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Trip Reports |
| If you would like to a trip report of your own, then you can send it to me via E-mail and I will post it here. |
| #80- 12/27/2002 by Melissa mwentzien@hotmail.com |
| We spent Nov. 11-17 at Viva - Everything was great - our 2nd time - last was in April 2000. Very relaxing, excellent weather, food and staff was wonderful!! |
| #79- 12/26/2002 15:28:29 by Luc lucll@sympatico.ca |
|
Trip Report
From December 17 to December 23 Our holiday started in Fort Lauderdale where we took the Discovery cruise line to take us to the Grand Bahama Island. We were driving and they charge you $12.00 per day for parking. The moment you get in the boat to direct you to the dinning room where you have breakfast. Breakfast on the boat was good. It was buffet style and that is great when you have kids since they can easily take whatever they want to eat. All the time you are in the dinning room, you are overwhelmed by the amount of working people around you that direct you around but also push for you to have the food eat and move out. One thing to keep in mind id that it is very very cold in the dinning room. After breakfast we walked around the boat and visited all the various rooms. We went to play Bingo middle morning in one of the room to kill some time. The view outside when you leave Fort Lauderdale is fantastic. Great picture moment. They also take your picture when you get on the boat. A picture that you can buy later on in the afternoon. Lunch was great on the boat. My kids loved the choices and my wife and me did also. It took no time to enter the Bahamas once the boat got to the port. The ports Authorities were very nice and quick. We got to the Bahamas at 1:00pm and we were at the Club by 1:30. Very quick. The cost of the taxi to the resort was $8.00 per person. Very nice taxi driver. Older man talking about the island. It was our first visit so we enjoyed listening to him. We got to the resort at 1:30 and by 1:40 we were in our room unpacking. The lady at the front desk was very nice and quick. Even if the check is only at 3:00pm, they had the room ready for us right away. The room was very clean and just the perfect size for us. The only time we spend in the room was to get changed and sleep. The ladies cleaning the room were very nice. The only thing you have to do is ask for 4 towels since they only leave 2 in each room. I called and 5 minutes later we had the extra towels. We had a room and the outside perimeter of the resort and everything was very close to us. Whether you went to the beach or to the restaurant…you are always’s within 2 minutes from everything. Very practical when you have kids going back and forth all the time. You have a nice little balcony to your room with 2 chairs. Very peaceful. The beach is nice. Long and semi private. IN the Bahamas all he beaches are public. There was nobody on the beach that were not from the resort but you always had some sell woman selling t-shirts and stuff on the beach. They were selling t-shirts at $5.00 each. We were going to buy t-shirts anyway so we bough some at $5.00 and told them not to bother anymore. This was our first time in a resort and we found the water very nice. It is kinda blue aqua colour. Very clear water. There is a bar on the beach with very friendly waiters to us the parent but also to the kids. After a day they knew the kids and knew what their favorite drinks were. The drinks for adults were very good. In the main bar, there is a list on the wall of local Bahamian drinks and we try them all. Our favorite one was the Bahama mama and the Goombay Smash You have lots of time in the morning for breakfast. IN the winter it is from 7:30 to 10:00. The tables are very separated so you are not all packed. You have space to move around. Lunch hours were from 12:00 to 2:00pm and diner was from 6:30 to 8:00pm. One of the night we went to the Italian restaurant on the site for a change. The food for the breakfast, lunch and diner was very good. You have great choices. At all the meals you have some fish, pasta, salads, meats. You really have a wide selection. At lunchtime you can have the old favorite hamburger and hot-dogs if you like with fries. It was the first time since we take holiday’s that we never heard the kids complain about the foods. At 9:30 every night there is "ShowTime". It is show produce by the entertainment staff that you see all day around the resort. We were at the resort for 6 night and every night was a different show. Great shows. Very well done and they are very talented man and woman. The entertainment staff is very friendly. They come from all around the world so they speak all kinds of languages. They come from Austria, USA, France, England, Germany, Italy, Argentina and I’m sure I’m missing some. After the show, the disco opens at 11:00pm until late into the night. We took the kids dancing and they loved it because all the entertainer from the show come in around 11:30 to dance around and talk to everybody. The kids had a great time talking to Amanda. She’s a young woman from England. You have all kinds of free activities all day long. We did some Kayaking in the ocean and took some sailing lessons. It was fun since the water is so clear. From snorckleling to soccer to basketball to volleyball to…well you understand what I mean, there is something for everybody. While the kids were busy we lay on the beach working on our tan and on our "Bahama Mama". There is really something for everybody, young and old. I would go back tomorrow and we will one day. The weather is great, mid 70 all week. In December it is good to bring some long pants and warmer clothing for the nights. The nights are cooler but not really cold. The only negative thing is the Time sharing session. I don’t want to complain after such a great holiday. If you want to know more about our time sharing session, feel free to e-mail me (LucLL@sympatico.ca) and I will tell you how our session went. I can only tell you that you will not regret your time at the Viva Fortuna Resort. Have a good time |
| #78- 11/28/2002 21:29:53 by Jannel23@aol.com |
|
I returned from Club Fortuna yesturday. My boyfriend, best friend
and her boyfriend all went. We found that the only people that were
on the resort that were friendly and nice were the people acually on
vacation. There were a few staff members here and there that were
actually nice to us. This is an all inclusive resort which means
that tips are included. We would tip the bartenders every once in a
while unil they actually demanded tips. Not only demanded tips, but
told us told us how much they wanted to be tipped (per drink). A few
