chirorach

Quote: Originally Posted by SDbeachgirl Ok, I just looked again and they are there. Maybe they were doing maitenance on the site. It said 105 reviews (17 showing). Oh well, I don't know what happened, but I am glad those reviews were not deleted. There is something funny going on for sure Jen. But on the bright side, I just checked and there are now only 2 poor reviews instead of 3 :-) It is nice to see the good reviews coming in! The more the better!

Quote: Originally Posted by SDbeachgirl Hi all, I didn't know what the best way would be to post my photos of the resort. Just so you know, I only posted those that pertain to the wedding. I commented on some of them, so you could understand why I was taking the photo. I believe the comment only shows up if you click on the photo itself. It should be at the bottom of the screen. I'm new to photobucket, so I hope it works. Try this link and let me know if you have any questions about any of the photos. Cancun pictures by jenwinston - Photobucket Thanks so much for the pictures Jen! They really helped clarify some of my concerns about the ceremony location... as in it is even worse than I thought. The pictures on the Dreams wedsite are so misleading. I just can't believe Dreams would design something like that!! I am gonna hold out to see if they really move the palapas. Been looking around again at other resorts in the same price range as DRC but there really aren't many great options unless you really up the price for the guests. So for the time being I guess I am just hoping for the best. So frustrated!!!

here is another site i came across that has some deals for supplies that seem pretty decent: Save on Crafts, Wedding Supplies, Flowers, Tulle, Lights, Decorations & Discount Craft Supplies Save-on-crafts

Greetings ladies. I am another Dreams Riveria Cancun bride looking to change venues. THe reviews from tripadvisor.com for DRC are looking pretty bad right now and I am panicing. EPM was my second choice from when I was researching before so now I am trying to quick make a decision to either suck it up with DRC or make a change. My biggest question so far is how much does it cost per person over the 20 included in the packages? I have emailed the resort a few times for more info but so far nothing in return. Any additional pricing info that you girls could give me would be great. I am hoping to make a decision to stay/change in the next week or so and I am already in panic mode! Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by Laura22610 Oh...and forgot to add... As far as the chair reserving that is in so many of the reviews - my sister just got married and went to Cancun for her honeymoon and she said the chair thing happened at the resort she stayed at too. So, I guess it's a fairly common thing at these resorts. This is a pretty common thing at resorts all over the world. I have dealt with the chair saving on 3 cruises as well as the last 4 Marriotts I have stayed at (Aruba, Mexico, Palm Springs). We tend to switch off who makes the saves every morning so people get a chance to sleep in. So frustrating though when people save lots of chairs and never show up though!

I am curious why there isn't any place off to the side on the beach to have the ceremony more private... is there another resort right next door or something?? or is the beach area just really small??

just wrote ana an email and got a response 20 mins later... quite the turn around. thought y'all might like to read it... not sure if it changes things! ----------To ANA I have been following reveiws of DRC on tripadvisor.com as well as bestdestinationwedding.com. There have been many concerns/reviews form people recently about the location of both the gazebo as well as the lceremony. Specifically the concern is lack of privacy as both sites are surrounded by palapas and beach chairs. I was wondering if Dreams had any plans of trying relocate either of these ceremony spots, or if there are any other more private options available? I share this concern and while DRC is my first choice for my wedding I fear I may have to begin looking elsewhere if this is not addressed. ---------------- FROM ANA Thank you for your feedback, we have the location on the beach relocated in one side of the beach, there is some palapas but is not to many people there. For the wedding gazebo there are people at the pool but is not next to the gazebo. As soon as I have the wedding in the new location I will send you the pictures so you can make a decision.

