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trentlaw

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  1. The catamaran company is called Catamaya. They are based out of Puerto Advanturas (a short drive from the resort). Here is their website: :::::::::: CATAMAYA :::::::::: They also do group rates if you do not want to rent out the whole boat. Their boat, staff, and experience was wonderful (we saw sting rays and sea turtles while snorkelling, then they handed you a drink when you got back on the boat). -Trent
  2. We were married May 23rd at the Royal Playa del Carmen...and we could not have asked for a better wedding. The Royal did an incredible job!!! We ended up with 132 individuals who attended (swine flu and all). We originally were assigned to Micaella as our wedding coordinator, but we were informed that she would not be working with the Royal in early February. This ended up being a blessing because we were assigned Michelle in her place. Michelle was simply amazing. Everything she suggested was perfect. She was so kind, and always there to reassure you and give you a hug. She planned everything and gave us great suggestions (and it went just as she said). In the end, she went above and beyond our expectations. We thought we might have 60 show up...but were overwhelmed with the number (we only lost 7 to the swine flu...at that time, the resort was giving refunds and travel agents were letting you cancel without insurance and penalties, and the airlines were giving refunds or vouchers). We arrived on Tuesday for the Saturday wedding. My fiancé' stayed in the Presidential Suite (incredible with its own pool) and I stayed in the Royal Master Beach Front (equally great room). Even though we were "legally married" in the US (as we did a legal ceremony right before we got there), we stayed in separate rooms. We opted for the religious ceremony (and we brought our own pastor to officiate). We had children involved in the wedding as well (flower girls and a ring bearer). Children are not allowed at the resort with the exception of the wedding. They all stayed next door (along with other some of our other friends). The Royal allowed the adults to come over for a $20 guest pass. This was nice to hang out with some of our friends at night. Michelle was a huge help in coordinating our guests at the other hotel. Since we had such a large group, we opted to have a few activities and do the rehearsal dinner away from the resort. On Friday Morning, we chartered a 70 foot Catamaran from Catamaya. We offered it to all of our guests, and we had about 90 go to it. They picked us up in Air conditioned vans and drove us 10 to 15 minutes away to the dock. This was going to be a snorkel/sailing/lunch and open bar trip. The boat was huge and we all had plenty of room. It had 3 levels (and 3 restrooms) and nobody felt cramped. They handed us a drink when we got on, then we sailed about an hour (with music in the background and a crew eager to assist us and make sure we were having a great time). We then went to a reef and snorkeled for about 45 minutes. When we got back in the boat, they served us lunch (cheeseburgers grilled from the back of the boat, etc). We then sailed for another hour and a half (and the crew was making sure everybody had a rum punch or margarita in hand). It was a fabulous morning. We returned to the resort about 1:30. We chose to do the rehearsal dinner at the Blue Parrott hotel down the beach. Paula from the Blue Parrott was excellent to work with as well. Everybody met in the lobby with a drink in hand at 6:45pm. Paula arranged for a 10 person mariachi band to "parade us" through the town until we arrived at the Blue Parrott. She handed out Mexican Maracas and rattles. It took us about 15 festive minutes to get there, and we arrived with a sit down dinner on the beach. The food was excellent. The Blue Parrott did a great job the whole evening. We stayed until after the fire show. They reserved us seats right by the show. It is a sight to see! The wedding day finally came. We chose the "Luxury Wedding Package" with a few upgrades and changes. We chose the Gazebo at 6:00 (the latest wedding). Michelle did a wonderful job and the Gazebo was absolutely beautiful. We had a harpist play before and during the ceremony. As previously stated, we had our own pastor officiate the ceremony. Michelle had everything perfectly planned (we did not ever do a rehearsal and it went without a flaw- we just listened to Michelle and her staff). After the ceremony they handed us champagne as we walked back down the aisle. They then gave the rest of our guests champagne at the Gazebo. We then went on the beach to get photos taken. We chose Caesar as our photographer (thanks to a recommendation from LSU Angel25- I talked to her on the phone before our wedding and she was a HUGE help. Thanks again for everything LSU Angel!!!) . He works with the hotel and their package. He is a perfectionist and took incredible photos. I would highly recommend him and his team. While he was taking photos, the mariachi trio escorted our guests to a garden cocktail hour. I do not know if it was due to the swine flu or what, but the resort went all out. They had both hot and cold appetizers- and drinks and staff everywhere- while the mariachi trio played (many of our guests thought that this was the actual reception and loved the food). After close to an hour, Michelle summoned everyone to go to the beach for the reception. The weather was perfect- not windy (although it was windy on the beach on other nights). Ivan with "D.J. Doremix" and his team was all set. They had a “lit up†dance floor (which was incredible). We went back and forth between choosing D.J. Doremix and D.J. Mannia. We were extremely pleased with our selection. Ivan with D.J. Doremix met with us at the hotel a few days before the wedding to go over the evening. He played wonderful background music during our dinner, then started the party out with a bang (literally). Everybody loved him and wanted to dance all night. He is the best D.J. I have ever seen at a wedding (with fireworks, props, balloons, etc.). Nobody wanted to leave because of him. Before the dancing started, we were seated to a four course meal. The food was excellent!!! We started with a salad, then a soup, then the main course (fillet mignon and jumbo shrimp with vegetables) followed by a chocolate shell dessert (not including the wedding cake later). We had our own private waiter tending to our every need! For anyone who has a chance, choose the beach for the reception and Ivan with Doremix as your D.J. The beach reception is amazing!!! I know this has been long...future brides and grooms are going to have a great wedding at the Royal!!! Try to get Michelle as your wedding coordinator if you get a chance!!!
