Ann Petronio, Author at Shared Adventures

Mountains and mudbaths in the “Hawaii of the Caribbean”

October 27, 2013 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

Kristin and Greg just returned from a romantic honeymoon in St. Lucia, and it sounds like they took full advantage of the many adventurous activities available on the island, from ziplining and paddleboarding to soaking in volcanic mud. Check out their detailed review, with information about everything from their resort (Sandals Regency La Toc) to the specific tours/excursions that they enjoyed:

Hi Ann,

We LOVED St. Lucia. It was a beautiful island and resort. We had such a great experience and have talked about going back in a few years. We loved Sandals La Toc. The atmosphere was the perfect mix of partying and relaxation. We met so many honeymooners, and people from all over the world from Canada, to Haiti to South Africa. We really enjoyed just relaxing by the main pool, listening to the music, and stepping right onto the beach. We also went to another one of the pools that did not have music and it was nice just to relax without that. The beach was beautiful and the water was warm and clear. We were able to try paddle boarding for the first time, and went kayaking. The only thing I did not like about the people was the locals trying to sell us tours and Cuban cigars the minute we stepped onto the beach. However, once we said no thanks, they left us alone.

We did three excursions — the Pitons sunset Catamaran, zip lining and Joe Knows. I would HIGHLY recommend all three! The catamaran was relaxing and it was beautiful being on the water at night. We were also able to snorkel. They took us by the Pitons where we took some great pictures, and a pod of dolphins went right by the front of the boat. Zip lining was a blast. I wanted to keep going once we were done. Our guide “Simple”, was hysterical and made the van ride so much fun. I would zip line again in a heartbeat. Joe Knows St Lucia is a must! The best excursion of the trip. It was a party from the minute we stepped onto the boat, until the minute we got off. We were able to do the mud bath, hot spring and waterfall. We also had a great, authentic Creole lunch that was so good!

The hotel room was nice, but the bathroom wasn’t very clean the first day. I also kept finding long, dark hairs on my towels (ew!). We also had to go up to the lobby twice to remind the front desk that we were on our honeymoon. We were never asked for our wedding invitations, and when we mentioned we had it, they said they did not need to see it. We did end up getting a bottle of champagne and breakfast delivered to our room, though. We liked our location. We were on the first floor of the main hotel, really close to the pool, but far enough away that we could not hear the music.

We were only able to get one reservation, and this was at 9 pm for Kimonos. Dinner there was really good, and I loved that it was hibachi. La Toc was completely booked until the day we left, so we were unable to try that. We made the reservations the 2nd day we were there. I would suggest doing that immediately! I was not a fan of the service and dinner at the Pavilion. We once waited 45 minutes just for our soup. Neptune’s had a great lunch and so did Armando’s. The Pitons had a really good dinner. The Pavilion did have a good breakfast and lunch buffet that I recommend.

The bartenders at the swim up bar at the main pool were awesome. Tasha especially! She makes a great “Tasha Special”. All of the staff was extremely friendly and helpful.

If we do it again, we will book the helicopter tour. I am glad we did the shuttle from the airport, but I wish we did the helicopter after hearing how awesome it was to see the island from that view.

I hope this helps, and we want to thank you for all of your help in making our honeymoon a great trip!! If there is anything else I missed, just let me know and I will keep you in mind when we book another trip!!

-Kristin and Greg

Having a blast in Barbados!

October 16, 2013 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

I am so appreciative when clients take the time to send me detailed feedback about their vacation — especially when it includes pictures of them enjoying themselves! Chris and Christina obviously had an amazing honeymoon at the brand-new Couples Barbados, and I’m so glad to have helped to make it happen.

Dear Ann,

First of all, I apologize for my very delayed reply about the details of our trip! I’ll start with our travels – flight/transfers/airport pick up. Flight down to Miami was pretty typical (sadly no upgrades to first class by being honeymooners – haha!), and the layover was fine. We did have a slight hiccup in our plane that had to take a “pit stop” in Puerto Rico to check on the engine. Even though we were anxious to get to the island, we were at least better safe than sorry!

