Post # 16
Member
276 posts
Helper bee
MelissaandKyle : I’ve been on a cruise one time and I think I can handle a 4-night cruise. I don’t like the sea legs feeling. Dan has never been on a cruise. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to try it for the first time on our honeymoon. What if he can’t handle the ship sailing? You know, seasick and get those sea legs as I did. We definitely have to do the cruise at one point just to say that we went on a cruise. Lol. Also to see if he will do fine. Thank you for your suggestion!
Post # 17
Member
276 posts
Helper bee
rak32098 : Antigua! I’ve never been. Good to know about the lounge chairs, the early snatchers! I’m wondering if it’s like that with the other Sandals resorts. Thank you for sharing!
Post # 18
Member
276 posts
Helper bee
meanttobee2018 : Thank you for sharing those amazing pictures! They are beautiful! Negril.. Hmm… I need to look into that. I don’t know much about Negril nor where it is on the map, but I will google it. Water bungalow is an option, but we don’t have to be on the water, but would love to be right off the beach so we can just walk and jump in the water. We were thinking of Bora Bora or the Maldives up until we realized just how far it is from Ohio, U.S! Lol. Thank you for sharing your experience and your thoughts on this resort!
Post # 19
Member
276 posts
Helper bee
cloud9bride : Barcelo Bavaro Adults only resorts. All inclusive! They have two other sister resorts and they have a trolly? like a train/golf cart looking. They can take you to the other resorts. You can also eat at those other resorts! And you can swim there too! It’s a shared resort. However, if you have kids, you can’t hang out at the adult resort. Every night they have live entertainment. Sooo cool! We were only there for 4 nights. We felt like we were on our honeymoon! It is so gorgeous there! I have to see if I can find those pictures on my computer and if I have time, I’ll post a few. The food was great and the beach was awesome! We went there in April of 2015. He took me there for my birthday! The service was excellent. It will help if you can speak or understand a little bit of Spanish. Otherwise, there might be a language barrier. Some workers there do not understand English. Just letting you know. 🙂 We got the oceanfront view and we were spoiled! So now, every time we stay where there are beaches, we try to get a room that is facing the water.
By The Way… we did check out the other resorts. They were all very nice. You can’t go wrong with any of them. But if you want quiet, then for sure you would want the adults only resort. We didn’t leave the premises, but only within the resort areas. We don’t know much about Punta Cana and I don’t know how safe it is to go to the city or town. But that’s okay. We were too busy enjoying our time at the resort. Aruba we did. They can, by the way, speak English, so there is no language barrier there. We did rent a car and drove around town and it felt safe to us.
The airport sucks! You might want to leave early to get there early before your flight time. The line is so long! We almost missed our flight. Getting there was a breeze. We took a bus to get to our resort and it took about maybe 30-45 minutes?? I can’t remember. I do remember that there are other people being dropped off to their resorts. I was okay with that because I get to see what other resorts look like.
Post # 20
Member
656 posts
Busy bee
It’s in Jamaica about an hour from the airport. Sandals arranges for a car for you and it’s actually a pleasant drive. It’s on 7 mile beach and the beach is really very very nice.
It is true about the lounge chair thing at sandals ( probably all of them ) but not something to worry about with the butler service. You also don’t need to make dinner reservations in advance or spa services in advance either. The butlers will take care of it
twentytwentybride :
Post # 21
Member
276 posts
Helper bee
futuremrss17 : Thank you for sharing. I’ll also look into St. Lucia more in details. I think they now have water bungalows there. I think it just got built because I was thinking of staying there, but still doing my homework on all the Sandals. I think it’s called Grande St. Lucian. The other one I was thinking of was Jamaica the Royal Caribbean. They have water bungalows there too.
Post # 22
Member
276 posts
Helper bee
Thank you, everyone, so much for chiming in and sharing your experience and your thoughts. Thanks also for those who shared the picture(s). I am going to check out the places that you guys have mentioned here. And I will google some pictures on the net to give me some ideas of how the resorts look like. I’m all about visuals. 🙂 I still have plenty of time but I just love checking out the places and the beaches and the resorts itself. I am more excited about the honeymoon more so about finding a wedding dress! Hahaha! My dress is going to be simple and I am not paying over $600 for a dress that I will only wear for one day! I’d rather use the money when we go on our honeymoon so we can have some nice souvenirs! Dan said he would rather spend the money on our honeymoon rather than the ceremony and the reception. I am all for it! Thank again, everyone!