  3. We were married May 23rd at the Royal Playa del Carmen...and we could not have asked for a better wedding. The Royal did an incredible job!!! We ended up with 132 individuals who attended (swine flu and all). We origianlly were assigned to Micaella as our wedding coordinator, but we were informed that she would not be working with the Royal in early February. This ended up being a blessing because we were assigned Michelle in her place. Michelle was simply amazing. Everything she suggested was perfect. She was so kind, and always there to reasure you and give you a hug. She planned everything and gave us great suggestions (and it went just as she said). In the end, she went above and beyond our expectations. We thought we might have 60 show up...but were overwelmed with the number (we only lost 7 to the swine flu...at that time, the resort was giving refunds and travel agents were letting you cancel without insurance and penalties, and the airlines were giving refunds or vouchers). We arrived on Tuesday for the Saturday wedding. My fiance' stayed in the Presidential Suite (incredible with its own pool) and I stayed in the Royal Master Beach Front (equally great room). Even though we were "legally married" in the US (as we did a legal ceremony right before we got there), we stayed in separate rooms. We opted for the religious ceremony (and we brought our own pastor to officiate). We had children invloved in the wedding as well (flower girls and a ring berrer). Children are not allowd at the resort with the exception of the wedding. They all stayed next door (along with other some of our other friends). The Royal allowed them to come over during the week for a $20 guest pass. This was nice to hang out with some of our friends at night. Michelle was a huge help in coordinating our guests at the other hotel. Since we had such a large group, we opted to have a few activites and do the rehearsal dinner away from the resort. On Friday Morning, we chartered a 70 foot Catarmaran from Catamaya. We offered it to all of our guests, and we had about 90 go to it. They picked us up in Air conditioned vans and drove us 10 to 15 minutes away to the dock. This was going to be a snorkel/sailing/lunch and open bar trip. The boat was huge and we all had plenty of room. It had 3 levels (and 3 restrooms) and nobody felt cramped. They handed us a drink when we got on, then we sailed about an hour (with music in the background and a crew eager to assist us and make sure we were having a great time). We then went to a reef and snorkelled for about 45 minutes. When we got back in the boat, they served us lunch (cheeseburgars grilled from the back of the boat etc). We then sailed for another hour and a half (and the crew was making sure everybody gad a rum punch or margarita in hand). It was a fabulous morning. We returned to the resort about 1:30. We chose to do the rehersal dinner at the Blue Parrott hotel down the beach. Paula from the Blue Parrott was excellent to work with as well. Everybody met in the lobby with a drink at 6:45pm. Paula arranged for a 10 person mariachi band to "parade us" through the town until we arrived at the Blue Parrott. She handed out Mexican Maracass and rattles. It took us about ten minutes to get there, and we arrived with a sit down dinner on the beach. The food was excellent. The Blue Parrott did a great job the whole evening. We stayed until after the fire show. They reserved us seats right by the show. It is a sight to see! The wedding day finally came. We chose the "Luxury Wedding Package" with a few upgrades and changes. We chose the Gazebo at 6:00 (the latest wedding). Michelle did a wonderful job and the Gazebo was absolutley beautiful. We had a harpest play before and during the ceremony. As previously stated, we had our own pastor officate the ceremony. Michelle had everything perfectly planned (we did not ever do a rehersal and it went without a flaw- we just listened to Michelle and her staff). After the ceremony they handed us champagne as we walked back down the aisle. They then gave the rest of our guests champagne at the Gazebo. We then went on to get photos taken. We chose Ceasar (thanks to a recommendation from LSU Angel25- I talked to he on the phone before our wedding and she was a HUGE help. Thanks again for everything!!!) as our photographer. He works with the hotel and their package. He is a perfectionist and took incredible photos. I would highly recommend him and his team.
