Post # 1
Member
163 posts
Blushing bee
Our honeymoon resort is the Bahia Principe Bouganville in La Romana, while not the resort of MOST of the DEATHS coming out of DR, it is right down the street from the La Romana resort.
I have called my travel agent already to see what we can do. We will probably end up losing our deposit (although she is going to submit a claim to our travel insurance for us), but we can’t go feeling uneasy and with the thought we have to be super vigilant! I am just sick that you can’t trust everything you read on the internet and more stories keep coming out. I am thankful that we found out at this stage, as the honeymoon is booked for November so we have time and have only paid the deposit. I hope none of you all are encountering this situation.
If any of you have any honeymoon suggestions please send them my way. We are thinking Jamaica since I want to do an all-inclusive beach and fiancé won’t travel to Mexico due to safety concerns (however realistic the concerns might be, this is a battle I won’t win! So Mexico is unfortunately out)
Post # 2
Member
881 posts
Busy bee
It is scary to think of. DR was on our list of possible places but we settled on Riviera Maya Mexico as we have several friends who have gone and had a good experience.
Good luck and I hope you find something. I dont blame you for being nervous. I was secretly relieved that we had chosen Mexico even though obviously there are risks there also.
Post # 3
Member
4202 posts
Honey bee
- Wedding: November 2019 - Canada
I went to Sandals Royal Plantation for my first honeymoon. It was small and intimate, everyone was amazingly friendly and we had full access to the bigger sister resort next door. It was an amazing resort! This resort comes with a butler service which was surprisingly awesome haha. We’d come back to our room to find a bath drawn, snacks, special drinks, desserts. You name it. We also were able to contact our butler directly and he made any arrangements we wanted; excursions, room service, transportation, spa appointments. It seemed a little extravagant and not something I would have ever done if it wasnt included, but it was great! Plus, he was a super great guy and felt like a new friend by the end of the week!
Post # 4
Member
4202 posts
Honey bee
- Wedding: November 2019 - Canada
mel2 : Can I ask what resort you chose in Mexico? That’s on our maybe list!
Post # 5
Member
45 posts
Newbee
This hotel is the only one I’ve seen deaths occur directly at. No way would I go there. My theory is that the cleaning staff is poisoning the mini-bar. Just speculation because of what I’ve read.
Post # 7
Member
1292 posts
Bumble bee
Post # 8
Member
163 posts
Blushing bee
The Bahia Principe was listed as one of the locations of deaths. Show to your travel agent to help with the claim to get your deposit back: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dominican-republic-death-robert-wallace-another-american-tourist-dead-during-vacation-today-2019-06-10/
Post # 9
Member
355 posts
Helper bee
Personally we ruled out most Caribbean locations for safety reasons. We’re also a same-sex couple so we have a lot more to fear when travelling.
We had our honeymoon in Hawaii for this reason and it was perfect! We stayed at Turtle Bay Resort and loved it. We also just returned from a trip to the big island and it was spectacular. Highly recommend the Fairmont Orchid there.
Post # 10
Member
816 posts
Busy bee
Would you consider a Carribean cruise? Norwegian and Royal Carribean offer excellent itineraries, you can vacation in the islands And return to the safety of the ship each night!
Post # 11
Member
4572 posts
Honey bee
I’m sorry I might get flamed for this but there is no way I would go anywhere near the DR, it has never had a reputation as being a very safe place to vacation, most resorts are armed, large gates, etc. my friends vacationed there in 2004 and my one girlfriend was almost abducted (seriously) and another male friend had to beat a guy up who literally grabbed my girlfriend and tried dragging her away with him in broad daylight while she was walking and now with all this information about tourists dying from having a drink in the minibar at their supposed “safe” resort or getting almost beaten to death when walking around alone in a “safe” area in a “safe” resort it would be honestly stupid to go there and possibly risk your life, especially at the sister resort where now up to six Americans have died very suspiciously from there.
I of course realize that you can be killed in the US any minute of your life and the chances of that are even more likely but the difference is also that our investigative methods and laws are more legitimate and if god forbid something were to happen I would feel much more confident that the government wouldn’t attempt a cover up or not fully investigate a serious accusation/illness or whatever it is. The cause of death for all these people were either heart attack or fluid build up in lungs…. all very suspect and shady….
i second spilledmilk’s suggestion,
we went to Maui HI for our honeymoon in Oct 2016 (this is a great time to vacation there btw) and it was amazing. I would highly recommend.
Post # 12
Member
1051 posts
Bumble bee
Cheekie0077 : I’m with you, the DR is not safe and has not been safe for many years. I would not go to Mexico either. I live in Texas and there is a ton of crime against Americans (kidnapping, extortion, & more) that doesn’t hit the media because families just pay to get their family members back. (This info is straight from one of our two Senator’s offices, btw).
For the Carribbean, Grand Cayman and some of the Bahamas (Exuma, Harbor Island) are some of the safer destinations. I have also been to Aruba and felt safe there.
A lot of the countries who have made a big tourism business off “all inclusive” destination resorts are not very safe countries – DR, Jamaica, Turks & Caicos, etc.
Post # 13
Member
15 posts
Newbee
Dominican girl here, truthfully DR isn’t a particularly safe country to travel to. Comparitively I don’t think it’s any less safe than usual.
Just make sure you’re staying in the resort, expect to get diarrhea – the change in the water always makes my stomach sick. If you MUST leave the resort – make sure you’re doing legit excursions and not just a random person taking you out. Don’t be flashy, don’t haggle with locals, and you can definitely tell when you’re entering sketchy parts of town – so just keep driving.
Post # 14
Member
55 posts
Worker bee
We went to the DR for our honeymoon last month and never felt unsafe. Everything went perfect and the experience was amazing. But in hindsight, we feel lucky now to be back and had no issues.
Have you considered a cruise? It’s got that all inclusive vibe but you get to see multiple Caribbean islands. You can score some pretty sweet deals on cruises (just don’t go Carnival).
Post # 15
Member
1620 posts
Bumble bee
We are going to the DR. Yeah the deaths are not what you want to see, but when you see the number of visitors who return safe it doesn’t seem as bad. We will see I guess 🙂
Most travel insurances won’t cover cancellations based of crime increase.