Dave

My wife and I are both teachers. We got four free airline tickets (Alaska Airlines bumped us) and we are excited to use them. We have two wonderful kids ages 3 and 5. Here is where we need help. We can't decide where to go. I know we want to go to an incluse (I don't want to worry about meals) resort. We don't plan on leaving the resort, just relaxing and spending time with our kids in the pool and on the beach. I have read so much and I just get more confused! Is Moon Palace- Cancun nice? Royal Solaris -Cabo nice etc. the list goes on. This really is a trip of a lifetime for us as we usually could NEVER afford to do this with airfare so I don't want to mess up! I am not a World Traveller by any means! Is there any inclusive resort that any of you have been to in Cancun or wherever in Mexico that you highly recommend? We are open to ANY suggestions! We REALLY appreciate any information or help we can get! We are in Rainy WA state and the sun does sound good! One last question is the middle of June an ok time to go? Thanks again.

susan

Dave:<BR>My husband and I and our two teenagers went to the Moon Palace last March. We had a great time. You can hop on a shuttle bus that will take you to the other Palace resorts. The Moon Palace was great, the rooms were nice and service was great. The pool is huge and clean and we really enjoyed the food. The only drawback was the beach is not great. Your small children might like a resort with a better beach. There was seaweed along it all the time which made swimming not good. We took our teens on the shuttle to the other Palace resort, Cancun Palace had the best beach, gorgeous. You can use all of their facilities and boogie boards etc. and eat there as well. We enjoyed this. But if you want to stay on the resort I think somewhere else would be better for the beach. I have read that the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort and Bahia Principe Tulum are great for kids. There is alot of info on cancunandrivieramaya.com and mytravelboard.com<BR>Hope this helps <BR>Susan from Canada

thereuare

I can let you know after i return at the end of November, we're spending part of our honeymoon at MP. One thing to note regarding the beach, is that at ages 3 and 5, your kids might not even like the ocean at all anyway ("Daddy, it's SALTY!"). To note, they do have one of the nicest pools around, which they may enjoy. I believe you can save some money booking the palace resorts thru a timeshare owner (just make sure it includes the all-inclusive fee) which is what i did, but as i haven't been yet, i can't verify that this is the best approach.<BR><BR>Another suggestion is to fly to a far away cruise port (maybe NYC or FL since the tix are free?) and take a cruise. Go with one of the major lines (like NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity... i've heard some negative about Carnival for families) and the service, food, and everything else will be top notch, they really treat you like royalty! Also, there will be "camps" for the kids so they can be with children their own age. Only negative with a cruise is that if you drink, alcohol is NOT included (nor is soda, although you can buy "soft drink" cards which give you unlimited soft drinks... but just have the kids drink ice tea for a few days).<BR><BR>You can also plan an extra nite or two before/after your cruise to explore the port city (especially if a great port city, like NYC, Miami, etc)

Mandy

Dave:<BR><BR>With small children, I think you would love the Crown Paradise in Cancun. It is geared to families with special activities and clubs for the kids. They even have a small waterpark/pool just for children. Moon Palace is a bit isolated, located outside of Cancun. They are more adult oriented.<BR><BR>Crown Paradise is situated right on the beach and it has a fairly nice beach area. You could spend your whole vacation right at the resort and never be bored. <BR><BR>

Mandy

Dave:<BR><BR>Hit the post button before I finished. LOL. I used to live in Seattle and know what you mean about having some sun. <BR><BR>The sun will be great the middle of June in Cancun. That's a good time to go because all the spring break and end of school students are pretty much thinned out by then and it's just vacationers, honeymooners and families with children through the summer months. It's nice and warm so enjoy yourselves. I'm happy you got the opportunity to take your family on a trip - they will always remember it.

gowherethe

Dave, with kids I'd go to PDC, not Cancun. More hotels with kids programs, more kids. The Iberostars and RIU's have good kids clubs.

Patty

Dave,<BR>The beach in front of the Royal Solaris in San Jose Del Cabo is not a swimmable beach. To get to a swimming beach, you would either have to drive or take a taxi and you said you don't want to leave the resort so this might not be a good choice. Plus I think overall the Yucatan peninsula (not necessarily right in Cancun) is a better vacation destination that Cabo - bluer, warmer water and much whiter, finer sand. And flying into Cancun from WA would normally cost more than into Cabo, so you'd be getting a better value for your free tickets. Can't recommend any specific properties as I don't stay at AI's, but of the destinations in Mexico that Alaska serves, I would definitely pick the Cancun/Yucatan area.

chris

I do not recommend the Moon Palace at all. It is true that the pool is great. But the beach is horrible. It smells and is filthy. The service was ajoke. One night someone broke into the room next to us through the patio. It was ridiculous. We went with our 1 and 4 year old. Our 1 year old was sick for several months after the trip and I am sure it was the food there. The food was just yuck. The first day it looks good, the second day it looks okay and then down hill fast. Don't stay there. Friends stay on Cozumel, I think it is the Reef Club, and they highy recommend it. All inlcusive and so on. We will be returning to Cancun with our 4 and 7 year old and will try a non-inclusive. Much better chance of getting better food and service. Find a place that includes breakfast, have lunches by the pool and go out with the kids for dinner as an adventure each night. There are a lot of good restaurants in Cancun. We ventured off the property of Moon Palace one night and had a fabulous dinner with real coffee after. (The coffee was terrible at MP.) Many all-inclusives really seem to skimp on the food.

