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This was the best part of our trip. Aloha Airlines delayed our flight both coming into Lihue and leaving Lihue (hence the name eight days, nine nights). We were supposed to stay for seven nights but ended up with nine nights because of delays. On a side note, don't fly Aloha at all. Service, food, comfort levels all horrible. The Radisson was our choice for hotels when Aloha delayed our flight leaving Lihue. Their pool is split into four good sized pools (one three foot depth kiddie pool and a separate beach-like sand pool) and includes a spa/hot tub. They have a decent restaurant and nightly fire-lighting ceremonies as well as evening musical entertainment, occassional luaus, and a nightly happy hour when they serve free mai tais, beer, and other drinks for an hour. Their meals at the bar are good and relatively inexpensive for good burgers, etc. Entertainment at night in the family friendly lounge was awesome thanks to Tim, the ukelele master! The accommodations themselves were great. The room we stayed in was an ocean-front deluxe suite which was absolutely huge! King-sized bed, sofas, chairs, desk, and a tiny kitchen area were great. The view was fantastic. Service was excellent! Overall, fully recommended for a good time!

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We stayed at the Princeville for the last 3 nights of our honeymoon after a week in Maui. From the very start it was pure luxury. We would definitely recommend spending more time there if you can afford to! The room was great with the "magic window" as promised, and we had a partial ocean view. The endless pool and private beach were wonderful treats. We attended the luau the first night we were there, and while it was pricey, it was definitely worth it....great food, great entertainment and seemingly endless mai tais and midori sours. The only possible drawback to the hotel might be the extremely costly restaurants. We dined elsewhere for most meals, but stopped for coffee and dessert on our last night. The total for one (shared dessert) and one pot (2 cups) of coffee was somewhere in the $40 range. It was good, but I'm not sure it was THAT good. That being said, I can hardly complain because absolutely everything was top notch and high class.

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The only reason I booked the Four Points by Sheraton, Darling Harbour, was because it was the cheapest hotel in Sydney in the Starwood network. A firm believer in "you get what you pay for," I had my doubts as to whether this hotel would be near what I wanted to be near or how nice it would be. The hotel put those fears to rest. First thing they did to impress me was to allow check in at 7am. I had emailed the concierge with this request earlier, she could not guarantee it. After a sleepless 15-hour flight, I was relieved to be able to have a bed and a shower. And what a bed; it was a sweet sleeper bed just like at the regular Sheratons. It made the adjustment to another continent easier. The Four Points was a business hotel. Sometimes these come across as stuffy, especially when you’re wearing short and sandals and everyone else was in suits. The amenities were everything you get in an upscale hotel, stocked mini-bar, cable TV, in-room safe, and lovely n bathroom. There was even an electrical converter. Good thing since mine didn’t work. The best thing about business hotels was the room had a king-size bed. Sometimes it’s nice to have a king-size bed to yourself. I had two mishaps while staying here, but nothing that would stop me from staying here again. The first 1 was that I went straight to sleep after my 7 am check and was loudly awakened at 9:30am by the concierge who wanted to make sure the room was to my liking. Although I appreciated the gesture, waking me up from a deep sleep was not the way I wanted to start my day. The second mishap occurred on my last night. I had booked 2 nights using Starwood points and then booked a 3rd that I paid for. To do this I made 2 separate reservations. Even though I pointed this out upon check in and asked if there was anything I needed to do on Sunday, the front desk clerk said everything was fine. Sure enough I tried to get into my room Sunday night and the cardkey didn’t work. I had to back down to the lobby from the 7th floor and get a new cardkey. The best thing about the Four Points was its fabulous location. I was a 15-20 walk from the ferry terminal, add another 10 minutes from the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Darling Harbour was a great place to see in itself and it’s connected by a pedestrian bridge right from the hotel. I had no idea all the great places right behind me -the city aquarium, a huge shopping mall and all sorts of fabulous cafes and restaurants. I was at the hotel for a few days and was unable to sample the 2 restaurants and 24-hour fitness facility. When I go back to Sydney I will definitely stay at this location again.

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We loved the Hilton! Do not hesitate to book this hotel, it is outstanding. The pools are beautiful, as is the beach. There are tons of comfy, padded lounge chairs in both areas for total relaxation. The hotel is in the corridor which means it is about twenty minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas. Perfect for us as we only went to town twice. If staying put is not your thing, you can take the shuttle that runs every couple of hours for fifteen dollars a day per person. A taxi will cost twenty-five dollars one way. We preferred the quietness of the Hilton vs. the hotels by the marina. The restaurants are good, pricey as others have said. Drinks are pricey too. We went to the deli and bought our own, prices there were reasonable. Upgrade to a full ocean view it's worth it. We paid for a partial ocean view, and it was ok when you looked to the ocean, ugly when you looked the other way at a dirt parking lot. Once there we moved to a better room on the second floor that had a terrace with two lounge chairs with a great ocean view (cost twenty dollars per day plus taxes). Definitely made our stay that much better. I will definitely come back to this hotel!

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We have two children Age 11 and 7. The family pool and slide were great. Staff was friendly. Upon checking in they had us in a room with a bay view and I really wanted a pool view. They switched us without an issue. The bellhop took our bags to the room but first gave us a quick tour of the hotel. This was terrific and helped us get acclimated much quicker. Breakfast and dinner buffet (they had a childrens buffet too) was good but if you wanted a quick bagel and coffee breakfast, I found that expensive. $2.50 for a standard yogurt is excessive.The pool closed early on a weekday (8PM) but stayed open until 10 on weekend nights. Hotel room was clean and turn down service was nice. I thought the grounds could have been a little better. There were leaves in the hot tub and that surpirsed me. Not a great big deal but I did notice it. Overall I would stay again without hesitation.

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We recently stayed at a relatives time share and are so fortunate to have been placed at the sheridan vistana. Everything about this resort is awesome. Staff is friendly and very helpful. Our villa was beautiful and felt like home. Very clean and never a problem to get anything you might need. The pools are beautiful and there is never a problem getting a lounge. Since there are 7 pools if one is to busy you can always go to another pool. Food is very good but a little pricey on site. The location is the best. You are right in the middle of a million things to do. The longest we drove to go anywhere was 30 minutes. Disney is about 15 minutes away. We had a rental car but there are shuttles at the hotel running all the time. Yes, the resort is large but we did not find it at all difficult to get around. We would definetly stay here again and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to stay in orlando especially if you want to be close to the theme parks. Don't miss the arabian nights dinner show; it is well worth the money. This hotel exceded our expectations.

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Upon arriving we were moved to another of their hotels a block away, probably because we were staying one night and it was a holiday week, May Day. Rome was extremely crowded that day, waits for the sistene chapel were around 5 hours unless you paid extra for a tour. Which we did, still took about 2 hours. This hotel was a block from the train statiion about 5 blocks from the Colluseum. Had to take the metro to the Vatican. Very simple in Rome as there are only two main lines to travel on the metro. Lots of history and we would go back and stay longer in the future. But not during a holiday. Staff was helpful and friendly and kept our luggage all day for us to sightsee on our last day. Location was good but I would try something new next time in a different area.