Once we arrived in Barbados, everything went flawlessly. Thank you for the detailed itinerary! We met our Couples Barbados representatives after retrieving our bags and had a pleasant ride over to the resort, courtesy of our friendly driver. Barbadians are the friendliest people!

The resort was perfection. The lobby was coastal-inspired and luxurious. The facilities were clean, modern, and comfortable. The walks between the buildings offered lush greenery and tropical flowers (and lots of palm trees – my favorite!). Our room was unreal. We had the most perfect lookout spot – a view of the main pool area and beach right in front of us. It felt really private, too, even with rooms on either side of us.

What a view!

Multiple couples we talked to during our stay had been to Couples Resorts in Jamaica. Each couple thought this new Couples Barbados Resort surpassed them all! These opinions just made us feel all the more grateful!

Our first night, the resort offered a manager’s welcome cocktail hour and a beach BBQ for dinner. Both offered amazing food! Just the beginning of weeklong “good eats!” Chris and I never tired of the food options. The three restaurants offered a variety of options and changed their menu choices frequently. One advice for future travelers: bring a few nice outfits and, specifically for guys, bring a couple of dress pants. One of the restaurants, the Dover, had a dress code requiring nice shoes, long pants, and classy dresses. Your other clients that had written about their experiences with the restaurants were helpful with our planning (reservations, types of food options, opening hours, etc.). I would definitely include that information for future travelers, as well. The service at the restaurants was wonderful, too – we always had a full glass of wine!

We loved the swim-up pool bar and beach waiter service. To only have to stick a flag in the sand to get free drinks?? Yes, please. We also took advantage of the room service and had breakfast delivered one morning.

Another drink, please 🙂

Like the other couple before us, we also took advantage of the private dinner on the beach. The extra money for this was definitely worth it! What other time in your life can you have a personal waiter serve you food under the stars? I would highly suggest the experience. We signed up for this night (and other excursions) through the front desk. When you sign up, you choose the menu you’ll have for the night.

Romantic dinner on the beach.

We also (thanks to your advice!) brought a copy of our marriage license and were able to receive a free honeymooners’ “couples massage.” This was just an awesome perk – I’ve always wanted to try something like that!

One of my favorite nights was a resort “event night” on the beach. The staff set up an outdoor movie night under the stars – with popcorn, drinks, and comforters spread out on doubled-up beach chairs (a make-shift bed/sofa)! It was such a cute idea – so fun and romantic.

Excursions! So many to choose from – it made me wish we had scheduled three weeks on the island! Our first excursion was a combination tour of Harrison’s Cave and a wildlife reserve. Both were incredible! The cave was massive. I would have never thought we could be taken on a trolley into the depths of a cave. It was also very informational about the geological and geographical make-up of the island. Following the cave we were able to feed monkeys, pet turtles, and observe many other wildlife animals in the reserve. Overall, the excursion was a great one.

Harrison’s Cave

Monkeys!

We also went on the included catamaran sunset cruise. The crew was HILARIOUS. That alone makes this excursion one you don’t want to miss out on! Each crewmember was just having a blast – dancing to music, making jokes, getting others to join in a dance party. Then of course, we saw a number of sea turtles! Snorkeling with the turtles in the tropical waters was a definite highlight – just don’t forget a waterproof camera!

Catamaran sail

Everyone we ran into kept raving about Oistins on Friday night, so we obviously didn’t miss out on this event, either. We tried some local swordfish and watched some great local dancing on a large stage. The whole night was really entertaining and gave us a feel of Barbadian life.

Our final excursion was zip lining through a gully with two comical guides. Chris and I had a personal tour through the gully – no one else joined us on the day of! This made the zip lining all the more fun – no waiting in lines! And we have some fabulous pictures and videos from the experience. A perfect place to cross zip lining off the bucket list!