Quote: Originally Posted by Princess402 I was just checking reviews on trip advisor (I know, I know, I should stop doing this...) and noticed that DRC has dropped from #1 to #4 in Puerto Morelos In addition to all the complaints about kids gone wild, I also saw this in one of the reviews: "If you are planning a wedding here I would reconsider. We witnessed a wedding and the couple was beautiful but it was in the middle of a small section of beach with a bunch of us "Fat Americans" encircling them and the background was of the swim ropes and floating inflatable Climbing Wall. I could think o 1000 other much more romantic spots." YIKES!!! I hope Dreams figures out a solution to some of these things! Has me worried about my choice... but guests are starting to put down deposits so I don't think there's any turning back! wow. saw that today as well. i know even the best hotels get bad reviews sometimes. but i am really concerned about the lack of privacy for the wedding. i am curious what you thought jen? did the ceremony location look that bad? it sounds like Ana really didn't have any other options to put forth either. i am just so suprised that Dreams would design something like this. all of their other wedding venues look so beautiful and private. Dreams are KNOWN for weddings too. i am starting to have a bad feeling... can anyone talk me out of looking for another hotel?!?

Quote: Originally Posted by SDbeachgirl You're welcome! Hopefully it is helpful. You can probably reserve the chairs under the palapas if you get up at 6am in the morning! However, would you keep them reserved for the entire day? Maybe Ana can put up signs that say private event (). I did see a sign off to the side that is obviously used for the reception and/or cocktail hours so that you do not have random people joining you. Maybe there is a way to keep people off of the chairs. It is only for 20 mins (maybe a total of 40 mins while guests are sitting down etc). Also, like I said, people may start to get ready for dinner around this time. Everyone wants to take advantage of the dinners and since there are no reservations it is good to get there early. I'm hoping to see more and more photos of the ceremony's so that I can make sure that I am happy with my decision. Thank you so much for th review! Glad to here about all the great reception/cocktail locations. I will have to rethink mine! Bumer about the lack of privacy for the ceremony. Looks like there will be no way around it. I had set mine to start at 5pm but maybe 6pm is better... fewer people on the beach. Did she give you an option of a time? Another bummer about the chair saving. That is my least favorite part about traveling. But I think people just need to be aware that this is a very common problem at many resorts, not just DRC. Just make sure your guests are aware of it ahead of time! Just curious but I am assuming they were not enforcing the no kids at the infinity pool policy? I had been reading this on Tripadvisor. I am REALLY not happy about this. I really wanted an adults only resort but had to compromise with my family. I was hoping the pool would be a quieter escape as 98% of our guests would not have kids with them. I wonder if it is something worth posting about on the Facebook fan page? Hope you had a great holiday :-) Rachael

