DESTINATION WEDDING PLANNING PART 6 – THE WEDDING!

Hi everyone!  It’s been a while.

It’s me, Uniglobe Carefree’s Marketing Coordinator and I’m so happy to share with you the remainder of our destination wedding planning process and how the big day went!

Let’s start where we left off, if you think that Karen was done solving problems and talking me off of a ledge you are so very wrong.  I swear, if you’re thinking of planning a destination wedding you NEED an expert travel agent.  This woman saved my sanity repeatedly during the final months approaching our wedding.  Between the Saskatoon airport receiving international status back just days before our final payment date, our flight mysteriously vanishing from the booking system, nearly half of our guests cancelling, the flight finally re-appearing but with the addition of a stop in Regina which extended our travel day by what felt like a lifetime, Canada changing travel restrictions moments after we left and more she just stayed strong and calm and kept most of my tears and fears at bay.   I’m not saying this because she is my friend or because I work for Uniglobe.  I’m saying this because she literally saved our wedding again and again.  A professional travel agent is priceless!

Alright, now that that is out of the way lets move on to the trip!  On December 15, 2021 we finally arrived at the airport. Our wedding package with the Majestic Colonial Punta Cana included a welcome dinner in the main buffet. (Essentially a reserved area at the buffet for the group) Initially I had made arrangements with our wedding coordinator, Andreina, for our welcome dinner to be at 6:00pm.   After we received the schedule change, we needed to push it to 8:00pm.  Unfortunately, because our flight was delayed in Regina, we didn’t make it to the welcome dinner until 9:00pm.  I have to say that the staff at the main buffet were super accommodating despite us being late.  Unfortunately, because it was so late and we were all so tired my plans of having the members of the group who mostly did not know each other get to know each other went out the window.  I do believe this impacted the feeling of “togetherness” that we had hoped for when planning the wedding vacation.

Meeting with Andreina – photo from our paparazzi

The next morning Kyle and I met with Andreina in person.  It was so nice to finally meet this person I had been communicating with for almost 2 years.  We went over last minute wedding details and discussed how the day would go.  She was super thorough and answered any questions that we had.  There were a few things that we hadn’t quite decided yet and she was super easy going about it. She made us feel relaxed about the entire process.  I cannot say enough good things about Andreina. She was easy to communicate with throughout the wedding day and week via WhatsApp as well.

Just some of the included snacks

Our wedding was the following day.  We had a 5pm ceremony so it was a nice slow start to the day with a relaxed breakfast.  I also appreciated that I had time to shower multiple times before putting on my dress because it was humid and I was sweaty!  Hair and make-up at the salon was great – they did a wonderful job.   When we arrived back to the room there were appetizers and treats along with a few bottles of sparkling wine.  The perfect way to ensure that we actually did eat something on the wedding day – what a great inclusion from the hotel. I actually ate more before our wedding than I have before many other weddings I’ve been a part of.  Junior was there and it was time for our getting ready photos.  Then the first look and then off to the ceremony in a whirlwind afternoon.  

Every moment of our wedding day was perfect.   Majestic’s wedding coordination team is so amazing and it seemed that everything came together without any hiccups at all.  From our ceremony to our reception everything flowed, our guests were well taken care of and we all had an amazing time. 

A silver lining of most of my family dropping out of the trip was that our group was now small enough for us to justify the “classy buffet” meal upgrade for our day.  This was by far the best meal our group had during our vacation and it was just an immense amount of delicious, well prepared food. 

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A few hours of drinks and dancing and our wedding was over.  However, we kept the party going by moving on to the courtyard of the resort for more drinks and dancing and finally to McJestic for some late night snacks.

The remainder of our week was spent hanging by the pool and on the beach with our friends and family – creating memories together just like we had wanted. 

Majestic’s wedding package also includes a romantic dinner on the beach, breakfast in bed the day after the wedding and a spa relaxation massage for the bride & groom. These were nice moments for us to spend time together just the two of us while still on vacation with our friends and family. A very nice touch that wasn’t included in a lot of wedding packages we looked at for sure!

