Booking Sandals honeymoon. Do it on our own or use a travel agent?

moonmellyfish

Hey girls Anybody have any insight about using a travel agent to book a Sandals vacation or doing it on your own?

[Deleted User]

No need for a TA you can book it on you own. I've done all 4 of ours on my own with no issues. I've spoken with others who have used a TA and they did not get anything different than we did.

cmiles89

@monkeygirl18 You must really lik Sandels to go back 4 times- is it that amazing? I haven't heard anything about it besides commercials haha

jenna8984

Sometimes it can help...my mom's a travel agent and she knows which room is below the nightclub and how to make sure you're NOT in that room lol. She was also telling me some of the lower level rooms that face the beach get a lot of foot traffic walking by all day so that's not really desirable on your honeymoon...

[Deleted User]

cmiles89 said:

@monkeygirl18 You must really lik Sandels to go back 4 times- is it that amazing? I haven't heard anything about it besides commercials haha

Yes we do really like them. Every time I see a commercial on TV I get a longing to go back. We've been to Sandals Grande St. Lucian twice, Sandals Negril once, Sandals Grande Antiguan once and are headed to Sandals Whitehouse this year. I have reviews and pics from all but Whitehouse in the link above my siggy pic.

[Deleted User]

jenna8984 said:

Sometimes it can help...my mom's a travel agent and she knows which room is below the nightclub and how to make sure you're NOT in that room lol. She was also telling me some of the lower level rooms that face the beach get a lot of foot traffic walking by all day so that's not really desirable on your honeymoon...

Agreed. However, that's not something that can't be done by asking the right questions on TripAdvisor and/or web searches.

Really it comes down to how comfortable one is with doing their own research and/or do they have the time to do said research. Also, the simplicity of the trip (AI, non AI, multi leg).

I myself am the DIY type. I've done Sandals several times(AI), Cancun twice(AI), Key West three times(non AI), Disney(non-AI) for my mom and step dad and am now working on next years trip (Belize non-AI) for us.

I had Costa Rica (non AI, into one airport and out of another plus car rental) planed back in 2011 for our 2012 trip but had to cancel and go to something cheaper due to losing my job.

I do think a TA is good for those who aren't sure of where to go and are getting more confused by researching/hearing about all the places to go. TA's have been there so they will be able to give ideas that will be a good fit and likewise what is not a good fit.

jenna8984

@monkeygirl18 - my mom LOVES sandals whitehouse!! good choice, I'm sure you'll love it  

[Deleted User]

jenna8984 said:

@monkeygirl18 - my mom LOVES sandals whitehouse!! good choice, I'm sure you'll love it  

All I can say....The count down has begun!

Mandafly84

We did Sandals Grande Riviera with no TA, had no problem!  Heading to Sandals Royal Bahamian next month.. again no TA, and not anticipating any issues *knock on wood*

But clearly @monkeygirl18 is queen of this thread haha!

moonmellyfish

Thanks girls. My fiancé wants to take care of everything, but I was nervous because we've never been out of the country before. I feel better knowing its doable. I think we've decided on Sandals St Lucia

&&mrsgreen2b

Hi There!

My fiance and I are considering booking our honey moon at Sandals Grand Riviera. They have a special 65% off promotion running right now and its seems that we would save a lot booking now. Does anyone know if this promotions a scare tactic and we could really just the same deal later or should we actually book as soon as possible?

 What is the average price a night for a basic room at the plantation house/butler villa?

Thank you!!!

[Deleted User]

Sandals runs that special all the time. For pricing go to their website, pull up the resort you want, put in your dates and other info asked for and hit get quote.

&&mrsgreen2b

Thanks! 

Another question. I'm having a hard time deciphering what the true differences are between a "luxury" level and "club" level. Do you just get access to the concierge club?

[Deleted User]

Luxury level are the basic level rooms,fridge in room only stocked with water,juice and soda no beer. No access to club sandals,check in and out wiill be at the front desk not in the club sandals lounge. So, basic 5 star hotel treatment but all inclusive if that makes sense.

Club level have added amenities such as stocked mini bar in the room,bathrobes in the room,room service (not at all resorts but most),dedicated concierge to help with pretty much anything you need. Also, if you're looking at Jamaica this level included free wifi and free phone calls ( I don't know how that works yet but I'll find out in a couple months) There are too many to list.

Go to sandals webite, hover over "resorts", pick the resort you are thinking of going to (in our case it's whitehouse in Jamaica), once on that resorts page click accomodations, click on luxury level rooms, in white underneath all the grey room category tabs you will see what luxury rooms include. Now do the same for club level (you will need to click "learn more" to view all of the club ammenities.

Also, the club rooms tend to be in a bit better location than the basic/luxury rooms. All room categories include all food,drinks and non motorized water sports, access to all pools,resaurants, bars and nightly entertainment.

It's all just personal preference. For us, we won't do basic level as we want the added ammenities of the club level and we won't do the butler level as having a "personal servant " is not our style.

Knottie37373131

I have actually booked my destination wedding at the Grande Riviera in Jamaica. We are staying for seven nights and getting married on our 3rd day there. In order to find the best room I really played around with the booking options and checked out all of the prices for the dates we were considering. We were able to get a butler room for 4004.60 with dates 5/12/15 to 5/19/15. I noticed that one of the other resorts in Jamaica you can get a butler room for seven nights during that time for 3000.00 though.

MrsHarris323

Use an agent! Its free, we did and saved us a ton plus got a bunch of freebies! 

Knottie37373131

If you book at Sandals keep checking the prices. If the rates go down you can call them and they will give you a refund. A week after I booked mine the price went down about $571.00. I called them and asked them to adjust the price and they did with no problems. That is more than my wedding dress is probably going to cost me!

hannahj0

I know this thread is old, but wanted to say that leaving it up to a TA (which is free, the resort pays the TA - not you) was stress relieving. We may not have gotten better perks by going through her, but she made the flight arrangements and everything. We were flying out of PA - to St. Lucia, then from St Lucia - back to North Carolina. Had we been making round trip from the same place it would have been easier but leaving it all up to the TA was the way we decided to go.

I just think, if it's no extra cost on your part, why not just let someone else do it? She also had all sorts of recommendations for us once we were there, which I realize I could have looked up myself...that would have been more time that I would have had to sit there and read reviews, etc.

sarahs616

I'm all for a travel agent. We had a Jamaica trip planned for October 2012. Unfortunately Hurricane Sandy came and we couldn't get to Jamaica due to so many flights being cancelled in the Northeast (fortunately we had no property damage and were safe and sound). We purchased relatively inexpensive vacation insurance through the TA and got all of our money back other than $40/pp. Also, though this hopefully doesn't happen to you, but it's possible that someone can get sick or other issues can arise that your insurance will cover so you'll be able to enjoy your honeymoon : ) Have fun! 

Knottie37373131

I booked through Sandals and did purchase the travel insurance for $198.00 for two people. Although, this does not include my flights.

[Deleted User]

I would always try to find someone who has done a lot of Sandals bookings before... or wherever you're trying to go.  Because then instead of just being another reservation to Sandals, you're now an important guest because this booker books lots of people and they wouldn't want to mess those up. 

BrideColby

How did you like Sandals - Grande Riviera?