Jellyfish Restaurant

[Lala32]

Hi Cinnagirl,

 

Oh no, that happened to you??  The cancellation for the Dreams group contract was 10% nonrefundable deposit upfront; then 60 days out, they will keep 1 night deposit;  at 30 days, when they will take the whole amount upon any cancellation.  So if your cancellation fell within 30 days of arrival, they would keep 100% which I think is what happened to you.   I asked if it was negotiable and no response. 

 

With that being said, I'm just giving my guests the freedom to make their reservations on their own (cancellations are a few days before directly on the resort websites and expedia) and will just recommend name of a travel agent should they choose to use them.  That way, I don't have to worry about the $ portion, losing my and their deposit and owing $ to the hotel should people book through the internet outside the block.

 

Stress free wedding planning :-) 

 

Astef, I'd love to hear about the tips too!   If I remember correctly, I think I read somewhere that someone gave Mayte 10% to divide amongst the staff, $100 to photographer, $50 for pastor/DJ, etc.

[cnd29]

It's definitely tough choosing a resort when you haven't even been to Punta Cana.  That was difficult for us, for sure.  We found Punta Cana originally because we loved the look of the rooms and the amenities of the Hard Rock, but then looking more into it, we felt it didn't give us the "Carribean" resort feel we wanted.  I loved the pictures of the Majestic resorts but then we found the Jellyfish and decided to go with something a little closer to it.  The Melia being right next door and a good price range was enticing, but then we started working with a travel agent who has stayed with Dreams resorts and Dreams Palm Beach ended up being the right fit for what we wanted.  As far as cancellation policy concerns, through our travel agent she offered us a good travel insurance plan so we went with that.  Well worth it, although hopefully we won't need it! I definitely recommend using a good travel agent when it comes to doing the group thing.  Dreams resorts also give credits for every 5 rooms booked, so that helps too!

[CFK2013]

Hi Ladies,

My fiance and I have been to Punta Cana twice but decided to go through a travel agent for our guests to book at our chosen resort. We picked the Majestic Elegance cause we didn't want anything too big and we wanted to be able to provide a couple of room options. I have heard nothing but great things about the resort and it has pretty consistent reviews on TripAdvisor. We were able to get some extra benefits through our travel agent, so I would definitely recommend going through one if you can as they can help with all the details and working with the resorts. It also helps easy some of the stress from your guests if they have questions about traveling and booking.

 

We just sent out our Save the Dates and our guests received them yesterday! We are still a little over 10 months away, but it can't come soon enough! Communications are slow with Mayte right now, but I know she is really busy and my wedding is still far away. We have our date secured with a deposit so I guess the important thing is covered! Hoping to get a pre-invoice soon though!

 

 

 

 

[lande8]

Lala32, I'm happy to hear that someone else is giving their guests the freedom to book their own travel!

 

We are getting married at Jellyfish on 2/8/13, and we are staying at the Majestic Elegance.  We were using a TA originally -- she was going to do all the hotel arrangements, but after doing searches online we found we could get a much better deal booking flight/hotel together.  I had also contacted the ME separately to get a quote for room blocks, but I would have needed to be the point person (that is, guests would basically have to book through me, and I'd submit names -- which makes sense if I'm a TA, but I'm not , and we would have had to pay a 20% deposit right now -- for a wedding 10 months away.  I'm still a little nervous that rooms won't be available for guests who procrastinate, but the best part about a destination wedding is that all our guests are people we talk to on a regular basis, and so it'll be easy enough to contact them with gentle reminders.

 

Our date is confirmed, we sent our STDs, and my next (fun) to-do is dress shopping!  

 

Also, we created our wedding website with a comprehensive set of FAQs, if anyone is interested in checking it out...feedback is definitely welcome! 

 

www.weddingwire.com/leslieandeli

 

 

 

[CFK2013]

Leslie - we are getting married a day a part from each other at the JF and we are staying at the Majestic Elegance too! We'll probably be bringing quite the crowd to the resort, should make for a fun week there! I'm sure we'll be running into each other! Happy planning

[jlarruda]

Olaaa.. just passing through as a past bride.  As far as tipping, I should have planned it out earlier and put the money in envelopes a head of time like I did for pastor york (I paid Jellyfish a head of time).  But from what I remember, we tipped Mayte at least $100 (could have been more and I also bought her daughter a few outfits from back home- her daughter was born a couple of months into my wedding planning), a couple of wait staff that we really noticed $20 each (there was so many of them, I had no idea who was really working our party).. my gracious husband went and tipped the MC between $60-80 (!!!!!!) so I was left to tip the DJ less than the MC, but I want to say the MC is actually the DJ's boss or something and hope he would have split it (also gave the DJ money but can't remember how much).  We didn't tip Pastor York as he has his fees. 

 

As far as the resort, we had about 30 guests and ourselves at the Majestic Elegance, no complaints from anyone really, the rooms are huge and staff are really accommodating.  The ride from the resort is about 25 minutes, wasn't a bad ride at all.

 

Happy planning! off to our honeymoon in about a week

[jlarruda]

Also, we booked with a TA but gave our guests the option.. honestly, our TA was horrible, especially as I was dealing with her from afar since we don't live where we grew up, but all our guests are still there.  We dealt with it, the good thing was that we didn't have to put money down as a group booking and she dealt with all that.. but definetly wasn't an enjoyable experience.

 

Our wedding website:  www.weddingwire.com/aylward

[lande8]

So fun!! I think we're going to have 25-30 guests. We will definitely have to share planning tips. Where do you live? It would be nice to compare pricing, etc., for the hotel and flights.

 

 

Originally Posted by CFK2013 

Leslie - we are getting married a day a part from each other at the JF and we are staying at the Majestic Elegance too! We'll probably be bringing quite the crowd to the resort, should make for a fun week there! I'm sure we'll be running into each other! Happy planning

 

[lande8]

I love your website!  I wish I had seen it before creating mine... I could have just "borrowed" from you!  haha.  This forum is so awesome, it's so nice having direct contact with actual Jellyfish/DR brides.  I've never been to Punta Cana...I will be there for the first time for our wedding.  I felt like I was going in blind until I found this site. It's the best!
 

Originally Posted by jlarruda 

Also, we booked with a TA but gave our guests the option.. honestly, our TA was horrible, especially as I was dealing with her from afar since we don't live where we grew up, but all our guests are still there.  We dealt with it, the good thing was that we didn't have to put money down as a group booking and she dealt with all that.. but definetly wasn't an enjoyable experience.

 

Our wedding website:  www.weddingwire.com/aylward

 

[CFK2013]

Hi Leslie! I live in Boston! What about you? Our guests just got their save the dates, so we are starting to get a feel for who is going to make it, but since we are going through a travel agent, they can book their rooms anytime between now and November. We'll prob send out our invites around Oct so we can get an official count. I think we might have about 50-60 people, but we will see! We kind of had a big guest list for a destination wedding, but we have been together for 7 years so it was hard for us to cut it down any more! Would love to share planning tips! I'm sure we'll get to hang out at the Majestic the week of the wedding What are your travel plans? we are heading down there on 2/2-2/9. Some guests will join us the same time and others are going to join us tues-sat or weds-sun.