JenniferSS

Hey Guys! I didn't realize that people were asking questions in hear -sorry to be absent! The credit is taken off the resort price....so it doesn't matter which airline you go with! You also can get up to a 30% discount on the room- it's based on length of stay- if I remember correctly: 3 days 10% 5 days 20% 7 days 30%

Curious Laura if you wouldn't mind an extra 50-100 people at the resort every day of your honeymoon because the extra guests from 1, 2 maybe 3 weddings that day? When you want a beverage instead of walking right up to the bar you can't get to it because every seat is taken and there are people standing 2 deep? Now it takes 15 minutes to get a drink- the bartenders are too busy to be friendly and keep everything spotless. You go to get a chair by the pool but the weddng guests have taken them all..... really where else will they go when waiting for the bride & groom because they don't have rooms ? You want lunch but the restaurant is full and instead of a 10 minute wait you now have an hour ? Many times the guests will get there early to fully enjoy the resort (especailly if they are trying to save $$ by not staying at an AI) but the day passers only have access to the public spaces. These are many of the reasons that the resort can not allow unlimited amount of day passes for people to come onsite just for a wedding. The people who have spent the $$ to stay at that propery have certain expectations and it would not be fair to them for El Dorado to over run the property with non- guests. They could probably make more $$ by allowing an unlimited amount of guest and charging day pass fees- think about it...the resort fills to capacity ( and El Dorado does quite often) and then get another 100 or so per day pass..... They'd do quite well as they have so many weddings!

I've wrote this before on the forum but I don't remember where. But to repeat myself- the resorts do not do a required min. of guests staying on property so much for extra $$$ but more so to keep all the oether guests happy. Look at it like this- you book an AI resort for your honeymoon or vacation. Someone has a DW there and all of a sudden the beach is crowded, the pool area is impossible to find a chair and public areas are crowded and it takes you twice as long to get a drink at the bar because suddenly the resort is accomodating not only the people booked at the resort but the DW guests also. The bathrooms are busier, the walkways are busier and overall you are not getting the vacation you paid for! You'd be really upset- I know I would be! The resorts are built to accomodation comfortably a certain amount of people. The amenities and overall ambience is based on that head count. The more expensive an resort generally the more "space" you have per person (this goes for cruise ships also!) and usualy the less people they will allow in for a day pass. The resorts do limit the number of day passes they give out-especially at an all inclusive as they don't want the facilities over run and the guests who are staying there upset. I'd let your guests know that although you sympathize and hope that they can still attend- if they book elsewhere their is no guarantee they will be allowed in to attend the wedding. Good luck!

Ooohh Maureen! I know what you mean......I was terribly sick ( couldn't even keep water down nor drive in a car for more than 3 minutes!) with all 3 of my girls, but not to the point that you are as I wasn't hospitalized or hooked to am IV.My dr. was ready to diagnose but then it let up some after about 5 months so she just called it extreme morning sickness. It's really hard and frustrating especially when someone else just breezes through it. Keep your chin up, we're here for you!

There was a big sale with Couples so that could be the sale price for two. As much as I love Couples I won't book them directly as I had a terrible time with their accounting department and had to really pursue getting it straightened out which they seemed like they had no desire to get ir fixed! Any who ......if you need help just let me know!

When looking for a TA there are a few things that you should keep in mind- Have they booked DW's before and how much experience they have with DW's ? Dw's are so much different than booking a vacation or a honeymoon- most TA's do not realize the amount of time & effort that goes into booking DW's- this is definately one time that it pays to go with a specialist! What are their hours? If you have guests coming from all over the country you will need a TA that they can get ahold of when it is convienant for them. A local TA may be great but if the office hours are 8-5 M-F and your guests are in another time zone it may not work out! What exactly will the TA do ? There are post on hear where a TA will not collect payment nor provide a list of whom has booked. A little trivia- Apple Vacations is a TO not a TA. A tour operator generally contracts with airlines,hotels and transfer companies to sell packages. The turn over rate can be higher with a TO as they are in call centers. You may work with one agent or whomever you get when you call in. You can run into some issues because of not having one person always or with turn over. A TA is a travel agent whose obligation is to the consumer and they work with many different TO's (a TA has different reservation agents to work that are usually dedicated to assisting just travel agents ) A Travel agent also has access to our district Sales managers who will assist with any issues on the consumers behalf.

Out own TA Maureen is an Aruba specialist and has quite a bit of experience with Mexico & DR! Being a DW bride herself she'll really be able to help you out! I'd give her a PM and see if she's available!

ooohhhh yes! Jade Mountain is amazing! The in room infinity pools are breathtaking! It is a hike to get to the beach but they have shuttles! Also they have a great dive shop on site and are located right next to the marine reserve so you will have great snorkeling! I would recommend the food inclusive program as it can be a little pricy without it (depends on your eating habits though!)

More than likly you will end up flying back to the states and then on to the Caribbean- of course it'll depend on where you end up deciding on. What are you looking for in a honeymoon- all inclusive, an active honeymoon or lay on a beach and chill, a boutique hotel, a private island, shopping, casinos, rustic, chic or luxury accomodations, a destination known for snorkeling & diving, golf, deep sea fishing? I'd sit down with your honey and make a list of what each of you want and what your budget is- that can really help narrow down the destination.

There are a few logistics to keep in mind with a different destination but if you really want to have an experience and have the time and budget for it-I'd say go for the different destrination! My vote would be St. Lucia- it's georgeous and lush, a totally different vibe than Mexico,the island is small enough to get around and enjoy without having to spend all day traveling (like you would in Costa Rica if you wanted to participate in the main activities like the cloud forest and stay in a beach destination), close to Martinique if you want a day trip! If you need help just let me know!

