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Saturday Snap – That Sad Moment When You Check Your Weather App For Info About #skstorm…

…and realise it’s still set to the location where you just returned from a tropical holiday! 🙁

Posted 24 March 2018 § Humour § MemoryLane § Photo § SaturdaySnap § Travel ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Friday Fun Link – 10 Things You Never Need to Refrigerate

And now you know.

Posted 23 March 2018 § FridayFunLink § Randomness § Wisdom ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Throwback Thursday – #tbt – Extra Spam = $2.25 (January 2012)

A restaurant menu board from our Hawaii trip in 2012…

Posted 22 March 2018 § Humour § MemoryLane § Photo § Travel § United States ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

10 Regrets of Our Two Week Vacation @MoonPalaceResorts #ThePalaceLife

As I said in an earlier post, Moon Palace Cancun nails pretty much everything on my “10 Things I Want in An All-Inclusive” list except that the nearest city (Cancun) is a bit further away then I’d like and Moon Palace Cancun doesn’t have a great beach/swimmable ocean  (which then becomes a deal-breaker in terms of whether I’d ever go back since a good beach is pretty important to us when we go on holiday – not withstanding that our last two holidays were to places without this feature – Moon Palace and Sandos Caracol.)

Even though Moon Palace has 8.5/10 of the things we want (and most of those done really well), there are still going to be some regrets after every trip – even after being away for two weeks instead of our usual one week and even with all the research and planning I did beforehand.

(My family laughs because I always create a tentative agenda for our trips – what we’ll do each morning/afternoon/evening.  We never stick to it but it’s a good way to keep track of shows we really want to see or activities that only happen at certain times or whatever and to try to make sure we don’t miss something really cool.)

1. We Should’ve Made Two Trips to Isla Mujeres Instead of One 
Considering it was probably the highlight of our trip, both when we first visited Cancun in 2004 and again this trip, I’m disappointed that we didn’t find a way to get to Isla Mujeres (and its “Top 10 in the World” beach – Playa Norte) a second time, especially since we could’ve used resort credits for our second trip to go very inexpensively compared to paying our own way (which we did our first time to maximize our time on the island and control our agenda.

2.  Didn’t Get To A (Real) Sunrise
One of the resorts is named “Sunrise” and we went there lots.  But I never got my butt out of bed to go watch a real sunrise, even though I was often up early enough in the morning to do so.  Resting in bed, drinking room service coffee was too big of a temptation.

3. No Coconut For You!
During their first week at the resort, Grandpa and Grandma had a gardener offer them a coconut to drink from but we forgot to seek out the same thing during our time there.

4. No Paddle Boarding/Hobey Cat 
With a crappy beach/ocean, we only went out in the water a couple times in the “green box” in front of Sunrise where there’s no seaweed.  We still could’ve taken advantage of the non-motorized water sports but since we were rarely on the beach, we kept forgetting and then the one day we did walk the beach, it was too windy to go out.

5. Belly Dancing
I’ve mentioned a couple times that Habibi was our best meal of the week but it would’ve been even better if we’d been seated in time for their nightly belly dance show which is apparently very early – around 6:30pm – and only runs once (I would’ve thought it might run a couple times per evening.)  (Oh, and I just realised that doing a post about things we regret not doing means I won’t actually have pictures of some things we didn’t do.  So here’s my son doing a yoga pose instead…)

6. MiniGolf/Bowling
I’ve always said I don’t like to do things at all-inclusives that I can do at home. So we didn’t make a point of doing the mini-golf at Nizuc or the indoor glow mini-golf in the kids club in the Grand.  But funny enough, Sasha got to mini-golf one day when we left her at the Kids Club and we didn’t even know until she later told us! Pace also went to the glow golf by himself one day while we went to the Spa at the Grand.  We also didn’t do bowling at The Grand but I wish I’d at least popped my head in to see it.  However, we *did* do a couple activities I wouldn’t normally do – basketball one evening with Pace and riding bikes around the resort – both things we can do at home but still fun (but sweaty!) to do at a tropical resort!  I’d also read there was a rock climbing wall somewhere between Nizuc/Sunrise but we forgot to try to find that.

