Intro

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Welcome to the Travel Agent, Disney and Beyond, your Canadian connection to theme park news, travel information, practical tips, and vacation savings. I'm your host, Stephen Payne. On today's episode, we are going to get all Christmassy as we talk about Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. We will discover the new Universal Celestial Goodnight Show, and we will look into the only cruise dedicated to exploring the Hawaiian Islands. Then we'll have an in-depth interview about Verostar Waves Peraiso Beach with Nitalia Yetsenko. Plus, stay tuned for our latest deal stitch. If you want more information about cruising and travel, including the latest cruise promotions and limited time offers, subscribe to my Expedia Cruises Personalized Email Newsletters. Simply click on Fan Mail and send me your name and email address, and I'll add you to my mailing list for the newsletter as well as for show updates and information. You can also email your name and email address to the following email stephen at the travelagent.ca. At stepenspell S-T-E-P-H-E-M. And make sure you spell agent with an A, because we're Canadian. That email once again is Stephen at the travelagent.ca. The information will also appear in the travel notes. And

Mouse Minutes:Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

SPEAKER_02 1:18

now let's get to mouse minutes. Today I want to talk about Mickey's very merry Christmas party. This occurs at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. When Christmas time approaches, starting in the first week or two of November, Disney parks decorate the Magic Kingdom as well as the other parks and also the resorts with holiday decor. Like wreaths, garlands, Christmas trees, ornaments, candy canes, and so on. And as a result, there will be decorations for everyone who visits Disney World around Christmas time. But Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is a specific, separately ticketed event held at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World, Orlando. There are, appropriately, twenty five dates for the Very Merry Christmas party starting on November the eighth and ending on december twenty second. I'll run through the dates quickly. You might have to go back to replay them if you need to know the dates. Or I should probably put them in the show notes. The dates are November the eighth, ninth, twelfth, thirteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-seven, and twenty-ninth. And then in December the first, the third, fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth, eleventh, thirteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, twenty, and twenty second. With the ticket, you're able to enter the parks at four PM. But the party officially starts at seven PM and ends at midnight. So you might be wondering what happens at these events. Well, just like the Universal Nights at Epic Universe and Disney's nighttime events, there will be exclusive character meet and greets. For example, you'll be able to meet Anna and Elsa at Princess Fairy Tale Hall, Jack Skellington as Santa and his counterpart Sally at Town Square Theater, and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse will also be at the Town Square Theater dressed in their holiday outfits. If you want to meet Jolly Old Saint Nick himself, well, he's appearing at Santa's Christmas carnival in the Storybook Circus area. You can meet Santa, and there will be crafts and other activities provided as well. On Main Street you can witness Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Parade. Participating in the parade are dancing gingerbread men, ballroom dancers, and marching toy soldiers. Of course you'll also see Disney characters dressed up for Christmas and often on special floats. The parade is accompanied by music and that magical Disney touch scents relating to the holidays. If you've been to Disney World, you'll know that scents are important. A lot of the attractions have scents that are designed to accompany the attraction. There are scents in the lobbies of various resort hotels. And so of course there's going to be scents in the Disney parade. Obviously there are going to be holiday scents, I would assume. Probably what? Hot chocolate. I don't know what other scents there are, sort of cinnamon gingerbread band smells, who knows? But they will be there. At the end of the parade, Santa follows up to bid everyone happy holidays. And what's a celebration without fireworks? Minnie Mouse will host the fireworks show called Minnie's Wonderful Christmas Time Fireworks. The fireworks show combines classic Christmas songs like Deck the Halls and We Wish You a Merry Christmas with Pyrotechnics, Castle Projections, and Lighting Effects. And Disney has also announced that the dessert party will return. These dessert parties are events that disappeared during COVID. That's where you can pay for admission to the event which gets you reserved seating for the fireworks show and an abundance of sweets and treats. The event is called Minnie's Wonderful Christmas Time Fireworks Dessert Party. I was at a dessert party in the past for the Magic Kingdom Fireworks Show, and it was quite good, I mean in the sense that you could get a reserved seat and didn't have to worry about staking out a spot before the show, and then you had all these desserts and other assorted items that you could eat along with some drink and so on, so it was pretty good, but it is an expense, as per usual. Also, in a couple of locations in the park there will be holiday dance parties, and at various points in the night, you might just find it snowing on Main Street. Now there are five attractions that will have Christmas themed makeovers. These attractions are a jungle cruise, Space Mountain, Tomorrowland Speedway, Mad Tea Party, and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. Additionally, you'll be able to ride most of the other attractions in the park, likely with shortened lines. Finally, there will be unique holiday merch, as well as holiday themed snacks and treats. Most of these are for an additional cost, of course. But there are some treats like cookies and hot and cold holiday drinks that are included in the price of the ticket. The event tickets are $189 to $229 USD per ticket. Plus tax. Now the reason there's a range in pricing is basically the price varies by date. And obviously the closer you are to Christmas, it's likely the price is higher. Or if you're looking for a weekday, it's most likely less expensive than a weekend. Also included in the way that Disney celebrates Christmas are other events. There's an event at Hollywood Studios called Disney Jollywood Nights, and there's one at Epcot called International Festival of the Holidays. But I'll have to talk about those in other episodes.

