What the Hurricane?

I don’t think I have ever had a client say, “I have surviving a hurricane on my bucket list.” Just saying. After surviving one myself, I would question their bucket list. Recently I visited the Dominican Republic and stayed in Punta Cana and La Romana. I had the opportunity to visit two different properties that provided two quite different experiences.

The first property was Dreams Dominicus La Romana. The property is beautiful and clean. You are greeted with champaign when you arrive and bottled water. Upon checking in, depending on where you are located, they have golf carts to transport people around. The pool was nice, and the drinks were good.

All the staffed that we encountered when we arrived were nice, and the Honeymoon Suite that they put us in was amazing. It was difficult to communicate with many of the staff. They know little to no English. I really had to brush up on those two years of Spanish from Senora Benson! That made things a bit difficult. Also, the customer service in the dining area was a bit lacking, but the actual serves made up for it, very accommodating. If we had questions, no one really wanted to help, unless it was someone with a higher ranking like a manager. The food was ok, but there were many families there and having an amazing time.

I was able to tour a couple of Cigar places that was remarkably interesting. The other thing I found interesting in La Romana – there are no stop signs! There were beautiful buildings and churches, but also lots of people on bikes riding right in front of and many horns blazing! I felt as if I was riding through Chicago, Atlanta, and New York all at once. I was a nervous wreck. Very congested, but our driver was amazing, and weaved and turned like the bus from Harry Potter! We paid to have him stay with us the entire day and he was gracious and made sure we were always safe. You need to be aware of your surroundings, which is why I loved having the driver with us the entire time.

Then as Fiona approached as a Tropical Storm I headed to Margaritaville Reserve Cap Cana in Punta Cana.  They are about an hour away from each other, but we were on the long stretch of road where they filmed the Fast and the Furious. Pretty cool! Once I arrived, I was taken to my swim up villa that was amazing! Dominican Republic was on my Bucket List so I was excited about this trip and so what if a little tropical storm might hit.

The first full day in Punta Cana, I went with two of my group members to Don Luis for Cigar Rolling and Rum, Coffee, and Chocolate tasting – YES PLEASE! On the way back to our hotel, Yari, one of my clients who is from Panama and is fluent in Spanish, helped us see an AMAZING church! This was on Sunday, then the loyal Bears Fans made their way to my room to watch the game… well they tried! Fiona elevated from a Tropical Storm heading to us as a Category 1 to 2 Hurricane. YEP! It devastated Puerto Rico and the three other resorts around us closed and had to evacuate all clients. Margaritaville was still standing and operational with one restaurant.

This was an experience that I never thought I would be part of, but then again, life is full of experiences we never plan for to happen. It was a rough night and no sleep. However, we were all alive, safe, no severe damage to our rooms, and together.

There are many things that I learned from this past trip:

• Expect the Unexpected: As a travel agent you need to have processes and procedures in place. Going forward Simply-Traveled will have a Hurricane Protocol to follow for all clients.
• Be Prepared: If you are taking a group and there is a potential of a tropical storm, it can move to be a hurricane in the blink of an eye. Make sure you keep others aware and pack some cards or a game to stay occupied.
• Track Track Track: I now have added a “Tropical Hurricane Tracker” on my phone to get alerts. I just added it, so I am learning.
• Understand the Plan: If there is a threat and you know prior to leaving, check with your clients and see what they want to do. Keep them in the loop on all happenings. Communication is key and it is something that we never do well. Call the resort to understand the plan.
• KEEP CONNECTED: My vacation sleuth (let’s call her Pat) helped me because she was part of many consumer Facebook Groups and shared information with me throughout the week and I have joined some as well now. This is a fantastic way to get the pulse of the customers.
• Process and Procedures: As you continue to learn information about storms and how resorts manage these situations, and update your documents.

I will say that the staff at the Margaritaville Reserve Cap Cana did an amazing job trying to keep those that stayed engaged and safe. Monday was a rough day, still raining throughout from hurricane Fiona. Ask for a Dirty Monkey at the Punch Bar… lol. By Thursday all but two restaurants had opened, and the pools were open (except for the Jr suite swim ups), and more continued to open.

Thank you to my adult group that went with me, our new friends from across the pond Toni and Allen, Dreams and Margaritaville for the best, (worst – hurricane), trip ever.

To circle back to the beginning, where I never heard of a hurricane being on someone’s bucket list, walking in our pool met a guy who had the last plane out of Charleston, NC. His friend did not come in until the next day. His friend told him – you are so lucky you had that experience (the hurricane). That was on my bucket list. SO, it just goes to show you, everyone’s list is different.

 

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