Grab a beer or glass or wine cause this is a bit long! I had to make up for lost time! Lol Also, with so many people I am purposefully leaving out names. No way in hell I can remember who all I saw when, and I am horrible with names. This also protects the guilty, and the innocent! WOW!!! So many memories, both recent and ancient, have been flooding through my mind!! All the amazing people make TTR such remarkable place!!! After a couple days it didn’t even feel like it was seven years from my last trip! For those who don’t know, my first trip was over 10 years ago to BBG. My now ex and I made it in May four years in a row. I proposed to her on the beach there and our last trip was our honeymoon. Family and life matters prevented me from getting back until this year. I was a little worried it would be weird being there as a single. I drove from Las Vegas to visit some friends in San Diego before TTR. I spent the weekend in SD warming up my liver and keeping them up way after the bars closed. Silly bars closing at 2am. My flight left at 6:30am on Tue, 5/15. Flights were uneventful, line not too long at customs, my bag came out fairly quick, I got the green light, and USA Transfers was ready as always. But the weather was cloudy! I figured it would pass. Check in was easy, although I had filled the “Express Check In” info online but it wasn’t used. I wasn’t hassled at all for a breakfast appointment or any other “get to know you” meetings. They first wanted to give me a room by Paty’O but I convinced him to get me in the 5000’s, and ended up with 5223. Great room for me. A short walk to the Sexy Pool or Paty’O, but far enough from things that it was quiet when I wanted to chill. I loved the double shower heads (although never did use both) and had a partial view of the sexy pool. I headed to Diego’s with my mug for the first of countless Dos Equis. A met a few new people and talked about Wednesday’s Boobs Cruise; I was getting excited. Several beers later and it was time to eat. I ate several times at El Embarcadero and was very satisfied. The presentation was much improved and flavors and textures very good. The shrimp on the grill was the high point for dinner. I met up with some old time repeaters and we caught up. It was then time for the first of many siestas. Made it to Paty’O for the karaoke and live band. Nice to have a mixture of entertainment. Met a bunch more new and old people, bartenders kept my mug filled, and generally had a great time! I had to call it quits at 1am since I had to be up early for the CancunCare Boobs Cruise, but not before grabbing a cheeseburger!! Fought myself to get up at 9am; I’ve worked swing shift for the past 10+ years so 11am-noon is my normal wake-up time. Grabbed a quick breakfast at the buffet and met-up with the Boobs Cruise peeps!! So great to see Temptation and Steve’s relationship on much better ground. The weather was good and water was calm. We made it out to the boat and the crew quickly got us started with drinks while Omar got the entertainment going. We knew we were having the most fun since every other boat was taking pictures of ours!! The CancunCare Boobs Cruise is the only way to go!! Seven hours of great fun!!! And especially fun if you can go on two of them in one trip! Many of us continued the fun in the Sexy pool, where things started getting a bit foggy for me. I staggered up to my room to catch a nap before my Check Liver light came on. I woke up 17 hours later!! The rest of the week was much of the same. Awake around 10-11, with breakfast at the buffet or a burrito at Margarita’s, finishing the big bottle of water before switching to beer, then off to the Sexy Pool. The entertainment staff did a decent job, but I did miss Lalo, Omar, and Chinos. I know they have a tremendously difficult job, and they were trying. Played volleyball a couple days, including in a rain storm! Met some great people on the court. Also played Tequila Volleyball! Our team won, and Omar had me help with the ice chest! Sweat victory!!! Tequila volleyball is why I started wearing a hat at BBG/TTR! Chinos tossed my shorts on top of the activities palapa and I had to jump up to get it. I think the bucket type works for me. I also had a massage at the spa. I did the 50 minute deep tissue. I haven’t had a massage in over 10 years and had heard only good things about the spa. I was not disappointed. Everyone at the spa was very courteous and professional, and my masseur was great! I felt very relaxed but also energized after the massage! I ate dinner at all of the restaurants. The food was pretty good and presentation was much improved. I was not very excited by the menu items in the specialty restaurants. Dinners took a bit long, but the service was good. The company more than made up for it though!! Next time I would probably just stick to the buffet so I could spend more time at Paty’O. I missed much of the scheduled entertainment, but was able to catch the Bali-Hai show in Nice Shoes. Pretty cool show and worth seeing at least once. The white party was pretty fun with all of the glowing and blinky stuff! A very fun atmosphere. Which leads to Paty’O, by far the best improvement since my last trip. In prior years, the scheduled entertainment would end by 10pm, some people would head off to a club with the entertainment staff, and people at the resort were left to entertain themselves. The DJs really need to go back to DJ school. More comments below for them. The guests generally rose above the music and kept a really cool vibe. Lots of people dancing and having a good time. And it was great to be greeted by a lively group after I returned from a club!! I went out with the entertainment staff to Bull Dogs and Coco Bongo. Our VIP booth at Bull Dog was a great location. Pretty energetic vibe with a rather young crowd. I danced until 3am or so and grabbed a cab home. I would probably check out other places before heading back. Coco Bongo was more entertaining, but way too cramped for our “VIP” area. Took forever to get our first round of drinks, but service improved. The show was updated some but pretty much the same as past years. Probably my last visit to Coco Bongo. The Good: Overall the resort was well manicured and mildly updated in the past seven years, with Paty’O standing out as the best change. The staff and especially bartenders are just awesome. Always attentive and great attitudes, even when working in a couple inches of water in the Alternative on a very rainy day! We’ve watched many of them grow up! Great to see management and Steve’s relationship doing much better. And by far the best part is you people!!!!!!!! By far the best bunch or vacationers anywhere! Needs work: The night DJs. Ugh. There were times where they would change music and keep it interesting, but the transitions were more like switching from one CD to another, and many times there would be dead air. Have dead air just about anywhere else and you will get boo’d out of the booth. Also it’s not that hard to look out and see people don’t like a song or a particular genre. Mix it up and play to the crowd, not what you want to hear. Nice Shoes. New spot, same hot temperature! The old one had shorter tables in the front and taller ones for back. They should revive this simple idea so people in the back can see the shows easier. Overall: Management and staff are doing a great job. The resort seems to be on the right path, and I can’t wait to get back!!!! I only took a few pics (already up on my facebook page) so please feel free to email any you have of me to vegaserik@live.com, or if you post them on FB then feel free to tag me. Now I need a nap!!!
Thanks for your trip report. It's interesting to hear the perspective of someone who has not been there for several years, and used to go before I started vacationing at TTR. :xyxthumbs:
Fantastic report Erik. George and I were so glad to see you again!! We must do it again and again our friend!!! :3some: You are an Awesome Guy. XOXO Take Care, Debbie and George
