Ok.. let me start off by saying I'm sorry for not writing this sooner but we've been really busy since we got back. Since we split our time between two different resorts I'm going to write 1 report here and split it up after. Also please bear with me .. it's going to take a few days to get it all down. Lastly the pics will follow but we've got close to 10 Gig of pics from everyone to go through *L*.. that's going to take some time too. If I forget to mention anyone please understand... I was drunk and that's the story I'm sticking too.. Disclaimer Ends. Oct 18th We left Toronto on the 6:20 AM flight with 15 of our family and friends.. after spending the night at an airport hotel (some of them will look after your car for up to 14 days).. . The flight was uneventful and we landed safe and sound. After getting through customs with only about 4 of us getting searched we easily found the USA Transfer rep and piled into 2 vans and a car. Trust me. If you have a big group it's truly the best way to go. We got to the Riu Caribe and we greeted by friendly staff. They took our group aside, welcomed us with drinks and explained to everyone how things worked around the hotel. We didn't request this. They just did it. Since our rooms weren't ready yet we left our bags with the bell hop and went off to explore. There's 1 large pool (a little bigger than all of the TR pools combined) with a swim up bar, a deep end and shallow places where you can put deck chairs. 3 ala carte restaurants and there is always somewhere open where you can get food or drinks. That's right... 24/7 booze. The beach was nice and the water was that beautiful aqua-marine colour. When we finally got into our rooms.. wow.. what view. They put us in a Jr Suite which was the same as a normal room except it had a much longer balcany with a couple of deck chairs that we could have laid out on and an amazing unobstructed view of Isla. Oct 19th Swimming in the pool, drinking, water volleyball.... a bunch of us went over to Walmart and Market 28 this day. Nat got her Hot Nuts which only seem to be at Walmart in Cancun. And we were able to make some good deals at Market 28. It helped that Nat's MOH spoke perfect Spanish . Note... the bus drivers are great and there are plenty of buses but they're inconsistent when giving change. It should have be 7 p to ride the bus but everyone got back different change from 1 us dollar. *L*.. no one really cared.... just a funny observation. Oct 20th This is the day were everything almost fell apart. We met with the wedding coordinator that afternoon with the entire wedding party. After we handed over our translated documents she looked up and asked "These are great but where are you're originals?" OMG. Are you kidding me? No matter what they tell you always take your originals birth certificates with you. We started to scramble to figure out what to do because there was a chance that the judge wouldn't marry us without them. There was no minister available so we couldn't do the religious. Hell if it came down to it I told Nat that we would stand on the beach and say vows and get married officially later. I also called a friend who did me the huge favor of going to our house. Getting the birth certificates and driving 2.5 hours to drop them off to my cousin who was flying in the next day. That would have worked. If he had grabbed the long forms. Instead he grabbed the little cards. *L* That night we hit Coco Bongo. They've changed the show a little but it's just as good. It was my 3rd time there and it's still amazing. 3:30 AM we leave Coco Bongo, drunk, happy and hungry. It's $50 per person now but still worth every penny. Oct 21st We wake up with a phone call from my buddy telling me that they got the wrong form and have been back to the house to get the right one.... but can't find Nat's..... UGH... So they FedEx mine to us which will arrive the next day... the day before the wedding........ nothing like cutting it close for the dramatic effect huh. We spent the day drinking, having fun in the pool, catching whatever rays we could (it was cloudy on and off all week). That night we went on the Pirate ship dinner cruse. WOW WOW WOW. What a great show. We worked out a deal for our group that got everyone a few dollars off the regular price... hell there was 19 of us. On a side note I finally got to meet Steve. I looked over as we were checking in for the ships and there he was with his lovely wife. I would have loved to chat longer Steve but hopefully next time. We ended up getting everyone on the Black Perl and had the best time. I'd recommend this show to anyone of any age. The rain that night cleared up just in time for the two boats to pull along side each other.. pull back the tarps and fight. I've been to Cancun 4 times and still can't believe I never did it before. WOW. Oct 22 The coordinator woke us up with news. Good and Bad. Nat asked for the bad news first as I lay in bed with my fingers crossed.. *L*.. The bad news was that we'd have to move our reception dinner from the outdoor steak house, to in doors because of the weather. YES THAT WAS THE BAD NEWS. The good news was that the judge was going to be nice