Romantic Dinner on The Beach

While we’re talking about the vacation I just want to mention that upgrading to the Club (adults only) section of the Majestic Colonial and having a butler is amazing. Our butler went above and beyond making restaurant reservations for our entire group to dine together, answered my random questions like “why aren’t there more beach chairs” and handled minor room maintenance issues efficiently. It was so nice to just be able to text someone and have something taken care of instead of standing in line and speaking to someone at the front desk or concierge. He even had a new room key made and delivered to me when I lost mine the day of the wedding.

Destination Wedding Tips, Tricks & Final Thoughts

• It’s important to let go of the details.  You chose to get married on vacation and the perk of that is that you have an entire team there to prepare your wedding for you – let them do their job and accept that it will turn out beautiful.  We provided minimal instructions and preferences to our wedding coordinator and everything turned out perfectly.
• Delegate!  Give your mom, your aunt, your friend … whoever… some jobs.  We had some guests in charge of tying chair sashes and others in charge of centre pieces (two things that we brought with us and didn’t want to pay the resort to handle because they were quite simple).   They took care of everything perfectly.
• You will forget to delegate things – for us it was music (person to hit play) and a reception MC.  Luckily it was easily taken care of easily by our guests.   In the end, don’t stress about it and someone will help out and take care of things. 
• GO WITH THE FLOW on the morning of our wedding we were greeted by rain.  We had to decide if we would stick with our original outdoor plans or switch to plan B.  In our case we trusted that the rain would clear but we knew that if it didn’t we would be moving or we would be celebrating in the rain.
• Be prepared to be disappointed.   This is probably good advice for any wedding not just a destination wedding. No matter how much you tell yourself that it will be “ok” if someone cannot attend, you’re likely going to have someone who does not join you that makes you feel a deep sadness.  Not everything will go as planned.  
• Choose your destination and resort based on YOUR preferences as a couple.   If you look back to my first wedding planning blog I talk about what our criteria was to choose our resort.  We were considering our guests a LOT.  In the end, many of the people we were trying to accommodate for did not attend.  We still may have chosen the Majestic Colonial but we should have been looking at criteria that mattered to US as a couple instead of accommodating for our family and friends as much as we did.
• You WILL blow your budget. This one hurt a little but it’s not a surprise – it’s a wedding after all. In the end our day cost us more than we planned but it was worth it.
• A Destination Wedding costs less than a typical wedding at home. Although our wedding cost us more than we planned, we know that we still saved thousands by choosing to celebrate this way.
• Plan early!  Not only should you choose your travel agent, destination and resort as early as possible but you should let your guests know as early as possible.  You should work out the details of the actual wedding day early as well.   Because our wedding felt like it was being pushed back again and again we procrastinated a lot of the plans that should have been handled much earlier – this added a lot of stress during the weeks leading up to our wedding that we didn’t really need if we had just worked it out earlier.
• Don’t be too formal. Destination weddings happen in hot places. Don’t expect your bridal party or guests to wear what they would at home. To my surprise when we looked back at our pictures some of our guests were super casual at our reception. Guess what? We had no idea. We danced and celebrated with them but never once noticed what they were wearing. I’m so glad they were comfortable.
• Take time for you. Time by yourself and time just the two of you. A destination wedding week goes by in the blink of an eye and it’s important to take a few moments and just relax, have a conversation with your partner about how their doing and decompress. FOMO will make you want to be everywhere with everyone all of the time but it’s not possible and you will burn out.
• HAVE FUN!  Not only on your wedding day but throughout your wedding vacation make sure to have fun.   No one will remember the decorations or the name of the signature drink but they will remember dancing with you, they will remember playing crazy games by the pool, they will remember the look on your face when your partner says their vows. 

