Recent posts by shirleyujest | Debbie's Caribbean Resort Reviews Forums

Thanks for the nudge on facebook AnneM . I think about this board every once in a while. Haven’t been to the Cuba or the D/R in a few years so I haven’t spent much time on Debbie’s. I’m glad it’s still around and there are some very familiar names and faces who still remember me and the discussions we had.I’ll try and check in every once in a while – just to see how all of you are doing.YVRck – I’m sorry about not responding to your emails. I think they got lost in cyberspace!I so fondly remember being one of the three witches – so named by a former member. What??? Tell me it isn’t so? Former Member? No longer here stirring the pot, so to speak.I’m still doing my research regarding the best waterproof makeup – doing it in Mexico these days. And yes, I still firmly believe in my Wicked Weasel bikinis – my collection has grown and my packing dilemma is which ones do I leave at home???I’ll try and catch up on here – hubby and often think we need to go back to Cayo Largo very soon.Hope everyone is well and thanks again for remembering me.

AnneM – looks like you still have the travel bug.

There are plenty of things to keep you busy! Let us know how you like it there. You will probably enjoy San Jose del Cabo more than Cabo San Lucas.

We were last there in November, the weather is fantastic and it’s a dry heat.

	Haven’t been on this site forever (it seems) but we love our e-readers. We like to keep our beach reads on the lighter side and I’ve been enjoying the Chelsea Lately books. I think she has about 6 of them and, to me, they are pretty hilarious.

Congratulations, Wossa! But I don’t know how they can choose only one of your photos – they are all spectacular.

There should be a whole book of your photos published!

Congratulations, Wossa! I think all your photos are award winning!!

Hope you are having a wonderful trip and again, I thank you for sharing your photos of the magnificent underwater world that few of us get to experience.

But aren’t most BC trips 8 days?

Some are 8 nights but they count one of the nights as on an airplane or in an airport.

Sunwing has 8 night packages that leave Vancouver around 9 pm and you get to your destination around 6 a.m. If you can sleep on the beach, then it’s all good, I guess.

A co-worker got one heck of a deal on this resort for a May trip. What was this resort called before? I understand that the Memories ‘chain’ is taking over some, if not all, the Barcelo’s in Cuba. Is this correct?I’m sorry it wasn’t up to the expectations of a 5* as they market it.

Thanks for the mini review.

From Nolitours website:

Yeah. Great. We arrive at Victoria Airport at 4 a.m. Wait for a6:00 a.m. departure. 5 hour flight to Toronto. 2 hour layover, waiting for a 4 hour (or so) flight to Cuba (or any other Caribbean destination).

Then we have to take into account the time differences.We then arrive in the evening and that’s counted as our first night.

Makes for a very long day. But I’m not complaining. It’s just the way things are and fortunately there are other options.

Yup! We agree with you. coming from the West Coast (Victoria) means at least a connecting flight, if not an overnighter in some other Canadian city (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal). We have given up on Cuba for the time being and have chosen other sunny destinations that we really enjoy as well.

Cayo Largo is out for us for the time being but we have found some really wonderful Mexican destinations the last few trips.

And guess what? We got out of Mexico alive! Are we tempting fate? LOL!

Okay – we are hooked on our E-readers!! Absolutely love them and they are easy to use and easy to read in all light. We bought ourselves little book lites so we could read in bed without disturbing each other if one was sleeping. We could catch up on our emails and surf the net to a certain degree (Beau could catch up on his hockey scores ;)). They were great and convenient to take to the beach. It wasn’t difficult at all to get used to reading books this way and not holding a book. In fact, it is much more convenient.Although we bought the Sony E-readers, Kobo had a nice cover that was ‘hard’ (leather-look) ‘case’ that we purchased to protect the e-reader. I have downloaded audio books as well and it’s fantastic!The battery life lasted all week and then some so we didn’t have to recharge it. If we did have to re-charge it, we could have left it at the Front Desk of the resort and they would plug it into their computers for us (plus keep an eye on it).

All in all I’d say we made the perfect choice for us.

Just got back from another wonderful trip to Mexico!! The only ‘negative’ we had was that there was a lot of wind and some rain.

However, we still managed to get a tan.Cancun airport was full of travelers.