7.  Sasha Snorkeling (With Lots of Fish)
Sasha picked up snorkeling at Isla Mujeres very quickly but only did it in front of our beach chairs where there was less to see.  She said she even saw some small fish but I wish I would’ve taken her up to the point near the Mia Reef Hotel where the snorkeling was much better like I did with her brother!

8. Poolside Activities
I’m never a big one for participating in poolside activities – games, cooking lessons, Spanish lessons, etc. – but I do occasionally wish I did more of that type of stuff, especially when I see a Zumba class being led by one guy in a Lucha Libre mask! 😉

9. Tequila/Wine Tasting
The resort apparently had both a tequila tasting (booked through the gift shop maybe?) and also a wine tasting, hosted by a professional sommelier (er, is there another kind?) and paired with various foods, both of which might be payable with Resort Credits to make them very good values.

10. More Excursions
Being there for two weeks, I thought we’d probably end up doing more excursions – both to see some of the nearby Palace sister resorts but also to other places we hadn’t visited – Ek Balam pyramids and Xenses Activity Park were two that were high on my list.  But a combination of enjoying the resort so much, not wanting to spend much after paying for our second week, and knowing that some excursions would tire us out, even as we enjoyed them, kept us close to Moon Palace except for one day at sister resort Beach Palace and one day at Isla Mujeres (plus two days using day passes at The Grand which felt like excursions in a way as well!)

(Sorry this pic is so blurry – either the cabbie had a shaky hand or I got sunscreen on the lens!) 😉

 

Posted 21 March 2018 § List § Sad § Travel ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

10 “Musts” When Visiting @MoonPalaceCancun #ThePalaceLife

Shea and I learned a lot from a private Facebook Group dedicated to the resort we just visited and in one of my posts from the resort right before our holiday ended, I mentioned that I’d likely post a review on my blog and/or that group and/or TripAdvisor after we got home.

I still haven’t done a full review but one person commented that they’d be interested in hearing our “Must Do” list.  So, while acknowledging this will be different for everyone depending on what you’re into, who you’re with (family vs. couple vs. large group) and so on, here are Ten of our “Must’s” for the Moon Palace Cancun.

This list may also overlap slightly with my earlier “10 Highlights” post though that one is maybe more about specific memorable things we did/that happened to us rather than more general things everyone should do at the resort and beyond if that makes sense.

1. Steak Supper at Nizuc Poolside Grill
We’d spent a lot of time at the Nizuc pool but hadn’t eaten at their grill, thinking it would just be the usual mix of burgers/hot dogs/nuggets.  That’s true…in the day.  But one night, my son and I happened to walk by in the evening and the chef mentioned that from 6pm-11pm they had a broader menu including chicken, pork chops and even filet mignon steak (he even offered a sample to take with us – delicious!)  I immediately penciled this in as the place for our farewell supper the next night and even a torrential downpour couldn’t ruin it – in fact, it made it better in a way as we sat at a table in shelter under the grill’s covered area, the only people silly enough to eat outside in that weather, while the sky turned purple, the ocean sparked in front of us and the food and drink were delicious!

2. Ice Cream Truck
The ice cream truck that comes around at both the Nizuc and Sunrise pools isn’t just for kids – make sure you get some of this incredibly delicious ice cream if you’re an adult!

3.  Kids Club
One thing it was sort of hard to figure out in advance but yes, all three resorts (Nizuc/Sunrise/The Grand) have their own kids clubs and all are different sizes and with different offerings.  The Grand’s is easily the biggest but the other two are good in their own ways and I met one couple who brought their two girls from The Grand to Sunrise’s specifically because it had a modeling catwalk, dress-up area and styling chairs.  Plus no matter which Kids Club you visit, you’ll leave wondering how they make them smell like bubble gum!

4. Crepes
The Sweet Shop in Nizuc offers made-to-order crepes which are great for a unique breakfast or late-night treat.  I’m not positive but would assume the sweet shops in Sunrise and The Grand offer something similar.

5. Bob Marley Cocktail
Along with the Toucan, probably the most tropical looking cocktails you can order.  (You’ll want to stir after taking a picture but before drinking as they’re pretty sweet and/or boozy in each layer alone!)