There were many bumps along the way but in the end our wedding day and week were wonderful.  We’re forever grateful to everyone who made it possible and joined us there.  Now to plan the honeymoon! 👀

All professional photos by Junior Cruz Weddings

If you are considering a destination wedding please feel free to reach out to our team of experienced travel agents at 1-800-565-6562 or by visiting https://www.uniglobecarefreetravel.com/contact. They can help you find the perfect destination and resort for you and your partner.

Destination Wedding Planning Part 5 – You Have To Go With The Flow

Hey everyone!  It’s Heather, Uniglobe’s marketing coordinator here to discuss the next step my and Kyle’s Destination Wedding planning process.

I’m also really excited to share the entire destination wedding planning process and experience with you, especially our experiences and journey during the Covid-19 pandemic.   As a former travel agent I am blessed with some “insider” information but there are still so many things that we need our travel agent for. 

My previous blog was all about changing our wedding date from December 2020 to December 2021. This one, is about one of the most dreaded phrases in travel planning: Schedule Changes.

In the beginning of March 2021 Sunwing posted their flight schedule for the following winter. I had been eagerly anticipating this since it was a bit nerve wracking to not see our flight in the actual booking system. Everyone was aware of my anxiety and I was among the first to be informed that the flights were loaded. To my and Kyle’s surprise, the week we were scheduled to fly on was not there!

Karen got to work immediately to investigate our options.
– do we move the wedding to another week when the non-stop flight exists?
– do we cancel our booking with Sunwing and move the group to WestJet Vacations or Air Canada so that we can keep our wedding date? (this would have meant flights with multiple stops for us and our guests – not ideal, especially in winter)
– do we just move the wedding to an entirely different destination. Mexico is much easier to get to in the sense that there are a lot more flights.

We had our hearts set on our Majestic marriage but if we needed to, we would have made the move.

Our biggest concern was asking our guests to move their holidays again, we didn’t want to cause them stress or have anyone have to cancel their vacations because of this. I was feeling super guilty about asking them to rearrange their lives for us AGAIN and even questioning our decision to have a Destination Wedding.

In the end, Karen received quotes from WestJet Vacations and Air Canada Vacations as well as an option from Sunwing to move the dates of our trip. Somehow she managed to negotiate new pricing from Sunwing making our group’s vacation much more affordable! The amount of money they would each save on their trip made the choice a no-brainer for us.

Of course, I needed to reach out to the Majestic wedding coordination team and our photographer to investigate if new dates were an option with them. Luckily both were able to accommodate us and our dream destination wedding vacation was still a go!

The moral of the story is that Schedule Changes happen. They’re nobody’s fault and can happen with any flights at any time. Having a travel agent to help take care of the stress around this change was a huge relief. It was great to just know and trust that she had everything under control and it would all, somehow, work out. No matter what type of travel you are planning, be prepared for schedule changes. Be flexible and trust your travel agent to have your best interest at heart.

This also goes for dealing with planning a wedding in another country. It’s good to be flexible and have the ability to go with the flow. You never know what might come up or how something might not be communicated. In the end, you’re going to have a beautiful wedding in a wonderful tropical setting surrounded by the people who love you most. That’s what matters.

Ready to start planning your own Destination Wedding? Our team of experienced travel agents would love to help! Call them at 306-934-3400 or reach out via our website today.

Destination Wedding Planning Part 4 – Managing Stress and Changes During a Pandemic

Hey everyone!  It’s Heather, Uniglobe’s marketing coordinator here to talk more about my and Kyle’s Destination Wedding planning process.

I’m also really excited to share the entire destination wedding planning process and experience with you, especially our experiences and journey during the Covid-19 pandemic.   As a former travel agent I am blessed with some “insider” information but there are still so many things that we need our travel agent for. 

On March 11^th , 2020 WHO declared Covid-19 a global pandemic.   It was a stressful time for anyone in the travel industry but if I’m being honest, at first, it never crossed my mind that this would effect our December 2020 wedding.   For the most part we carried on with our wedding planning, just making sure not to actually confirm anything more.  

This is a photo I took in the office as Canada’s Prime Minister was announcing the first restrictions. As you can see, everyone had a sinking feeling in their stomachs.