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Everything about this hotel (except price, of course) was perfect. the public areas are unbelievably beautiful, the rooms are spacious and well-appointed, housekeeping is attentive and the service is sublime. Regarding location, the Palace is in the most interesting part of town, across from the Prado and near the other major museums, the "downtown" part of Madrid is an easy walk away, the city's parks are an easy walk in the other direction, and the hotel borders on the old part of the city, which include the best restaurants, shops and clubs. During our stay the hotel hosted a visiting American NBA team who were playing one evening on their tour entitled NBA Europe. Despite the potential for disruption typically caused by the press, PR types, and sports groupies who are always present at such spectacles, the hotel staff was able to control the entourage and maintain a serene sense of calm the entire time. I would strongly recommend the Westin Palace to any business or tourist visitor to Madrid, and would definitely stay again.

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This was our first cruise on Azamara Journey and our second cruise in the Baltic Sea, the previous cruise being on Maasdam in 2000. We have been cruising for over 19 years and have cruised the Caribbean, South America, Asia, Alaska, Mediterranean and the Panama Canal sailing on assorted cruise lines and ships, 20 in total. This cruise was a 12 night cruise sailing roundtrip from Copenhagen visiting Warnemunde (for Berlin), Sea Day. Helsinki, St. Petersburg (3 Days). Tallinn (Estonia), Stockholm (2 Days), Sea Day, Traemuende (for Luebeck or Hamburg) returning to Copenhagen. The cruise departed on a beautiful warm Sunday (high 20s C or 80s F). We had excellent weather especially for the Baltic in early June, with only 2 showers, one at sea and the other in Traemuende. We had to abandon the shorts and t-shirts after we reached Helsinki but it was still very comfortable time of year to visit the region, very green and lush. Azamara Journey - Ship Information One of two former Renaissance ships (R Six) in the Azamara fleet. The ship is beautifully fitted out and gives you that premium feeling while being intimate, less than 700 passengers and a little over 400 crew. Many of the passengers we met had planned to sail or had sailed Oceania and remarked how much the enjoyed Azamara Journey and one passenger who was a travel agent said he would be directing his clients to Azamara in the future because Azamara was better value for money. If we had a concern about the ship it would be the gym while well maintained was warmer than most gyms and the Hot Tubs on deck seemed a little light on the bubbles. One final point about the ship that is often left out of the reviews we have read about Azamara Journey is that her size allows her to get into smaller ports much closer to the city center. With the exception of Stockholm where there are restrictions on ships staying overnight at the close in piers, we were walking distance at every port we visited. For example in St Petersburg we docked in the city center (English Esplanade) only a 10-minute bus trip to the Hermitage. If we had Russian visas we could have walked into town. This is wonderful having visited St Petersburg in 2000 on Maasdam, we had 45 - 60 minute bus trip to the same location and that was provided there was no traffic. If you have been to St Petersburg you know how bad the traffic can be. Service, Captain, Officers and Crew We must say on the twenty cruises we have been on this cruise had the most visible, accessible and personable officers. We have never met so many of the ship's officers and the senior hotel staff on a ship. Many of the officers we met would stop and talk to you every time you met. The Hotel Director, Phillip Herbert and his direct reports were always around the public areas and keen to chat. Phillip was genuinely anxious and sincere in making the cruise enjoyable as were all of the officers. Dottie Kulasa was our Cruise Director and what a refreshing change from the Caribbean mega ships. She was the right mix of outgoing and cheer. Many of the ships we have been on the Cruise Directors always want to be the Life of the Party and for us this gets old. Dottie, like her staff seemed to be very visible and approachable. They really made us feel at home and kept us smiling. Our Captain was Carl Smith, the first British captain we have had the pleasure to sail with and definitely our favorite. In addition to the daily statistics at noon he would give the passengers information on the voyage and what might be of interest. At departure he would explain over the public address system how he would be casting off, which ropes, how the currents would affect the pull away from the quay, etc. It may sound like too much detail but everyone we met loved it. Shore Excursions As we mentioned this was our second Baltic cruise and we lived in Hamburg for three years so we only planned two excursions both in Russia because you cannot leave the ship except with a Russian visa that must be bought in advance or on a ship organized excursion. We strongly recommend if you are the independent sightseers and you are on Azamara in St Petersburg, that you get the tourist visa before you leave home. On Azamara you are so close to everything it would be great to have the freedom to walk off the ship. Both excursions we went on were very well organized and the guides were great. We took the 'Canals and Shopping' trip in St Petersburg which was great for us. We could snap pictures from the canal boat without all of the traffic. Our second trip was the one-day tour of Moscow. We left the ship at 7am and with our St Petersburg guide and were driven by coach to the airport for a flight to Moscow aboard the Russian airline and a Russian airliner, a Tupolev 155M. The flight to Moscow was on time but the return flight was about three hours late, not too different from a Western airline, and we got food on board on hour long flight! We do recommend the Moscow trip, the St Petersburg guide accompanied us the whole day and we had a local guide in Moscow and another guide in the Kremlin, all excellent. We had very nice dinner in the Writers' Club before returning to the Moscow airport. All the remaining ports we did on our own and as mentioned before we were within walking distance of the city centers except Stockholm where the cruise line provided a shuttle for a nominal fee. Having been to most of the tour locations we stayed in Travemuende and Warnemunde. Both towns were picturesque and not overrun with tourists. We do recommend that if you have the opportunity while cruising the Baltic or North Sea do try to visit Hamburg. Most non-German tourists do not know much about the city. It is beautiful, the city center surrounds two lakes and there are numerous canals running through the city with gorgeous homes and gardens. The city is the second or third largest city in Germany but you cannot tell. There are very few tall buildings as you find in Berlin and Frankfurt. It is also the richest city in Germany and the homes and buildings reflect it Copenhagen Airport, Transfers and Embarkation We booked our cruise quite late and we were traveling from London so we made our own arrangements. We had big problems due to delays by our budget airline. We had the port agent's contact details from our Azamara travel documents so we contacted the agent who was very helpful and let us know that we had enough time to get a later flight and make our ship. We recommend you carry the port agent details, had we not contacted the agent we may have not tried to meet the ship in Copenhagen and gone on to Warnemunde and missed a day on the ship. Within 35 minutes of leaving Copenhagen airport we were at the pier. Within another 15 minutes we were on board. We had preregistered so our only complication was that we didn't have luggage tags as all our documents were electronic. The shore staff had to find us luggage tags, which was done promptly. Stateroom We had a beautiful Sky Suite on Deck 8. The cabin was one of the biggest cabins we have ever had. The bathroom was very large with a bathtub / shower combination. The bathroom is appointed in granite or marble. Plenty of hot water and the extra thick bath sheets and towels were wonderful, not the highly bleached towels of the mega ships. The bed was very comfortable with European linen and mattress topper. The veranda was also very large though a bit narrow. We had a small fridge that was kept stocked with soft drinks and bottled water compliments of Azamara. Even though our cabin was near the elevators and below the Windows Café it was very quiet. Our butler and his assistant were very good and not obtrusive. They kept the cabin clean and comfortable throughout our cruise. We had room service breakfast on two mornings and the first time we were not clear on our order form so the steward called and clarified our order and everything arrived perfect. Dining Dining on Azamara Journey was wonderful. We enjoyed dinners in each of the two specialty restaurants twice. Prime C focuses on the Steakhouse feel and Aqualina's menu was seafood and Mediterranean cuisine. The service and the food were excellent in both. The Discoveries Restaurant was the main dining room and was open seating. The service and food were also excellent and they were more than willing to accommodate special requests such as my wife's favorite ice cream. We also had breakfast in Discoveries on three mornings and they were more than willing to fit our schedule i.e. fast service or a leisurely pace. The Eggs Benedict were outstanding. While there were minimal dress code requirements in the dining rooms there were no formal nights, which we missed. We did like being able to dine at Discoveries without a fixed seating but missed having the same waiting staff each night who are then able to learn your likes and dislikes. It also makes it harder to meet people. The remainder of the mornings we had breakfast in the Windows Café buffet or in our cabin. The Windows Café had a wonderful buffet that changes regularly even for breakfast. At breakfast they even had a smoothie bar where you could choose your own fruit combination from a wide range and it was made up for you right there and then. For lunch we had a mix of dishes from the Pool Grill and Windows Café. The Pool Grill was wonderful and everything was made to order which meant it was fresh however we recommend that if you are getting food from the grill and the café that you order from the grill first and then it will be ready after you get your other food from the café. One last point on dining or drinking, we love to have a quiet drink before dinner and seek out a reasonably quiet bar on the ship such as Michael's Club on Celebrity Cruises. Unfortunately on Azamara Journey the Michael's Club is the library. We asked the Maitre d' and he arranged with the Sommelier from the nearby specialty restaurants to find us a quiet corner in Michael's Club to enjoy our glass of champagne each evening before dinner. Summary A wonderful cruise in all ways, the itinerary was great and though we had been most places before we thought we enjoyed them more this time. The ship and our cabin were beautiful and comfortable with ship's size making everything, both on and off ship more accessible. The food and service was outstanding. Finally, the captain and his officers and crew made it most enjoyable.

