Hidden Costs

[alm0411]

So a few moths back we finally booked our resort, after doing a ton of research we decided to go with Ocean Blue & Sand in Punta Cana. Before I booked I bought an international calling card and called the resort to speak with the WC before we booked. I asked a lot of questions and got the answers I was looking for. I had also emailed her but got my answer by phone much quicker. So after we booked I then find out even though we upgraded our room, have seven other rooms booked for a minimum of 4 nights, our free wedding is still going to cost us $750. Okay fine no big deal still very cheap. At that time I was also told that there would be an additional charge per guest for anything over 10 people. I emailed our WC this week to ask again what that cost was and was sent an email back that there is no such charge but now on top of our unexpected $750 we have to upgrade our wedding package and it will cost another $950. I only have 14 guests, that's four more than what is allowed and they want me to upgrade to a package that is set up for 20 people, 14 is closer to 10 than it is to 20. Grrrr! So I emailed the WC and asked why so much more for four chairs. I also said if it was because of the wedding cake and chilled wine (that is included in our package) we can eliminate those and add four more chairs as we are having a big reception when we come home and will have a more formal sit down dinner, cake and drinks. Hope they say yes. Anyone else have a problem with hidden costs? If so were you able to get around any of them? Would love to hear how? At this point we don't have the option but to suck it up and pay for it. However like I said we are having the formal reception when we come home, would hate to add more expenses. Thank you.

[MBBride]

I can totally relate. After booking with the Majestic Colonial and after many emails, I too found that there were hidden costs. It just seemed like there was a lot of fine print, without the actually print anywhere. You almost need to know what kinds of questions to ask or you're left with a much higher bill than intended.

 

Package info/extra costs kept on changing drastically and because prices are not guaranteed (*price was subject to change) I decided to go with Jellyfish Restaurant for my reception. This was the best decision I have ever made. The communication with the WC at Jellyfish has been exceptional. Prices now actually reflect 2011 and are locked in, which is great when you're trying to figure out a budget.

 

I would just caution people to make sure to ask lots of questions and do your research. This forum is great for that...so many experience past brides on here. Due to the overwhelming popluarity of destination weddings, costs are going to reflect that as well. Good luck with planning ladies!

[lyndsay_h]

Ack that really sucks :/

My mom went to Dreams to talk to the WC before we booked there and she was told that if you book the silver package then add all the things you want its cheaper than getting most expensive package which included all the same things.  I was pretty surprised that someone was actually trying to save us money instead of keeping something like that hidden. 

[~Angela~]

I found that Dreams (Los Cabos, in my experience) has all that is included in their packages laid out very clearly.  I expected that if I asked for anything not stated there, then it would cost more.  I would hope that they have given you some sort of package with the details (in writing!) that lays everything out for you .....  ????

[alm0411]

They did give me a list of what was included in our package. Everything that was included worked well for us, as we are only having a small casual type wedding. Nothing fancy and with few guests. The only concern I had was if we had just a few more guests and so I asked and that is when it was said to me that there would be a small fee for any extra guests. I wasn't't too sure how many more we would have so I didn't't question any further. When I called the first time, I was asking about availability (since this was becoming a problem finding a resort that had availability) for the dates we were going she said that the dates were open and I could pick. She then sent me a form and had me pick three dates and my location. I filled it out emailed it back, called my travel agent and booked it. My fault maybe I shouldn't't have but I had been watching prices and they kept going up and I did not want to wait any longer. Then about three days later I received an email from her telling me that the judge was not available on any of the dates and that I had to switch to a symbolic ceremony and in her words "but it will save you money anyway." Which is how I found out that my free wedding wasn't't free after all. I sent her an email back telling her that she said all the dates were open and it would be no problem to get married on any of the dates we would be there and with a little arguing back and forth I learned I was pretty much at her mercy at this point and had to go with the symbolic wedding and okay yes it saved us $650 dollars to do it that way. But now all this. Ughh! Oh well lesson learned, just a warning now to everyone else planning. Good thing I am easy going and can roll with just about anything. I could see a lot more girls freaking out and I would like to but what would be the point. If I said what I really wanted to to them they would probably put a big note in the computer to treat us like crap or would lose our reservations. Hahaha! 

[khomac]

Are you sure it's an EXTRA $950?  Or maybe the $750 is now increased to $950?  Is that possible?  I think it's absolutely ridiculous to charge an EXTRA $950 for 10 more people.  That's $95 per person!

[MrsHemmings]

Thanks for sharing, my FI and I are finalizing our talks with Dreams palm beach and this was helpful.....i have more questions now

[~Angela~]

We worked out our fee for our extra people based on the food choices.  Basically, each extra person over the 20 included in our package was supposed to be $70.  That was laid out very clear.  However, they arrive at that price based on the food.  I picked most of my dinner from the Silver Menu, as ooposed to the Gold, and so my WC reduced the price per extra person to $55.

 

If there was nothing stated from the beginning about fees for extra people, I guess they can do whatever they want - which totally sucks for you!!!

 

Hopefully you can work it out!