Our friends and family asked us, basically anytime we spoke with them, what was happening with our wedding.  We always told them the same thing.  “We won’t be making any decisions until later this summer, so much could change”. I was optimistic that the world would look better by the summer and we’d be back to planning travel.   Well.. summer came and things did not look any better.  We were going to have to officially call it.   Karen reached out to Sunwing to see what our options were and get some quotes for December 2021.   Sunwing had to request rates from the resort since they were a bit preoccupied with handling all of the 2020 travellers who needed credits, refunds and other attention and didn’t have them yet. 

The rates that came back were coming in over $300 more per person than our original package pricing!  We were prepared for and expected a price increase but did not anticipate it would be so much more.  How could we ask our guests to spend an additional $300 on their vacations in a time when many of them were on reduced schedules or out of work?  Eventually Kyle and I made our peace with the price increase, deciding that it was a whole extra year for our guests to save up and they would either make it work or not come (something you have to be prepared for with a destination wedding in all times, not just during a pandemic).   Little did we know that Karen and Jamie had taken the quote back to Sunwing and requested they look at it again.  They both felt that it wasn’t fair to our guests to charge so much more just because we had to move due to the pandemic.

It took a bit of time but they were able to reduce the quote significantly and we are so grateful for the work that they did.  This is an absolute benefit of working with a travel agent – their connections, industry knowledge and determination.

We agreed to the new rate and advised our guests that the wedding was moving to December 2021 and that Karen would be in touch.  Karen took care of the rest, moving everyone’s bookings and insurance policies to the next year.  It was so carefree and easy – we and our guests didn’t have to do any of the work!   I cannot express how thankful we are to have such an awesome team behind us on this journey.

I reached out to the wedding coordination team at the Majestic Colonial and asked for the December 2021 dates and times available.  It was already slim pickings since we were just one of many couples who needed to move their 2020 weddings but they were able to make it work within our new vacation week.   Once again, the process was incredibly simple, we signed a new contract and that was that.  We were set and just 501 days away from our dream wedding once again.

Photo by Junior Cruz Weddings

Although this was an incredibly stressful time, it was made so much easier with the support of the Carefree Travel team. I know that they made us feel like VIP clients simply because that’s how all of their clients are treated. I’m so grateful to Karen, Jamie, Sunwing and Majestic Resorts for being flexible and understanding throughout all of this.

I’m excited to continue to share our Destination Wedding planning journey with you. Stay tuned for the next step.

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Are you dreaming of a Destination Wedding? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of experienced travel agents who would be happy to provide you with group quotes and walk you through the process.

You can see all of our agents listed here: Uniglobe Carefree Travel Agents

Destination Wedding Planning Part 2 – Securing Your Wedding Date & Time

Hey everyone!  It’s Heather, Uniglobe’s marketing coordinator here to talk more about my and Kyle’s Destination Wedding planning process.

I’m also really excited to share the entire destination wedding planning process and experience with you, especially our experiences and journey during the Covid-19 pandemic.   As a former travel agent I am blessed with some “insider” information but there are still so many things that we needed our travel agent for. 

One of the services that Uniglobe’s travel agents provide when planning a destination wedding is the initial contact with the wedding coordinator to request wedding package information and then to secure your wedding date and time.   This can be a huge help as their years of destination wedding planning experience has provided them with a knowledge of all the questions to ask and how things typically go.   Your agent will reach out and ask which dates and times are available for your preferred week and get back to you to discuss the pros and cons.  The various countries and resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean have different laws and rules around what you can and cannot do – your agent will let you know all about this. 

It’s best to be flexible and willing to get married on a Sunday or a Tuesday or at 10am or 7pm depending on what is presented.   After being a part of a few destination weddings in the past I knew I wanted our ceremony to be later in the afternoon so that our guests could enjoy their day in the sun and not have to sit around dressed up for too long.  When our wedding coordinator at the Majestic Colonial replied the only date and time available for our week was December 12, 2020 at 4pm.  I was thrilled!  What a perfect time and we would always remember our anniversary, 12/12/2020.   We printed the contract, signed it and sent it off right away.   Jackpot!