Park Pulse: Universal’s Celestyal Goodnight at Epic Universe

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Because it is time for Park Pulse. Now Park Pulse, uh, I do want to talk about Universal Studios' new nighttime show, Universal Celestial Goodnight, at Epic Universe. However, uh, before we do that, I just wanted to mention that if you are a fan of Canada's Wonderland, and if you're Canadian, you're likely listening in an area where you can access Canada's Wonderland. I just wanted to note that this past week the Daredeviler opened up. That's a ride at Canada's Wonderland that used to be called Top Gun Flight Deck and was eventually just called Flight Deck. And it closed down a number of years ago. I think it was a number of years ago. Most people complained that the ride was too tough on their heads, that their heads got jolted around, and it was a rough ride. And so Canada's Wonderland closed that ride down and refurbished it basically, and they just opened it up. It's called the Daredeviler, and they've changed the seats, seating, and restraints, so the cars are completely different. And they've smoothed out the track and used new technologies on the track, and it is a brand new experience and much smoother than what it used to be, according to what I've heard with those who visited. I haven't visited yet, but I will be going there shortly, so I guess I'll be able to report back. Now, about Universal Celestial Goodnight at Epic Universe. On July 7th, Universal Studios Florida added a new nighttime show. It's scheduled to run on a nightly basis at Celestial Park in Epic Universe, and the show encompasses the entirety of Celestial Park, which I'll come back to. The pool in front of Helios Hotel will have dancing fountains, there are all sorts of lighting effects, and of course the fidelity of the show will include a spectacular fireworks display. The theme of the show is meant to pay tribute to the characters and adventures found within the Epic Universe portals. So you'll have Super Nintendo World, The Isle of Burke from How to Train Your Dragon, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Ministry of Magic, and the Universal Monsters of the Dark Universe, all represented in some way at the show. According to Universal, there are nearly 600 synchronized light fixtures over 350 larger than life fountains, and 7 million LED lights embedded throughout the park. The show is accompanied by a high energy music score. There are some great videos of elements of the show on the internet, and the initial response to the show is that people are very excited. And one of the great things, and this is what I mentioned earlier I was going to refer back to, because this show is basically all throughout the park, you can watch the show from any angle in Celestial Park. The show is designed so that it happens over the Helios Hotel and around the park. And so there's no real prime spot that you might have to vie for. It's more dispersed than, say, the Disney shows. Disney shows, you know, primarily you're looking at the castle with the castle projections, and so everyone's sort of looking for a spot on Main Street. Whereas at Celestial Park, you can be anywhere within that area of the park and you'll see the show no problem. It was designed in a way that you could see it from multiple different angles and have the same experience. Now

Cruise Contemplations: Hawaiian Cruising

SPEAKER_02 9:52

I'll take a few minutes for some cruise contemplations. Many people would like to visit Hawaii. That can offer a challenge if you want to see several of the islands. If you're staying on land, you will have to book ferries and use ferries to get over to the other islands. And of course, while you're on the island itself, uh in perhaps Honolulu, you will have to book a hotel room, and the hotels in Hawaii are somewhat expensive, and of course provide your own food. Now there is a cruise company that offers a dedicated Hawaiian Island cruise itinerary, and that is Norwegian cruise lines. This might be an itinerary worth looking into if you want to see Hawaii. The seven-day Hawaiian itinerary usually departs on a Saturday. And it proceeds as follows. So on day one you're in Honolulu. In day two, you're in Maui, Kahului, and you're there for two days, so day two and three. And then day four, you are in Hilo on the big island. And day five, you're in Kona. In day six, you arrive at Kauai at Newli Wili for two days. And then you return to Honolulu, but on day seven, as you're leaving to return to Honolulu, usually there's uh cruise along some parts of the Napoli coast as well, which is quite scenic. So the itinerary allows you to explore four different islands in Hawaii, and you spend two days on Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island Hawaii. Interestingly, the ship is a US flagged vessel, which is a bit unusual. Many of the other cruise ships are flagged under different countries, but this is a US flagged vessel, which means there is no casino on it. And the ship is called the Pride of America. The ship launched in 2005, so it's an older ship, but it has been refurbished several times. Most recently it was refurbished in May of 2025. Now I've read about some complaints about this ship. You know, some people talk about how they felt there wasn't as much entertainment that they were used to, or, you know, it's an older ship, or it's smaller than what they're used to, and some say the food isn't as good as on the other ships they have been on. And so they are comparing it to other cruise experiences they've had. And I've not been on the ship, so it's hard to say myself. However, I do think the strength of this cruise is the itinerary itself. And so perhaps there are other ships that offer better ship experiences, but the ability to tour Hawaii while having a room and food provided on the ship, that all-inclusive idea, that's the strength of this particular cruise. Hawaii, as I said, can be quite expensive, so to have your expenses controlled by utilizing the cruise experience is a big positive. I do have clients traveling on the Pride of America this August, so I'll check in with them when they come back and offer you their feedback in a future episode.

