Premier Travel

El Dorado Maroma

Posted on 9 April 2011 | No responses

El Dorado Maroma
Adult only, intimate romantic resort, amazing beach, great food and attentive service describe this resort.
We had the pleasure of a 3 night stay and wish it could have been longer. At check in you are greeted with a cool cloth and glass of champagne and seated at a desk or sofa for your registration. If your room isn’t ready, you are welcome to change and store your belongings in a spa locker and start your vacation.
Walking around this compact resort gives you a sense of peace, as there are green palms and vines growing everywhere with bright flowers splashed around. Thatched roof buildings and palapas are everywhere. There are plenty of spaces to occupy depending on what you are in the mood for. The main pool is large, has a fountain and nice swim up pool bar. There are plenty of shallow areas in the pool to relax in or have your lounge chair on. This pool has many beach beds and lounge chairs to spend your day on, both in the sun and in the shade. The second pool is smaller, steps from the beach and again has plenty of seating available.
Maroma beach is rated as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. The beach has many beach beds, lounge chairs and umbrellas available for everyone, plus the waiters are constantly coming by for your drink order. The beach is long, wide and has soft white sand. We walked over a mile and had to turn around because we were tired, but could have went at least another mile. We passed vacant land and some other resorts and felt like we were in paradise. One of my highlights was having a massage over the water in a thatched roofed bungalow, listening to the waves as they lap underneath you.
Our room, a honeymoon suite was unbelievable. The deck was large, had a table and 2 chairs for room service (available 24 hours a day) a full bed and 2 lounge chairs with a view that mesmerized. Our 3 floor suite had oceanviews and overlooked the pool. We spent a lot of time on our deck relaxing. Inside our room was a sitting area with 2 sofas, another table for room service and a king size bed that was terribly comfortable. The large bathroom has a Jacuzzi and 2 showers, my favorite being the outdoor shower where you could see the sunshine, feel the breeze and hear the birds sing all while taking a shower!
The food is fresh, varied and prepared with flair. Dining can be inside air conditioning or outside with the breeze and spectacular views. The chef will even prepare your fishing catch for you. Throughout the week specialty dinners are served in the main dining room as well as eating at the Italian and Asian restaurants.
This resort is for couples wanting to relax and be pampered in true Mexican fashion. You don’t have to dress up for dinner, shorts are OK and the beach cannot be beat. Due to its small size, only 72 rooms, the staff and guests are very friendly. It’s very common for all of the guests to mingle and get to know each other. It’s the perfect spot to celebrate your honeymoon, anniversary or just to get away and relax.

Allure of the Seas – Day 6

Posted on 12 March 2011 | No responses

Today is a full day at sea. I am always amazed at the number of activities and entertainment available on days at sea. Shopping, fitness classes, casino and even a martini class are available. We started our day in the fitness center and caught a stretching class that was very good. The rest of our day was spent eating, walking around, visiting with friends by the pool and ended with a game of dominos.
Dinner was formal and we had lobster and shrimp with cherries jubilee for desert. After dinner our group met for a photo in the Viking Crown lounge. Most went on to the show Blue Planet and thoroughly enjoyed that.

Allure of the Seas – Day 5

Posted on 12 March 2011 | No responses

This morning we woke up to a barge pulled up alongside of us as we were docked in St Maarten. I later learned it was re-fueling the ship which it does every other week. It takes them 8 hours to refuel. Everyone loves St Maarten and there were 5 other cruise ships in port that day. It’s a convenient dock and for $6 per person you can get a water taxi pass to use all day long. The water taxi is about a 5 min ride and stops at 2 different piers in downtown.
We took the water taxi and then walked down the street. The beach is very wide and there were many places to rent a chair, umbrella and some get drinks on the beach. We walked to an open air bar/restaurant that had a man singing and playing reggae music. The shade was perfect and we had a nice breeze keeping us comfortable. The Caribbean beer was only $2 a bottle and they offered free wifi as did most other bars we walked past.