6. Michael Jackson Show
The evening shows we caught (Circus, Urban, Breakdancing, maybe 1-2 others) were all good but the Michael Jackson show was particularly enjoyable.  Plus, as a bonus, the Michael Jackson shows at Sunrise and Nizuc are somewhat different so you can get twice the bang for your buck if you catch them each night they’re on (also nice that the shows at each resort are staggered – Sunrise is 8:30pm and Nizuc is 9:45pm so people who want to can catch both.)

7. The Grand Day Pass
Even if you’re staying at Sunrise or Nizuc, a day pass to The Grand is worth the money to see this higher-end sister resort and all it offers at least once.  Technically a full day pass costs $200 for adults and $100 for kids but if you use Resort Credits, that $600 suddenly becomes closer to $100 since you only pay the 16% “tax” on Resort Credits – a small price to pay to get to try a whole range of other pools, bars, and other amenities.  And if you’re planning a Spa Treatment, The Grand is apparently the place to do it as its the largest and most fully featured spa at any of the three resorts (though someone told me the Spa at the Golf Course is being remodelled and will be as good as The Grand’s when done though not sure if that’s true or not.)

8.  Jade
I said in a different post that Habibi was the best meal of our trip and that’s true.  But we also really enjoyed our meal at Jade during our other visit to The Grand although we were so full after a few rounds of appetizers, we didn’t even stay for a main course!

9.  The Pub
This little British-themed hideaway off Nizuc’s lobby is much smaller than it looks in pictures online but that just makes it cozier.  Plus, in a resort where the overall service level is particularly high, I found the bartenders and serving staff here to be some of the best we encountered – engaging, funny and great at their job.

10. Local Food & Drinks
There will be many opportunities at buffets and bars and a la cartes to try local food and drinks – both Mexican dishes and even those that are specialties of the Yucatan Peninsula.  I tried everything from Cochinita Pibil pulled pork to a Michelada beer/caesar hybrid drink to even having a painful encounter with habanero sauce at one a la carte! 😉

And obviously, this list isn’t the definitive “must” list but basically the first 10 things that came to mind as things I really enjoyed or that others might not think to do.

But honestly, everything from having a tequila shot to trying the various a la cartes – all of which have different features and attractions (tableside guacamole! Mayan coffee! Live entertainment!) to visiting the numerous nearby attractions and other sister resorts of the Palace in Cancun and Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel could easily fit on a “100 Musts” list! 😉

Posted 20 March 2018 § List § MemoryLane § Travel ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Music Monday – “Dancin’ in the moonlight/Everybody’s feelin’ warm and bright/It’s such a fine and natural sight/Everybody’s dancin’ in the moonlight”

Another favourite from my “Tropical Tunes” playlist that provided a soundtrack for our recent Mexican holiday.

“Dancing in the Moonlight” – Toploader

Posted 19 March 2018 § MusicMonday § PopCulture § Video ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Getting Ready for Dance Recital

When we booked our two week Mexican holiday, we realised that was going to mean Sasha would miss her final dance recital.

Luckily, they had a scheduling issue so the recital was pushed back to when we were home.  That meant Sasha wasn’t able to attend the last couple lessons (including dress rehearsal) but she still rocked it!

Posted 18 March 2018 § Family § Sports ‡ Comments (0) °

Saturday Snap – My Daughter’s First Mustang #ThePalaceLife

Sasha loved that she could drive this kid-sized electric car at The Grand at Moon Palace (we couldn’t get her out of it on our first day pass to The Grand but the car wasn’t working the second unfortunately.)

Posted 17 March 2018 § Sasha § Travel § Video ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Friday Fun Link – 10 Highlights of Our Moon Palace Cancun Vacation #ThePalaceLife

1. Parasailing
We went parasailing on the Cancun beach in front of the Moon Palace’s sister resort, Beach Palace.  Three people. Twenty Minutes. $270 USD.  Amazing Experience = Priceless. 😉

2. Break Dance Show Surprise 
The break dance show at Sunrise was one of the best evening shows we saw, made even better at the end during the audience participation part where they got a bunch of people out of the audience to (try to) copy some of the break dancers’ best moves.  Most were hilarious(ly bad) until one breakdancer did some moves and a few flips and his audience member partner…busts out a few backflips and twists of his own!  Turns out that Andrew (?) from Michigan is a gymnast!  Needless to say he won that night’s free t-shirt! 🙂  (The picture below is one of the actual break dancers, not Andrew, but otherwise you wouldn’t know!)