Canadian Compass Travel Tip of the Week:Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach Review

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Now it's time for the Canadian Compass Travel Tip of the Week. Normally for the Canadian Compass Travel Tip of the Week, I offer insights or ideas about tips for travelers. And this week I'm going to cheat a little bit. I am going to provide tips for you, but they're going to come through an interview with Natalia Yadzenko as she talks about Abraostar Waves Parazo Beach. Now the reason I do this is because if you think about my uh structure for the show, there isn't really a spot for all inclusives. So I'm squeezing the all-inclusive discussion into the Canadian Compass Travel Tip of the Week, but I do know Natalia has some words of wisdom about the all-inclusive experience, which will serve as our tip of the week. So here's our interview with Natalia. Welcome to the Travel Agent Disney and Beyond. And thanks for joining me today, Natalia.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Thanks for having me, Stephen.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

Natalia went to Iberistar Waves Prazo Beach, which is located on the Yucatan Peninsula in the Riviera Maya in Mexico. So before we dig into your experience at Iberistar Waves Prazo Beach, let the listeners know what uh travel supplier you were using. Where what travel supplier did you use to go out there?

SPEAKER_00 13:58

Yeah, I booked straight through Air Canada. So I just used their vacation package to book my flight and stay as well.

SPEAKER_02 14:05

Okay, that's fantastic. So um, in terms of flights and transfers, um, how did Air Canada do?

SPEAKER_00 14:12

They did pretty great. They booked everything for me when I was booking my vacation. All I had to do was select, you know, the the days I was flying out, how long I planned to stay, and you know, however their system worked, they had it all programmed. And so the flight, the transfer to the hotel, and then back was already all booked to them. There's nothing, nothing required for me other than opening up the document they sent me with the information.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

All right. And the flights were good?

SPEAKER_00 14:39

Yeah, the flights were great, super smooth. You know, we got to Toronto three hours early, and we were checked in and waiting in our seats 15 minutes later. So didn't need to get there three hours early. Um and even the transfer when we arrived in Cancun was really smooth. Um, it was you know really straightforward when you arrived at the airport, small airport. Uh directions were extremely clear, getting through customs, picking up our luggage, no issues there as well. Um, and then even finding the transfer outside of the airport. We, you know, we were told in advance where to go, what to look for in Air Canada rep. Uh super easy, super straightforward. We had no issues there or back.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

That's great. Did you encounter a lot of the uh people in the Cancun airport who were trying to solicit your service, you know, trying to offer you transfers and so on?

SPEAKER_00 15:30

We yeah, so I went with my sister and we knew ahead of time what to expect. So right when we entered that kind of vestibule area where they all hang out, we just no eye contact, walked straightforward and just you know, made it outside the doors, and then they had all the different uh vendors from the different you know airlines out there with shirts and signs. So it was yeah, it was super smooth and transferred. That's great.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

I know, I know with my clients, I usually give them a map and then there's I call it the red zone. There's like a zone where you just have to like walk straight and just keep going till you get out the back, right, where the transfers are. Otherwise, yeah, there's quite a few stories out there of people who've been misled, you know, and ended up on a transfer that somebody, you know, fooled them into taking, and then they're paying like an astronomical amount of money for it, you know. So you have to be careful.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

Yeah, I I feel like we did a decent amount of research prepping ahead of time. And in in air canner's communication, they didn't explicitly outline, you know, to avoid that area, but they did include instructions to make sure you communicate with uh the rep outside of the airport doors, so you knew it would have to be someone located outdoors.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

And your transfers, I assume they stopped at multiple resorts on the way. Is that true?

SPEAKER_00 16:47

Or that is, yes. So I it was again, we caught our transit with an Air Canada rep. So they had set up the transportation. It was like um, it was kind of like a minivan. I forget what the term for those vehicles is used. So they could seat like up to 10 people in one. Um, so we made a few stops along the way to our resort as well, but all in all, like the drive itself was maybe 40 minutes. So we were we were pretty close to to the airport and with the stops included, didn't have too much time.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

Okay, that's not too bad. Um at the resort, did you were you able to maintain contact with the Air Canada rep there? Um was that helpful for you?

SPEAKER_00 17:27

It was, yeah, because it was a different rep than who helped us at the airport. But when we first arrived to the resort, we met with concierge, we got set up with our room. Um, we actually arrived a little early for check-in, so the resort just held our log luggage off to the side while we went and you know, grabbed lunch and we got ourselves set up with concierge. Um, they had informed us of when our Air Canada rep would be at the facility itself, uh or I should say the lobby itself, which was the following day, and we were able to connect with them the following day to book excursions and such.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

Great. Sounds good. All right, so everything went pretty well on the trip there. So when you got to the resort, um what was your first impressions?