Ziplining fun

The only downer I can think of: the shower didn’t stay at the temperature we wanted; most of the time, it just had a mind of its own!

Other wonderful aspects about Couples Barbados:

– Yoga was offered every morning in a beautiful open pergola

– A fitness center, exercise classes, and tennis courts were available (with tennis lessons offered!)

– People often played games on the beach (football/soccer, cricket, volleyball, etc.) – these were open to everyone

– A variety of entertainment was offered every night – with very talented performers!

– Rocking swings and hammocks were scattered around the property – just fun and relaxing perks!

– Pool and ping pong tables were available in the main lounge area

– Again – just a great staff of people that were incredibly gracious and fun to see every day

Overall, our whole honeymoon could not have been better. Travelers will not be disappointed here! For us – nothing could beat the atmosphere of the resort, the service, the people, the excursions, the beautiful scenery, the amazing weather, and, for me, my handsome husband (he’s not included for other travelers! Ha ha!).

So thank you again, Ann! We feel so blessed to have gone to Barbados – and to this newly opened resort! – for our honeymoon. We are so grateful that you found this perfect spot for us!

I’ve already recommended you to a number of other friends of ours looking to plan trips!

Thank you again!!!

Chris and Christina

A Father/Son Adventure

September 8, 2013 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

My clients Michael and Noah have been taking some great father/son vacations for the past few summers, including Costa Rica and the National Parks. This year, they decided that it was time to try a Dude Ranch. I got them set up with a fantastic ranch out in Wyoming, and they loved it so much that I think I’m going to have my work cut out for me next year. How do I top this?

Ann,

The trip was fantastic. We had such a great time. You know we love the area, the Tetons are so beautiful and the unspoiled land makes for such great wildlife viewing. We saw Moose, Pronghorn, Osprey, Bald Eagles etc.

The Goosewing Ranch was excellent. The facilities are new and well kept. The ranch is very professionally run, the staff was very attentive and took care of any of our requests. The “Ranchers” are all experienced and immersed in their trade. They took the time to teach us the ins and outs of riding a horse and made sure that everyone was comfortable and safe. They were terrific with the kids!

The ranch is right on the Gros Vente river. It was loaded with trout, so François, the owner of the ranch gave us Fly fishing lessons and then let us loose. Noah and I had the best time on the river. We caught a few fish and walked for miles along the river.

The ranch provides each cabin with an ATV which we drove around the area and into the Teton National Park. This was so much fun and gave us the ability to see more sights, animals and get to different places on the river. The food was good too. Each night had a theme, “Anglers night”, Cowboy night, Prime Rib night, etc.. some nights are served outside under the new gazebo and in front of the Dutch oven and the BBQ’s. This was very nice! They have infrared heater in case it gets chilly so we were very comfortable. Noah loved the breakfast — they made him anything he wanted! For wine-lovers, François carried a nice selection at reasonable prices and he put on a wine tasting which was great.

Wednesday we went white water rafting, the ranch made arrangements for us and took us into town. The rafting was so much fun. Once that was over, the ranch picked us up and brought us back to town for dinner, then took us to the rodeo. That was exciting and much different from our type of sporting event!

Over all we had a very memorable time, I would highly recommend the Goosewing Ranch and a trip to Jackson Hole for all the activities that it has to offer.

Oh… and the Lodge at Jackson Hole where we stayed the night before was beautiful — great rooms, luxurious bathrooms and they taxied us around town at our convenience. Really great.

A great vacation!

A summer adventure to Alaska

August 25, 2013 by Ann Petronio Leave a Comment

This trip report, from a client who just did an Alaska cruise with her family of four, provides a great opportunity to compare two different viewpoints of the exact same cruise itinerary. Clare (see below) was on the 8/4/13 sailing of the Norwegian Pearl from Seattle and another client, Terry (see her review here), was on the sailing right before that — on 7/28/13. Between the two, there are LOTS of great tips and advice for anyone considering an Alaska cruise. Enjoy!

