DCL vs. Sandals all inclusive vs. Aulani

justme0729

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 11, 2014
Not sure which thread to post on...My husband and I are planning to splurge on one trip in a couple years before we plan to have kids with us and I've narrowed it down to 3 options that all end up being similar pricing. I'm stuck and can't decide..which one would you recommend? We are mostly looking for being able to spend time at calm, crystal clear water beaches but also like doing excursions. We would be traveling in December/ January or March/ April because I am a teacher and have to go during school breaks.

1. Eastern Carribean Disney Cruise
  • Get to do Castaway Cay 1 day
  • Have 2 days to see ports (likely beach days)
  • Great adults only areas
  • Feel taken care of and safe
2. Sandals All Inclusive at Emerald Bay Bahamas (looks most similar to Castaway Cay beach)
  • Spend all day at beach with clear water
  • All is included
  • Might not have a ton to do besides relax, swim, beach, watersports etc.
  • Adults only and probably won't have opportunity to do adults only for long time afterwards
  • We have never traveled out of the country besides cruising. Little worried surrounding area might feel unsafe or something but this resort looks in more private area
3. Aulani
  • Can explore entire island and do lots of excursions (hiking, waterfalls, ziplining, ATVs, different beaches etc.)
  • Long flight from Chicago so might be a good time to go as adults
  • Like that it is in U.S. but might not actually be safest with North Korea going on
  • Is it really rainy in December or March during wet season? I know Aulani is located in less rainy spot but we also want to explore Oahu.
 
I would probably do Hawaii now, before you have kids, to do some of the more active excursions now. You 'can' do them with kids, but there are age limits for certain activities...and if YOU like ziplining and the kids don't...well...it's unlikely you'd be ziplining for quite a while!

I'd save a cruise for after you have kids as there are activities you can all do together as well as time that can be spent apart.
 
I've never been on one of those Sandals trips but I have done numerous cruises and I've also been to Aulani and other Hawaiian Islands several times. As much as I enjoy cruising I would choose Aulani. There is so much to do on the island whether is relaxing at the resort, hiking Diamond Head, visiting Pearl Harbor, or snorkeling at some of great locations around the island. You should worry so much about the Korean missile threat or anything out of your control. As far as rain well I usually visit between November and March and although you might get a rain storm here and there they seem to not last very long. Good luck with your choice.
 
I would pick Aulani. Longer flights without kids would be a big positive. All the different excursions you could every day without having to hope for good weather at the port would be another plus for me as well. I do see what you are saying about NK, that would be something only you could say how much of a negative it would be. Everyone will have different opinions on that.
The Sandals I would only do when you are sure it will be warm there- the winter/ early spring can have some temps that aren’t very beach friendly (for me anyway).
I think a cruise would be fun to do with kids later down the road.
Fun decision to get to make- have fun! :)
 


Not done sandals but have done DCL and aulani

I would choose aulani

Loads to do around island but please note it is a very quiet resort in the evenings

It takes us minimum 17 hours to get there and I would not do that with children :)
 
Of the three, I would do Aulani. DCL is super easy with kids, so that could definitely wait. I'm not a fan of the Sandals/Beaches brand. Disney Destinations, across the board, will offer a better experience than Sandals/Beaches IMHO. Especially with the long flight, I think Aulani is the way to go. We just did French Polynesia last year with DS (he was 9 at the time) and I literally waited almost a decade to go there because I knew he wouldn't have been able to handle the flight when he was younger (we flew out of NYC). I would also suggest considering French Polynesian over Hawaii especially as a an adults-only trip. We sailed on the Paul Gauguin and went to Moorea, Bora Bora and a few other islands. It was extraordinary.
 
I haven't done a Sandals resort, but I've done DCL and Aulani with kids. My answer will depend on how detailed your expected expenses are, and what your budget is... DCL is "easy" in comparison to Aulani budgeting. Everything is so darned expensive at Aulani and in Hawaii in general. We lightened the cost by going to Safeway and having some meals in our room, but there is nothing about that that is as easy as eating on a cruise. You can buy your own alcohol there as well and make your own drinks, otherwise expect the ones at the bars to be twice as much as the drinks on DCL. It can all blow up pretty fast, definitely more so with kids. Excursions are probably cheaper and easier to predict on the cruise too. At Aulani, you'll have to factor transportation in.