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Well, when I first booked it, I didn't realize that we were actually staying at a mega resort. I knew the general vicinity and what the resort looked like based on what looked on the website, but I should have actually looked at Google Maps because it was massive. Um the resort itself was kind of separated into three smaller sections with like the actual resorts themselves. So, like the section one where we were, it was actually two resorts. It was ourselves, Waves Beach, and then there's also Del Mar, which we shared the section of resort with. So we shared things like our pool, our amenities, um, you know, gift shop, and kind of just the the actual resort space itself. Then there were two other sections, which were two one section was an adults only, and another was I I guess it was just another version of our resort, just like maybe slightly upgraded. And then there was also actually a conference center and shopping center on site as well at the mega resort. So there was lots of places to explore, lots of things to do, and in the future, you know, I I would maybe even look at visiting some of the other places on the resort.

SPEAKER_02 19:28

Right. Yeah, yeah. So it was a lot bigger than you expected.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Way bigger than I expected, yes. One of the one of the maybe I would say downsides to where we stayed was that uh these resorts were kind of tiered and we were like the lower tier, so we technically couldn't use the amenity space of the other resorts, but you know, we just walked around to explore just to see what there was.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

So yeah, that's a great point for the listeners, uh, because it is true that uh, you know, in a lot of these resorts where there's multiple uh resorts on site, um, if you you book the cheapest, yeah, you're not gonna have the ability to go into the other areas. But if you book the more premium resort, then yeah, you have privileges to go to other um dining opportunities, another beach, that kind of thing, other pools. But yeah, you have to kind of read the the fine print, I think, or or look into the resort carefully to see what what it is you can do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

Um, okay, so um what kind of like atmosphere was there there? Because you know, there's there's a lot of different types of resorts out there, and some are considered to be, you know, party resorts, and some are considered to be like peaceful and quiet. What kind of atmosphere did Perezo Beach have?

SPEAKER_00 20:40

So when we booked it, it is a family resort. So where we stayed, they had uh areas where kids could play. We went kind of in the off season. We traveled, it was end of April into early March. So the resort, from what I understood, was not even at 50% capacity. So there were some things that were closed. Um, so like where they would normally offer kind of like babysitting services that wasn't necessarily available, but it's definitely a family-friendly resort. And because we went in off season, it was quieter than what I expected, but that is what I was looking for when booking a resort for like that relaxation. Um, so we we had a great time. It was definitely a resort that you could tell was set up to hold a lot of people and to entertain a lot of people. But I feel fortunate at the time that we went, I think we got the experience we were looking for of just like a more of a calmer atmosphere, but still, you know, plenty of people to like chat with and mingle about if you wanted to socialize.

SPEAKER_02 21:41

And uh, in terms of room, when you got to your room, how did you like your room?

SPEAKER_00 21:46

Our room was great. So we had booked a premium room near the pool, so it had a king size bed and a balcony that overlooked the garden and pool area. For two people, it was a great size. Uh, they had even like like a couch and a bit of a seating. Area, so it was quite spacious for what we needed. The actual room itself was very clean, very well maintained. I've stayed at past resorts where I feel like where the rooms kind of get overlooked in terms of maintenance everywhere else in the resort. I did not feel that was the case here at all. It was all, you know, in really great condition. Um, you know, staff came by and cleaned it really well as well when we were out and about. So I had no complaints with our room whatsoever. We also had a built-in AC unit into our room as well, which most resorts nowadays do have. Um, but that was a huge bonus because we were able to control our own temperature. So we could keep it as cool as we wanted.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

Yeah, and we can well, I guess you were there at a good time, but it can get pretty hot out there sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

Yeah. I mean, when we were there, it was it was high 20s, low 30s. So it was quite warm and getting a bit humid. But yes, that AC was a blessing.

SPEAKER_02 22:56

Yeah. That that sounds great. And that doesn't sound like there were many issues with your your room, so that's good. Um, in terms of entertainment, uh, so you said the resort is a family resort and also it is maybe a quieter resort than some. Um, so what kind of entertainment did you see there? I guess I'd be interested in what was it like at night, and then also what daytime activities were offered.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Yeah, so the great thing with IbuStar is they had an app that showed you a calendar of everything they had going on in the resort and where it was located. I can't say we participated in too much. However, we did always like snoop to see what was on their calendar, what was being held, and they they had something going around basically around the clock. Like they would they had a lot of games centered around the lobby area and like just like general seating areas throughout the resort. So they had like a bingo game, a guessing game, other types of activities to just entertain people without uh being in the sun or having to have a swimsuit on. Then at the pool itself, too, throughout the day, they would have some kind of you know water sports activity going on. One time they had like an inflatable obstacle course. So, you know, they pulled up people and kids to like get this obstacle course, and then whoever was in the winner at the end later in the day, they would announce the winner and you would collect some kind of prize. And one of the nights that we attended, they actually had a foam party, which was really cool. So they had like music blasting, foam going. And I would say all of that was pretty inclusive to all ages. I didn't find that they had necessarily too many adult themed things. Perhaps on the adult side only they had more things catered to adults only, but this was pretty inclusive and it was entertaining because even if you didn't want to participate, you could just like you know sit by the pool and and watch what was going on. At the beach itself, they'd always have some kind of sports activity going on. So they had volleyball or Zumba, they had soccer one day as well. So they they made sure to spread out the entertainment through different parts of the resort for for everybody.