Dianne

Me and my husband stayed at Crown Paradise club-without little kids. It is geared toward children's activities,but nice and has good restaurants.

Deb

Hi Dave, I know this suggestion is on the Mexican Riviera side, but we went to Mexico in june and stayed at the Riu Jalisco in Nuevo Vallarta, which is an AI. The beach is great, free boogie boards,kayaks,catamarands and paddle boats. We saw dolphins in the bay in the mornings, in fact , my husband and daughter went into the ocean in a kayak and sat there while the dolphins swam all around them. They have a great kids club, a beautiful pool for the kids with a mountain in the center and four slides coming down into the pool. You will not have a problem getting a pool chair with umbrella or beach chairs, as there are many. The kids are sometimes involved in the nightly entertainment, singing songs and dressing up on stage, doing little funny skits and that sort of thing. The adult pool is gorgeous with a swim up bar , and plenty of chairs and umbrellas. Every morning you can go to a little shack by the kids pool and get your beach towels for the day. La Botana is one of four restaurants there, it is open air and right by the ocean, absolutely breathtaking, the food is great, never got bored alot of variety. The Nayarit is a reservations only, and I was not that impressed. the other two restaurants are inside, buffet style, lots of different kinds of food, at breakfast you can get an omelette(sp?) made any way you choose, fresh juices. I would never go any other way than AI, because I don't want to spend alot of time trying to decide where and what to eat and how to get there. None of us got sick, the water is purified in the hotel. The service was good, the staff friendly, the hotel is so beautiful, I was very impressed. It is a ride to PV, but you can get a bus or taxi in front of the hotel, The bus is cheaper about 10 pesos. as far as AI's are concerned, I look at it this way if I want to leave the hotel and eat somewhere else, I can and if not there is really no reason to leave the hotel at all. I went there for the beach and I was not disappointed. By the way this was my first trip to Mexico and I would go back in a heartbeat, it was the time of my life! Hope you and your family have a memorable trip , no matter where you decide to go. life is very short as we have all seen from 9-11 so love your wife and kids, that is what it is all about.

xx

Isn't the Crown Paradise in Cancun adults only? Am I confusing it with another property?

anon

Dave, <BR>think about it carefully! The Palace resorts don't seem to be getting good reviews lately. The 2 Iberostar Resorts look like a safer bet if you have to go all inclusive. The Crown Paradise in Cancun looks crummy from the outside. But if it's between Cabo and Cancun, go Cancun! There's NO comparison. Cancun is incredible, Cabo is okay, but not a great destination...definitely not a great place for beach swimming.<BR>Good Luck. Read the reviews on this site and others...<BR>

steve

Moon Palace has a great pool, good rooms and good service, average food, terrible beach (the sand is great, but the water is terrible), nice grounds. Stay away from the scams where they try to get you to join the Palace "families".

Dave

Man Alive! You guys are all so very kind. I didn't think I would get any where near the help all of you gave us. So many wonderful ideas and suggestions. I will definitely look at all of them. I REALLY appreciate all of you that took the time to help. You guys are AWESOME! Thanks so much for helping make our trip special!<BR>Dave

Buhler

We just got back form Cancun 2 weeks ago . While we were there, we visited my sister who stayed at Moon Palace. It was very nice. If you want to go into Cancun, they have a shuttle that will take you in and bring you back a couple times during the day. If you miss the shuttle the cab fare is around $17.

Donna

I was at the Moon had a great time food was good you will not go hungry.I didn't have children with me but there was a lot of things for them to do. Just watch out for time share scams. Remember nothing is free in Canun. So the first time you hear free run away.<BR>You will have a good time.

sunny

Dave, We have just come back from the Iberostar Tucan/Quetzal for the second time and it is fantastic. There is a natural jungle in the middle of the grounds with Peacocks, chickens, flamingoes, guinea fowl, iguanas, something that looks like an overgrown rat without a tail, monkeys, tucans and all sorts of plants and trees and it is so pretty and I am sure your kids will love it.The food is great and there ice creams are wonderful. Plenty of sunbeds around the pools and the beach is great with beautiful clear water and always a life guard on duty and security on the beach too. Plenty of watersports and plenty of palapas but if you don't get one just ask for a parasol at the towel station. There is also a place where you can purchase plates jugs and all manner of ornaments and they give you the paint then once you have painted them they glaze them for you. Keeps the kids happy for hours and also the adults do a lot too. It's an amazing place with about 16 shops just down the road at the plaza or a short taxi ride to Playa Del Carmen and also the ferry terminal.We went down to Cancun but did not like it at all.There is also a kids club and diso everynight and the hotel staff are amazing. Ther is a ice station in every block too. Have fun go to the Iberostar.

Sharon

We have been to the Moon Palace and Barcelo Maya - both are all-inclusive. I would NOT go back to the Moon Palace - large beach, but water is full of seaweed and I did not go in it. The pool is about the only great thing about the resort. The service was terrible. <BR><BR>Barcelo Maya has a beautiful beach and gorgeous water. The are plenty of places to snorkel on the resort and the pool is pretty nice as well. We have found that food at both all-inclusives is just ok. The cost seems to be worth it for the drinks, especially bottled water, though. We did go out to eat a couple times. I liked the peacefulness of Barcelo Maya - lots to do for the kids too. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Mandy

Crown Paradise Club in Cancun is not adult only - Crown Paradise in PV is adults only I believe. There is a new sister resort called the Golden Crown Paradise which recently opened in Cancun (formerly the Jack Tar Village) and it is adults only.