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I sailed on January 6 with the Adventure of the Seas. This was my first RCCL cruise, having only sailed once before on MSC in the Mediterranean. I sailed with a group of 8 including one 15 month old. Logistically it is challenging to keep a group of this size occupied and happy, but the Adventure of the Seas is a big enough boat that it delivers. The itinerary was Southern Caribbean stopping in Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Having the cruise start in San Juan saves a day at sea in getting to Aruba. There are other itineraries on other ships that leave from Florida, but it takes two days to get to the deep south. The one flaw of the cruise was embarkation. It was extremely time consuming, taking over two hours to board. We purposely avoided going to the pier at the every start of embarkation to avoid the crowd. But despite that, there were over 1000 people in line when we arrived. The process is compounded by the fact that over 3600 passengers sailed on our cruise. The embarkation process proved to the be the only major hiccup on our trip. As many reviewers comment, the ship is very large. The central promenade is a very pleasant open space that has shops, some lounges and a 24 hour coffee shop. For its size, there was minimal to no movement felt on the boat. The itinerary included two days at sea. However due to good weather, a rock climbing wall and plenty of decks to explore, the days at sea passed quickly. The ship is big enough that I did not feel that I was sharing it with 3600 other passengers. The rooms have shown their age. I booked a balcony about 45 days before departure to get the best deal. Balconies are the way to go! There is nothing like sitting outside at 2am and seeing the stars go by and the moon shimmer on the water. That said, as many other posts have alluded to, carpets and furniture are stained and definitely need to be revamped. The AC was good and felt I had enough space with my wife and 15 month old child. There is enough insulation between cabins that I only heard a muffle from the neighbors. Dining was excellent. The central dining room is a three story, "Titanic-style" grand dining room. The staff were very attentive and the food was top notch. I heeded the previous reviews and avoided the buffet. The food there was marginal and I too saw little kids playing with the food with their fingers. The staff was sometimes attentive in removing the offended food. Disembarkation was very orderly taking only 30 minutes. It was very easy to get a taxi back to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I highly recommend the Adventure of the Seas for its size and great dining. I will wait till it gets refurbished before I sail on it again.

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Carnival Conquest Our family of 5 (mom, dad, twin boys age 10, and our little girl age 7) arrived around 1pm and the place was already packed. The port parking lot was already full and we had to park in a hotel parking lot at an expected rate of $20/day. We waited about 30 minutes before we were signed and then passed to another desk down the hall where the keys/cards awaited us with virtually no waiting. The last step where you where corralled through four different areas (two waiting, one photo, and then security before we were able to board. Carnivals security system that takes your picture entering and leaving the ship (at ports) is pretty neat and quick. Food Taste/Quality We have sailed four times on RCCL and I guess we were spoiled. As I am writing this, we are at day 4 of our 7 day inaugural cruise and we have yet to have an "outstanding" meal from the dining room. (OK-the last night was a pretty decent meal.) The quality of food made us question whether we wanted to dress for dinner and go to the dining room or just go to the Lido deck for a good meal. The food in the outlying areas/lounges has been better than the offerings in the evening dining room. The Grill, Pizzeria and PC's Wok, and Lido deck buffets were all very good. I haven't personally tried Paul's Deli as of yet but I have heard good things onboard from others that it is well. The Chocolate Extravaganza (2 complete buffet's of Chocolate on the last sea day, also on the Lido deck) was a big hit (and a long long line!) I didn't go to the Midnight Gala Buffet, and only heard one comment that it was "so-so" afterwards. Dining room Service Again here I assume that Carnival and RCCL are just in different classes when it comes to service. In the Renior dining room, we were NEVER offered anything other than water to drink. Although when I did ask for ice tea it was presented each evening. Our waiter complained that there was not enough work space for the staff and therefore they had a difficult time in serving us. I would say by day three they had worked out this problem and were serving in a timely manner. The Matre'd had a great voice… but we never saw him except standing at the desk when we entered the dining room. He never came around to the tables either while he was singing, or not. On RCCL, the Matre'D or Head Waiter usually shells anything that needs to be shelled (crab, shrimp, etc.) on the Conquest, I had trouble just getting my water refilled. Other areas service Like any other cruise we have been on the staff were polite, helpful and quick to clean up behind you. Drinks (water, tea, lemonade, orange and apple juice plus a hot chocolate machine that was a big hit) were self serve and spaced conveniently around the Lido deck (9). Room service was extremely quick the few times we utilized it. Although on RCCL the entire menu is available, the condensed room service menu suited our needs and the food was better than expected in any hotel I have been in. Rooms One word here. SPACE. Carnival did well on the rooms. We had two adjoining rooms on deck 2 (2319/2323). Adjoining rooms are only available on decks 1 and 2. No verandahs with adjoining rooms available on this ship. More storage space than we ever could use (three full size closets, cabinets, drawers everywhere). Nice size vanity areas and bathrooms (big shower). Multiple washer/dryers on each floor were very convenient ($2 wash/$1.50 30m Dry). Adjoining doors in a good spot to be out of the way when open. The few times we saw our cabin steward he was very friendly. Did a pretty good job everywhere. Probably left things alone that we wondered why the RCCL stewards were bothering our "stuff" by putting it away, rearranging it, etc. On Carnival, "Juicy" as I called him (couldn't pronounced his French name any other way) kept the cabin clean, everything stocked, and played with towels rather than my wife's nightgown which she cleverly hid. Pools/Slide Water slide was a big hit with the kids. There are four pools (that I saw) on board. And although they first appeared quite small, I never saw any of them really "full". On the last sea day for some reason they started trying to enforce height restrictions (46") on the slide which made my 45" 7 y/o swimmer very unhappy. The aft pool has a retractable roof and heaters so even on overcast cool days (and nights!) it is comfortable to sit on the deck or swim. The pool area is well designed and has a very nice amphitheater design stretching from the Lido deck (9) all the way up to deck 11. Entertainment One word: Fantastic!! Here we have not experienced much of the RCCL entertainment fare.

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This place is the worst place we have ever stayed in. It was dirty, old and falling apart. Your best bet is to keep driving and search for another place. This place needs much work and many updated features to bring it up to speed with other 4 stars hotels. I stayed in a room on the 6th floor, with backyard view and airconditionning noise, and when I asked for a better room I visited different floors which are very much better but with an extra per night... avoid west end hotel.

