For years, the vacation of choice for honeymooners who wanted to take it easy, for families who did not want the hassle of a bunch of extra expenses, and for couples who wanted something simple, was cruises. After all, if you take a cruise, you are able to visit a whole bunch of different locations all at once, without needing to do any of the heavy traveling yourself. On a cruise, you have activities, lots of food, and lots of cool stuff you can do; but in recent years, the cruise has been overtaken by the appeal of the all-inclusive resort. These all-inclusive resorts – much like the cruises themselves – allow people to eat and drink as much as they want, without worrying about paying any extra. Most all-inclusive resorts also are packed with planned activities and events, much like a cruise. While the two vacations are very similar, there are certainly a few differences to keep in mind when deciding which is right for you.

The most obvious difference, of course, is the fact that cruises allow you to visit a bunch of different locations. If you choose to stay at an all-inclusive resort, you will likely find that they provide tourist trips as well, but this does not compare to being able to travel to a variety of distinctly different locations.

One of the things an all-inclusive resort provides, however, which a cruise cannot match, is the ability for you to choose what you want to do. On a cruise, your big decisions regarding sightseeing are confined to whether you will stay on the boat or leave the boat. At an all-inclusive resort, there are often lots of sights nearby, and you can pick and choose which you want to visit on which days.

When it comes down to an all-inclusive resort and a cruise, one of the biggest distinctions is the structure of your options. Your room on a cruise will probably be small and relatively uncomfortable, and is largely designed to function only as a sleeping and changing area. At an all-inclusive resort, however, you can find that you are just as comfortable in your room as you are doing anything else available. When you are making the decision between which of these two options are right for you, the biggest question to ask is whether you want to be mostly active or mostly inactive. You will be heading in the right direction once you make this decision for yourself.