Once the wedding is confirmed your agent will let you and your wedding coordinator hash out all of the other details but is always there to help if there are ever long distance communication struggles or language barriers.  This is ideal since you don’t need a middle man when it comes to choosing your flowers, colours, signature drink etc.

With this information we were able to confirm with our agent that our wedding was a go.   From there we had our invites made up (a service offered by Uniglobe) and made sure to text or call our friends and family.   Our package had a significant early booking discount which meant that we needed our guests to confirm within 3 weeks!  Luckily we had a good number of family and friends who were familiar with the group vacation process and ready to call in with their deposits and purchase their travel insurance immediately.

That’s all there is to it!  So if you’re dreaming of a destination wedding give the agents at Uniglobe Carefree Travel Group a call!  They’ll be happy to help you all along the way.

Heather’s Next Trip

In the beginning of 2020 most members of our team had high hopes for new passport stamps. We, like many people, planned to get out and experience things we’ve never done before; or get back to somewhere special. Now that it’s 2021 and we’re hopeful that we might get to start travelling again over the coming months, as it’s safe to do so. We each took a moment to put pen to paper and write out what our next trip will look like.

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Heather’s Next Trip

In January of 2020 my fiancé and I enlisted Karen to help us plan a destination wedding.  Everything was settled and organized really quickly, and we had the majority of our guests deposited by the end of the month.  We were set to be married at the Majestic Colonial in Punta Cana on December 12, 2020.   The countdown was on!

Majestic Colonial Garden Gazebo – Majestic Resorts

I had dreamed of a destination wedding for years, ever since I started booking them for my clients and friends as a travel agent so many years ago.  What could be better than a beautiful event organized and set up by someone else (no or very little crafting required on my end!) so that we could just share the day with our guests?   Spending the days before and after our wedding celebrating with our closest friends and family.   We couldn’t imagine it any other way. 

All we had to figure out was our wedding day itinerary, pick our bouquet and boutonniere (there are countless options included in our wedding package) and whether or not we wanted to have a welcome dinner (also included in our wedding package at the Majestic Colonial).

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Photos by Junior Cruz Weddings

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Photos by Junior Cruz Weddings

Despite heaps of optimism, hoping, wishing and praying our 2020 wedding dreams were crushed by Covid-19.   Luckily, in our case, moving the wedding to December 2021 was relatively carefree.  (That was a great perk of a Destination Wedding I was unaware of before all of this. I can’t imagine the stress other 2020 brides and grooms went through rearranging all of the pieces). A huge thank you goes out to Karen, Sunwing, our wedding coordinators and everyone who made the process as easy as it was. 

I’m surprisingly grateful for this extra time to plan and organize – we were even able to secure our dream photographer which likely wouldn’t have been a possibility with our 2020 wedding!  We’re now counting down the days once again, determined to say our “I Do’s” under the Dominican sunshine with all of our favourite people. Now it will be so much more special since we’ve all been separated for all this time. (this is the longest I’ve gone without seeing my brothers and cousins in my entire life). It’s truly going to be the best wedding we could have ever dreamed of!

What does your next trip look like? Our team is ready to help you start planning whether it’s for a local staycation soon, for something more exotic down the road or even a Destination Wedding. You can find a listing of our current packages and promotions here. Of course, if you don’t see something you love we’re always available to help create the dream vacation package that is perfect for you. We’re just a phone call or email away.

Joanne’s Top 5 Beaches

Are you dreaming of a beach vacation?  Imagine warm sun, a light breeze and the sound of the ocean meeting the shore.  When it comes to breathtaking beaches, Joanne has sure seen some perfect ones.   Here are her top 5 sandy spots and a few hotel suggestions for each.

Palm Beach, Aruba

This two-mile long stretch of powder white sand is home to water sports, palm trees, casinos, hotels, beach bars and so much more.  The water is calm and it’s the perfect spot to watch the sunset.

