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> Destinations > Turks & Caicos Islands > Trip Reports > Trip Report
Dates: 7-14 Oct. 2000.
Preface:
Great trip. Weather intruded a bit on diving and snorkeling, but nothing to
complain about.
Transportation:
Planned late, so we took the charter from JFK because there were no seats from
the DC area to Miami to Turks. Turned out to be the same cost, except we had
to take an extra day of vacation to stay a night (6 Oct.) in NY in order to
meet the charter schedule. Of course, this was the leg from hell. First, the
Delta shuttle was delayed two hours, with no good reason given. Still, we
counted our good fortune because if we had waited one day later the week
before, we would have paid $638 dollars each for a round trip to NY vice the
$210 we paid. How any airlines can charge even the $210 for the noisy, no
service, always late twin prop shuttle from Washington DC to JFK is difficult
to understand, but it beats walking. Anyway, we got to JFK at about 5:30PM and
still anticipated enjoying our $159 room at the Radisson. Nice jacuzzi, swim a
bit--you know. We called for the Radisson shuttle as we picked up our bags,
then went out to the wind blown, noisy, polluted corner to wait, with about
three others. We waited, and we waited. And we called, and we called. And we
waited. I even informed them my wife had a handicap and was in pain (true). And
we waited. After two hours we commandeered a Holiday Inn shuttle and he
dropped us off. Radisson apologized, then discounted the room $50, so further
complaints with that management were going nowhere. Supper at the hotel
restaurant was reasonable, until they added an automatic 18% gratuity. This had
to be a NY law because they sure didn't provide much service for it. But this
was NY, so we out of towners grumbled, but accepted it. We had to get up at
4:00AM, so we went to bed a bit early, forgoing frolicking in the pool. Still
not done with us, Radisson managed to have a fire alarm at 12:30AM. Not an
emergency--just a test, they said. &^%$#**&#. When we checked out they blamed
it on smokers in a single room. New story to cover their butts, I suppose.
The charter was great. Fast, polite, and on time. Both ways.
But, back at JFK we had to jump on the terminal transfer bus and the polite
driver dropped us off at the international corner so we had to walk all the way
around the terminal to domestic flights. We managed to get standby on an
earlier shuttle (which was, of course, running late). Arrival was okay, until
they informed everyone that they had one baggage handler and it would take an
extra 20 or so minutes to get the bags up. Delta, again.
Now for the good stuff.
Arrival/Reception at Turks:
Met by all the happy staff and bags were taken care of as we all crammed into
several local taxi/vans. Nothing to complain about.
Check In:
Efficient and polite. Once again, though, despite asking for a central room
because of the wife's bad hip and even following up with another call to verify
the request was received, we were initially assigned a room at the far end of
the club. They fixed it right away, though. Very strange they can't do this
right, since everything else is so well done.
Room:
Standard motel. Clean and nice, but nothing special. Columbus Isle rooms are
much nicer.
Activities:
We snorkel, and the snorkeling was great. Better than Cancun and Columbus
Isle. The ocean got rough and about three trips were canceled, but there were
other things to do, like sail in the good wind.
Sailing was great from Wednesday on. But they did cancel one day because it was
too rough. Staff was very nice.
Didn't do much tennis, but everything was in fine shape and the instructor was
excellent.
Fitness center was well equipped and nice to use.
Pool activities were fun. Pool was big, with a separate water volleyball pool.
Kind of neat and meant there was a lot of water volleyball being played.
Always for fun, too.
Ground sports. They apparently had a good soccer program, but I didn't
participate. There were many people out on the field for long periods doing
drills and playing games. We tried softball one day, but only 4 people showed
up and we didn't have enough blood for the few million mosquitoes. Court
volleyball was popular and usually had plenty for several games when scheduled.
Basketball was also popular, and we had at least a 3 on 3 every evening. Even
had a few full court games.
Skiing got canceled the last three days. Too rough. But it looked like a good
program while it was running.
Beach is fantastic. Everything said and read is true. Miles of pristine white
sand beach.
Entertainment. Skits and plays are the same. Always for fun, but always a bit
silly. Amazing how enthusiastic the staff (don't call them 'help') can be week
after week doing the same stuff. Everyone especially enjoyed the circus shows.
Speaking of circus....a nice twist on activities if you're a brave (and young)
sort.
Food. Food was good to great. Seemed to be a bit of the same, but at least
was fresh every day. Company at the tables was always fun and friendly. This
might be one of the key attractions at Club Med--that you get to meet a lot of
nice people and interact with folks from all over the world.
Excursions:
We didn't take any excursions, primarily because of the cost. As it turned out,
the weather would have made the trip to French Cay we thought about a no go or
a rough trip. The French Cay excursion was $109 each. A 3-4 hour shopping trip
into town was $40 each, for everyone in the same van. Way out of line. Even the
picnic (which was boozer and fun for all who went) cost about $30. These trips
compare to $65 in Cancun and a free picnic (no booze)/snorkel trip on Columbus
Isle.
Summary:
Again, a wonderful time. We're already planning the next Club Med. Might have
to find $50K a year and just live at Club Med. Talk about unburdening
yourself. Of the three Club Meds we've done, I think we had the most fun at
this one. However, all three are worth going back to for one reason or
another.
Thanks to Chris for this trip report ...
October 2000
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