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

[Andrea434]

Kelly,

 

I would HIGHLY recommend working with a travel agent.  It is no cost to you and eliminates a lot of the headaches with your guests coming to you with questions.  I seriously do not know what I would do without mine.  I don't know how true this is but my agent said that websites such as travelocity and bookit do not check availability when people are booking and in the case of an overbooking the guests that went through those means to get a room are the first ones that have to be moved.  Again I cannot speak from personal experience but I would hate for you to have to deal with that. 

 

However we are having about 80 guests and with a smaller number you may have no problems.

 

Good luck with everything!!

Andrea
 

Originally Posted by kellygrrrl 

PS - LOVE ana, right?? she is fab. : )

 

also, what sort of per night rate are you getting? are you working through a travel agent? the royal's rates increased a few weeks ago, and they're likely going up again September 1. we've told people to make a reservation on booking.com (free cancellation, no reservation fees) so they can re-book if rates drop. I don't know how else to guarantee the lowest price.

 

thanks!

 

 

 

[Andrea434]

Hi Kelly,

 

I would HIGHLY recommend working with a travel agent.  They are no cost to you and really will save you from being the go to with questions about fares and rates.  Mine has called and let people know when rates are going to go up etc.  Really saved me a lot of headaches.  I don't know this from personal experience but he also said that in the instance of an overbooking the people that booked through sites such as travelocity and bookit may get moved because those sites do not check occupancy rates.  Again I do not know this from experience but would hate for someone to have to go through that. 

 

Good luck with everything!

Andrea

 

Originally Posted by kellygrrrl 

PS - LOVE ana, right?? she is fab. : )

 

also, what sort of per night rate are you getting? are you working through a travel agent? the royal's rates increased a few weeks ago, and they're likely going up again September 1. we've told people to make a reservation on booking.com (free cancellation, no reservation fees) so they can re-book if rates drop. I don't know how else to guarantee the lowest price.

 

thanks!

 

 

 

[kellygrrrl]

thanks, andrea - I've honestly never worked with an agent before, and at the end of the day, I just don't trust it. there is NO reason for my fear, just the certainty that I feel when booking directly through the hotel. I'd never want to disadvantage my guests, but I don't mind picking up the details. our website is pretty thorough (http://jdandkellyswedding.weebly.com/), and we've suggested people make reservations on Booking.com ASAP so they can lock in the rate before the planned September 1 increase (no fees, cancel >48 hrs before without penalty). our wedding will likely be much smaller (estimating 15 - 25 people, max), with most being family, and I'm comfortable regulating the travel. also, I think many of our guests are frequent travelers and anticipate they'll book through their own means. I just didn't want to get into deposits and deadlines and potentially non-refundable circumstances if I didn't have to. I hope this is the best decision for us - and we have so much time before the wedding, I hope that makes things easier, too.

 

thanks for the advice, though. I'll definitely keep it in mind if the demands become overwhelming. ; )

 

Originally Posted by Andrea434 

Hi Kelly,

 

I would HIGHLY recommend working with a travel agent.  They are no cost to you and really will save you from being the go to with questions about fares and rates.  Mine has called and let people know when rates are going to go up etc.  Really saved me a lot of headaches.  I don't know this from personal experience but he also said that in the instance of an overbooking the people that booked through sites such as travelocity and bookit may get moved because those sites do not check occupancy rates.  Again I do not know this from experience but would hate for someone to have to go through that. 

 

Good luck with everything!

Andrea

 

 

 

[kellygrrrl]

oh, and there was a period of time around March 2008 where people who booked on third-party sites (expedia, travelocity) were getting bumped from the Royal, but I haven't heard about it since then. also, the reason the wedding planner asks for the names of everyone in your party is to ensure this does not happen to you and your guests. when I mentioned to ana that we were using an external site, it didn't raise any flags. and booking.com is just an intermediary - your reservation is held with the hotel, and the hotel processes the payment, etc. so if booking.com did disappear tomorrow, the hotel would still have the reservation.

 

it's something I carefully considered before recommending that site to our guests, but I think it's the best option. also, it was the only way we could cancel and rebook without penalty if the rates fall again. I thought that was worthwhile.

 

waaaaayyyyyy back on this thread, there are a number of postings from a bride who was working through a travel agent and the airline they had all reserved flights on went out of business. long story short, everyone was left scrambling, and there was nothing the agent could do to help. originally, I would have thought that would be one of the most compelling reasons to go with an agency, but I just don't know if they have additional resources to deal with the unexpected.

 

again, this is all speculation on my part. it's just something I've always been wary of, having never used a travel agent in the past. 

[bride2bdebbie]

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to check in and say hello under 3 months to go! We just booked our photographer "La Luna" I'm so excited. Now only 100 little things left to do lol. Still undecided about the DJ... Hire one or use the iPod?? Any suggestions??

[Bride2B22]

That is awesome!! you are going to have some amazing, beautiful photos!!!! Cant wait to see!!

 

I see that you have at least 25 guests......I say book the DJ (Doremixx) if it's within your budget.....unless you dont have a crowd that likes to dance......But I feel it gives it a certain atmosphere and you dont have to worry about having the Ipod operated......either way you guys will have a rocking time!!

 

Good luck with the rest of your planning =)

 

Originally Posted by bride2bdebbie 

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to check in and say hello under 3 months to go! We just booked our photographer "La Luna" I'm so excited. Now only 100 little things left to do lol. Still undecided about the DJ... Hire one or use the iPod?? Any suggestions??

 

[kellygrrrl]

ya 25 guests - I've been saying that's my cutoff, as in if we get 25 people, I'll hire a DJ. however, I think also the age of people plays into it, as does your level of comfort with loading up an ipod list. other brides have said that the dinner took awhile, and there was really only an hour or so of DJ-inspired dancing after eating, unless you extend the reception for the extra hour, which means more money, etc. ; )

 

I think it just comes down to who your guests are and whether or not you (or someone in the wedding party maybe?) has the time to work on a playlist. let me know what you decide!

 

Originally Posted by bride2bdebbie 

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to check in and say hello under 3 months to go! We just booked our photographer "La Luna" I'm so excited. Now only 100 little things left to do lol. Still undecided about the DJ... Hire one or use the iPod?? Any suggestions??

 

[nicc80]

Hi I am planning a wedding for July 2012.  I am looking at the Royal Playa del Carmen and others.  I don't fully understand bloging, but think the info is so useful.  I don't know how to get recent info or find it if anyone has posted the same as I did.  Any advice on this place would be much appreciated.  I am running into trouble looking for entertainment at night (dancing) at a classy place such as this.  I am not much for theatre shows.

 

 

thanks

 

anxious bride

niccc80

[kellygrrrl]

the best place to start is with the Resort Reviews (third tab in the main navigation, the brown bar at the top of your screen). there you can read testimonials from brides at any (and every) resort.
 

Originally Posted by nicc80 

Hi I am planning a wedding for July 2012.  I am looking at the Royal Playa del Carmen and others.  I don't fully understand bloging, but think the info is so useful.  I don't know how to get recent info or find it if anyone has posted the same as I did.  Any advice on this place would be much appreciated.  I am running into trouble looking for entertainment at night (dancing) at a classy place such as this.  I am not much for theatre shows.

 

 

thanks

 

anxious bride

niccc80

 

[nicc80]

Thanks so much!