Hi Ann,

Okay, here you go…. I am sure I will write far more detail than you ever wanted! All excursions were booked via the cruise line.

Seattle:

The hotel (Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza) was great – staff was friendly, and the kids felt like they were in someplace really “fancy” – ha ha. Not like the cheap hotels we usually get for soccer tournaments and swim meets!

Food suggestions – My brother swears by Etta’s – we missed our dinner reservations on Friday b/c of flight delays, so we never got there. Serious Pie – best pizza and Top Pot Donuts for breakfast! 🙂

We did the Experience Music Project and both kids LOVED it. Highly recommend

My brother suggested we take the ferry to Bainbridge Island, just to get a good view of the city. We did that, walked around town, got some ice cream and came back.

Juneau:

We did one of the whale watching tours. Allen Marine – Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest. Apparently, we got a really good trip – we saw bubble feeding – which the naturalist was so excited for. She said she had not seen that all summer. We did see a ton of whales, and some sea lions.

Overall, we thought that it was a good trip. Very crowded – and we had a lot of people on the boat who did not want to “share” the sights – give people turns to take photos.

Mark has been on a lot of whale watches – and he thought this was among the best. The staff was excellent.

Town – we did some shopping (no purchases) – and ate at the Red Dog Saloon. Very “local” – fun place – food was fine, beer was great, prices were very high for the amount of food received. They have live music (guitar/singer) for the cruise ships – he was very fun. A little off color, but was fine for the kids.

Skagway:

Grizzly Falls Zip line – The kid’s favorite excursion. It was a lot of fun. The staff was outstanding – from the person who drove us from the dock to the location to the two women who led our zip lines. We laughed, saw some scenery, and enjoyed our morning. On the way back to town, the driver even stopped for us to take some photos.

White Pass Railway – Unbelievable scenery – lots of good information and photos. It was 3 hours, which was a bit long, but the train can’t go too fast. I would have been disappointed if this was our only excursion, but we were happy with it since we zip lined in the morning.

Town – we did some shopping – same stores for the most part as Juneau – this time we purchased. Brett was disappointed he did not speak up in Juneau that he saw something he liked, b/c they did not have the item in Skagway. We ate at the Sweet Tooth Café (kids choice this time). Basic Diner food – it was good – but the prices were high (but more food than the saloon). We were just a little tired of the ship food, but in hind sight, would not have done this – just gotten a treat and then eaten a meal on the boat.

Ketchikan:

Zodiac Coastline Excursion – Mark’s & my favorite excursion – and the kids loved it ALMOST as much as the zip lines. The staff was the best. We drove over 30 miles in our own small zodiac boat, led by one of their staff. He fed two eagles – so we were super close. Also went to a sea lion sanctuary and got within 20 feet of them. It was amazing. And, even though it was against the rules – he did let the younger kids drive the boats once we were out in open water. 🙂 They loved that. I HIGHLY recommend this one!

That was all we had time for – just made it back to the ship in time. We actually would have liked a little more time in this port. It seemed rushed.

We walked from the ship along the water into town. Fun to see the modern construction then turn to more old style. Enjoyed seeing the castles.

We ate at Earl’s – by far the best food we had all week. Thirst quenching beer also! 🙂 They were one of the few places we found that we could have a beer and feed the kids –the pubs we walked by were 19 and older.

$9 cab back to the ship

We all agreed we would rather have had a longer stay in Ketchikan and skipped Victoria – though the food was really good! 🙂

Norwegian Pearl:

Staff was outstanding – pretty much everyone we ran into had a smile on their face and seemed focused on making our trip enjoyable.

Mini-Suite – SO GLAD you suggested this size room – it was fine for the 4 of us. Mark and I said we would never go smaller, even if it is just the 2 of us. Room was clean, well-kept, and the bathroom size was not bad at all either.