Want to stay right on Palm Beach?  Plan your next vacation to the RIU Palace Aruba, Barcelo Aruba or the Ritz Carlton Aruba.

 

Pigeon Island Beach, Saint Lucia

Pigeon Island was once a true island but has now been connected to the Northern part of Saint Lucia by a causeway.  This island is now a national landmark full of history and beauty.

If you’re considering a stay in Saint Lucia ask your travel agent about Sandals Grande St Lucian, Royalton Saint Lucia or Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa.

Dickenson Bay Beach, Antigua

This bay is located on the Northwestern coast of Antigua.  This super popular beach has shallow, calm waters and white sand and is a great spot to visit a restaurant, do some water sports or even stay.

To stay at Dickenson Bay you’ll want to book Sandals Grande Antigua, Blue Waters Hotel & Beach Resort or Rex Halcyon Cove.

 Maroma Beach, Mexico

Located in the Riviera Maya this is one of the easiest beaches on Joanne’s list to access.  Known for it’s white sand and crystal clear waters this is one of the top beaches in Mexico.

Staying in Maroma could mean choosing the ultimate luxury of over water bungalows at the El Dorado Maroma by Karisma, indulging at the Secrets Maroma or enjoying the Catalonia Playa Maroma.

Bavaro Beach, Punta Cana

If you are headed to Punta Cana there’s a good chance you’ll be staying on Bavaro Beach.   This 10km shoreline is known for it’s white sand and turquoise waters and has many hotels and resorts to choose from.

Some awesome resorts you may want to check out on Bavaro Beach are the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana, Barcelo Bavaro Palace or Majestic Mirage Punta Cana.

Although travelling is not currently recommended we know that we will travel again in the future.  If any of these beaches caught your eye and you want to learn more about them and the vacation options near them, Joanne would love to chat with you.  You can reach her at joanne@uniglobeyxe.com.

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Want to see more photos from Joanne and the rest of our team’s travels?  Check out our Instagram @uniglobeyxe.

COLLEEN’S SECRETS ROYAL BEACH VACATION – PART 3

Our holiday is almost over and we have really loved Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana.   One of the best things about the resort is that you have sharing privileges at the Now Larimar and the Now Garden which gave us access to 13 restaurants!  Our two top picks were Capers which is an Italian restaurant at the Now Garden and the Himitsu restaurant which is the teppanyaki restaurant.  The food at both of these is very good. The other restaurants were good but didn’t have the same WOW factor.

While we were here it was my husband’s birthday and the hotel goes all out. We had a banner on the door, cake, balloons and a card. It was really nice! As you walk around the resort you will see Honeymoon, Anniversary and returning guest banners.  They actually asked when we checked in if we were celebrating anything so no one is missed.  It will be sad to leave but this is definitely a hotel that we will return to.

If you are interested in visiting the Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana please reach out to our team of agents at 306-242-TRIP. They would love to help you plan your next vacation!

COLLEEN’S SECRETS ROYAL BEACH VACATION – PART 2

So in talking to people around the resort I always like to ask about what they like best about the resort and some say the great staff, others the food but the best thing around here is the lazy river.

All of the bottom rooms around the lazy river have lounge chairs so that they can sit on their patios and then it’s just a few steps to the water.

Some of the rooms are quite secluded around the river with areas to get out if you want there are also hammocks and chairs almost built in along the way.

Many people come back each year and get their same rooms.  It’s not uncommon to see the waiters walking along the lazy river to bring people drinks.  They all seem to have brought a blow up tube from home or you can buy them from vendors on the beach.  It’s hard to imagine that this is an adults only resort when you see all the blow up toys but it seems to be the thing that keeps people coming back.

Check out my video of the lazy river:

Colleen’s Secrets Royal Beach Vacation – Part 1

Hola from Punta Cana!

We have been here for a couple of days now and we are staying at Secrets Royal Beach.  This is a great hotel. You pay a little more but it is totally worth it.

Check out our beautiful room.