and marry us without our originals. Which ended up showing up that afternoon. *L* So with everything back on track... a bunch of us ended up taking the bus over to the Coco Bongo mall that day to do some shopping. We also dropped off the books and toys that everyone brought at the Hard Rock Cafe. Side note: if you don't know what that meant... there's a toy/school supply drive for kids in Cancun. I think it's called Toys for Smiles. Someone first brought it to our attention in this form and instead of gifts for us our guests brought stuff for the kids. Temptation also has a drop off. Just ask them at the front desk. After shopping... back to the hotel for .. yup you guessed it.. drinks, pool, fun, etc. it's great with a group. There were some problems with the elevators and only one was working. As most of us were waiting patiently one woman from Jersey decided to B@$# and moan about everything under the sun. Then called us all idiots for waiting.. *L*... I'm taking the stairs she says.... then realizes that she's way too lazy for that and comes back to wait. When the elevator finally showed up we all climbed in with no room left for her.. *L*.. as the doors closed on her face someone said... "Sorry we're full"... *ROTFL* I'm not sure about everyone else but I go on vacation to be HAPPY! We got a kick out of her for a few days. Oct 23rd D-Day.... The wedding was at 4 pm so avoiding seeing Nat was pretty interesting.. *L*... It decided to rain so we couldn't do it on the beach... but hell... after everything we had gone through we really didn't care. They set up a beautiful location inside and everything else went off without a hitch. It cleared up afterwards long enough for us to take pictures at the beach. As we walked through the lobby everyone applauded which was a really nice touch too. I have to make a plug here... our photographer was unbelievable... the greatest pics (I'll post them soon) and a price that you will never believe. www.juanphotos.com (Steve I hope this is ok with you) We had first class treatment from everyone involved and it was greatly appreciated. Oct 24 The last full day for everyone together.. we spent it by the pool/in the pool drinking and having fun like we had all week. Thankfully Nat's mother wouldn't be going on our honeymoon with us like she suggested.... *L*... Oct 25th We got up early to see everyone off and to make sure they were actually leaving.. *LOL*.... after that we decided very quickly not to wait until noon to check out and packed up as soon as we could. We took a cab over to TR and were there just before 10AM... WHOOHOOO we made it. This was our first time seeing TR after all the changes and wow... what a difference. I mean BBG wasn't a dive by any means but they definately made some nice changes for TR. At the front desk we told them that we had requested a honeymoon upgrade and they were more than happy to offer it to us. I had twisted my knee the week before and asked if they could keep us on the ground floor. They said they would do their best. Of course, being there early, our room wasn't ready so we left our bags with the doorman, changed and got the sexy pool as soon as humanly possible. One of our friends (Fire and Taz) had told us just before we left that the sexy pool was closed for renos.... you have no idea how happy we were to find out that they were wrong (or just messing with us). *L* While Nat laid out I was in the pool as soon as I could. I'm pretty sure Bob and Stef showed up first... *L*.. I was staring right in their direction and still didn't clue into who it was.. *L*.. and a little while later Rob and Amber appeared ... the gang as back together again... minus Joel and Paula .. but we partied on for them... More coming soon.... (sorry I'm at work)
Sounds like a fun start, keep it coming, you have been home almost 2 weeks, and you were there for 2 weeks, my math works out to a month, you'll be forgetting details soon if you don't keep them coming. Have you talked Nat into April yet? You'll need a mid-first year anniversary by then...lol
if we win the lottery we'll be there for sure.. *L*......... I'm picking up a brand new 4 door jeep Wrangler today and we're gonna be poor for a bit.
had no idea about the pirate ship - wow - sounds like soemthing we should do - thanks for the tip rob and t
Honestly my husband and I were not that impressed with the pirate ship show and dinner. Not to say it was bad, cuz everything was good but not great! If I was going to Cancun with children I think it would be a must see show, but as adults it was ok. I will say though that the drinks were always coming and the food was pretty good. Glad we went but won't do it again....nothing to write home about I say!
I'll admit that it could have had to do with the group we were with or maybe we got them on a good night. *L*
:roll: You are right there! Being with a big group of fun people would make a big difference. It's just that so many people told us how great the pirate ship show and dinner was and was a bit disappointed. Guess we were expecting too much!
It was nice to meet you briefly on the 1st. Congrats on your wedding and maybe we will see you in Ontario?
