Tour the Sandals Negril Resort and Our Honeymoon Suite	Honeymoon Photos	Honeymoon Events Video
	Sandals Resort Staff Video

Our Experience at the Sandals Negril Resort

Our honeymoon trip to Jamaica was quite an experience. We drove to Newark International Airport to catch our flight, which was scheduled to board at 8:05am. Upon arrival at the airport we learned that our airline had two gates for check-in, one for Domestic travel, and one for International travel. We had mistakenly entered at the Domestic counter and had to make our way to the upper level. Luckily, we hadn’t wasted any time waiting in long lines before figuring this out. However, when we arrived at the appropriate place of check-in, the attendant announced that our gate for the morning flight to Jamaica was closed. She went on to say that check-in ends one hour prior to boarding time, and that it would be unlikely that the gate would let us board the plane. This shocking news didn’t sit well with either of us since we were standing there in front of her at exactly 7:05am. We looked at each other with disappointment as we thought about the consequences of having to wait for the next flight, which wasn’t until that evening, and the loss of a precious day on the island. We informed the airport staff that we were going on our honeymoon and it would be of great appreciation to us if she would make an attempt to call the gate to see if they would let us through. As she was on the phone, we prayed and came into agreement that God would make a way for us to be on our scheduled flight. Well, our prayers were heard and answered as the attendant nodded her head smiling as she informed us that we were cleared to enter the gate. We were so filled with joy and gratitude as we headed towards the gate. The flight lasted about 3 hours and was smooth and steady.

When we touched base in Jamaica a van transported us to the Sandals Negril Resort, where we would be staying for the week. While in the van we met a nice couple, also from New Jersey, by the names of Jake and Mora. Our driver was very charming, funny and made us feel very comfortable as we made our way down the winding roads of Jamaica. The combination of left-side driving, narrow roads, and the occasional honking horn, could place any first time visitor on edge. But, the driving skills and humor of our cabbie provided some relief and we’re happy to say we made it to the resort in one piece.

When we arived at the Sandals resort our butler came to introduce himself to us as Jerry, and that he was there to serve us. As he led us to our suite he informed us that our suite had been upgraded to the best luxury suite on the entire resort. We both looked at each other smiled and remembered the words of the minister who married us: “We will be blessed with favor wherever our foot treads”.

When we opened the door to our luxury swim-up suite we were both amazed with the beauty of the picture-perfect room. Jerry gave us a briefing of the resort’s amenities, dining options and daily recreational activities. He finished up his introduction with a reassurance that we would be able to reach him or his partner for any questions that we may have during our stay, by using a pre-programmed cell phone that he handed to us. He did us the favor of snapping a few pictures of us, as we giggled in amazement of the whole thing, told us “No Worries”, and left us to meet Jamaica…

Each day of the Honeymoon was full of new adventure. First on the list, of course, was taking advantage of our amazing private swim-up pool. This pool opened up to the larger general pool and just steps away were the waves of the Caribbean. Each morning, our butler would reserve beach chairs out on the sand somewhere within viewing distance from our suite, and left us an itinerary for the activities of that day. Each evening, the butler would make our dinner reservations and pick us up from our room, take us to a table specially labeled, “Mr. & Mrs. Abanyie”. While at dinner, the butler would somehow find a way to sneak back into our room to use the towels to make a new creation and sit it on the bed to greet us upon our return. What's more, is that no matter where we were on the island resort, our butler would see us and bring us our favorite frozen drinks (non-alcoholic, of course);-). One Love, Mon.

There were a few watersports that we took advantage of, some for the first time and some for the first and last time. Water Tubing is a little like water skiing, except you sit in a giant rubber tube as the strings pull you along from a boat. We had a lot of fun trying this new sport, but the ride lasted only a short while. Vince had always wanted to drive out on a JetSki, so Latrice held on as passenger to speed through the waves of the open sea. Then, there was Sailboating. Neither of us had ever been on, let alone steered a sailboat before, so we took a minute to listen to the brief instruction of the staff member. “No worries, no problem” he reminded us as we set sail into the ocean, and all seemed to be going great. The wind carried us out with little effort, and across with slight turns of the sail. We figured we were fast learners and that maybe this sport wasn’t so hard after all.

We were pleasantly surprised by the entertainment provided on stage each night after dinner. There were concerts, contests, music shows and games for everyone to enjoy. One night we were brave enough to sign up and participate in one of the Couples Contests. The set up was similar to a Newlywed game where the men are taken away as the women answer questions about the men that the men would have to guess correctly upon return. We didn’t win, but we weren’t too disappointed once we saw what the tie breaker game was all about. Plus, we got to know a little more about each other and ended the night laughing at some of the other contestants’ answers.