3. Birthday/Anniversary Suppers
I’d arranged ahead of time to have reservations for my mom’s 70th Birthday supper and Shea’s and my 15th Anniversary supper on two of our first nights at the resort.  The staff at both restaurants – Brazilian and Mexican – went all out at both meals – Mayan coffee, “Happy Birthday” sung to mom and “Besame Mucho” to Shea and I, tableside guac/desserts made in front of us, staff even taking pictures and emailing them to us on their own cameras, etc.


4. Beach Palace Sunset
We did a day trip to the Moon Palace’s sister resort, Beach Palace, which is right in Cancun and it was one of our best days.  Great beach, meeting interesting people, playing pool games, Pace even got given a free boogie board from someone who was leaving that day!  I’d read online about the Beach Palace’s rooftop bar and pool and so I made sure to go up early to get a nice sunbed to watch the sunset over the water.

5. The Omaha Newlyweds
Shea and I were sitting at the swing bar in Sunrise on our first day when this couple ran up to us.  “Do you want our leftover sunscreen?  We’re leaving today and can’t take it on the plane!”  I didn’t bother ask why they weren’t taking it in their checked luggage but instead, started making small talk about other things. Turns out they’d just been married, it was their last day at the resort and they were having a few last drinks before going to the lobby to leave.  I took their picture for them, reminisced about Shea’s and my own wedding fifteen years ago, and even generously helped the bride finish the champagne bottle she was trying to chug before going to the airport! 😉 
6. FlowRider
Definitely the most unique aspect of the Moon Palace’s many offerings, the FlowRider Surf Simulator (one side for standing up, one side for body boarding) was pretty fun though the first time I rode it, I had a sore neck for a day and the second time, I got a rope burn (?) across my belly.

7. Speaking of Gushing Water…
Each room has a jetted tub in it which is a nice feature (unless the fact that you’re using a tub in the middle of your hotel room is going to cause issues because your kids are older or whatever) but we ran into one problem.  Ours was draining slowly and we forgot that it does an automatic “cleaning cycle” of air a while after the tub has (theoretically) drained.  So we were sitting in our room twenty minutes or so after our kids had gotten out of the tub and since it wasn’t fully drained, when the tub started “cleaning”, it ended up spraying water all over the room including Sasha’s cot which was wedged in by the end of one tub.  Shea and I both raced to the tub to turn it off (Shea hitting water on the floor and falling into the tub leaving some bad bruises on her leg!) and then we had to clean up the mess.  Sasha ended up sleeping in her brother’s bed, everything dried out overnight and all was well but it was a very memorable (but scary!) moment.  (Luckily the night this happened, the kids just had a regular bath and not a bubble bath like in the photo below or the mess would’ve been a lot worse!)

8. Grand Kid’s Race Track
We paid for day passes to the more exclusive Grand resort a couple times during our holiday as it had many special features and services we didn’t have at our resort. One that we stumbled on, almost by accident, was a race track for kids where they could take out bikes, scooters and even an electric race car (which was only working the first time we went, not the second.)  But Sasha *loved* driving this car and we could barely get her off it!


9. One Final Drink?  
Especially because we were on a two week holiday instead of one, it’s hard to believe but by the end of the trip, I was getting tired of all the usual drinks – Pina Colada, Blue Hawaiian, Mojito, Cerveza, etc.  So for the last day, I stopped ordering many of my usual drinks and just started asking bartenders to make something unique.  That introduced me to The Mexican Butterfly (not sure if link is the same recipe as I was served at Moon Palace – doesn’t look like it though) which became one of my favourite drinks I had all trip.

