ROYAL PLAYA DEL CARMEN BRIDES: were kids allowed for the day? ...and other questions

[orange_peel]

 

Sorry I'm tired. It's my first day back!! HA! 

[ChicagoBride2011]

 

 

Originally Posted by RGWedding 

 

Hi ladies,

 

I need help! How are your guests booking their trips? Is it best to:

 

1. get a travel agent that guests can book resort & flight through

2. have guests call resort to book room and book flight on their own

3. leave everyone to book on their own (ie travelocity)

 

Thank you for the advice! People are already asking me how they can book and I don't know what to tell them. I'm getting married 12/4/11 so time is running out!

 

 

I used a TA and it worked out great.  The good thing about using a TA is that you know how many people booked, who called for info, when people are arriving/departing.  I never had to ask my guests any of these questions since my TA was able to give it to me.  TA's also have contacts at the resort and all my guests got a letter and bottle of wine in their room upon arrival. My TA also included the airport transporation when people booked through her and it worked out really great since that allowed my guests who were on the same flight to arrive at the hotel all at once and we were able to great them. 

 

Our wedding was on a Sunday and most of our guests arrived Thurs and Fri so on both days we had two vans arrive with guests.  It was so fun to great everyone and that's when we passed out welcome bags since we did not do a welcome or rehearsal.

 

 

 

[prettypigpig]

RGWedding,

I think it will depend on your guests.  Since I have the full range from age of 18 to 81, and tech addicts to tech retards..and from Hong Kong to Rome,,I just leave them to book for their own trip.. 

I personnaly prefer to book my trips online..and ABSOLUTELY...HATE  to sit with a TA and waste 30-45 minutes of my time..listenning to her typing queries on her Saber system!  However, my dumbo mom, who is lost / confused most of the time,  would love to chat and book with a TA.  Therefore..it depends on the type of guests.

 

Ladies,

After 9 times of correction/modification on my final invoice...I finally PAID and can look forward to my wedding.~ yeah~~~

 

[queenoftheu]

We got a travel agent... I used to work for a travel wholesaler called Classic Vacations, and there was no way I was doing this without a TA. The main reason we did that is because when a hotel is oversold, those that booked online through Expedia, Orbitz, Cheap Caribbean, etc. are the first to be relocated to different hotels. When a TA makes a booking with a wholesaler (in our case, she's booking through AMEX Vacations because Classic doesn't sell this hotel), they have contracts with their hotel vendors to never relocate their guests. I let all of my guests know that in the hopes that they'll contact her to make their bookings.

 

I also wanted a TA to make my life easier. They BCC me on all correspondence with my guests, and they send me a weekly spreadsheet with their arrival and departure dates and room categories. My family is spread all over the country, so my TA does the bulk of her work over email and the phone with them. Since they already know where they are going and when, it's not a long consultation process with the TA. I've included her business card with all of my Save the Dates, and I let everyone know to contact her even if they find a lower price elsewhere. Oftentimes, they can get it price matched if someone out there shows a lower price.

 

I talked to a couple of them before making a decision on who to go with, and I would recommend that if you decide to get one, make sure it's someone you feel like you can trust and have a good rapport with. They'll be your advocate in case of any issues, so you want to make sure you feel confident that they'll take care of you.
 

Originally Posted by RGWedding 

Hi ladies,

 

I need help! How are your guests booking their trips? Is it best to:

 

1. get a travel agent that guests can book resort & flight through

2. have guests call resort to book room and book flight on their own

3. leave everyone to book on their own (ie travelocity)

 

Thank you for the advice! People are already asking me how they can book and I don't know what to tell them. I'm getting married 12/4/11 so time is running out!

 

[JHarris]

Hi Orange_Peel!

 

Thanks for the great advice and welcome back!! I bet it's hard to come back to reality. I did hear back from my wedding coordinator and according to her children are not allowed at any royal restaurants even if it's a rehearsal dinner. She did say bc wedding is a private event that's when they are allowed. OK.

 

So we decided to keep our rehearsal dinner at Asiana's and move our welcome dinner to Gran Porto. I'm not trying to give myself a major cost and headache by moving it off campus and dealing with upset parents. They were fine with the rehearsal dinner and leaving the munchins to sitter or working something out amongst the adults. So that works for me.

 

Originally Posted by orange_peel 

JHarris,

 

I had three kids at my wedding at the Royal. One baby, one 11-year old, one 9-year old. They had no problems. 

 

It was $2.50 each for the Private Cocktail Hour, $1.25 each for the Champagne toast and cake, and $10.00 each for the Reception Dinner, and $2.50 each for the Extra hour. The baby did not have an extra charge (thank goodness). 

 

Also - you are allowed to have a Rehearsal Dinner with kids at the Royal. We discussed doing this, but we decided the better option for us was to just all meet at the Gran Porto Lobby Bar for drinks before dinner the night before our wedding. It was already included; we didn't have the budget to pay for another dinner. It turned out so great and the location was perfect (the ocean breeze!), and we ended up being the only party there (all 50 of us!). It was so informal, but so fun - everyone was meeting and mingling with each other, we had our iPad with a slideshow that was being passed around. What we had planned for one hour, ended by being two hours because everyone was having such an awesome time. Then, we all just split up for dinner, and met up again afterwards at the Royal Lobby Bar for more fun (the kids were in bed). Our group had a great time meeting each other before the big day. It was a great warm-up to the wedding. I HIGHLY recommend going this route if you want a more informal, relaxed, and fun atmosphere, and if $15 (or whatever it costs) per head is too much!

 

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

[JHarris]

Hi Girls!

 

So we are doing our rehearsal dinner at Asiana's. I've heard great things about it so hopefully everyone will be happy. We decided to do our Welcome Dinner at Gran Porto so parents with kids can have them attend too.

 

Has anyone eaten at Albatros? For the amount of people we have, it seems to have the biggest space.

 

Gracias!!

[orange_peel]

OK Ladies! I've done it! I finished my Planning Thread & Review! Hope it helps, and let me know if you have any questions!

 

PLANNING:

 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/73730/sarah-s-royal-playa-del-carmen-planning-thread#post_1611808

 

 

REVIEW:

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/the-royal-in-playa-del-carmen-all-inclusive-spa-resort/reviews/4642

 

 

[kellygrrrl]

LOVE the review and planning thread - thanks so much for all the details! I'm thrilled to know that everyone had such an amazing time, and I loved your use of the papel picado. it's something I've recently been considering working into invitiations.

 

thanks again for all the hard work. I'm so glad that it all went perfectly! : )

 

Originally Posted by orange_peel 

OK Ladies! I've done it! I finished my Planning Thread & Review! Hope it helps, and let me know if you have any questions!

 

PLANNING:

 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/73730/sarah-s-royal-playa-del-carmen-planning-thread#post_1611808

 

 

REVIEW:

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/the-royal-in-playa-del-carmen-all-inclusive-spa-resort/reviews/4642

 

 

 

[JoZee84]

So who is up next?  We need another updated list of everyone's wedding date!  I'll start it, when you want to add your name copy it and paste it in the bottom. 

Janna, Did your onsite coordinator get in contact with you yet to set up a meeting when you get there?

[JoZee84]

Jozee84- June 15, 2011