A Dreams Vacation

Just having come off one of the best vacations ever, I wanted to share the fabulousness of Dreams Punta Cana. Matt and I enjoyed an uneventful flight down to the Dominican Republic and were the 1st passangers off of the plane due to our excited. Immigration and customs goes by quickly - once paying the $10 per person at immigration, you can quickly start your vacation. We had booked through Cheap Caribbean and found having the prepaid transportation helpful. The drive from the airport to Dreams was a solid 45 minutes. Though slightly long, it gave us the ability to see the country. The Dreams team met us upon arrival with a washcloth for freshening up and a mimosa. Yes please! The check-in went quickly and we were off to drop off our bags and start our week of relaxation. The first night was a birthday celebration and the Dreams team did a wonderful job singing to our friend and delivering a pre-ordered cake. The dinner at Portofino was amazing. We had a LONG wait, almost 2 hours for a table, but I think that it was so worth it - amazing! We learned not to arrive at 7:30pm, as this is the big rush and larger tables for 6, especially at Portofino fill quickly. Other amazing dinners included El Patio, and Himitsu. I tried my first sushi (well California rolls and crab, so I didn't delve deep into sushi, but this is a start!) Buffet breakfast was great with tons of selections. The entire week consisted of relaxing by the pool, switching from shade to sun in order not to burn. Our group was part of the daily water vollyball, and we were undeated - naturally. The waitress service was nice, though slow at times. We could make our way down the lazy river to the swim-up bar and back before the waitress returned with our drinks. We were tipping and did seem to get better service then some - though those around us were receiving the same level of service based on our tipping. The entertainment staff worked hard all day. This included activities during the day on the beach and pool, great shows at night, and themed evenings at the disco. St. Patrick's Day was the best with green beer (slightly gross, but good effort), green mixed drinks, and a green foam party. The only negative was the lack of enforcement on both the dance club and drink service to those under 18. After an uncomfortable viewing of a lap dance competition at the disco one night we brought it up to managment and they worked hard to take care of this. They do not use bracelets, so it is all based on what an individual says and I can't blame the kids for trying to succeeding. We found that after that, kids were being id'd at the disco entrance and at the bars. Sorry for ruining the fun, but very uncomfortable to have 14 year olds grinding at the disco near me. I enjoyed a couple of runs on the beach which were nice and allowed me to get off the resort and see locals fishing in the early evenings. What an amazing vacation! I would recommend the Dominican to anyone and warn them of the Mama Juana (a shot created by locals).