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I was not impressed by this hotel. It was old and the staff was very rude. On the first night, I called down for towels in my room - not extra towels, just TOWELS. After waiting for 1 hour, I called back - there was no record of me calling the first time! I had to wait another 45 minutes before someone showed up.

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We stayed at the Embassy Suites on a family vacation. At first, I was hesitant to stay downtown, since it is not in the middle of the "action" in midtown, but a subway station is close, and cab fare for the four of us to midtown venues like the theater never exceeded 12 dollars. The location was not an issue at all, and in fact made for a very nice stay. The hotel is on a quiet street, and there was absolutely no street noise - quite a rare find in Manhattan. The area is also very safe and clean, and the downtown area is the oldest part of NYC - dating back to the 1600s - some very cool stuff to see and do. The hotel staff was VERY helpful and courteous, the rooms clean and well-appointed - and larger than most NYC hotel rooms. The only thing I will note is that the hotel no longer offers a view of the waterfront - a condo complex has sprung up between the hotel and the Hudson, so you will not get that "harbor view" that the website promotes. It's totally OK, though - great hotel!!!!

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We stayed at the Sun Palace for the second half of our honeymoon. Coming from Le Blanc, this hotel severely suffered from comparison. If you are lookig for luxury and relaxation, look there first! When we first arrived in our room, we had been upgraded to the junior suite, #531. While the room was large, it overlooked the loud activity pool and construction next door. I called downstairs and asked to see a room on the 6th floor, since I had read about the large balconies on TA. We accepted a "downgrade" to superior room #615 (which is just a bit smaller, but not much) after seeing the balcony. I HIGHLY recommend you do everything in your power to get one of the large balconies. Laying on the balcony bed reading a book or snuggling was the best part of the hotel. The rooms were above average, tastefully decorated, stocked with beverages and had modern bathrooms and large jacuzzis. The bed was quite hard, but that is our only complaint in this area. The pools were nice-looking, but very crowded with SLOW beverage service and the activities were loud and obnoxious at the main pool. Every half hour, they start screaming over the micorphone. Our last day we spent by the ocean instead, and that was much better. The beach is nice, waves were pretty rough, but we swam anyways, nearly losing our bathing suits several times. :) The food was just ok. Of course this part of the experience was ruined since my husband had a worm crawl across his plate one night in the main restaurant. They were very apologetic, but we left almost immediately. The chef sent up a cheese and cracker plate, a fruit plate and champagne in about 15 minutes and that helped a lot! The italian restaurant was pretty weak. Atmosphere was romantic, but everything tasted like it had been reheated. We loved the atmosphere of the asian restaurant, but the appetizers were so awful that we left and got dinner at the italian restaurant instead. (For reference, we ordered the tempura which was very greasy and terrible sushi that didn't taste fresh). The Steak was pretty good, with a large variety. The lobby bar was pretty cheesy, but at least it was busy and had a few games to play. Overall, I would only recommend this hotel if you are young, don't usually travel and are not looking for luxury. I would not recommend for relaxation or people looking to be pampered.

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The service is boarding on absurd, they will not say No to anything. Each floor has a personal butler that will pack and unpack your bags, book excursions or spa treatments. The food at all 3 restaurants were top notch with a huge wine list to choose from. Oriental was superior to all 3 if I needed to narrow it down.The grounds and rooms are clean, luxurious, and well maintained.

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I just returned from vacationing at Le Blanc with my daughter and a friend of hers. I had an amazing experience! The staff at the resort were warm and friendly. They made certain that our every wish was granted. The Spa is an absolute must. This is the best getaway for pure relaxation and if your looking for action, Le Blanc has some of that as well with live entertainment daily. Le Blanc's D.J. is good, he plays mixed music to accomodate everyone. Once you stay at Le Blanc, you won't want to stay anywhere else in cancun. We Will definitly be back, at least I know I will be back.

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This was our second visit to the Riu, having really enjoyed our first visit despite negative reviews (not all) viewed on Trip Advisor. Our stay June 27-30. On check in, we had to stand at the front desk and wait to be attended to while we noticed a lot of other guests being directed to the adjacent bar and offered a welcome drink. They were seated at the bar while they were checked in. We were not!! I advised the check in lady that I had paid extra for ocean view room and wanted to be sure we got what we paid for. Wrong. The room we were assigned had partial, maybe garden view ?from the left of balcony and a view of the rest of the hotel balconies from the right side balcony!! They did try to mask the musty odor in the hallways leading to the rooms, the beach chairs had no shade umbrellas, in fact it was very difficult to get even poolside chairs with an umbrella. People would go down at 7am and place towels and books to reserve their chairs etc. Food was good, the Japanese rest. was a joke!! The Italian was great, the steakhouse great, the Tapas was mediocre. Buffet was good. All in all, we will not be back at this facility, it is too far from the main hotels that enjoy downtown shopping and nicer beaches. At check-in we were not advised of included activities at the hotel. The evening shows were good.

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Alaska, the Last Frontier, may be a cliche statement, but on a recent vacation there I found out how true it is. Miles and miles of awe inspiring scenery, uninhabited by humans, made even this Texan feel small. The Holland America staff had everything well organized on the land tour as well as the cruise, but I still had plenty of freedom to go and do as I pleased. If you go, plan on more than one night at Denali National Park. There's just way to much to see and do there. You won't want to miss the bears, Dall sheep, moose, caribou, Mt. McKinley, .... The personnel at Tramex really worked with me to include every aspect of this vacation that I wanted. All my questions were quickly answered and every bit of information I needed was in the packet I received before leaving. Thanks for helping to make this the vacation of a lifetime. For pictures of the trip: http://www.tramex.com/blog/clientpics/kstork/kstork.htm

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We just took our 7 & 4 year old to Disney World for the 2nd time. We went last summer and came back almost hating Disney but, this year, we were thrilled with our decision to give Disney another try. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and, I will say, it does benefit you to stay at one of the nicer Disney properties and get the meal plan with your park-hopper pass. The kids loved being able to look out of the hotel lobby and see zebras and giraffes - they thought we were staying at the zoo and that was pretty cool to them. This hotel is very well done in an African-safari theme throughout, including the restaurants. The only drawback I had with this is that, except for the casual cafe, all of the menus were African cuisine. Unless you truly love this type of food, you will need to plan on eating dinner at the parks or other Disney resorts. They also had a large pool with a slide which was fantastic and especially refreshing after a day at one of the parks. Since we were staying at a Disney resort, they offered us their "magic hours" which allowed us to get into the parks an hour earlier than the public each day. If you're like me and have small children, this is a MUST! We were the first ones in the park and were able to ride almost everything we wanted to (some things multiple times) before the crowds hit. We typically stayed at the park until mid-day, returned to our hotel to swim and/or rest, then would head back out for dinner at one of the parks or other Disney hotels. Usually after dinner, we still had time to go back to one of the parks and would take advantage of the late "magic hours" - opened late for only those staying at a Disney resort. If you choose to stay late, make sure you get a special wristband from the front gate for each person in your party PRIOR to the park closing. This is how they recognize who/who isn't allowed in the park after-hours. Along with our park-hopper pass, we purchased the meal plan this year. This is a MUST if you're going to stay at a Disney Resort and want to save quite a bit of money. Food and beverages can be really expensive at Disney and this is a great way to save on that. My daughter and I had lunch with Cinderalla one day and were able to use one of our meal options for this, otherwise, it would have cost us $75.00. At the same time, my husband and son were having lunch with Mickey Mouse and this would have cost around $60. The meal plan is roughly $25 per person per day and worth it. Now, Disney does allow you to take a cooler into the parks so I recommend you take plenty of water! We did not take a cooler, therefore, we probably spent around $60 on buying bottles of water in the park in 6 days! The Disney Express is great! We never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus to take us to/from the parks. We had a car last year and it took us forever to park and then take a trolly or cart to the Disney park..plus you pay for parking each day. The buses take you close to the front gate and it is much better! The downside to not having a car is that, if we wanted to go from our hotel to another hotel for dinner, we had to take a bus to one of the parks and then transfer to the bus or monorail that was going to the hotel we wanted to get to. A little more time consuming. We truly enjoyed our vacation and would recommend it to anyone!