SPEAKER_02 25:01

That sounds great. Were there some nighttime shows?

SPEAKER_00 25:04

They did have a theater and they did occasionally have well, they did have a nighttime show every night. Um, I found that the crowd didn't pull in as much to the nighttime entertainment, but I do chalk it up again to just the resort not being at full capacity. I think the the biggest night, the hit that they had was when they had a karaoke night that pulled out a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Yeah, that always gets people out, eh?

SPEAKER_00 25:28

To singing, yes. Um, and then there was another night where they had like a uh Mexican-themed type show promoting their culture, different dances, different songs, which was also really cool to see.

unknown 25:40

Great.

SPEAKER_02 25:41

Um, I was gonna ask you about the beach because in Mexico, a lot of times they're having trouble with uh what they call sargassum, which is basically seaweed, right? But there's uh been real issues in the last couple of years with beaches that uh that are really afflicted with that. Now that's generally that's more of a problem during, you know, from May to October, but it can make its appearance in other other months of the year. So it wasn't in season while you were there, but I'm wondering, did you encounter any of this bothersome sargassum?

SPEAKER_00 26:13

We we did encounter the sargassum, however, I found that it mainly would come towards the beach kind of in like the noon to afternoon and beyond. Uh so we would generally, when we would go to the beach, we would just go in the mornings just to hang out before the sun got too hot and it was just way too sweltering by the water. I will say I I know it was particularly bad this year. I was seeing on social media before we left about people talking about how how not great it was. For the purposes of what I was there for, I was not bothered by it at all. I found the smell to be pretty tolerable. Maybe again, it's just because we were only entering peak season uh as we were there, but there was definitely a lot of sargassum. They did have people, workers combing the sand basically 24-7. They had a tractor out there constantly piling up and people with a rake trying to take it away as well.

SPEAKER_02 27:10

But you found that the mornings were good, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

The mornings were better, yeah. And generally, too, there weren't too many people at the beach, so you could usually find a good spot in the water where there wasn't too much sargassum. It was a pretty average, you know, swimming in ocean water experience, I would say.

SPEAKER_02 27:27

All right. And did you did you like the beast beach? Uh how would you rate the beach?

SPEAKER_00 27:32

It was a great beach. So what I really liked about it is they had a lot of seating options and everything there was really well maintained. They had uh all the chairs were in good condition. There really weren't any broken chairs. They had a lot of permanent shade structures where it was just like a big wooden stake in the ground with like uh an umbrella. Um, so none, you know, no shade structures that would fly away, and they had them spread out everywhere, so you could very easily find a shady spot by the beach. They also had a couple access points from the side of the resort that we stayed at to the beach, and the entire mega resort itself along the beach was connected with a path too. So it was really easy to just kind of walk up and down because it was a solid path, you didn't have to, you know, walk in bare feet. You could wear sandals and not, you know, trip in the sand. So it was very well laid out and set up to like efficiently walk back and forth, uh, as well as again finding a nice shady spot. I felt that it was a you know, outside of the seaweed, it was a nine out of ten, nine out of ten beach. It was beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

And the loungers were fairly uh readily available for that. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

Again, I do partially chalk this up to us being in the bit of the off-season. I could see it possibly being challenging if you're at the peak to be there. But by the beach and by the pool, they both had signage that said, you know, you're not allowed to reserve chairs. People can move your stuff basically if you're not actually using the space.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 29:01

And then the pools, I guess. Did you spend time in the pools as well?

SPEAKER_00 29:06

Yeah, most of our time was spent by the pool only because the there was no seaweed, and it was very easy to just jump in and cool off and you know, moving around a lounger so that you could either be in the sun or in the shade. Similarly to the beach, they had permanent shade structures everywhere. So finding shade was never an issue. Everything was super well maintained. They had staff manning, there were two two main pools that service the area we were in. So they had staff manning both areas with two pool bars. I would say majority of people staying at the resort were at the pool as well. I think my only complaint is I found once it started to get busier towards the end of the week, I found the pool water got kind of murky and there was a lot of debris in it. Um, so perhaps cleaning more often if there's a higher occupancy of tourists staying. Um, but otherwise, it was great. The water was a great temperature. They had different levels for like shallow and deeper ends. So, you know, if you want to just sit in the water versus swim, that was also really great.

