This was going to be an epic travel year for us; Seabourn Caribbean Cruise, Christmas Markets on the Rhine, and our son’s graduation trip to Japan. But as the saying goes … the best laid plans …. Travel is in our blood which is why the team loves what we do. With travel starting to recover .. we had to go somewhere! So off to Cancun we went in September to stay 5 nights at the fantastic Excellence Playa Mujeres Resort. We wanted to share what it was like to travel in the post-Covid world and give all of you a firsthand perspective.
Getting There: We flew Southwest, which is one of our favorite airlines, with flexible polices and great customer service. Southwest (along with Delta) are still blocking middle seats which made for a comfortable trip given I am 6’3 and need that extra room. No need to fight to get the extra roomy emergency exit row seating. Mask usage on the plane was monitored well – there are always those that will try to break the rules. We take Covid seriously but do not give in to the hyper panic - we had our ‘travel masks’ with the extra filter inserted, Lysol wipes to wipe down the seats (we did this prior to Covid), and we set our air vents on high pointing down creating a sort of fresh air curtain in front of us. The benefit of flying with fewer flights in the air … every flight was on time and even arrived early. Travel Tip - many airports have very limited concessions and food venues open - so plan accordingly.
Arrival: The Cancun airport was as ‘normal’ as could be expected. There was social distancing, everyone was wearing masks, and they had monitors set up to check all arriving passenger’s temperature as they walked toward immigration. Our private transfer to the resort was smooth with luggage being disinfected and both the driver and us wearing masks.
At the resort we were warmly greeted with luggage again being disinfected along with a mat to disinfect our shoes. The staff at Excellence were wearing ½ length clear face shields instead of traditional masks. While I think I would prefer a regular mask – you are not around any one staff member for a long period of time. The resort is also performing health checks every day for their staff with temperature checks and monitoring for any illness. During check-in and at the bars they also have protective barriers in addition to the social distancing. Once we arrived at our room we were greeted with a ‘disinfected seal’. Although the room looked spotless - we went through our regular routine of wiping down surfaces with our Lysol wipes.
The Resort: Now the fun stuff!! We had an amazing time and the staff was warm, caring, and went above and beyond during our stay. They were constantly cleaning and genuinely concerned for everyone’s health and safety. The beach and pool chairs were all socially distanced. The open-air theater and outside band areas were also set up to promote social distancing. The resort was about 40% full and as we left - Cancun had increased the allowable resort occupancy levels to 60%. Mask usage for guests was optional. With most venues open-air and with social distancing we did not wear masks while at the resort.
Dining: The dining was excellent with a lot of variety and freshly prepared delicious meals. Donna has a severe Gluten allergy and they flawlessly accommodated her needs. After a couple of the days she did not even have to inform the staff as they already were prepared for her special requests.
Dream Vacations - The Operach Team is a travel agency based in Overland Park, Kansas. We take pride in working with clients across the country who love to travel. We build vacation experiences that will create memories to last a lifetime. Our team has specialties across a wide range of vacation options; custom Europe itineraries, Alaska, escorted tours, all-inclusive resorts, Disney, Caribbean, Hawaii, South Pacific, cruise holidays, and river cruises.
We look forward to making your dream vacations come true!!
Our friends went to the same resort last February and absolutely loved it. So glad you and Donna were able to get away!
ReplyDelete