Having said that, my kids loved Aulani but prefer DCL, so I definitely agree DCL is easier with them. I'd LOVE to do either with just my husband! But the effort of getting there plus the relative privacy of an Aulani trip would sway me toward that for a couples-only vacation. It's hard to avoid being around people on DCL, much easier to be romantic at Aulani. Just be prepared for the added costs.
 


I'd definitely go with Aulani over the Bahamas resort. The nice thing about DCL is that when you have little ones, the clubs are great and you will still get couple time.
I'm also from the Chicago area and agree the flight is long and expensive to HI. We did break it up with a day at Disneyland on the way to HI. Apparently, Southwest is supposed to be expanding service to HI this year. Wouldn't be direct from MDW though.
 
Let me start by saying that I love all things Disney. Cruises, parks - the more Disney the better. We stayed at Aulani over New Years —And will most likely not return. Definitely felt like our family had "outgrown" this particular resort. It was a perfect choice for younger families—but our dd13 and dd23 were too old for many of the activities. Save aulani for when you have kids and Choose a different Hawaii resort. the 4 seasons and the marriot are on either side of aulani—choose one and have dinner and a spa treatment at aulani. also be sure to visit maui. Hawaii is absolute paradise-plan a non disney trip this time and bring your kids back to aulani in a few years.
 
I have 3 kids, and travelled extensively before children. I haven't been to Aulani, but have been on both Disney Cruises and to Sandals. My thought is you should do the vacation that would be impossible to do with kids. For us, that meant Sandals, a few trips to Europe, big cities, and an adult cruise (I think we were probably the youngest by 20 years on it!). We have taken our children out cruises - for the very purpose that we can put them in activities they enjoy but still have adult time. We have also done Hawaii with them multiple times (we are on the west coast so travel to and from is easier) and they love that too. I have never gone to Hawaii and wished that we went pre-kids, or felt like we were sacrificing what we were able to do because of children. Just my two cents....
 
So I've done DCL, and I've done Sandals' "family" resort Beaches (Jamaica), but I've not done Aulani.

Of the three, I think it's best to go to Hawaii, but don't limit yourself to Oahu. You're splurging, so do some island hopping. No Disney on Maui, Kauai or Big Island, but you can get some airbnbs and pseudo-live the local life.
 
Having done two Sandals trip (Antigua, Whitehouse, Jamaica) with a third coming up in May (Barbados) and one DCL cruise, I would say Aulani as well. We love our Sandals trips, the ultimate relaxation. DCL cruise was a blast with our four y/o and we are booking another for 2019.

As another poster mentioned above, with the long flights, I think it would be better without a kiddo, not to say it can't be done because it has been done obviously. Another thing is, once you have a kid, you don't want to spend the money and take them to Hawaii so they will forget it. You want them to be old enough to remember it, well, at least I think that way. So we are going to wait, until she is probably 9 or 10 years old before we go.

With cruising, you can still take the little one and still have your relaxation time because Disney does such an awesome job with the kids club. We couldn't keep ours out of there, every moment the club was open, she wanted to be there which led to a lot of relaxing for the wife and me.
 
I would also suggest considering French Polynesian over Hawaii especially as a an adults-only trip. We sailed on the Paul Gauguin and went to Moorea, Bora Bora and a few other islands. It was extraordinary.

That's my dream adults-only trip. Keep waiting for the kids to be old enough that grandma can handle both!

Of the three, I think it's best to go to Hawaii, but don't limit yourself to Oahu. You're splurging, so do some island hopping. No Disney on Maui, Kauai or Big Island, but you can get some airbnbs and pseudo-live the local life.

But from the 3 choices, I'd vote for Hawaii too. +1 on visiting other islands! Even if you only visit Oahu, doing a split stay can do wonders for your budget.
 
I have 3 kids, and travelled extensively before children. I haven't been to Aulani, but have been on both Disney Cruises and to Sandals. My thought is you should do the vacation that would be impossible to do with kids. For us, that meant Sandals, a few trips to Europe, big cities, and an adult cruise (I think we were probably the youngest by 20 years on it!). We have taken our children out cruises - for the very purpose that we can put them in activities they enjoy but still have adult time. We have also done Hawaii with them multiple times (we are on the west coast so travel to and from is easier) and they love that too. I have never gone to Hawaii and wished that we went pre-kids, or felt like we were sacrificing what we were able to do because of children. Just my two cents....

Agree with this. Do something that would be totally impossible and/or unaffordable with kids. Even better you get to do it before you have kids to worry about at home while you go off on an adult vacation. It is a freedom you will never have again!