 

Here are some of the best things about the Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana:

• Adults only = no kids.  If you have kids you can stay at the Now Larimar next door
• Free Wi-Fi throughout the resort even works on the beach.  No more sitting in the lobby with a hundred other people trying to get the Internet!
• No wrist bands!  I love not having a wrist band. Say good bye to the wrist band tan.
• No towel cards.  You can get as many towels that you want, when you want. No more towel cards to search for every morning.
• 24 hour room service –  breakfast in bed or that late night pizza, your choice.
• Great chairs on the beach and a small table at each palapa – no more putting your drink in the sand.  Plus there are a ton of waiters to get your drinks!
• The Jacuzzi tub on your balcony is a nice touch.
• There is a lazy river that runs through the property.  I have never seen so many adults with blow up toys.
• There are 5 restaurants in the hotel but you can also dine at the Now Larimar or the Now Garden giving you access to a total of 13 restaurants. If you stop at the front lobby the bell boys are happy to give you a ride to any restaurant in their golf carts. Oh and there are no reservations required at the a la carte restaurants!

It doesn’t get any better than this. Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana is waiting for you!

Heather’s Punta Cana Destination Wedding Adventure

Here I am at the gorgeous Now Larimar in Punta Cana for my friend Tara’s destination Wedding.  This is a new adventure for me, since not only have I never been a part of a destination wedding, I’ve never been a part of a wedding at all.  So far, we’re having a blast just hanging out as a group and exploring the resort and the Dominican Republic.  Today most of the group went on an excursion to Sanoa Island.  This is an uninhabited island with amazing beaches.  The excursion included a looooooong bus ride to the Caribbean side of the island (Punta Cana is actually located on the North Eastern side of the Dominican Republic, so it’s in the Atlantic Ocean), then a catamaran (party boat) for a few hours out to the island, a few hours with a bbq lunch on the island, a speed boat ride back to the main land with a stop along the way at a “natural pool” to see if we could find any star fish.   Personally, I thought the excursion was a lot of fun but it did seem odd that there was no actual snorkeling included.   Because we were about 20 people we were super lucky and had a private catamaran!  That meant our party boat was soley for us!  It was a bit early for drinks at first but we had a great time soaking up the sun and dancing with the crew. Of course, because I have blue eyes and am single the men working on the boat were all trying to be my “Dominican boyfriend”.  Have you ever experienced this?  It’s something I’m quite certain most North American women go through at some point.  The men being extra flattering and flirtatious.  It’s always fun as long as you remember that it’s all for fun, you can’t take it seriously. The other parts of the tour were very enjoyable as well but the best part was the private catamaran, it felt like it was something special, just for our group.   I loved Saona Island for its laid back feeling, unfortunately they seem to have a real problem with bees there.  When we arrived on the beach we noticed a lot of bees around,  near a garbage can they had some sugar water out for them.  This was supposed to “distract” the bees from us.  Well… it’s been 22 years since I’ve been stung by a bee and let me tell you, it hurts just as much now as it did when I was a kid!  (I cried less this time around but honestly have probably whined more haha)  I’m not sure why they have so many bees but it seems like something they should work to resolve.  I still think the excursion is amazing, just maybe not something I would recommend to someone who has an allergy…

Saona Island

Speed Boat From Saona Island

One other thing I wanted to talk about is how great it is to travel with someone who hasn’t done it before.  I’m sure I’ve talked about this before, I know I loved doing it with various members of my family.  Tonight I had supper at one of the a la cartes with some of my friends.  One who has traveled to all inclusive resorts before and two who have not.  It was so fun to see their excitement and complete wonder as their food arrived.  My one friend had outbursts like “best fish I’ve had in my life!” and “oh my god have you guys tasted these potatoes” throughout the whole meal.  I loved seeing the complete joy and excitement over things that I’ve started to see as “normal” because I’m a bit spoiled by my job.  If you tend to travel to all inclusive resorts and don’t check out the A La Carte restaurants I say reconsider for next time.  The food is generally exceptional and the atmosphere is beautiful.