Ellipse22

Yes, I'm finally getting around to my review....I just hope it's worth the wait Our trip was from Sunday November 16 to Sunday November 23. Our flight was uneventful but seemed to take forever. We arrive in Montego Bay and went through customs without any issues. We were greeted by a Sunquest rep who took us to our bus. The bus was huge & old. The ride itself was okay and not as scary as I thought it was going to be. We passed RoseHall & stopped at the Gran Bahia Principe (sp?). We also stopped for some red stripe ($4 each) before we got to ROR. There are a lot of shacks along the way. And there were a lot of buildings that weren't even completed. It was somewhat depressing. The resort is HUGE & GORGEOUS!! Everything is open concept. We were greeted with Rum Punch and our luggage was collected after we checked in. They have a different check in process. You go in one line to confirm we are on the list and then we go to another line to get our bracelets (white for deluxe blue for standard room) and then another line to get our keys & lock for our safe. It's basically one continuous line. We originally were in room 1419 - Deluxe Wing Jr. Suite and on Tuesday we were upgraded to room 1261 - Deluxe Wing Suite. The Suite was absolutely AMAZING!! The Jr. Suite was similar to a standard room but had a separate/bigger seating area and a good view. The bathroom was the same as the standard room but it had a massage tub. The rooms do smell a bit but I brought a plug in - this is a must!! I also supplied my guests with a magnet because YES the air does turn off when you open the balcony door. The Suite was HUGE! It had a small hallway off the main door that went to another door that went into the suite. It had a walk in closet w/full length mirror and shelving. There was a living room area with loveseat & chair. There was also a full dresser. The bed was up a level (2 steps) with the jacuzzi separating the bedroom & bathroom. The bathroom was amazing & big. There was a separate room for the toilet and a separate shower. The balcony was large and overlooked the ocean and the beach wedding gazebo - and yes this is where the dealers hung out!! The beds are HARD and so are the pillows. One thing I will do for next time is bring my own pillow..somehow!! The beach itself is awesome! It spans the entire length of the resort and the resort is big! If you are in the deluxe wing there is a pool with swim up bar and it's much quieter. This is where most of the topless women hung out and let me tell you they were not pretty! There is a volleyball net set up on the beach in the deluxe wing area as well as ping-pong tables. The other pool is located by building 3 - standard/oceanview rooms. It's much busier. It has a swim up bar and this is where the spa & plantation are located. The staff were amazing. There is daily entertainment/games and the nightly shows were incredible! I can't believe how well they can dance. We had a reggae singer perform the night of our wedding - OCHI - and he was great! I even convinced the hubby to dance in front of the stage ;-) The restaurants were great! We went to Tushima, Mammee Bay & Sir Richard. I'm a bit of a picky eater so I didn't enjoy the food nearly as much but my guests did. Again, the staff was more than accommodating! On our last night we went to Mammee Bay and it started to rain. So they moved us twice but then gave us a great dessert from the chef as opposed to the dessert buffet table. I think we were the only ones who stuck around The weather itself was not great. It was hot Sunday and most of Monday (I was too busy planning our wedding) Tuesday it rained, Wednesday was nice - not too hot..a bit of sun & some wind - Thursday, Friday Saturday was overcast with rain Friday & Saturday night. Apparently January to June is the best time to go! I would also recommend staying longer than 1 week OR staying 1 week @ ROR and going somewhere else. Ideally 10 days would have been perfect for us. When you get married there you spend at least 3 days on wedding stuff - 1 day for prep, 1 day for the wedding & 1 day reviewing pics etc. We have 4 children (combined) and I couldn't stay longer than the week. Just a suggestion WEDDING DAY I met with Chandlyn on Monday 17th. She is super nice & much younger than I thought she was going to be. We went over some details and found out that the Royal Package doesn't offer alot in the way of decorations. I didn't want a whole lot to begin with but the flowers that they use to decorate the gazebo are the orange flowers from the garden. They turned out nice but I was hoping for white. When you look at the pics and see the gazebo you will understand what I am talking about. We then met with the photoshop. We spoke with Karen (Canadian from Montreal) who went over the details of the package we purchased. We automatically got 25 mins with the Royal Package but added on additional time. Michael came to my room 15 minutes before the ceremony and another photographer by the name of Lincoln went to Jeff's room early as well. I am almost positive that Michael went over on time but didn't charge me a thing. We also had a photographer come to our dinner @ Mammee Bay and take pics of our cake cutting. The photoshop was more than accommodating. We paid for 50 pics on CD and ended up taking 91. They only charged us the difference - 100 pics on CD with a small discount. We were able to view our pics on Thursday and got our CD & 12 prints w/album on Saturday. I have to admit that Michael was fantastic. The pics turned out GREAT (although it doesn't look like it on Photobucket) and he even managed to get a few candid shots that I loved! He never once looked at his watch and was an absolute pleasure to meet! I am under the impression that he is growing more with his creativity. I woke up @ 6am. My sister was kind enough to go to St. Ann's to grab 2 plates of food for us. We got our make up done by my new sister in law and at 8am headed over to the spa. The spa was really nice. Unfortunately, they are on Jamaican time. They took forever doing my hair that was simple in my opinion. They only have 1 small curling iron and 1 fat curling iron...so...if you have alot of girls getting their hair done plan it well Because they took forever (only 2 stylists) I had to send my BM & MOH back to my room to get ready since my room was at the other end of the resort. I made it back to my room at 10:30am and literally ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get ready. I wasn't even ready when Michael showed up .. but he was a good sport about it all! Chandlyn's assistant (Nicky?) came to my room and escorted us down to the Lagoon Gazebo. I had a few ppl take pics along the way as I walked through the entire resort. When we arrived this was the one and only time I felt like I was a number. As we were walking she was asking who was walking first and I didn't understand why she was asking so many questions but of course when we got there my BM had to walk right away. There was no wait or getting ourselves together..just WALK! I vaguely remember hearing my wedding song and I don't remember hearing anything after that. I did NOT cry at all. I was still in a state of craziness from having to rush to get ready. That is the one downfall to an 11am wedding. Jeff looked amazing and was extremely nervous. I found out after that he had to take 2 gravol because he was nauseous! Cutie! He almost cried during the ceremony but I told him not to because I didn't want to cry. We had our first dance at the gazebo, champagne & pictures before heading out to the beach for more pics. Again, Michael was great! Here is a link to our pics...please keep in mind that for some reason when I uploaded them to photobucket they don't look that great..trust me you will be happy with your pics from Michael...when printed out they are amazing! I will be sure to post resort pics as soon as I get them uploaded. Thanks for reading my extremely long review..I'm sure I'm forgetting some things but feel free to ask questions! In Jamaica there are NO PROBLEMS only SITUATIONS Wedding Slideshow