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We just wrapped up a Backroads trip with a picnic lunch and checked into the Wyoming Inn for our last night here. There were 6 couples on the trip with 2 young ladies as our guides. Everything was extremely well done and the people were great. We had good weather except for the day we were supposed to kayak, and that was scrubbed since the air temperature was about 40 degrees, which was colder than the water temperature, which was considered too dangerous. No one was too upset since we were all cold and the forecast was gloomy for the rest of the day. We hiked a total of 25 miles in 2 hikes and biked over 60 miles in 2 rides, one of which was 42 miles. We did a raft ride on the Snake River today which was a nice end to the trip since it was not too rigorous. Overall we would give the trip a 9 out of 10. The only thing we didn't like (which was always part of the deal) was that we had to repack our bags every day but one. The Backroads crew fed us like kings - the lunches they prepared were fantastic, and we had great food in the hotel restaurants. The best part was the people we met - I think the Backroads trips attract the kind of people we have a lot in common with, and that was certainly the case on this trip. We expect to keep in touch with one couple for sure that lives in New Orleans which is about 2 hours from the town we are moving to, and we really enjoyed the time we spent with them. The guides were fantastic, and did everything to make each person happy. They always seemed happy to be there, even when they were lugging suitcases and racking bikes. Several couples on the trip were repeat customers, one with 5 trips and one with 18 trips with Backroads - you cannot get a better recommendation than that. We expect we will do another trip with them as well. Thanks for your help setting up the trip for us. View our pictures here: http://www.tramex.com/blog/clientpics/slongfield

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The Riu Place is one of the nicest all inclusive resorts in Aruba. There are a few key things to be aware to help make your stay more enjoyable when you stay at this resort: - Rooms - Make sure to book your room in the building that has larger outside balconies - some of the rooms did not have a balcony with chairs, only a walk out portion. Also, make sure to request a room in the interior of the resort, these all have a view of the pool and ocean. The exterior rooms have a view of the neighboring resorts. - Beach - If you would like to reserve chairs with an umbrella, you need to go out around 7 AM and reserve the chairs with your beach towel to ensure you get an umbrella for the day. If you go out later, you run the risk of not getting an umbrella. - Restaurants - Make sure to book first your dinner reservation first thing in the morning for the time slot you want. They only offer 2 timeslots and they fill up fast. All of the restaurants have pretty good food. The best restaurant by far was Crystal, it had a romantic atmosphere and the best food on the resort. - Traveling Downtown - It is more cost effective to take the bus downtown vs. taking a taxi. The bus stop is very close to the resort (within walking distance). If you are planning on stopping for lunch, Iguana Joes is a great restaurant with a fun atmosphere, decent price and great food.

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Yes, we had a wonderful time! We enjoyed our few days in Budapest, took a strudel-stretching class which was a lot of fun! We boarded the boat, and were pleased with the location of our cabin, it had plenty of storage space and we were cozy. The demographic was definitely 55+ and we met several couples from all over the USA. We became friendly with one couple so always sat with them at meals, etc. The food was good, nice selection, not too far out there. The house wine was very good! The tours were just OK...we are used to independent travel so the slower pace was a bit of an adjustment. Then we had a few days in Nuremberg after the cruise...turns out Nuremberg was our favorite town. We enjoyed the very powerful tours of the Nuremberg Trials courtroom and the Nazi Rally Grounds and museum there. Spent the rest of our time there in the old town, just exploring. We had a bit of an issue getting our flight from Nuremberg to Frankfurt (was canceled two days in a row) so we ended up taking a cab to Frankfurt. Lufthansa definitely lost money on our tickets! Thanks for all your help. Hotel Victoria in Nuremberg was the perfect location, and we can highly recommend the Le Meredien in Budapest!

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We had a great time. And thank god for first class on AM, the Cancun airport was a zoo on Sunday when we got there, but they took us right to the counter and checked us in immediately. That was a huge hit with my sixteen year old (he is still telling people about it). As far as the Cancun Palace, I would say that the resort itself is really nice. The pool and the beach are better than either the Playacar or Cozumel Palace resorts. That was the highlight for sure, we loved that beach. The rooms are very similar, we liked them a lot. I won't take off points because of our room location (we never got moved, they kept telling me they were working on it, I finally stopped asking), but in the future I would like to know how to ensure we can get an ocean view...that is something that I am willing to pay for if it can be confirmed ahead of time. The food was not as good as the other Palace resorts. It was good, but not the same quality and presentation as either Cozumel or Playacar Palace. That's probably due to the size of this resort. Only complaint, other than our view, is the noise. It is a noisy hotel...again, due mostly to the number of people (and kids) and the location of our room (3rd floor has restaurants and bars).