We are adults who love Disney and who will include Disney in many of our empty next trips someday. But you can always do a Disney trip WITH kids if you need a Disney fix. Not so with many other types of vacations. I'd even go so far as to say don't do a beach - do an active vacation with touring, eating at nice restaurants. Go places where you don't have to worry about keeping kids quiet and entertained lol. And yes get long flights out of the way.
 
While I haven't been to Sandals Emerald Bay or Aulani, I have been to Sandals Halcyon in St. Lucia and the island of Oahu as well on two, soon to be three Disney Cruises. We were actually married at the Sandals. My advice would be to either do Sandals or Aulani now before you have kids. I love Disney Cruises with my family but personally if it was just me and my spouse I would definitely choose the other two first. We LOVED Oahu. There is sooo much to do from history to beach to culture. It is a great mix of all so it would probably be my first pick. We live in the Midwest also so yes it is a long flight but not a miserably long flight. Once you have kids it is harder (but not impossible) to do the further away vacations and for us at least all but impossible to just get quiet, away from kids (and not just our kids) time to enjoy each other. Do it while you can.
 
I'd go 2 or 3. DCL you can always do with kids of any age. Aulani you can do with kids but as a mom of 4 I haven't yet due to the long flight from TN. We are considering this dec when our youngest is turning 3, but I am scared, ha! Sandals might be my top pick because adults only and you may not have that opportunity again. We don't leave our kids and go on trips, but others do, so maybe you can do it later, or not. Did you look into sandals st Lucia...I just discovered last week they have over water bungalows. If I could just up and go with DH, we'd do that for sure!
 
For an adults only trip I'd do Sandals or Hawaii unless you really want to do a Disney vacation. I've been on DCL, to Aulani and haven't been to Sandals but have done other adults-only all inclusive resorts and for a trip with just my husband would definitely do the all-inclusive, or a multi-island Hawaii trip. We wouldn't choose to stay at Aulani without our kids as it is just not relaxing or really adult-friendly (everything closes down by 10:00 at latest and even the adult areas are really close to the family areas and often have kids popping in). Go stay at nice resorts on a couple different islands for the same price as Aulani. We saved DCL and Aulani for after having kids and are so glad we took the time to do adult trips prior to that.
 
I would suggest Aulani. The cost to fly to Hawaii with kids is going to be high and, depending on their ages when you would go, flying can be stressful on parents and kids for such a long flight. A cruise will be much easier with kids and certainly a Caribbean one will be much less expensive with a couple of kids than Aulani would be.

We just returned from Aulani in November (4 adults) and loved it. We alternated between day long trips and resort-centred days. Cooked breakfast in the room most days but ate out for dinner both in Aulani and at nearby places. The day trips were long (9 hours alone at Pearl Harbor) including a 12-hour day to fly to Hilo on the Big Island to do Volcano National Park. Not something I would contemplate with young kids.
 
That's my dream adults-only trip. Keep waiting for the kids to be old enough that grandma can handle both!



But from the 3 choices, I'd vote for Hawaii too. +1 on visiting other islands! Even if you only visit Oahu, doing a split stay can do wonders for your budget.

How old are your kids? We took DS when he was 9. Paul Gauguin has the most extraordinary kids program for children 7 and up. While it certainly isn't a drop-off babysitting service like DCL, he was with his counselors for hours at a time on some days. They have a "Stewards of Nature" program in connection with WCS. His counselors were a Navy marine mammal trainer and a professor of marine biology. The kids had their own excursions and had hands-on, interactive experiences on the islands. It was the best, most professional, most educational kids cruise program we have ever experienced. Maybe grandma can just go with you?!!
 
I have 4 kids, have never been on a DCL cruise, been to Sandals resorts twice (once pre and once post) kids, never been to Hawaii. What would I wish I would have done before kids? Hawaii definitely, although I would want to island hop and do lots of touring (not so much excursions that can be done in other places).

Once you have kids you can take that relaxing all inclusive vacation (assuming you have people to watch your kids), and you can take them on DCL cruises. But like others mentioned it's expensive to take them to Hawaii and quite honestly if you went by yourselves then you may not feel like doing all the excursions/touring as you want/need "rest and relaxation".

Hope that helps! Enjoy your time together and once those babies start coming along, life will be amazing! (I know it probably already is, but being a parent is so cool)
 

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