Pools – the kids would have liked a larger pool to swim in. There was an “Adult only” pool that was the same size as the kids and rarely had anyone in it, and if anyone was in it, there were only 2 or 3. They were disappointed that even though the pool was 6 feet deep, they could not jump in. They did love the slide.

Hot tubs were fine – kids thought they were too hot. 🙂

Food – you read a lot of mixed reviews about the food on this ship and Norwegian in general. We would classify it as “fine.” The poolside bbqs by far had the best on-ship food all week. I think partially b/c they were cooking it fresh right in front of you. We primarily ate in the buffet with maybe 6 meals in the dining rooms. We ate there more for the peace and quiet, as the food was not too different from the buffet. I would say a true “foodie” would probably think poorly of the food, but the average person/family would think it was okay. The kids thought the fries were the best fries they had ever eaten (so they ate them all the time) and they also had delicious bread. The fresh fruit was plentiful and ripe. The crepes were delicious, but overall, the desserts just fair. We ate twice at a place that was open all the time with more bar-like food, and this was pretty good. The Chocolate Buffet – They had a ton of beautiful sculptures and displays. A couple of things that tasted good, but nothing that I thought was outstanding. Truthfully, I just find the people outrageous at this buffet! (Brett was so disgusted by how “piggy” people were, he only tried one thing…) Royal Caribbean did this much better as I recall.

Entertainment – great acts (Second City, a juggler, a comedian – all were kid appropriate or had kid-appropriate shows)

Kids Club – Dillon (10) – LOVED this – the staff members were terrific. He tried to squeeze in a visit every day. This was a life saver on days we were at sea all day and it was chilly or rainy out.

Other Activities – Brett was disappointed that a lot of the scheduled activities on the sports courts, ping pong tables, and golf area ended up getting cancelled b/c of weather or low turn-out. One activity he was about 2 minutes late for had already started and they would not let him join in. Also – he is an exercise fanatic, and it was very disappointing he could not visit the fitness center even if he was with Mark or I. He did run on the deck/track almost every day. (He needed to burn some energy!)

Rock Climbing Wall – the kids finally got to do this our last full day. It was closed for most of our trip b/c of weather. They were disappointed to not have done it earlier in the trip.

Glacier Bay – We LOVED this day – and primarily enjoyed it from our balcony. We had hot chocolate delivered (it was gross… lol) and liked that we could turn on our TV to hear the Park Ranger narration.

Weather – not that you control this – but we did have great weather. Days in port were 70 or higher. Brett actually did not have enough shorts and t-shirts.

On-Board Spending – Mark and I are not big drinkers – I think we each had 6 beers the whole week and I had 2 or 3 mixed drinks – so I imagine our final bill was less than many. We did go to Bingo a few times, and Deal or No Deal once. We bowled and the kids did a few arcade games. Mark and I did the soda deal – which for us is a steal. So, our final bill was under $500 (we pre-paid our service charges, so this does not include those). We were happily surprised with this – b/c we really did not go in trying to curtail our spending.

Kids did have ship envy when we were docked with one of the Princess ships and one of the Holland America ships. 🙂 But I think it is natural to see things you wished you had.

Embarkation and Disembarkation – VERY easy and quick. Probably 20-25 minutes from arrival at the dock to walking on the boat. No wait at disembarkation – we chose to walk off with our bags at 7:30 am to avoid the rush.

Ann – you provided excellent guidance for us. We were hesitant to try Norwegian again b/c of our prior experience and just overall reviews are so mixed. While we know it was not a top of the line ship or cruise line – it definitely met our needs. I appreciated that you really had us think about what was important to us when we were selecting the right cruise – and not to totally focus on what other people had to say. Also – when I asked about excursions – you guided us well in terms of the amount of activity and who else may select to go on certain activities. THANK YOU for helping to make this a memorable trip for our family! It really was a trip of a lifetime!

Thanks again,

~ Clare