Quote: Originally Posted by Megan24 But I wonder do you miss out on the cutting the cake, the first dance, and all the tradition things that go along with the reception. What do you plan to do after you eat? you do have the option of having your reception with the love package on the beach/deck/etc right? i would ask Ana if you could still hold that place and you could eat your dinner in the restaurant and then move back outside to the reception venue for cake/dancing/etc?? that would still allow for great pictures!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lili11 I came across this forum and i think it's a great idea! I am getting married at the DRC on Nov 6, 2010 and I am so excited yet confused...I am not sure which package to choose from, either the love or ultimate but not sure what the big difference in price is for the dinner either silver or gold. I know its an extra $60 for more than 20 guest and i hate that part, I'm planning on having 40-60 guest. I also asked Ana if I could exchange the cocktail party for extra guest or maybe even for the rehearsal dinner and she said the package is what it is... I find that odd. Hope the planning runs smoothly i am not happy to hear that she is not allowing any trading/swaping either. from other Dreams threads i have read it didn't seem too hard to do this. maybe she will be more reasonable in person? although those brides did say they had to be persistant. curious what brides have found who have done site visits?? otherwise i plan on getting pushy about it!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by tiffanyan02 Hi everyone- I am new to to this forum and attempting to find the perfect resort! I came across this Dreams Riviera Cancun thread and I'm so impressed. My FI and I are looking at an April/May 2011 wedding date. I sent off my request to get some more information from the hotel. I am also hoping to find a TA to book everything through for my family and friends eventually. Does anyone have any advice to finding a TA that is knowledgable about Dreams? Also does this resort give any discounts for getting married on a weekday? Is everyone planning a legal wedding or just symbolic? welcome to the forum! i don't think there is a discount for having a weekday wedding... i just know i am getting charged an extra fee for having mine on a sunday. i can't speak for everyone, but we are having a symbolic wedding. it just seems like a HUGE PITA (pain in the a$$) to have a civil ceremony down there. between having the blood tests done and the mandatory # of days you have to be there prior to the wedding... doesn't seem worth it to us. we are going to do a legal ceremony here first. we aren't going to tell anyone when we do it and won't do any actual vows either. then it won't feel "real" to us without an actual ceremony and what not. i know it will take a lot of time, but i HIGHLY recommend all new brides to the forum to take the time to read this ENTIRE thread. i learned so much by doing this and it answered most of my questions. i still read back from time to time to see if there is something i have forgotten! i think someone mentioned a TA a few pages back that had their own wedding at Dreams Cancun, so she had a lot of experience with the resort. so far i am just using one that one of my close friends used to work for. one thing i like is that she is in-town so i can meet with her in person if i want. sometimes that is just easier than email/phone! it seems like most experienced TAs are familar with the dreams resorts. she had nothing but good things to say about dreams and said it was her first choice if adults only was not an option. happy planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by Laura22610 Are you having your wedding at Dreams Cancun or Dreams Riviera Cancun? I think Claudia is the wedding coordinator for Dreams Cancun. Ana is the wedding coordinator for Dreams Riviera Cancun. February is right around the corner...my wedding is the 26th of Feb and I can't believe how quickly time is flying by! from what i gathered in earlier posts for a while claudia was the WC for both Dreams Cancun and Dreams Riveria Cancun until Ana was hired full-time. she stayed on at both places for a briefly while Ana was getting trained and caught up. sounds like this was good for everyone because Claduia was super overloaded with planning for both sites!

just a heads up to anyone reading this thread... if you are looking for the oct/nov 2010 timeframe at DRC i would start inquiring about dates asap. when i checked a few weeks ago every fri/sat for sept/oct/nov were already booked. (except for sat sept 11, which i don't think many people want!) there were many thurs and mondays left. but i wouldn't sit on it too long!

Quote: Originally Posted by JenKen11082010 Thanks for the information. Did you just scan a blank check or did you actually fill it out? I'm asking because she did not specify who to make the check payable to or any other details. Thanks : ) Have any of you looked at the wedding site at Dreams Cancun? I love the wedding gazebo at that resort but prefer the overall resort Dreams Riviera Cancun to the one in Cancun. I dont want to have the ceremony in the sand, I'm looking for a bit more formal ceremony but I am not a huge fan of their wedding gazebo. The recent pics posted here made me appreciate it a little more but I am still not thrilled about it. We are going to invite around 20 guests (haven't announced anything yet) and I'm not sure if many people will be able to afford the trip. Have any of you sent out save the dates or invites yet and how soon should those be sent prior to the ceremony to allow guests time to plan? i used a credit card. despite the exchange fee you have to pay. in all my research i have read you should pay for everything with CC in case something goes wrong... then you can get reimbursed. no such luck with cash/check, etc. i don't think anyone on this thread is liking the weird gazebo much. we are going for the beach wedding as well. check tripadvisor and the dreams rivera cancun facebook site... they seem to have some more useful photos. i am going to send my STD about 10 mos in advance. most people we are inviting already have the heads up anyways. we have a free website through theknot.com that i have already set up to include basic information. i will be updated it soon once i have more details from my TA. i don't think anyone who has a DW expects everyone to be able to attend. that is why i am giving those closest to me as much time as possible to plan ahead. many have said they are already saving and plan to turn it into a week long vacation for them. i couldn't be more thrilled! nice to see another PDX'er on here! welcome :-)