Moon Palace 2011 Brides

[ndvidul]

Ooooh, thanks for this info!  We'll try to get that bonus bride/groom massage as well! 

 

Originally Posted by mochamakes3 

All guests booked under membership get mani, pedi and massage. My 8 year old nephew loved his mani/pedi. When we got married, we also got a bonus massage for the bride and groom, so we went twice during out 11 night stay. We didn't find this out until we met with our on site WC. Members also get 20% off the wedding packages, but you can't use credits to pay for it then.

 

[ndvidul]

2 days before we leave, and I'm wondering..... What kind of cake should we have??

 

I decided on vanilla with fondant. But I have no idea what the difference is between fondant and chantilly! I tried to look it up but couldn't really find anything helpful. The other choices were chocolate, strawberry, fruit, lemon, or cheese.

 

Any advice on what to choose? Anyone who's already been married at Palace resorts have any input? THANK YOU!!

[stacey1979]

I had 1 tier choc, 1 tier lemon and 1 tier vanilla. food was so good we only cut the chocolate but it was amazing.

[ChipmunkRN]

did anyone get their on-site wedding coordinator a gift? If so what did you get? I'm drawing a blank on what to give her

[Smoylan]

Did anyone get their make-up done at the salon at moon palace? Ive heard good things about hair. I have no idea what to do for makeup??

 

[ndvidul]

I actually didn't even think about that.  That would be a nice touch!  On here, I saw suggestions like giving her a generous tip, a letter of recommendation afterwards with a picture, talking to her supervisor... you could treat her to a spa day, but she may already get really great discounts for this.
 

Originally Posted by ChipmunkRN 

did anyone get their on-site wedding coordinator a gift? If so what did you get? I'm drawing a blank on what to give her

I used the Sunrise salon.  I think his name was Alberto?  (I think he's the only male.)  Believe he's worked there for 10 years.  I did a trial for make-up and hair with him before the big day.  Really loved what he did!  I highly recommend getting a trial for both.  Overall, I'm super happy I saved the money and used my credits for this.

 

 

I hope these pics give you an idea of his work!

 

Originally Posted by Smoylan 

Did anyone get their make-up done at the salon at moon palace? Ive heard good things about hair. I have no idea what to do for makeup??

 

 

[nsg4729]

Hi Ladies-

 

I am getting married in mid-June at the Moon Palace.  I was originally thinking I should do an indoor reception because I was scared of heat, bugs, and wind.  Has anyone here had a June wedding or have heard how the evening temps are around that time?  I know outdoors would be nice from an atmosphere perspective, but I'm hoping its not humid and uncomfortable for the guests.

 

Thanks!

Nicole
 

[TammyWright]

 

Originally Posted by Terpgurl 

I have an awesome TA too and her rates actually came in lower than the MP! I found her through BDW and she's been great. I got my refund for my deposit a week after the final payment was due. My TA was Teresa Stauring from Vacations 4 Less, she treats you like you're the only client even though she's super busy.
 

 

 

Teresa is GREAT!  She has been a BDW TA for years now and has the best rates and service!

[TammyWright]

This is very true.  Let your TA price match rates that you find.  The service that they will provide will save you a ton of headache when your guests start making last minute changes, payments, etc...

Originally Posted by Bride KSmith 

Just a reminder about TAs and group benefits. Your travel agent should be able to arrang the same benefits through the wedding sales department. I will admit that we had to fight to have then combine the groups (we had some guest booking under my aunts membership). In the end they agreed but we were so frustrated that we told all of our guest to book under the TA and not my aunts membership.

 

Our planning process has been so stress free since we made that decision. Neither we nor our guest have to deal with Miami at all. My TA has handled everything with booking and travel. I was also happy that round trip transfers were included with the room stay. If your guest book with the resort they pay extra for tranfers unless they are staying for 7 days or more. They still get the palace resort credits.