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We are still trying to get back on Florida time and it isn't easy! Seems Alaska is Four hours different and we got used to the late (for us) getting up. Having meals prepared for us didn't hurt either. All in all, it was a marvelous trip with lots of warm memories to hang onto. We met some really nice people on the train to Seward (temp today 47) and kept running into them on the ship as well. She wanted me to do a karaoke thing with her one night but we lost track and i lostmy nerve, anyway. Anchorage was just lovely - clean and bright, with lots of hanging flower baskets in front of shops. Gorgeous flowers including some lavendar geraniums! Never saw that color before. And the NS streets are 1, 2, 3, etc., and the EW streets are A, B, C, etc.. After breakfast, Jim went back to the hotel and I went shopping - and didn't get lost. I thought that was pretty spectacular. The train had a great observation car (which we were on) that had a clear roof, except for the center section that was tinted. The conductor said it had been a Florida "fun in the sun" car and this RR bought it. Nice. Food and bev available and very good. Then the ship! The captain said the passengers represented 39 nationalities and the crew represented 60! So the food in the Windjammer Cafe was varied as well as delicious. We ate all oour meals up there after the first night in the dining room. The food as almost lack-luster and the service flamboyant. Not a super combination. But upstairs, Deck 11 to be precise, it was all buffet and all sorts of everything - curries, stuff I couldn't even pronounce, a fine roast of something, and carved fruits and veggie into flowers, fish and lots of stuff. The Asian area, sushi, of course, and a gorgeous dragon! Carved from something! I kept forgetting my camera but finally remembered on the last nights. It was orangey color and I couldn't figure the source. The young chef at that place is from Manila and teaches at a culinary school there. One of the other chefs, standing behind me, told me that. He hold me the young Philipino had carved the dragon and took a picture of me/dragon/chef. It was made of cheese! Incidentally the cabin was delightful and the balcony was just wonderful. Juneau was first stop and my memory is cloudy as was the weather. Cold, drizzly and the site of our first tour. That was the seaplane to Taku Lodge and King salmon feast. We flew over 5 glaciers and the colors were awesome. So were the lodge and te food. The bears had to be left behind. The food was so good, Jim at all his salmon! You'll try it, you'll like it. The glacier is expected to reach the lodge in about 200 years. Standing on the front lawn, so to speak, one is facing the glacier over the river. Wow! Next stop, Skagway. That's where we rode a bust to "liarsville", a replication of a Gold Rush Camp. There was a great show built around a Robert Service poem about that period then they handed out the pans to pan for gold. The performers were very good and accompanied by a banjo and guitar and cute little lady who did pantomime. Then the bus again to catch the White Pass Railway. Historical and fun, even Jim enjoyed it and he doesn't get excited about trains. Icy Strait Point has the world's longest ZipRider - six lines at a time - and up to 60 mph! It's 5330 feet long, including a 1,200 foot vertical drop - accelerate to 60 mph, if you like. We, on the other hand visitied the cannery and wandered around the village. It is a Tlingit village still and the shops and cannery are all run by Native American Alaskans. We couldn't dock there and had to be tendered in and that was kind of an adventure in itself. Ketchikan was the last port before the Inside passage, which was "at sea" all day. We did their "land and sea" tour, which took in an old cannery, re-done to demonstrate how it was done, and still is, but not there. Then we boarded a small, nice and friendly boat to go hunt for whales. Finally found some and they were on all sides, it seemed, but far away. Dummy me hadn't yet mastered the zoom part of the camera but I did get several small whale tails, anyway. The one really big one suddenly appeared right off the bow and the tail was up - and huge! But it was unexpected and I don't think anyone got a picture. Oh well. There it was anyway. Vancouver is quite a metropolis. Six lanes thru town, nice hotel, by the way. Concierge service was excellent. David, my fave, recommended Takis' Taverna for dinner. Good Souvlaki and stuff. The food was very good. Next night, he sent us up to Lombardo's - Jim wanted pizza. The place was close to the hotel, the food was great and I had the best Tiramisu I have ever eaten! Family restaurant and family recipes. Fireworks in the bay, but not until 10 PM and we had an early call in order to get to the airport on time. But we could hear them and saw some reflections in buildings backing up to the water area. Quite a place. Beautiful Stanley Park. Wow. Vancouver Airport, Customs, Security, blah blah then we are on a totally full full plane and slightly late getting into Houston - from which we were over an hour late leaving! Finally got to the hotel, where the car was, at midnight. To the room, to sleep and wake up to reset clocks but not systems. The drive home was fine and then, sort out the stuff, do four loads of wash, still not folded, and try to get back to real life. Almost there. As I said before, you did a wonderful job and we had a wonderful time. There's probably more but I think you get the idea. My plan is to start saving (soon) for Hawaii which I have never visited yet. Thank you so much. Gloria and Jim

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I recently returned from a trip to Hawaii. One of the excursions that I booked was with a company called 'Sunlight on Water'. This company offers swimming with wild dolphins. This was a terrific experience. Prior to doing this I thought that the dolphins would frolic, play and swim with us, but this is not the case. Wild dolphins swim in pods that can number up to 200 dolphin. The excursion with 'Sunlight on Water' is first a search up and down the Kona Coast for a pod of dolphin to swim with. When the dolphin are spotted the captain slows down the boat and everyone jumps in, in this case there were only 5 participants on board. When you get in the water you use your snorkel and fins of course to catch up to the swimming dolphin. This is incredibly exciting as they are swimming at a decent pace and dive and surface and swim at the top of the water quite gracefully. You must keep up with them. It was strange to see that the wild dolphin moved closer to some people than others. This made me think that perhaps they enjoyed the interaction. Mind you that this is in the open ocean and the visibility in the water is perfect. It is an exhilirating experience and one that I feel great about recommending to all of my clients. It is so genuine and so freeing that it almost defies description. A fact that I learned on this trip is that you should not touch a wild dolphin as they have a coating on their skin that protects them from germs and infections. The dolphin who live in captivity and directly interact with humans must be given a daily antibiotic to keep them well. That seems rather sad to me. I recommend this tour on Hawaii to swim with wild free dolphins.

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My husband and I returned from 5 days at Ceiba yesterday where we celebrated our 10 yr anniversary. We had done extensive research on this place and were thrilled with our experience. Upon arrival we were greeted with champagne and smiling faces in the open air lobby. We did the "all inclusive" plan which was perfect as we enjoy lots of eating and drinking on vacation. It paid for itself very quickly. However, we tipped at least 10% and up to over 20% on top of the total every night because we found out the staff only got about 10% of the total. That's nuts considering how genuine, quick, and friendly they were. Note that you will still get a bill for everything you order even if you do the AI plan. I suppose that's for their records and for the ease of you tipping. We brought a lot of small bills (which we HIGHLY recommend) so tipped in dollars a lot, but did tip on the lunch and dinner bills in pesos. At check out it was all perfect. Not to go on too much I will make a few points: Room - We booked a penthouse and were placed in #43. It was beautiful. We are hotel snobs. We stay at places like the Ritz, Four Seasons, Canille Bay, Galley Bay, and JW Marriotts as well as high end boutique hotels and we were thrilled with the accommodations. Very clean. Large room with a beautiful expansive deck overlooking the beach and pool. The bed was comfy with plush linens. Turn down service was a nice touch. Scented candle going, mats placed on both sides of the bed, and rose petals with fun towels 2 of the nights. The pool(s) - large, clean and quiet. Pool bar - opens around lunch and closes at 5:00. Also, very quiet. Beach - lots of palapas and good beach service. They bring cushions and line them with large towels for your body and head before you lie down. They provide an iced down spritzing bottle. The beach servers are friendly. You can use the flag they give you or just smile at one of them and wave and they'll be right there. Cinthia, Johanna, Adan , Miguel and Evelio were all great. The ocean water isn't as clear as the "swimming pool" type water you get in some places of Mexico or the Caribbean, but it is very nice. There are no panhandlers on their beach. The first day we were there we walked out to the beach and some older kids came up to us after playing soccer. They were asking us something in Spanish, but before I could even start to understand the Ceiba security asked them kindly to move along and then apologized to us for them. It didn't bother us at all and we never had another incident like it. Restaurants - good food selection. Again, friendly and fast service. The house merlot was very nice. I thought the house chardonnay was too sweet, but I like it dry. The food was quite good. We loved the caesar salad, ceviche, lobster, and the pizza at Arrecife and the hot cheese and steak appetizer at the Mexican restaurant. We ate sushi the last night and it was good but nothing to write home about. They served it in Arrecife as the roof top restaurant was closed the whole time we were there because it rained every night. Francisco and Alfredo were awesome servers. You can't get much friendlier folks assisting you. Again, they were very genuine. One last point is that a wedding reception went on in the restaurant the last night we were there and our servers were so wonderful that we never even noticed it. Francisco and Alfredo were just as attentive and our orders came out just as fast. Here is the one thing we would improve - the music in the restaurants. It was Musak. It became humorous to us and other guests we talked to because it was so funny hearing the same elevator songs over and over at both restaurants. They did get the player piano going in the Mexican restaurant towards the middle of dinner, but it still aired on the "cheesy" side. I would have loved to have heard something different - even soft Mexican guitar or the like. There is no music at the pool bar usually, but Miguel brought his CD player with him and turned it on, very quietly, each day with his American music. We enjoyed that. The resort is very peaceful. We met 2 other couples there and visited with them at the pool each afternoon. We all said how nice it was to talk with someone else after you've been there for a few days. If you like any pool activities, beach activities, lively bars, and packed restaurants, Ceiba is not for you. However, if you want a beautiful, romantic, relaxing and, I'll say it one more time, quiet vacation, you'll love it!! Kudos to the staff for making Ceiba such an amazing resort. It's no wonder it is one of the preferred small boutique hotels of the world.

