Well, wasn't going to do this, as pretty much we had the same great time we always do, but I know that before our first trip we read every trip report we could find....
This was trip #3, and the first one not in winter. Therefore,our first off-peak visit....so, when we arrived at the Cancun airport, we couldn't be sure if it was so dead due to the season, the swine flu BS hype, or a combination of both. On our Friday noon arrival, we made it through immigration and customs within ten minutes, a far cry from all our previous Mexican trips. Even more amazing was the trip home, also on a Friday. We walked into the airport, right up to the counter, checked in, went to security, NO ONE else there, right through, total time less than five minutes. It made our rinky-dink Syracuse airport look like Newark or LaGuardia. Transport companies all want to pick you up at Desire 3-4 hours prior to your flight....after our first trip we said "screw that!" as it left us in the airport way too long. Now we grab a cab about two hours before our flight, even in January it still left us time to kill waiting for our flight...this time it would have been hell. We ran into a couple in Margaritaville that was going home from Desire as well, they had been picked up almost four hours before their flight, and were going stir-crazy...
Once again at check-in Renate tried the "breakfast meeting" pitch. Funny thing is, she started right out saying it wasn't a time share, it wasn't points, it was now a "membership". She even called later in the week to try to get us to change our minds and give it a listen. So, we talked to three couples who attended or tried to.....funny how it still was the 40,000 RCI point deal, even after being told it wasn't points anymore. One couple had every question answered, another kept being told that they would have to talk to yet another person to have certain questions answered, and the third....well, about 20 years ago he had a travel agency and had some RCI dealings. As soon as they heard that they said they couldn't talk to him, "conflict of interest" (?!?!), "good bye". Ummmmmm, huh?!? If that doesn't illustrate the BS of the whole deal, nothing could.....
One other thing at check-in, we asked about occupancy, and were told that for the weekend it was about 70%....we didn't ask later on, but there was a very noticeable drop Monday/Tuesday.....talking to a travel agent in the pool in the middle of the week, she said the Mayan Riviera as a whole was running about 35%, Cancun in the low 40% range.....
The pool resurfacing was definitely due, two people cut their feet during the week....to go along with the woman who waded into the ocean at night and stepped on a sting ray, the man stung by a jellyfish on his shoulder, the guy who stepped off a poolside lounger onto a cat and got bit....this was a dangerous week! lol Sounds bad, all were laughing about it later...What really needs work is the hot tub, many, many missing tiles, and every trip sitting in it seems to bring a greater and greater chance of standing up with ceramic shards in your ass. Best bet is grabbing a towel and bringing it in the tub with you, and sitting on that......how they shut down the hot tub for work I don't know, that would be missed more than the pool (we wouldn't want to be there at all if that was closed), but at some point it has got to be done...
We met some great, great people (wish we could do dinner with y'all tonight!), as always, folks we know & hope we will see again, but the crowd as a whole was very, very tame. All the wild things we've seen at the hot tub in the past the things you talk and laugh about later, were nowhere to be seen....the energy level as a whole was down.....of course, we kind of were the same way, between the overall tameness, and a few issues I had (not resort related), our energy level seemed low as well. We had a great time, and can't wait for our January return, but it was a different "great"....
The new theme nights........Superhero night won't last. Almost zero participation, all the guests pretty much rolled their eyes over the whole thought. Eyes Wide Shut, on the other hand, proabably had the greatest participation. Many, many capes and masks. When asked for volunteers, think eight couples stepped forward.....was actually funny to watch, ECs had fun with it to, with lots of "Quiet!"s and "Shhhh!"s in response to the giggles and laughter. Most of the volunteers got into what they were told to do, although one couple froze at the order to strip their partner naked....they looked like deer in the headlights as those around them were going down on their significant other like they were filming their first porn....everyone stayed with their partner, there was no forced changes or switching....except at the end when the women were pulled to the middle of the stage, where there was just a little bit of touching and rubbing.....
All in all, we had a wonderful time. Every Desire visit is great in its own way, and its always about the people you get to know. Many, many thanks to the "doctor" we had the pleasure to spend time with, and thank god you had something with you that finally got rid of my 2 1/2 day headache! J & K, y'all kick ass and can "take good care of" C anytime ya wish, lol.......First timers, join the Yahoo group for the time of your trip, just seeing someones pics before your trip makes it easier to meet people when ya get there....we met pretty much everyone whos pics we'd seen prior to our trip, we all recognized each other.....