Allure of the Seas – Day 4

Posted on 12 March 2011 | No responses

This morning we are docked in St Thomas, away from the downtown area. Most of our group signed up for the “St John Champagne Catamaran sail and snorkel” We were loaded on to open sided mini buses to drive across the island. Traffic was moving at a snail’s pace and it seemed to take forever to get there. The catamaran was nice and took about an hour to arrive at Honeymoon Beach on St John. Most everyone snorkeled and a few of us took the dingy in to walk the beach or play in the water. The sand was perfect, white and like powder sugar. On the way back, we were powered by sail for most of the ride.
After dinner tonight’s headliner was Revolution a Beatles impersonator band. They were excellent and everyone who saw the show loved it. One of our favorite bars is the Viking Crown Lounge on deck 17th. In the evening they have a small band playing with dance music and it’s typically not very crowded or busy.
We’ve been gathering in the Schooner bar before dinner where the bartenders are wonderful. The Schooner bar is where the trivia games are played and in the evening turns into piano sing along. I enjoy looking down onto the promenade deck yet being tucked away outside of the traffic.

Allure of the Seas – Day 3

Posted on 12 March 2011 | No responses

Today was a full day at sea meant to relax, explore the ship or even take a nap. Reading the daily compass found that you could spend your whole day being busy, if that’s what you’d like to do. We enjoyed a great ala carte breakfast in the main dining room and were seated with a very interesting couple from Pennsylvania.
The morning seemed to be pretty quiet, with not too many people around and plenty of deck chairs free. That all changed in the afternoon, when there were people everywhere and sometime seemed difficult to walk around the pool deck.
This evening after dinner there was a Mardi Gras parade on the promenade deck that included stilt walkers and many colorful costumes. Our group had tickets for the Oceanaria Aqua show in the pool at the back of the ship. The show was a mix of diving, dance and acrobatics all coordinated with music, lights and water fountains. It was an amazing show, and hard to believe that it all was taking place on a moving cruise ship.

Allure of the Seas – Day 2

Posted on 8 March 2011 | No responses

This morning we started our day in the gym. The fitness center is huge, with many cardio machines, weight machines and free weights along with classrooms that offer many classes including spin. Some of the classes are free, others have a small charge. The jogging/walking track is on deck 5 on the outside of the promenade deck. We ate breakfast up in the Solarium Bistro where they offer healthy choices in a buffet. The atmosphere there is sunshine and peacefulness not found in the Windjammer café, the main dining buffet.
This morning the ship is docked in Nassau Bahamas. We chose to stay on board, as did many other guests. We ate at Johnny Rockets for lunch, where they have a $4.95 charge per person and do charge extra for shakes. The burgers were OK but the milkshake was not worth the $5 as it tasted like chocolate and strawberry flavoring.
Our afternoon was spent up by the pool deck where a band was playing and the sun was shining. There are plenty of deck chairs and many options of places to sit in the shade. I escaped to the spa where I spent some time in the Thermal Suite. It has 4 heated loungers, 2 rain showers, a sauna and 2 steam rooms. You can buy a day pass for $30 or they had a limited supply of week long passes on sale for $99. With the pass you can use the suite as often as you’d like.
Tonight is the Captain’s Formal Dinner with many opportunities for professional photography throughout the ship. It’s also a fun night for people watching as you see many people dressed up, much like attending a fashion show. On this sailing we have many Brazilian guests and they dress up very fashionably, as do many folks outside of the Midwest.
Our group met in the Viking Crown Lounge for our Packer Party. Everyone wore Packer attire and had a lot of fun with it. That was the first time I’ve ever seen a cheese head scarf! We all enjoyed the band and many were out on the dance floor. Andrew even sang “Sweet Caroline” with the band.