SPEAKER_02 30:09

Now, a lot of people, when they're on vacation, food is important, right? And I think with the all-inclusive, that's a great opportunity to have unlimited food, I guess. And uh, you know, that can lead people down some dark paths. But, you know, that's something that people look forward to. And and I I guess with the all-inclusives, you know, sometimes it's hit and miss. So um tell us about your dining experiences and uh what worked for you and what didn't. And I'm kind of, you know, i within that, maybe just mention I assume that you went to some a la carte restaurants, possibly. Yeah. So maybe just let us know, let us know kind of the state of the buffet and then maybe what the a la carts were like.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Yeah. So there was a main buffet that serviced kind of that entire section that we were on. That is where we predominantly went to get all of our breakfast. And then, you know, it was split between lunch and dinner, depending where we went. The food, amazing. Out of a scale of one to ten, I would give it a solid eight out of ten. There was nothing that we had that ever looked like it wasn't fresh, it was out for too long, it wasn't tasty. Like we had a great experience throughout it. I would say as well, they had pretty good variety at the buffet during different breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours of what you wanted to pick from. They would have your standard things like fruits and veggies out. You they had like a build your own salad bar, build your own yogurt bar. Um, they had more like traditional Canadian slash Americanized food as well. You know, for breakfast, they would have like your eggs and bacon and sausages. But then they also would have a mix of like some more Mexican inspired meals as well. So it was a pretty decent size selection, and the quality for what you got was was well worth it. You know, we never had any kind of tummy discomfort from any of the food that we had there, and their pastries and their dessert section was was really, really good.

SPEAKER_02 32:09

Uh oh. See, that's what I mean by going into a dark place there. Overindulging and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

There may have been a night where we went back for seconds just for dessert only.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

Absolutely. Yeah. Well, you might as well. That's what you're on vacation for, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 32:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:24

Um, and then there were four a la carts that we tried when we were there. So the first place we tried was called uh Hashiroo. It was a hibachi place. So this one was a set menu. You didn't get to customize anything that they gave you, but it was, you know, an entertainment in and itself. You know, they started you off with like an appetizer of sushi and miso soup. And we had, you know, our chef, which was like preparing all the hot food on the hot plate, and he was putting on a bit of a show. He was like, you know, juggling a couple of eggs, cracking jokes, and just making general conversation entertainment with the table, which was really cool. And then the main course itself ended up consisting of shrimp, beef, and chicken with some rice and grilled veggies, and it was very tasty. I think the yeah, I think the average we were there, I think it was about an hour or so that we were there, and it was great.

SPEAKER_02 33:13

Uh, that was that your favorite of the a la carts, do you think?

SPEAKER_00 33:16

Um, I actually my I'm saving my favorite for last year.

SPEAKER_02 33:19

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:20

So the second place we tried was called El Puerto, it was a steakhouse. It also had a set menu, but you could customize and just pick for what they just gave, they just uh kind of let you pick a couple of items that you wanted. Being a steakhouse, it was very heavy and meat focused. Um, so they brought out like kind of like shareable size portions of brisket, pulled pork, steak frites, along with other sides like pickles, fries, and salad. So while it was very tasty, I found it very heavy and very filling. It was very hard to finish between two people. And I would say it was it was a pretty good experience. We didn't have the entertainment that we had with hibachi, it was definitely just like a private dinner setting, but it was it was nice, you know, not having to pay for an expensive steak dinner.

SPEAKER_02 34:06

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 34:07

Then uh the other place we tried was an Italian place, it was called Trattoria by El Faro. Similar concept, you had a menu that you could just pick your food items from. It was it was quite good, it was mainly focused on pizza and pasta dishes. I had a pesto pene, which is always my go-to, but it gave you more of like a white tablecloth service kind of vibe, and it was it was really nice. I think it was the last place that we tried before we left, and it was a nice way to end off the trip. And then my favorite place that we went to was called how does you pronounce it here, La Hacienda. It's a Mexican place. They had a menu that you again would just order your mains from, but then they had a buffet setup for your appetizers and your desserts. By far the best restaurant there. Perhaps it's because it's Mexican and you know it's catered to where we were in Mexico, but it was so tasty. They only had this available, I think, for one night while we were there out of the week. And I wish they had it available every night. It was so, so good. Having fresh churros after stuffing your face with tacos was great.

SPEAKER_02 35:20

Oh, that sounds so good. And I I guess, like you say, it's uh it's their own food, so that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Yeah, I was not disappointed by by anything that they served. So all right.

SPEAKER_02 35:32

So all your dining experiences sounded like they were um really good. You know, that sounds uh quite positive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:38

Yeah, I would say maybe the buffet could offer slightly more variety in terms of what they had. Not that they didn't have a lot, but sometimes, you know, you're looking for something specific they had one night, they don't have it another night. Perhaps that could be a little more wider range, but quality of food, amazing.