Never once did we feel unsafe.

	As much as we love Cuba, we are really, really enjoying our trips to Mexico!

As I mentioned, we love the area and so glad you enjoyed it as well, E-girl. We did take a tour of some of the golf courses there – a bit out of our price range – but they are beautiful. There’s lots to do there, as you mentined.The weather is dryer than the Mayan Riviera – Cabo is more deserty. The natural landscape and scenery are beautiful and, as well, the beach is beautiful with golden sand but can be ‘dangerous’ to swim in but there are areas of the beaches where one can swim and play in the waves. We were in SJD in May and had no problem playing in the water and the waves.

It’s a nice change from the MR.

	Well, I got the Sony e-reader for Christmas and am so excited about it. I’ve downloaded some e-books and an audio book, it has wi-fi and it seems pretty easy to use. Will use it in a couple of weeks when we head down to Puerto Morelos! Will keep you posted.

Back from Dreams, which was a solid four-star in my opinion. Beautiful layout, great rooms, excellent staff, lots of activities for kids (bungee jumping, face painting, etc). We had asked for double beds on a high floor, but they gave us a king, so we were switched to a very convenient room overlooking the pool and close to everything. Food was good, esp the room service food (that’s the true test), and bar service had a wide selection of tequilas, a priority for me! Jose Cuervo Tradicional (the good one, not the Especial), Herradura Blanco, Hornitos, Don Julio. They also had a tequila tasting seminar which was good.We went Whale Watching with Cabo Dolphins for 85 USD and it was amazing – el Arco de Cabo, sea lions, dolphins, rock formations, and finally we found a whale who breached and blew spouts – just like on National Geographic! The whale watcher was Beth, a woman from ……….Wales! and she is unbelievably knowledgeable and bilingual in Spanish. Her enthusiasm for whales and marine life was palpable and really made this one of the highlights of the trip. Highly recommended. When in Cabo, go to the Dolphinarium and buy your tickets there. (It’s on the Marina and looks like a big cement block).

here is the website: www.cabo-adventures.com

But did you have fun and did you enjoy Cabo? In other words, would you go back and would you recommend this area?

Wow! Some great tips and tricks! Some we used on our previous trip with our first grand-daughter and now there will double the ‘stuff’ we’ll need to take. The green painters tape is a fabulous idea – we all know how inquisitive little ones are at that age, don’t we?

I’ll give your tips to my daughter and she can go from there. Not sure about the large stroller as I was thinking more of the umbrella type – the 18 month old is being ‘encouraged’ to walk before we go and who knows just how much she will use the larger, bulkier one. We may also take down our portable sun shelter – she’s a red head and definitely needs shade.

Thanks again for all your tips – we really are looking forward to travelling with all of them.

	We love this area and just got back. If you stay in San Jose del Cabo there is a Mega Mart there that will most likely fulfill all your ‘needs’.

I dunno, but I think you have all that’s required.

And a ‘weasel’ wetsuit would be fabulous! It would match my wardrobe. And I’d better get the e-reader that’s a complimenting accessory (just to get back on topic of the thread). LOL!

Will be doing my homework now on which is the simple-ist to use and provides me with the ‘necessary’ functions.

	Hey *brianwade* – where are you?? Our family trip is coming up real fast and we’d love to have you tell us any hints, tips and tricks you can offer when traveling with young ones. The first trick Beau is going to use is booking First Class for us (the grandparents only) LOL!

	I couldn’t have said it better, *YVRck*. But how about Kona on the Big Island? Friends go there every year for 6 weeks at a time and say that Kona is now what Maui used to be – less developed but still has everything one would need. Great beaches on one side of the island, great hiking on the other side. It’s very tempting!

@will – we usually arrive around 6 or 7 pm when we have to fly out of Montreal or Toronto but by the time we actually get to sleep at a layover hotel (midnight or so) we might get about 3 hours sleep before we have to take the hotel shuttle to get us to the airport for the 6 a.m. flight out. No thanks.You say a 9 or 10 a.m. flight out?? That would be awesome!!!!

And I agree – change in an airplane washroom – YUCK! Those closets are absolutely disgusting (do people leave their bathrooms at home looking like that??!! :o). I use them only if I absolutely have to.

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