended to be honeymooners, anniversary celebrators, international travelers (lots of Brits) and others who wanted to relax and enjoy the slow pace and warm sun of the location. One extra for honeymooners or anniversary celebrators is a romantic moonlight dinner on the beach, served in a special beachside pavilion for two with even a sax player adding atmosphere—a $140 extra. The El Dorado Royale is an adults only resort and guests must be over the age of 18, although all age levels were prevalent. Like many places in Mexico, this resort does offer time share options, but isn’t pushy in promoting this choice.

When comparing an all-inclusive with a cruise, the biggest difference is in the excitement of a new port nearly every day and the much more action-oriented onboard program while at sea. Plus, the all-inclusives do tend to be a bit more pricey than the cruise vacation. But, an all-inclusive is a great alternative for the traveler who might want a change of pace from cruising every year (or even more often).  Bottom line is that the right cruise or the right all-inclusive can deliver a great vacation—it’s a matter of personal choice.

Want to know more about premium, or luxury cruises and deluxe all-inclusives, contact Rich Skinner (rich@luxurient.com), or www.woodinville.cruiseholidays.com. Rich owns “Vinnie the Cruise Dog”, the world’s handsomest West Highland Terrier.

I’m speaking at the Cruise Holidays year end convention about Social Media marketing. Cruise Holidays is the oldest and largest cruise agency franchise in the US. Cruise Holiday’s owners are some of the most knowledgeable cruise experts in the industry. Many have niche expertise that differentiates them from the competition. Soon CruiseSource.us will be tapping into this amazing knowledge base by having articles written by Cruise Holiday’s franchisees.

Headed off now to enjoy the resort. By the way, if you are looking for a location for destination confernce or corporate incentive trip, I fully recommend the El Dorardo Royale. For your viewing pleasure, some pictures of the El Dorado Royale:

El Dorado Swimup Suite

Cruise Holiday's Conference

One of Many El Dorado Royale Pools

Related Post: All-Inclusive Resorts Vs. Cruise Vacations