Allure of the Seas Day 1

Posted on 7 March 2011 | No responses

We are sailing on a 7 night Eastern Caribbean Cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas. She is the largest cruise ship in the world, just a few centimeters larger that her sister ship the Oasis of the Seas. Some interesting facts about the ship: It carries 5400 passengers and is 17 decks high. It started service in December of 2010.
Check in was very smooth quick and easy. They divided guests by what deck their cabin is on, go through security and then the check in according to your deck. There were no lines for check in. Once on board ship (10 minutes from start to finish) all of the public areas were open, but the hall ways to the cabins were closed off until 1pm. At 1pm you could go to your cabin, and we already had 1 of our suitcases in our cabin.
Our first stop was the Bow and Stern an English Pub on the Promenade deck. The beer was cold and it was a great place to look over the ship map (that we were given at check in) and watch people as they entered the ship. After checking out our room, we went to Central Park and enjoyed lunch at the Park Café. They offer soup, salads and sandwiches. It’s fun to sit outside in Central Park and enjoy the scenery as you eat. You’re surrounded by live trees and plants, a cobblestone walk weaves its way through and it’s open to the sky. We were tucked under an awning while it sprinkled as we ate.
After dinner in the main dining room, we headed to the theater to see Chicago. We had made reservations ahead of time. Someone scanned our card as we entered. They open the doors 45 minutes before the show for everyone with reservations. 10 minutes before the show starts, anyone without reservations can enter if there is space. The show was fantastic!

Chicago Girls Getaway

Posted on 24 September 2010 | No responses

Disney World with Deb

Posted on 6 September 2010 | No responses

Disney – just the name summons up visions of spinning teacups, flying elephants, delightful characters, highly entertaining shows, and amazing fireworks! I had the opportunity to visit Walt Disney World in January and experience all of these and more during my 5 days in the land of magical wonders! After touring many of the resorts, exploring the layout of the whole Walt Disney complex and playing in the magnificent parks, I would highly recommend that anyone who plans to visit Disney parks on a vacation to central Florida seriously consider staying ‘on-site’ at a Disney resort. The magic here will allow you to travel from resort to theme park to resort to theme park to theme park via Disney’s transportation system which consists of buses, a monorail and water taxis. The resort rooms, which are plentiful, are available for travelers of all budgets including value, moderate and deluxe, as well as villas for larger groups or extended families. All the resorts have fun and interactive pool areas that are both refreshing and inviting for folks of all ages. More pool activities and amenities are available as you go up from value to deluxe, but there are plenty of sun-chairs and fun activities at all levels.
During my travels through the parks I discovered a few ‘don’t miss’ adventures for folks of all ages. Don’t miss the amazing ride in Epcot called ‘Soarin’ where you can almost feel the spray of the water coming off the mighty Colorado river and the breeze blowing off the ‘back 9’ at an awe-inspiring golf course. Don’t miss the opportunity to grab a seat at some of the wonderful 3-d shows – ‘A Bugs Life’ in Animal Kingdom (don’t leave until the VERY end!), The Muppets in Hollywood Studios, and ‘Finding Nemo, the Musical’ in Animal Kingdom! Don’t miss high-flying classic theme park fun on thrilling rides such as ‘Expedition Everest’ in Animal Kingdom (hold on tight!), classic roller coaster fun as you tumble through time and space on ‘Space Mountain’ in Epcot, and flying through the air on the back of Dumbo the flying elephant in the Magic Kingdom! Don’t miss the spectacular show ‘Illuminations: Reflections of Earth’ over the water in Epcot once the sun has set. Don’t miss the chance to catch a parade or one of the incredible fireworks displays going on nearly every day in one of the 4 amazing theme parks!
Whatever you do, you will feel your inner-child take center stage as you marvel at all the wonders this incredible place has to offer! (And did I forget to mention the amazing dining options available throughout Disney?! You may leave feeling tired and ‘laughed-out’, but you certainly won’t leave hungry!)
Contact Deb, Premier Travel’s Disney Expert to plan your next family vacation.

The Royal in Cancun

Posted on 14 June 2009 | No responses

Veiw from our room at The Royal Cancun

We recently had the pleasure of staying at The Royal in Cancun. The resort is absolutely fabulous! All rooms face the ocean, with amazing views of the gorgeous Caribbean Sea. Each room (suite) has a king size bed, double jacuzzi and really cool bathroom. This is an Adults Only property that focuses on excellent customer service and offers numerous dining venues. The pools are pretty much the length of the resort, with the swim up pool bar being the most popular place to chill out.

Chef in Pelicanos Restaurant

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