SPEAKER_02 35:55

Okay. You did some excursions, I take it, eh? Maybe just run through which excursions you took and just tell us a little bit about the favorite one.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

So I had booked a snorkeling excursion in Cozumel, which is just an island off of Mexico, not too far from where we were. And then we had also visited the Tulum Ruins and we went snorkeling in a cenote. So the ruins and cenote were one excursion, and then Cazumel snorkeling was another. The snorkeling in Cazumel was by far the best experience ever. It was a full-day thing, so they picked you up quite early in the morning. I want to say it was like 7 a.m. They collected a couple people on our route. It was, you know, they just had a bus come to the resort and they dropped us off at the ferry, which left Playa del Carmen. I think there's two locations in Playa del Carmen. The one we were at, they dropped us off in like a shopping center. You caught the ferry from there to Cazumel, and then in Cozumel, you walked over not too far from the ferry location to where you'd get like on this speedboat type of thing with like 20 other people. That was such a fun experience. First, we did snorkeling in the the protected reef they have in Cazumel. Our next stop was a shallower water where they had a starfish that you could see, you know, just like eight feet below you. And then the third place that we stopped off at was a sandbar. So it was like maybe up to your waist. And they had stingrays swimming around you. We even had a nurse shark swim by us as well, and it was it was a little freaky, but it was it was such a cool and fun experience. It took up basically majority of the afternoon, after which, you know, they also had like some snacks and drinks on board for us as well. So that was a great, great beach day. We went on a beautiful day, clear skies, no sargassum anywhere where we were along the reef there. I don't know if it's just it was like an alcove or something. It was perfect. The one thing I would tell people though is bring a UV shirt, like a UV long-sleeve top, or just anything UV protectant that you can swim in in the water. Because it's a protected reef, you're not allowed to use sunscreen. Or at least they don't let you put it on the boat. We applied before we left, but that only does so much if you can't reapply.

SPEAKER_02 38:22

I was gonna say that's a great tip. And it's uh especially when you're snorkeling, you know, and your back's exposed.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

That was me.

SPEAKER_02 38:29

Yeah, I've had that experience myself. It's not fun later on in the day.

SPEAKER_01 38:34

Yeah, no, not at all.

SPEAKER_02 38:36

All right. I guess I've got a qu a question here that I wanted to ask you about what was your favorite memory or experience. You may have already talked about it, but we'll find out. When you think back, and like when you talked about your excursion, I'm just thinking to myself, that's kind of what the memories are about, right? Like for me, like when I go on vacation, you know, there's certain things like you you come home and then you remember, oh, like certain a certain moment or time. Like we went and when we were in Key West, we went on a little shark excursion, and that was fantastic, and that you stays with you, you know.

SPEAKER_00 39:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 39:05

So that sounds like the snorkeling experience for you, but what would be your favorite memory of a Barrow Star Brazo Beach?

SPEAKER_00 39:12

The excursion, of course, just as the trip as a whole, I think tops the cake. But the resort itself, I was extremely happy with where we booked. It was a very lush and green resort. So you just felt like you were kind of in a mini jungle everywhere you were. It was just stunning. I prefer that so much over resorts that are just concrete with like a couple of palm trees. They had the the main path for like the the buggies to like go up and down to you know use as your main mode of transportation if you wanted to catch a ride with one of the staff. Uh, but they also had walking paths that like kind of like went through the real lushness of the resort. And it was it was great. It was just such a great feeling walking around and having these massive palms, massive plants around you. And as a result, as well of the lushness, there was also a lot of wildlife on the resort itself. So they had peacocks, parrots. They also had these really cute uh animals called Kwatis, which are like lemur type raccoon animals. So cute. There, I would compare them to our raccoons here. They were getting in the trash cans and you know, they had no care for the people on the resort at all. They were just constantly looking for food. Um, they even had these like mini capyburra-looking type animals as well. Uh, so overall, it was just it was a really wonderful experience on the resort, just being surrounded by this just beautiful landscaping.

SPEAKER_02 40:40

Yeah, it's beautiful. There's quite a few resorts like that in the Riviera Maya, and and that's also what I like. I like that jungle feel and like you're in a little bit of a rainforest or something. Would you return? Would that be would you would you consider going back to Baristar Waves, Barrizo Beach, if you had the opportunity?

SPEAKER_00 40:58

I would absolutely book it. I feel that we got for what we paid for, for what we got, it was well worth the money and the experience that we had. I don't have anything negative really to say about the resort. I feel like we were very maybe lucky, but I also feel like we we chose a good hotel.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

And they, you know, the the staff there care for the tourists who are there and they care for the resort itself as well. And it shows.

SPEAKER_02 41:23

That's a great review. And I I I actually have had uh clients go to Prazo Beach before and come back with the same kind of review. I've never actually heard anyone in my circle tell me that they didn't have a good time there. So it's one of my one of my go-tos is a reliable resort. Okay. You've certainly shared lots of information. So if anybody's listening uh and is interested in ibarostar waves, Perezo Beach. I never know it's iberostar or ibaro star. I think it's iberostar, but I keep saying ibaro star.

SPEAKER_00 41:52

Yes, yes, I always get that mixed up as well.

SPEAKER_02 41:54

Yeah, I don't know what the official the official is. But anyway, uh if anybody's interested in going there, I think you've given them some real insight into what's available and maybe some uh some tips, you know, in terms of excursions and so on that they could take advantage of. So thanks for sharing that experience with us. We really appreciate you joining uh with the travel agent Disney and beyond. And uh hopefully we'll we'll chat again the next time you go away on some all-inclusive. Thanks for joining us, Natalia.