Depending on how well you know her you could do a Honeymoon Survival kit....I'll let you come up with the ideas for that one though LOL!

Wow that's one heck of a change fee- $40 per person for unauthorized changes?! I'm trying to figure out what her reasoning was as overall you only "saved" a few bucks, less than $20 with the fees! I never make changes without authorization- in writing -from my clients. It makes sure that there aren't any misunderstandings on either of our parts and all fees, if applicable, are disclosed. Sounds like she was trying to be helpful and was zealous about it without fully thinking about her actions and the consequences. She offered to make good her error so that's great but I would clarify that you need her to ask before in the future for any changes -especially if they carry a fee! You can also get third party travel insurance- won't cover price drops but it will cover a host of other things that can go wrong! I'd keep it congenial-she admitted her mistake and made good on it and isn't charging you anything extra. As far as the upgrade goes- it may or may not happen, all depends on availability, how many are getting married that week ect! I always write a VIP letter to the manager for all of my clients-sometimes they get amazing upgrades and extras, sometimes a gift or upgrade and sometimes nada.

$1800 is not all that bad for a week, all inclusive with airfare. Keep in mind that approximately $650 of that will be airfare alone so that leaves $164 per day for hotel and food, activities, entertainment and unlimited beverages plus taxes. Also out of that may come round trip transfers to/from the resort- those prices hae gone up also because of the cost of fuel. The basic 3 star hotels easily go on average for $125-200 per night with taxes. basic amenities and not beachfront. So to break it down- this is all guestimates (especially airfare & transfers) as it's after midnight here and I'm tired but ... $1800 per person (-650) airfare (-30 round trip transfers) 1120 divided by 7 nights= $160 per night (-75 ) low average 3 star hotel rate divide by 2 people sharing a room. $85 for 3 meals, snacks, beverages, non motorized watersports and entertainment

Welcome to the forum- we're glad to have you here!

Join us for a Webinar presented by Sandals Resorts and Sand & Sun Vacations - July 31,2008 Register Now- slots are limited Noon Webinar will last approximately 1 hour Title: Sandals Resorts Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Webinar Date: Thursday, July 31, 2008 Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EDT System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/793616330

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If that Monday is important to you for the date I would precaution to arrive at least two days prior just in case you run into some airline difficulties - they are really cutting flights back plus overbooking, mother nature or mechanical issues have a way of making people not arrive till the next day. How bad would that stink if you arrived at the resort after your scheduled time?

Unfortunately it is only for Sandals Resorts.

The deposit is $400 per room! Airfare deposit will depend on whether it is published or contracted rates and will range from pay in full to a deposit.

The deposit is $400 per room!

Yes, you can also use it for a vacation!

Depending on how well this goes over we may do something in the spring.... You may want to join the Sandals webinar - details are under Sandals & couples resorts- this will at least give you a great overview of everything!

Exclusive BDW, Sand & Sun Vacations and Sandals Resorts Destination Wedding Site Visit! Join us in visiting Sandals & Beaches resorts in beautiful Ocho Rios, Jamaica! October 16-19, 2008 We'll be staying at the amazing Beaches Boscabel. Meet with the onsite wedding coordinators, view the ceremony and reception sites of Beaches Boscabel, Sandals Dunn's River Villagio and Sandals Grande Ocho Rios. Special site visit to Royal Plantation, Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean may be arranged. Call for details. Limited to 10 couples Enjoy a private welcome dinner, sample reception food, entertainment and locations, see first hand the Preston Bailey collection, sample cakes, view flowers and meet with the photography staff! 3 nights is $900.00 per couple Receive a $200 resort credit if wedding is booked within 90 days after site visit! Inclusions: 3 nights lodging at Beaches Boscabel, round trip transfers between airport in Montego Bay and Beaches Boscabel, transportation between resorts. All food, beverages and activities, entertainment, hosted dinners, gratuities. Sample Itinerary Day of Arrival Evening at leisure 2nd Day Hosted Dinner @ SGO3rd Day Afternoon at Leisure Hosted Dinner - Preston Bailey set up (table of bride & groom for view)4th Day - All Depart- Site of Dunns River Villagio (wedding sites / reception sites)- Sites of Beaches Boscobel / Sandals Ocho Rios (wedding sites / reception sites) Fine Print : *Limited to brides and groom who have not yet booked their wedding. *Airfare is not included. *Participants must participate in all activities- if they do not they will be charged the full rate of $445 per night/ per room *We must have at least 5 couples to run the site visit. Itinerary subject to change.

A Webinar is an online presentation where you call in to hear and sign in to watch. We'll be reviewing what's included for Sandals all inclusive vacations, the resorts and what is different about each one. It should last about an hour. We'll also be doing a destination wedding review at the end!

Sandals Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Webinar - July 31,2008 Register Now- slots are limited Noon -3pm - 7pm EST Webinar will last approximately 1 hour This is combinable with the Fly FREE promotion! Want to know exactly what is included in an all inclusive vacation? Interested in learning about Sandals Luxury all inclusive resorts? Ready to book your Sandals Resorts Honeymoon/ Destination Wedding but would like to see what specials are available? How about a $150.00 discount* off of your Sandals Honeymoon/ Destination Wedding or Vacation ? *$150 discount applies to new bookings only and deposits placed withon 10 days of the webinar