Post # 23
Hostess
3831 posts
Honey bee
twentytwentybride : I have stayed at quite a few Sandals Resorts! St. Lucia is my personal favorite, but I have also been to Jamaica, Aruba, Antigua, and Barbados. Happy to give more info about any of those places. I have never stayed in a butlered suite (I am very private and prefer personal space), but I know people who have and enjoyed the experience.
Post # 24
Member
276 posts
Helper bee
missinthecity : Thank you! I’m thinking of the water bungalow suite, but I know that’s even more expensive. We don’t need a butler if we were on the ground and a lot cheaper I’m sure. I heard that Grande St. Lucia where the water bungalows are, the ride from the airport to the resort is over an hour. And the road is winding. I don’t know if I can deal with that because I’ve been on a half hour ride on a rough winding road and I was throwing up on the side of the road. And again, on the way back. I heard that with Royal Caribbean in Jamaica is the first stop from the airport. They also have the water bungalows which I understand was their very first bungalows. I am leaning towards Jamaica just because of being closer to the airport. I just can’t do the car sickness. I want to be relaxed on my honeymoon and not fret about the long car ride.
Post # 25
Member
276 posts
Helper bee
meanttobee2018 : Thank you for sharing. An hour from the airport to the resort! Yikes!
Post # 26
Hostess
3831 posts
Honey bee
twentytwentybride : It is a pretty long drive from the airport and my sister was very worried she would be car sick (she gets anxious on long drives and has digestive problems) but she was fine! It’s honestly a beautiful drive because you get to see all the lush landscape. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it cuts into vacation time since it’s on the longer side, but honestly a lot of the Sandals beaches I’ve been to have been longer drives than I would have preferred after flying and you forget about it the second you’re laying out on the beach! 100% worth it in my opinion.
Post # 27
Member
9417 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
I have not been, but I’ve only heard people rave about Turks and Caicos.
Post # 28
Member
20 posts
Newbee
- Wedding: July 2019 - City, State
Alternative suggestion here to put a spammer in the works!
We are going to New Zealand – Queenstown, and staying at the hidden lodge! Take a look!
https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g255122-d257468-Reviews-Hidden_Lodge-Queenstown_Otago_Region_South_Island.html
It is absolutely magnificent. We’ve been to Queenstown in the summer and it was just wonderful and serene with so much adrenaline filled activity! My highlight was a biking wine tour we did through the hills. It was the most enjoyable trip, and we got to devour fresh New Zealand Ice cream which was divine! We also thoroughly enjoyed a funyaking tour where lord of the rings was filmed! Future husband did all the kayaking while I enjoyed the scenery (😝😂 wasn’t a happy Chappy). The water is that crystal blue you see in movies/pictures and dream of, because it has just melted from a glacier. There was so much more that we did that was just unique! So we are keen for a winter wonderland this time around. New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries. It probably only comes second to my true love Iceland 🙂
highly recommend 🐝!!
Post # 29
Member
1587 posts
Bumble bee
twentytwentybride : The drive from the airport to the Sandals St Lucia The Grande is a decent car ride (45 min if you do a personal car, 1 hour if you do the provided transport from Sandals), but you do have the option of taking a helicopter to the resort from the airport. We tried to do it, but it was already booked (if you decide on that, book before you come) It actually wasn’t a horrible price ($160 for my husband and I on the way there, it’s more expensive to do it on your way out, not sure why) From what I’ve heard, it’s a beautiful scenic helicopter ride, and takes only 12 minutes to get to the resort.
Also, if you do decide on St Lucia, you HAVE to do the Joe Knows island tour. It’s SO MUCH FUN. Also, if you stay at the Grande, you have to find the bartender named Peter and ask for the Peter Special – so delicious. I hope he still works there!
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