10. Isla Mujeres Day Trip
Fourteen years ago, we visited Cancun but it was a day trip to Isla Mujeres was the best part of our week.  This trip, we were at a Cancun area resort again but once again, it was a day trip to Isla Mujeres that was possibly the single best part of our trip.  Instead of using Resort Credits to get a less expensive but more structured trip, we paid our own way so we got to set our own agenda for the day – taking a cab, booking our own ferry tickets, finding our way to Playa Norte (regularly rated as one of the 10 Best Beaches in the World), renting our own beach chairs and staying until they were taking the beach chairs from under us.  Even getting ripped off by the cabbie who drove us home from the ferry terminal wasn’t enough to ruin our day! 😉

Posted 16 March 2018 § List § MemoryLane § Sasha § Shea § Travel § Video ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , ,

10 Random Thoughts About Our Recent @palaceresorts Moon Palace Cancun Vacation #thepalacelife

1. Two week all-inclusive vacations are more than 2x better than one week all-inclusive vacations!

2. Shea and I are big fans of trying new resorts, new destinations and even new resort companies with every trip we take. But Moon Palace is probably the first resort I’d consider returning to as it nails pretty much everything on my “Ten Things I Want in an All-Inclusive” list – great pools – most with swim-up bars, amazing food, cool bars in the lobbies plus a unique Sky Bar cocktail club and a British-style pub, fantastic kids clubs, ocean view rooms, numerous a la carte choices, free, reliable wifi everywhere on the resort, close proximity to Cancun.  Really, the only deal breaker on my “Things I Want” list is that the ocean at Moon Palace is pretty much unswimmable (but as someone pointed out to me, “If the beach was really good, the price for this resort would be 3x as high and we couldn’t afford to stay here anyhow!” 🙂 
3. In a world where most all-inclusive a la carte options at resorts are some mix of Mexican/Italian/Steak/Seafood/Brazilian/Japanese,Shea and I agree that our best meal of the week was when we paid for a day pass at The Grand and ate at the unique Lebanese restaurant, Habibi.

4. It’s a debatable question about whether it’s worth the extra expense to upgrade to the exclusive Grand section but the fact that some of the best restaurants, more fully featured kids clubs, a great lazy river ride and an amazing spa are in that section are definitely votes in its favour!  (The water slides are not currently open, a lack of ocean view rooms and the fact that the Nizuc/Sunrise sections have more than enough to keep everyone happy – especially if you’re only staying for a week – are arguments against spending the extra to upgrade.)

5. The FlowRider Surf Simulator was a popular attraction in the Sunrise section.  I vowed to only ride it on the last day in case I hurt myself.  But Pace wanted me to try it earlier and so, of course I ended up with a sore neck for a day after my first go on it and then a weird scratch across my belly on my second!  (Er, sorry for making you look at my big belly in this photo!)

6. So many little touches we’ve never experienced at any other resort helped raise the bar overall – flowers and cool towels at arrival, a drink before you ever get your wristband, wristbands that double as your room key, SmartTV in room with built-in bluetooth connectivity, turn down service with amazing in-house chocolate on your pillow (photo is of same style of chocolates but at the dinner buffet.  They were also available in the sweet shop).

7. Shots consumed during the week:  Bumblebee. Jellyfish.  Shit on the Grass (pictured). Scooby Doo.  And a handful of tequila shots here and there.

8. My son and I created the “Octopus Club” in honour of a food we’d never eaten before.  You could join the club if you ate some of the plentiful octopus at restaurants around the resort.  The secret handshake was holding up your hands in front of you with thumbs linked and letting eight fingers dangle down then wiggling them. Pace thinks that him, dad, and Grandma ended up joining the club and mom, Sasha and Grandpa didn’t.  But we might be wrong on that! 🙂

9. People claiming pool chairs early in the morning and then having them sit vacant but with a towel on them all day has been an issue at every resort we’ve been at (and we’ve done it both ways – claimed chairs early but also been mad other days when we couldn’t find a chair when we wanted one.)  It doesn’t solve the problem completely but I really liked that Moon Palace had signage saying that after 60 minutes without being used, chairs would be considered available.

10. I’ll probably do another list with “10 Regrets of Our Trip to Moon Palace” and not upgrading to a swim-up room for at least part of the trip will probably be #1 on that list! 🙁

Posted 15 March 2018 § Family § List § MemoryLane § Travel ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: