Tweet
...but my second time to Negril. This trip was about three months in the planning and the wait felt like an eternity, so I don't know how others plan a trip for an entire year!
The first time we went to Negril (first time in Jamaica, actually) was two years ago and we went to attend my boyfriend's mother's wedding. She chose the all-inclusive route and she and her husband stayed at Sandals while the rest of the party stayed at Beaches Sandy Bay because there were several children. Al and I had never stayed at an AI before and were anxious to see what it was like. It was nice, but I wasn't particularly impressed. The food was kind of bland and we stayed cooped up in the resort.
So when Al and I discussed where to go for vacation this year, he voted on going back to Jamaica. I vetoed that, because I felt there were plenty of other nice places we hadn't been before. He kept insisting and just to keep him quiet, I started researching our options. Prices weren't bad so I told him I'd go back, if and only if we didn't stay at an AI. He went along with that and I started looking for advice on where to stay. I have to credit DiamondDave on this board for recommending Rondel Village. It had all of the things I was looking for: a/c, a pool and central beach location. We loved it- thanks, Dave! Right after that, I got a discount code from Hotels.com for a 3+ night stay at any hotel and we booked. Now all we had to do was survive the wait!
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I had a lot to do to occupy my time in the last month leading up to our trip and as I complained about it on this board several times, I'm sure you guys will remember!
I was finishing my spring semester of classes, I had two hefty final papers to write and some final planning to take care of for my grandfather's 75th surprise birthday party. The party happened on the Saturday before I left (we departed on a Monday), so in my mind, it was kind of like the start to my vacation. In that vein, here are a couple of pictures from the party(I hope this works 
):
The party was a huge success. As you should be able to see from the second picture, my grandfather was completely surprised. My uncles (they are in the same picture) just told them that they were taking him out for dinner. My grandfather is a pretty gruff kind of guy so it was amazing to see him tearing up when he saw everybody.
The third picture shows the candy buffet (and me and my sister) I had such a hard time putting together (try finding black candy that isn't black licorice!). In the pictures, it came across a little sparser than it looked in person, but everyone loved the idea, so I was satisfied.
After the party was over, it was time to pack like mad and get ready for our trip! Al and I had the 7:25am Air Jamaica flight out of PHL and we were lucky enough to have only a half-full plane! Here's us getting ready for take-off:
We left 20 minutes early and were in Montego Bay by 9:40am.
More to come this afternoon...
The first time we went to Negril (first time in Jamaica, actually) was two years ago and we went to attend my boyfriend's mother's wedding. She chose the all-inclusive route and she and her husband stayed at Sandals while the rest of the party stayed at Beaches Sandy Bay because there were several children. Al and I had never stayed at an AI before and were anxious to see what it was like. It was nice, but I wasn't particularly impressed. The food was kind of bland and we stayed cooped up in the resort.
So when Al and I discussed where to go for vacation this year, he voted on going back to Jamaica. I vetoed that, because I felt there were plenty of other nice places we hadn't been before. He kept insisting and just to keep him quiet, I started researching our options. Prices weren't bad so I told him I'd go back, if and only if we didn't stay at an AI. He went along with that and I started looking for advice on where to stay. I have to credit DiamondDave on this board for recommending Rondel Village. It had all of the things I was looking for: a/c, a pool and central beach location. We loved it- thanks, Dave! Right after that, I got a discount code from Hotels.com for a 3+ night stay at any hotel and we booked. Now all we had to do was survive the wait!
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I had a lot to do to occupy my time in the last month leading up to our trip and as I complained about it on this board several times, I'm sure you guys will remember!
I was finishing my spring semester of classes, I had two hefty final papers to write and some final planning to take care of for my grandfather's 75th surprise birthday party. The party happened on the Saturday before I left (we departed on a Monday), so in my mind, it was kind of like the start to my vacation. In that vein, here are a couple of pictures from the party(I hope this works ): The party was a huge success. As you should be able to see from the second picture, my grandfather was completely surprised. My uncles (they are in the same picture) just told them that they were taking him out for dinner. My grandfather is a pretty gruff kind of guy so it was amazing to see him tearing up when he saw everybody.
The third picture shows the candy buffet (and me and my sister) I had such a hard time putting together (try finding black candy that isn't black licorice!). In the pictures, it came across a little sparser than it looked in person, but everyone loved the idea, so I was satisfied.
After the party was over, it was time to pack like mad and get ready for our trip! Al and I had the 7:25am Air Jamaica flight out of PHL and we were lucky enough to have only a half-full plane! Here's us getting ready for take-off:
We left 20 minutes early and were in Montego Bay by 9:40am.
More to come this afternoon...
thanks for deciding to share 
lets go!
</span>
Comment