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It was great. Halloween weekend is a great weekend to travel, we will remember that for next year. Flights were uneventful (which is good). Got to the hotel with no issues Wednesday evening (7:00pm or so) and we were checked in within a few minutes (compared to the 45 minutes I had to wait with the kids at the Cancun Palace). Got to our room, wow, we loved it. They gave us a larger Jr Suite (two levels) with a balcony (we were on the top floor) twice the size of most of the other suites. Oh yea, it was an ocean front room (not just ocean view)...we had a direct view of Los Archos right outside our window. The room really makes a difference for me, so either your request in the reservation, my separate email to the hotel's email address, or the fact that the hotel was maybe 2/3rds full really made a difference this time. We like the RIU, and would do them again. The food was good, plenty of variety (in case we ran into something that wasn't so good, which happens). Service was good (not quite up to the Palace Resorts though), and the hotel and grounds were really nice, very clean and well kept. Overall, very good. Only two complaints...bar service around the pools was not consistent (sometimes they would just disappear, even if I was tipping), but I managed to get up and go to the bar with no problem. And, the bar drinks are definitely watered down, which I read about on tripadivsor, etc. This isn't something that is a huge deal for me, I just think it cheapens the RIU experience and could catch up to them. Comparing to the Palace Resorts, overall bar service is the biggest gap...Palace being like a 9 out of 10 and RIU being maybe a 3 out of 10. Great weather too, that always helps.

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Barcelo Maya Colonial was a great resort for honeymooners or families. I was there on my honeymoon and having children around did not take away from us having a good time. The hotel staff was very kind and helpful. If we ever had questions, and we had a few of them, they were always helpful. The rooms were very roomy and private. Everything was in order and very clean. A disappointment was that they said that you can possiblity get a room upgrade if you are honeymooners, but when we asked they said they didn't do that. Kinda of a letdown, but the room was more than adequate. I recommend leaving a tip for the housekeepers. Maybe two or three bucks. It helped because sometimes our room would be cleaned twice in one day. The food at the buffett was adequate. If you are looking for Food Network quality food, then you will be disappointed. Its a buffett...keep that in mind. I say eat lunch at the snack bar near the pool cause the food is good and it has a great view of the sea. We ate at three of the restaurants that you needed a reservation for. I recommend that when you first arrive make your dinner reservations. We ate at 10pm one night and 9:30 another. That was rough, but its Mexico so why should you complain. We ate at the seafood, Italian and Mexican restuarants and they were all adequate. All in all we had a great experience at Barcelo and would not mind going back.

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Sandals was a great resort to stay at. So so glad that you recommended us to stay at Ocho Rios instead of Montego Bay resort. No traffic coming in or out and no noise at all, very very private. We had a villa that was at the back of the resort and our own pool. Best decision ever!!! The extra bonus is that everyone was so friendly and we could not have asked for anything more. The ceremony was Wonderful and Beautiful and could not have gone any better in my book. Everything was flawless, only thing we had to do is get ourselves dressed, they took it from there. From picking us up at our villa and taking us separately to the ceremony. We had our reception and first dance by the ocean....All was perfect and STRESS free...

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Just got home last night so we are all slowly adjusting to being back in the cold. None of us wanted to leave. Cancun was fabulous. The JW was as good as ever. Their staff are the best around, and even eating at the nicest restaurants it was still cheap compared to Atlantis. We felt completely safe the whole time we were there, but I will admit we never got around to going in to town. Too busy playing in the surf. We spent a day at Xcaret - it has gotten way over-priced, so I don't think we would do that again. The only way it is worth while is if you want to be there from morning to night, in order to take everything possible in and still have time for a rest on the hammocks - or just not do the dolphins, as that chews up about 2 1/2 hrs (despite what the sales people say). I am sending a few pics. One is the view from our balcony, the others are the infinity edge pool, and the walkway from the lobby to the pool. Can't wait until we can go back!

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there are no words....................WOW! we had the best time. third time was a charm. i don't want to jinx anything, but each time we go our memories and experiences far out weigh the previous year. everyone was sooooooo accomodating and so thankful to even have someone at the resort. anna, alex and walter of the resort made our stay comfortable and memorable. the end infinity room was breathtaking. we got lots of pictures. i said before we left that this would be our last trip to mexico, but how in the world can we stop. we are HOOKED! so, needless to say we will be planning another trip next year. 361 days to go!!!!!!!!! on my birthday, tuesday, may 12th, we had the entire island of passion island to ourselves. seriously, we were the only ones on our own private island. we rode segways, laid in the hammocks, jumped on the water trampoline, swam, had an awesome lunch, made great friends with ida and miguel, and last but not least afterwards they walked us through cozumel to all the old town shops. i'm speechless at how wonderful our trip was. the food, the service, the spa, the people, the activities, the accomodations were all perfecto! please extend our thanks to your karisma people and let them know they have us as customers for the rest of our lives. we will be writing a letter to the person in charge as well. do you have a good email address or should we just sumbit a letter through the website. thanks for everything again dalia and we truly and sincerely appreicate everything you have done for us. the airport coming and going was a site to see for sure. it was empty. no wait, no lines, no fuss, no stress! of course, there are always people that can never be satisfied with the accomodations, food, service.....and to them all i can say is it's you and not the fine people of mexico. again, thanks dalia. lynwood and melissa lawson