SPEAKER_00 42:20

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 42:22

Okay,

Deals Dish: Elite Explorer’s Sale and Celebrity Cruises Offer

SPEAKER_02 42:23

it's time for Deals Disc. For Deals Dish, I was going to mention two things. So, first we'll talk about the Elite Explorers sale. So Expedia Cruises is running an event called the Elite Explorer Event, and it runs from July 15th, so it's already started, and ends on August the 5th. As the name suggests, the offers in this particular promotion are for luxury-style ocean and river cruises. With most of these travel suppliers, you get an all-inclusive cruise that includes the drink packages and excursions in the cost of the cruise, which means their pricing offers value because you don't have to pay all the extras that you often do on most contemporary cruise lines. For this promotion, you would have to book with Expedia Cruises and you wouldn't be able to get the following offers. So these are the offers that are being provided currently. So if you want to sail with Azamara, included in your booking would be an additional $500 USD onboard credit. If you sail with Kernard, $300 onboard credit. There's Emerald Cruises, which is a river cruise company. And if you go on their river cruises, you can save $250 per person on the cost of the cruise. Explora Journeys, you can save up to $800 with journey experience credit, which is similar to the onboard credit idea. And it's eight hundred dollars USD as well. And there's HX, which is an adventure and expedition cruise line, which offer cruises that are more adventurous, like going to the Galapagos Islands, for example. And you can save five. Per person on their cruise itineraries. There's Lindblad, an expedition cruise line also, and with their offer you get $100 USD per person for onboard credit. Oceana Cruises offers up to $1,000 onboard credit per stateroom. And then there's Regent 7Cs, you can save up to $4,000 a person in USD or $5,220 Canadian. Scenic, which is another river cruise company, you can save $500 per person if you book a cruise with them. Seaborne offers $300 USD onboard credit per suite. Silversea offers $500 on board credit per stateroom. And then Viking, which is river and ocean cruises, they offer $300 onboard credit per stateroom. So the nice thing about this whole offer is that it's usually in combination with whatever other offer the cruise line has at the time. So it's a nice boost and a nice bonus for you. You're either getting a lot of onboard credit or extra savings on a booking. So it's worth looking into if you're interested in any of these luxury cruise lines or if you want to go on a river or expedition adventure. So take a look. You could probably find this information online, certainly through my Expedia Cruises webpage. If you are interested, you would have to contact Expedia Cruises. Certainly I'm open to being contacted. If you'd like to contact me at my email, we can get some quotes for you. The other deals dish that I wanted to mention today was with Celebrity Cruises. This is a specific offer that is available to my agency in Oakville, Ontario. So if you are interested, you'd have to book through us. It is offering you a $100 bonus onboard credit USD for a celebrity cruise. And it applies to Veranda, Concierge Class, Aqua Class, and the Retreats. The offer doesn't apply to inside and ocean view, river view rooms. You have to book a sailing that would be four nights or longer, and the offer does not include the Galapagos Islands, Cruise, or River Cruises, or any transatlantic or Trans-Pacific cruise. So the eligible sailings for this offer would include any sailing between August 15th, 2026 and December 31st, 2027. The booking window, if you want to get this offer, would be any new booking created between July 14th and July 31st, 2026. And if you want to secure the offer, you do have to put a deposit down during that time. And again, this offer is combinable with any of the offers that you might find on the celebrity website. And no perk buy one get one free or all included buy one get one free. Group rates, resident, senior rates, all those could be combined with this offer. Now

Outro

SPEAKER_02 46:56

let's take a look at next week's episode. In next week's episode, we will feature an interview with Robin Baxter Baring, also known as the Dot Beach Snob on Instagram and YouTube. She just came back from a visit to beloved Playa Muharis in the Punta Sam area of Mexico, located about 40 minutes from the Cancun area. This resort is an adult-only couples resort. We'll find out about Robin's experiences there and if she would want to return. In doing so, we'll be able to decide if it's something we should look into. In addition, we will provide you with information in our usual segments. If you're enjoying the information and inspiration provided in this show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or any other podcast reviewing platform. Links to the show's page and to Apple Podcasts can be found in the show notes. Also, feel free to follow me on Instagram to search up at the Travel Agent with an EH, of course. And I just want to take a minute to thank you for those of you who have sent in reviews or comments about the program. I really appreciate it. There were some really encouraging comments about the first episode where people said the information advice was helpful and insightful, and some talked about how the interview with Nate Allen was full of great information. So thanks for letting me know how you like the show, and I'd love to hear more feedback. And also just to mention, if you do have you know comments about the show or questions about the show, and you'd like to contact me, please do use my email again, stephen atravelagent.ca, and let me know what you're thinking. Even if you have ideas about topics you'd like to hear covered. Okay, that's a wrap for today. Until next time, keep dreaming, keep planning, and keep exploring.