You are too cute!! Come to think of it the weekend of February 20 - 22 is PERFECT for me...just a thought ;-) I should be moving to London around February 1st.

Quote: Originally Posted by chicklet He he .... I just got a glimpse of one of your photo's (via wedding webset)...sorry I peeked. You looked great! Where you hot with your hair half down? How was the wind factor? HEHEHE! That's ok..that was a pic from my camera..not a pro pic. I wasn't hot at all..mind you the weather was such that there was no way for me to be hot lol My hair did start to fall flat. I have naturally curly hair and I had them curl it with the fat iron..it held for about an hour before it went to crap. And yes, the wind messed it up pretty good!!

Thanks everyone!! My daughter's surgery went well. I will be home all week with her so I am DEFINETLY going to get my review together tomorrow & post!!

Quote: Originally Posted by GeminiLibra Hey Mrs, Congratulations and welcome back. I saw your wedding ceremony and you looked beautiful!! Later on we were at the beach when you and your group ran into the water you all looked so nice together. The weather wasn't the best but it will make for beautiful pictures. Congratulations again, can't wait for pictures. HEHEHE!!! Where were you hiding?!?! Of course the day went by sooo fast that I don't recall seeing anyone there other than my Jeffery It was a pleasure meeting you!!

I'm definetly up for it! December is crazy for me with work..no way I can make plans SORRY! I have a feeling I will be working 3 weeks straight. To be honest...February (end of) works well for me! I have time off with no kids and the hubby will be in Montreal. If I can't make this one I am up for meeting ANYONE hehehe! Ohh and London girls..look out because I'm moving there for February 1st as I have just accepted a position in London!!!!!!!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by BachataBride Just wanted to let everyone know that she looks absolutely amazing (as if there was any doubt!)!! I hunted down some pictures!! LOL Stunning Tanya! Thanks Amanda!! I only posted pics from my camera. I will not be posting pro pics on facebook..don't want anyone to steal them lol P.S. How did the move go?!?!?!?!

...I havn't had time to put my review together. I'm in the midst of uploading non-pro wedding pics as well. I have a bunch of other pics to go through to organize my big ROR Review. All I can say is that I am happily now a Mrs!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!!!!! Everything went great!! A big shout out to my wedding buddy BachataBride ~ Thanks Amanda for the champagne A bigger shout out to GeminiLibra & Kimmer999 who I had the absolutely pleasure of meeting at ROR...what a coincidence!! Kimmy ~ You were absolutely gorgeous on your big day!! I'll be back soon...daughter has surgery tomorrow..so watch for my review on Wednesday!

I planned my wedding in 8 months and I couldn't be happier to say that I am somewhat glad that there are only a few of us going. I can guarantee it's not nearly as stress free as it would have been if I had stayed here and planned a traditional wedding. Good luck...everything will work out perfectly!!

Just a shout out to all the past, present & future brides for all you amazing help & support!! I take off in 26 hours to ROR for my wedding/honeymoon. I cannot thank all of you enough for your support during this crazy yet exciting time in my life!! I will do my best to provide a review as quickly as I can when I get back. Thank you again!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awwwwwwwwwwww thank you Amanda!! Hopefully you can get online before I leave..if not...I hope the move goes well! I'm be sure to update when I get back!