 

I am sooooooo glad we did this. Our TA has confirmed our free events with the resort and we were copied on the email. AND here is the best part, she issued the refund for our comp nights!!!! Yes ladies you heard right. We leave in one week and we have ALREADY RECEIVED THE REFUND FOR OUR COMP NIGHTS. I have heard of so many girls having to wait weeks and months after the wedding to receive their refund from Miami but my TA has already refunded us.

 

I say all of that to say, you may want to double check with your TA to see if they can negotiate the same promotions with group sales department. It may really be worth your while.

 

BTW: when my TA was handling guest that at the time were going to book under my aunts membership, FI and I decided that would give her a gift or tip for the hassle. Fortunately we were able to do everything with her so she is getting credit for all rooms. I think a gift may still be in order.

 

 

 

[TammyWright]

This is actually very common.  When you book a block under a membership/timeshare your point of contact is going to be someone in the membership booking department.  If your guests can get a person to return their call to book their room, it is not going to be easy for them to make payments, get questions answered etc.  It really is best to see if you can have your TA who specializes in DW's price match the price and amenities you have been offered.

Originally Posted by Bride KSmith 

Vent-Long

Okay I am very upset with palace resorts right now! I booked my wedding through my aunts membership a the Moon Palace. My MIA contact was Pilar Fernandez. She sent me a booking form that my guest are supposed to fax or email to her to book rooms. She also said that they could call her directly to book. Ok, this week we wanted to get our formal invites out (I am so behind because of grad school). When I got the final proof I decided to double check the contact information to be sure that it was correct. Imagine my surprise when I called the number only to find out that Pilar was no longer with the company! I finally got some lady on the phone that informed me that Lorena Bohorquez would be my new contact but she was out of the office at the time. I left a message for Lorena. That was 3 days ago.

 

Today I call back and finally get Lorena on the phone. Here was the convo.

 

Me: Hello, Lorena. I have been informed that you are my new coordinator. I wanted to be sure that Pilar has given you my information and I am also curious as to why I was not notified that I had been reassigned.

 

Lorena: (after asking for my contract # and name) Yes I have you confirmed for Moon Palace, May 20, 2011 at 6pm. We were going to notify all the brides that had been reassigned but its only been over a week since she left.

 

Me: Over a week is a lot of time when I almost printed $350 worth of invitations with the wrong contact information on them.

 

Lorena: (in a condescending tone) There are like a 150 brides, you are not the only one. Why would you put one person's contact information on your invitations? I dont thinks thats a good idea.

 

Me: Pilar told me that my guest would have to book via fax, email, or phone directly with her. Isn't that how weddings through the member weddings are done?

 

Lorena: Well yes, but it is high season and we are very busy. If they call and IF they get through they will probably have to leave a message and it will be 48 hours before I will be able to get to them.

 

Me: Well do you have any other options for my guest to book?

 

Lorena: You can get everyone's info together and give it all to me at one time.

 

Me: (getting irritated) Excuse me?!

 

Lorena: Or if you dont want all of your guest calling you, you could assign someone to collect everyone's information for you.

 

Me: I am planning this wedding on my own and I am not going to ask any of my guest to be in charge of everyone's bookings.

 

Lorena: (sarcastic): Well you can just give them my number and they can keep calling until they get through, IF they get through.

 

Me: (pissed but trying to contain it): Non members get a link for their guest to book online. Why is the process so inconvient for members? Are their no other options?

 

Lorena: They can fax the card authorization form but it would still be 48 hours for a response.

 

Me: I dont think my guest are going to be happy with faxing their credit card information and not getting a response for 48 hours.

 

Lorena: Yeah its just going to create a cycle and either way your guest are going to end up calling you about it.

 

At that point I got off the phone as I just really could not deal with her anymore. I think I am going to call back and speak with a manager. I am so upset. Pilar was unorganized but at least she had decent customer service skills. I am so irritated right now!