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May 21, 2009 El Dorado Royale, A Spa Resort Km 45 Carretera Cancun-Tulum Riviera Maya Q.Roo Mexico 77710 RE: Our stay at El Dorado Royale 5/10/2009 through 5/15/2009 Dear Friends at EDR, Please accept this letter on behalf of myself and my husband regarding our most recent stay at El Dorado Royale (EDR). We always book our trip at least six months in advance with Dalia Nuernberger of Tramex Travel in Austin, Texas. She has become a good friend and continues to secure our dream vacation with EDR each year. We always schedule our vacations in May to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary. This trip was our third stay at EDR and fourth visit to a Karisma property, and it just gets better and better with each visit. Our journey began on May 10th upon arriving at the airport in Cancun and we were shocked to see that there was absolutely no lines, no wait, no fuss, no people. While this was convenient for us, it angered both of us that the rumored swine flu had everything to do with it. We in no way ever came in contact with any sick people in Cancun or surrounding areas. It saddens us that the people of the Riviera Maya suffered great losses because of the overhyped flu coverage. We stayed in an Infinity Pool Casita Suite on the second floor and let me tell you………WOW! We stayed in room 3137 and the views were breathtaking. The room was immaculate. The marble floors and décor were exquisite. Perfecto! We have never been disappointed in anything at EDR. The people are always accommodating and very friendly from the moment we arrive to the time we have to leave. Our casita concierge, Anna, was thorough and extremely helpful with any questions we had, or in making suggestions when we went to Playa del Carmen for dinner. She always met us with a huge smile and she certainly helped make this birthday and anniversary a memorable one for me and my husband. Alex is also someone who made our trip a memorable one. He was extremely accommodating and helpful with anything that we needed. We were always greeted with a smile and a, “How may I help you Mr. Lawson?” Walter, our room attendant, is the man! Strangely enough, we enjoyed swimming in our room pool and watching him clean the room. He was a whiz and we loved watching him make characters out of the towels. It’s the little things that please us. That is what we think makes the difference in a successful vacation versus a not so successful vacation……the little things. EDR is quite masterful at the little things! Last year, EDR was building the The Spa at the Casitas and this year we were able to utilize it and had multiple spa treatments. Again, WOW! Carmen and Diana took very good care of us and certainly worked out all of our stresses. The new spa is INCREDIBLE. The water circuit was amazing. My favorite was the station where you stand up and the bubbles come up at your feet, and my husband’s favorite was the water shooting out of the two above ground faucets with great force. We only made it as far as our thighs in the cold plunge, but it still was quite refreshing. Funny how water cures what ails you. One of the most memorable moments for me was when we were having our romantic dinner on the beach. As many times as we’ve been to EDR we have never seen the moon rise out of the ocean. It was THE MOST incredible, heart-stopping moment. I was mesmerized. I guess we never stayed up that late. We could see every star in the sky. It was a beautiful clear night. Jesus was our waiter during the dinner, and was very knowledgeable about the moon, menu and wines. Although neither one of us drink wine we nonetheless loved to listen to him talk about them, the moon and the local people. His company was definitely a highlight. The food was extremely good. Actually, it was exquisite! The lobster bisque was very, very delicious. It never ceases to amaze us that back in U.S. we never eat as well as we do when we stay at EDR. The proportions, the presentation, the freshness, the colors, everything is outstanding! The only restaurant we still have not made it to is D’Italia. We vow to go next year though. The activities at EDR have also gotten better, or maybe we’ve just gotten more comfortable with participating in the activities. One of our favorites was taking a bike ride around the property. We rode around the property twice and rode to the front entrance and we’re giddy in seeing all the wildlife. To’nita is still our favorite though! I also want to mention that EDR is our hidden gem. Driving from the airport to the resort my husband and I would comment on how some of the resorts have enormously huge entrances that don’t fit the landscape of the area. During our off property excursions and picking up other guests at these hotels we were able to see the resorts behind the entrances, and frankly, we were not impressed at all. Big things come in small packages and the entrance to EDR is perfect. We believe that the resorts with the enormous entrances aren’t near the resort that EDR is as we feel they are “hiding” behind the entrances, and don’t have what makes EDR our home away from home. It was very hard to leave this time as we had such a wonderful experience. We spent more time with the people, and got to know each one of them. As stated above, Anna, Alex, Walter, Jesus, Carmen and Diana all made our trip a very memorable one, a trip that we will never forget. We truly made friends with each one of them. The food, the spa, the accommodations, the activities, the transfers and the people were all EXCELLENTE! We look forward to November, 2009 when we can begin scheduling our May, 2010 trip to EDR. Our experiences and interactions with each and every person at EDR have always been respectful and pleasant. Every staff member is knowledgeable and friendly and eager to help you in any way they can. It’s quite refreshing to interact with the people as they all genuinely want to be there and want to help make your vacation experience a memorable one. EDR has definitely earned the five star rating that they receive. EDR will forever hold a place in our hearts as our sincere dream vacation destination. We take one vacation a year and work hard during the year to be able to come to EDR. Thank you for everything and we look forward to seeing all of our friends next year! Sincerely, Lynwood and Melissa Lawson

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My fiance and I have always taken Royal Caribbean so we weren’t sure what to expect from Carnival. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the ship, the staff, and the food! Carnival Liberty far exceeded our expectations in many categories! I was surprised by how large the stateroom and bathroom were and we loved, loved, loved that we could self assist checkout on the last day. We had perfect weather the entire week and the stops were absolutely amazing. Coco Cay and Turks and Caicos are slices of heaven! We never left the blue waters and white beaches all day. (And got a little burned from it!) We zip-lined in San Juan which was a first for both of us and we had a fantastic time. The staff was helpful, friendly, and precautious. We felt safe in their care even when hanging from the trees. We have been to St Thomas before and absolutely love this stop! We took advantage of riding the tram to the top of Paradise Point, enjoying a fabulous view, taking lots of pictures, buying some jewelry, and drinking Bushwackers. It was a nice relaxing stop. (I think next time we would like to make it to Magen’s Bay or St John.) The live entertainers in the bars on Carnival Liberty were fantastic. We followed one performer, Jeff, almost every night. We went to the comedian’s show, the Talent Show, and listened to Jazz and Latin bands. We also visited the dance club almost every night. While I have seen the wait staff perform at dinner on other cruises and thought it nice, Carnival Liberty did a better job of making this more fun. Our waiters sang to us and danced almost every night and while there were some of the traditional performances, they also sprinkled in some modern songs which made people want to get up and join them. So, on to the could be betters... All of our vacations (Vegas, cruises, etc) center around shows. We love going to the theater to watch the singers and dancers and have had wonderful experiences on Royal Caribbean. The choreography and quality of the singers and dancers on Carnival Liberty left much to be desired. We forced ourselves to go to two other performances during the week after the disappointing opening show. (This was mainly because the other couple we traveled with wanted to go.) We also found it odd that so many workers from the ship hung out in the dance club at night. The first time we went in we weren’t sure if they were there to work and take drink orders, etc. or if they were there for fun. We quickly knew that it was the latter when we saw them dressed in “club attire”, not acknowledging guests, and being more laid back than normal. We assumed that Carnival’s culture is more lax than Royal Caribbean’s when it comes to worker/guest interaction and that the club was an off duty hang out spot. Overall we had a fabulous time and sincerely appreciate Tramex (Elizabeth's) help in getting this trip booked!

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WOW!! What a vacation!!! From the snow... to the canceled flights to the closed airports and interstates... to finally getting to San Juan. It really was all worth it. The cruise itself was delightful! We totally enjoyed every minute. And the weather was the best! Coldest day was 82 deg. Hottest day was 90 deg. No rain! What is funny is that our daughter's school was closed everyday the week we were gone because of the amount of snowfall in Western Pennsylvania. Our suite was great! Compared to Disney's suite, it seemed more spacious because of the open layout. The bathroom was very beautiful and quite big, too. We loved where it was located. Cabin 1308 on Adventure of the Seas. Close to the elevators. Our suite attendant was Awesome! (Rey) He kept my son happy with extra chocolates. And the kids loved coming "home" to the different towel animals. We were quite pleased that the "suite" upgrade got you more than just a bigger room. I really appreciated the "suite / concierge only" pool deck areas. The staff and crew were very helpful, but as soon as you flashed your gold suite card, it seemed that no request was imposiible. Especially when my 3 year old wanted chocolate doughnuts during lunch! Or, when they would fry up some chicken fingers just for my son! We did one shore excursion on Dominica. We basically went to see Trafalgar Falls and the sulfer springs. It was a nice break from the sun and the kids got to see an actual rain forest. When we went to Aruba, we took a taxi to Palm Beach and spent the day there. In Curacao, we just walked around the town and got back on the boat early and took advantage of the empty pool. St. Thomas, we took a taxi to Coki Beach. Just Beautiful! Had a great time playing in the water and our daughter got her hair braided on the beach. The only negative things that I can think of had to deal with scheduling errors. The first one was that they showed on the daily Compass that they were going to be making Sea Pets (think Build-a-Bear at sea) at 4pm. It was an error. After we waited for 15 minutes, we checked with customer service and they said it was a printing error. The second error was for open ice-skating which was showing to open at 4pm. 30 people, including us, were waiting. It, too, was an error. It wasn't supposed to open until 5pm. However, they opened at 4:30 beause so many people were already waiting. The staff and crew were nothing short than Amazing! We definitely want to cruise with Royal Caribbean International again.

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