I haven't paid Michael at all as of yet. I'm thinking that there shouldn't be a fee..but who knows. I looked through my emails and found nothing about cancelling etc. I like the idea of someone coming with us because at least I won't be concerned about time etc. Still thinking about it......

So now I'm really stressed! I just got an offer from a local photographer (co-workers friend) to come to Jamaica for the week and photograph our wedding etc. Now..I've already booked Michael because at the time I couldn't find anyone here to come with us. I have a tight budget and could only afford to bring 1 person. So, I have this offer and have booked Michael for 2 1/2 hours & 50 pics on a disk (total cost is $700 Canadian). It would cost me anywhere from $900 to $1100 to bring the photographer. Does anyone know if Michael charges a fee to cancel his services?!?!?! If he does it won't be worth me cancelling his services as that would cost more money and I'm running out of it lol

Quote: Originally Posted by chicklet The countdown is on now...when do you fly out? You must be soo excited. congrats on the weightloss but I am with Bachata..make sure not to run yourself down for the big day Best wishes Thanks! Excited and stressed all at the same time (read my newest post and you'll understand why) We leave Sunday morning at 6am. Limo is picking us up at 2am - Sunday morning - although it feels more like Saturday night. I went to pick up my dress today and it wasn't ready..still needed to be pressed so now I have to figure out when I'm picking it up! Ohh the joys!!!!!!!!!!

You are sweet! I can't wait to be in Jamaica either! I'm a bunch of mixed feelings at this point but I am sooo in need of a break lol! I saw your ticker today too...7 months! Congrats!! Is married life everything they say it is?!?!

You're very welcome!

You are a sweetheart! It's not exactly what I was looking for but that is great info! I found the hor doeurve (sp?) list you posted on another thread. I will definetly keep this info though to help me decide what to do!! THANK YOU!!

Thanks for the info! I am unfortunately looking for the Per Person - Lunch Menu. Someone posted it here..I can't find the post though. I think maybe you or Delyteful (sp?) posted it....it's no big deal because I can work it out when I get there..just wanted an idea of what to expect!

Thanks for the info! I am unfortunately looking for the Per Person - Lunch Menu. Someone posted it here..I can't find the post though. I think maybe you or Delyteful (sp?) posted it....it's no big deal because I can work it out when I get there..just wanted an idea of what to expect!

I know someone posted the Lunch Buffet Menus here but I did a search and can't find it now. Does anyone have the menus for the buffet? I'm hoping to have a lunch buffet but can't remember the items available. TIA!

Congratulations!! Thank you so much for your extensive review. I am leaving in 7 days and the information you have provided is beneficial! One Question: You talked about the disco not being open until 11pm. Did you reserve the disco or were you and your group just going there to party? Pictures are great! I'm feeling a bit better about using Michael now

You may want to bring the necessary cord/adapter..just in case

Quote: Originally Posted by michellepicksbrent Wow, your wedding day is so close!!! Best wishes for your big day! Thank you Michelle!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by BachataBride Never going to live that one down am I!!! Geesh...a girl makes one mistake!!! LOL So how's everything today?? Still stressed to the max?? I'm stressed...I'm emotional..freakin out and all that fun stuff! FI got upset with me last night because I'm not eating that much. I know I should be but this is the way my body handles stress...I can't eat! So...I decided to weigh myself and take my measurements again..just to see what's going on - he's not the only one who's been saying that I'm losing weight. The scale says I'm 135lbs (started out at 144lbs in May) and I've lost a total of 4.5" off my waist (from 31.5 to 27) and yada yada..down a total of 11" total body! I tried on my dress today to make sure the hem was done properly and I can definetly tell I've lost some weight and inches - especially in my waist. This means my corset will be a bit tighter than it should be...oh well what can you do

Hi Michelle I can understand & relate. I think it's normal to feel upset...I think I would be more upset at the fact that he didn't talk to you about working on the Saturday. My FI has been working alot lately - store manager as well and tis the season - and I've been feeling extra needy, emotional you name it..that's me! I spoke with a counsellor the other day (separate issues lol) and expressed my concern over feeling emotional. She reminded me how important it was not to rely on others to make me happy. She suggested I take time out for myself (hard to do with a full time job, 2 kids at home and 2 that come every weekend) and do the things that make me happy. She mentioned that I should try to focus on the positive and that although we naturally want others to fullfill a need that I need to find a way to fullfill my needs without depending on FI. Easier said than done I'm sure! I'm still struggling with it! As hard as it may be to not be upset at your FI keep in mind that he is taking the "to make extra money" approach then show him that it doesn't bother you (again, easier said than done) and remind him that you understand and that you would like to set some time aside for the 2 of you. Plan a date night or something. Just my thoughts but sister I'm right there with you! I am sooooo much in need of some comfort! Hang in there!