  4. Congratulations Michelle!!! We leave Tuesday for a May 23rd Wedding. We have 115 coming (we only lost 9 with the swine flu). Any advice you would have (or anybody has) would be appreciated...
  5. Here is an article from CNN: Has swine flu story been overblown? Posted: 04:00 PM ET FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty: Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you have been bombarded with news coverage of the swine flu for several days now. And when the World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert to the second highest level — of 5 — yesterday, the media couldn’t get enough of it. After all, this stuff sells newspapers and gets ratings. But when you take a look at the numbers, it seems like the story might be overblown… The WHO has confirmed 257 cases of swine flu worldwide. 97 cases in Mexico, with seven deaths. Mexican officials have reported much higher numbers — 2,500 cases and more than 150 deaths — but those numbers haven’t been confirmed. In the U.S., the WHO says there are 109 confirmed cases with 1 death. Out of a population of more than 300 million people, that hardly seems to be cause for alarm. And scientists who are studying the virus say this strain of influenza doesn’t look as deadly as strains that have caused previous pandemics. In fact, some suggest that the current form of the swine flu virus may not even do as much damage as the regular flu. More than 13,000 people in the U.S. have died of complications from seasonal flu since January; and it’s expected to continue killing hundreds of people a week. In total, about 36,000 people a year die from the flu in this country; and worldwide, the annual death toll is somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000. One scientist tells the Los Angeles Times that just because the swine flu is being identified in more countries doesn’t mean it’s spreading especially quickly, saying: “You don’t ever find anything that you don’t look for.†Here’s my question to you: Has the swine flu story been overblown? Interested to know which ones made it on air? Doug from Dallas writes: Wow, that’s an understatement! This is nothing more than a new strain of the flu that comes every year. It isn’t any more contagious than regular flu. We don’t hear anything about the 36,000 people who die every year from the “normal†flu so what’s the big deal? If school systems shut down every time a kid got sick (ie. Ft. Worth), they’d never be open. Danny writes: Are you kidding me?! Hell yes, it is being overblown. This has to be the rhetorical question of the century. Richard from Orrtanna, Pennsylvania writes: Hi Jack. As it stands now, yes. But, if it were to become a killer virus, then the answer is no. You may be asking this question too early; you may have to ask it again next winter. Carrie from Seattle writes: It’s been completely overblown. I’m ready for it to stop, now. How about everyone learn to properly wash their hands, cover their mouths when they cough, etc. and we can tackle all the different flu bugs at once without mass hysteria. It’s ridiculous. Terence from Piscataway, New Jersey writes: Jack, It’s not overblown at all. When a member of our family catches this disease, we will all know what to do to get well and not spread it around. This is what makes our country so great. We are well-informed about everything through the media and you, Jack. Courtney from Connecticut writes: Overblown or not, I’m tired of hearing about it. I was initially concerned (my brother is getting married in Mexico in July!) and then frustrated. Now I just want everyone, especially the hypochondriac in my office, to take a step back for five minutes and chill. The sky is not falling, folks!
  6. I live in Fort Worth, Texas...(no "confirmed" cases of the flu). They just announced they are closing all the schools in Fort Worth down for 2 weeks (80,000 students) just to be on the "safe" side. Let the panic continue!!! My fiance and I were in Playa at the Royal Friday through Monday night. Everything was excellent as we were finallizing everything (and they are about to release new wedding packages...so no future weddings should commit to a package just yet- it will be cheaper). The Cancun airport Monday night was business as usual. No mayhem, riots, or out of control individuals. We did not see ANYBODY wearing masks in the airport either. Tuesday morning, one of the news media reported that there was "absolute chaos" at the Cancun airport the day before with travellers wearing masks, bandanas, and T-shirts over their faces to prevent them from getting the flu- not even close to the truth. It is funny how we have all survived the drug dealers, gun violence, hurricanes (and lions and tigers and bears) to be threatened by a microscopic piece of $hit! It is just not fair and yall are the only ones I can bitch to. We have 144 confirmed for May 23 (and we met with Michelle and she is wonderful). We still do not know what we are going to do.
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