Weddingbee Blog

Hi gals! I’m kind of back! At least… for a few posts. Because soon, Mr. Mary Jane and I will finally be taking our honeymoon! And I know you’ll want to be hearing about that — especially since we’re planning to visit a brand-spanking-new resort in Jamaica.

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Now, here’s the thing.

Like I said, the Secrets Wild Orchid/St. James resort is new. It opened in late March and while the approval rating is going up steadily, most reviews are still so-so. I’ve been monitoring message boards, Facebook, and Trip Advisor since opening day, and I have seen a few trends that have left me feeling a wee bit unsettled.

The continuing trends seem to be:

• Things broken/non-functional in the rooms.
• Service very slow and/or staff aren’t well-trained or are spread too thin.
• The resort is overbooked and people are waiting for several hours and either not receiving the types of rooms they booked, or being transferred to other resorts.

There are a couple of different ways I could handle this information: ignore it, freak out, or cautiously prepare. I chose the third option.

First, I always remember to take online reviews with a grain of salt. Stalking resort or venue reviews online is a lot like looking up medical symptoms online. You’re bound to find the worst of the worst, and you’re bound to assume the worst for yourself. (”Hmmm. Paper cut. Headache. Foot cramp. OMG I HAVE FLESH-EATING BACTERIA!”) So generally I find that the one-star reviews are not helpful. I skim them, but I have found that most people who write them were royally pissed off about one aspect of their stay (maybe a rude waiter or something) and therefore decided to flame the resort online upon returning home. The five-star reviews are similarly skewed: some part of their experience was so awesome that it sugarcoated the rest of the stay (”The toilet never worked and we had to pee off the balcony but WOW, their roast chicken was excellent!”). Point is: GRAIN OF SALT. I highly doubt the resort is “HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE WORST PLACE EVER”, for example.

Mr. Mary Jane and I (maybe me more than him - but both of us to some extent) are pretty particular about things — especially when we are away from home. I have been known to become annoyed over one thing, and then let additional annoyances build and build until I am one Mad Mary Jane. And, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. Grr.

But is that how we want to spend our honeymoon? All pissed off and put-upon? Definitely not. So I’m trying to go in to this vacation with an open mind, but I’m also taking steps to prepare. Regarding that list of concerns/trends I made above, there is only one that would really irk me.

So some of the staff or restaurants are slow. I’m not there to be waited on, and I can understand how it is to be new at your job and expected to know everything. Also, we’re going to be there for 10 days, just chilling. We can read our books and relax while we wait for services, or we can get those services (i.e. beverages) ourselves. And as far as certain amenities or functionalities being iffy in our rooms? Well, something like no running water would demand a swift repair, but lack of cable TV or a malfunctioning bathroom fan certainly won’t kill us. [Insert Death-Without-Bathroom-Fan Poop Joke here.]

Nope, the only thing I think would really be upsetting is the possible overbooking of the hotel. I have read several accounts of people — particularly people booked into the ’Preferred Club’ areas of the resort (which we are) — being told there is no room for them and they must be downgraded. Vouchers for spa services are given for compensation, which is nice and all, but dammit! I want my fancy-ass room with beach-front Jacuzzi tub on my porch! I want my top-shelf in-room bar! None of this swim-out-suite business. I specifically did NOT want a swim-out room, so I hope they don’t transfer us in to one.

We did a lot of research before booking this resort. I don’t mean to be stuffy about it, but I do want the type of room I booked. I selected it very carefully from the many options available, after all. It’s not as though we do this every year, so we do want the luxuries we marveled over when we made our final choice to stay here.

But with enough breakfast champagne, I might not care about the room type either; [source]

I don’t think there is anything we can do to guarantee 100% that our trip will meet our every expectation, but I have taken some actions to prepare…

I inquired with a professional.

We booked our trip through a travel company (All-Inclusive Outlet, if you’re wondering), and part of their service includes an assigned travel agent who is available to answer your questions. I emailed ours recently, expressing my concerns about possible overbooking. To paraphrase, my email said:

It’s getting close to our stay at Secrets Wild Orchid in Jamaica, and I have a concern. Looking online, a lot of recent travelers to the resort are complaining that the resorts — specifically the Preferred Club & higher-level suites — have been overbooked and they were not being given rooms equivalent to what they booked. Have any other travelers who booked vacations through your company had issues with claiming their reservations at Secrets Wild Orchid (or St. James, for that matter)? I am nervous about this, and wondering if there any precaution we can take against this. Will you or someone from your company be calling to ’confirm’ our room prior to our arrival, or is this something my husband or I should do before we travel? I want to ensure that the hotel is expecting us and is prepared to honor our reservation, especially given that we are going to be arriving fairly late in the day after traveling for over 13 hours to get there. Thanks in advance for your advice!

Within a few hours, she wrote back (also paraphrased):

No, we have not had an issue with this. Our contract with the hotels says that if anyone is to be moved, we have to get a pre-notification so we can check with the client prior to traveling. We have not been getting calls regarding this. You also have a 24-hour customer care number to contact if you arrive at the resort and have ANY kind of issue. Have a great trip!

So there’s my answer. A contract with the resort and 24-hour customer care. I felt a lot better after receiving this email, but I do think I will still place a call directly to the resort a few days prior to our arrival, just to make everything is copacetic.

Now, what about personal comforts?

I connected with other travelers.

Thank God for the Internet, right?! I mentioned earlier I’d been reading a lot of message boards. I’ve also posted on some. I learned the answers to questions like:

Do we need to bring our own beach blankets/towels? (No, there are plenty.)

Aside from the obvious, what are some necessities? (Bug spray, insulated cups or drink holders)

Is cash or credit card preferred? (Cash (small bills), but credit cards are OK and ATMs are available.)

Knowing ’insider tips’ like this will help us pack appropriately for our trip, so I am glad I asked!

But what if stuff still goes awry?

I vowed to adjust my attitude before we travel.

I saw many people on the boards and review sites stating that their vacations were completely and utterly ruined. Some demanded transfers to other resorts, and some even came home early. I recognize that I *am* the type of person who would be put off by major vacation snafus, but I hope that by being proactive and prepared before we travel I’ll be ready to relax when we arrive. (And come on: can it really be that bad? I mean we’ll be in a tropical paradise, away from work, school, and all the stress that comes with everyday life!) If things go wrong, I will try understand that it’s nothing personal, and be confident that the staff (and the travel agency) will do what they can to make it right.

Even if some things aren’t perfect, we’ll still be HERE. How can we be crabbypants?; [source]

Also, if there’s one thing I learned from being a retail clerk in college: You catch more flies with honey. Something tells me that those with a forgiving (yet firm) attitude are more likely to be helped (and more quickly) than those who demand, insult, and cause a scene. Time will tell, and y’all know I’ll be honest with you about our experience when we return!

Up next, I’ll tell you about some of the things I’ve bought in preparation for our first ever tropical adventure!

But bringing us back to the title of this post, I asked if you’re a critical traveler (and then admitted that I certainly can be!). What would you do if your vacation wasn’t all you’d imagined in your head? If your room didn’t look just like the picture on the resort’s website? If the spa was closed for cleaning, or if the snorkeling instructor was taking a week off? Would you freak the hell out, or would you take it all in stride? Would you demand compensation? Would you complain up and down and declare your honeymoon completely ruined? Or are you more likely to say: “Well, it was unfortunate that the seafood restaurant was closed, but we had some great Mexican food!”

What’s your take on troubles while traveling?