days later we found out that they were so rude was because they had
all just gone union, and didn't really give a sh*t what kind of
service they gave. (this info was from one of he few nice staff
members) The beach was very nice, but impossible to enjoy due to the fact that you were harressed every 5 minutes by some lady yelling to you asking if you wanted your hair braided or if you wanted a wrap. After a while we began ignoring them because it was getting so annoying. They didn't care if we ignored them They would stand in front of us and literally yell as loud as they could and this would be the same lady that already asked us 55 times and we said no thanks 55 times. The highlight of the trip wasn't even at the resort. Walking about a mile or so down the right side of the beach you come across a sand bar/restaraunt owned by some people from Canada that was reall fun and all the people were nice. We met a couple that were on their honeymoon and they were suppose to have a honeymoon suite a fruitbasket a bottle of champagne and 2 t-shirts. They got a normal size room (which by the way is not very nice) after going to the front desk at least 4 times they finally got their t-shirts and champagne on the day they were leaving still couldn't manage to get that fruit basket though. Also on the housekeeping, there were 4 of us in a room. They gave us 2 towlels, and changed them once on our 5 day trip. Our remote control didn't work, we brought it to the desk to get another, they wouldn't give us one they said they would send it down to our room. We got it almost 12 hours later. But I guess you get what you pay for and it was a cheap trip. I recommend The Divi Divi in Aruba for anyone looking for a good vacation. p.s. I sent an email yesturday about the resort, and I forgot to mention one thing. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!!! It may seem like a good deal at the time but once you get home you'll be kicking yourself in the ass. :-) |
| #77- 11/04/2002 13:05:16 by Pam Collins pcollins@schoepfco.com |
| We chose Viva Fortuna because of its all enclusive deal, its closeness to Atlanta, and the potential snorkeling. After reading all of the comments on your site, we were prepared for the worst.......what a pleasant surprise we had! The beach was absolutely gorgeous....white sands, palm trees....activities for those who wanted, plenty of lounge chairs for those like us who just wanted to veg. I'd say as nice as the beaches in Playa Del Carmen (the Mexican Riviera) where we stayed last year. The fact that you can hop in the water and snorkel on the reefs right off the beach was a definate plus. Snorkeling 3 and 4 times a day at our leisure made the trip so much more enjoyable than having to drag out on boat trips. Defianately bring your own snorkel equipment and beach towels....that was great advice from y'all.....The rooms were fine, nothing spectatular.....but clean, and cool, plenty of hot water, and cable TV. What more could you possibly need? Also nothing higher than 2 floors so you never had to deal with waiting for elevators or kids running up and down the halls. Don't plan on a king room, don't think there are any....the desk clerk just handed us the king upgrade ticket back with no comment.....The food was plentiful with a variety every meal...you could find salad, pasta, fish, fowl, beef or pork of some kind at every lunch and dinner.....don't know about breakfast, we never made it........The booze flowed all day, all night.....anything you wanted they'd make for you.....stronger, weaker, more of this, less of that......I tried everything on the list and made some up.......good thing we never had to leave the property.......The young staff members work day and night including all organized activities during the day, and the shows at night....if you're looking for Broadway quality, skip the shows, but we we left with a smile every night. We had a fabulous vacation.....can't wait to do it again next year. |
| #76- 10/18/2002 00:40:30 by rachael cinnamonn24@yahoo.com |
|
hello, we spent our honeymoon here from july1 thru july5 and i have to say that it was wonderful there at clubfortuna. everyone was so nice and everything was always clean and the beach was amazing i thought it was like a dream come true, we happen to be there during the rainy season so it rained alot but there was just so much stuff to do that we still had fun in the rain and i hope to come back again real soon. |
| #75- 10/09/2002 17:17:13 by G.M.Hollborn and family triumph2@optonline.net |
| This was our second time to viva fortuna. We are a family of 5(3teens). This trip was even better than our first time. There were alot more Americans than last time. Other nations there were Ireland, England, Scotland and a few Italiens(sorry about spelling). The beach is still beautiful,clean. Saw alot of sea life, more so than in our last trip. Only fault to be found was that the non-english speaking guests refused to listen to the lifeguard and staff to keep off the reef. Often other guests would try to explain to the reef offenders but they were not intrested in staying off the reef, after a while they just stated away from the reef. We met a sting ray that swam every day aroung us and followed us up and down the beach. That was the best. The room were clean and tidy not spotless. Towels plentiful. Food a little boring but a decent variety well prepared. The bartenders were not overly friendly-but we only drank virgin drinks. The karokee night at the bar was a great time, lots of good natured laughs. The entertainment staff was fairly new so a little shy. Yet my two older teens made plenty friends with them, especially after the nightly shows. One night the disco was too loud our group of kids went to play pool the staff came over and hung out with them, played pool and even gave dance lessons. Everyone had a great night, the security walked our teens home and let us know they were in their rooms. The security was friendly, always walking around. One night the couple next door got into a long, violent fight--called security -they checked on us and the surrounding rooms and then escorted the couple to the security area, even filled out reports. The next day the couple left, the viva staff was very concerend about all the surrounding rooms and if we were comfortable. The plumbing in the rooms could use an overhaul. No matter what the toilet always ran. They fixed it several times, they probably need to update. The dive shop staff were friendly, very professional. My husband and our 12 year old son took classes for several days got certified and did several dives. Highly recommend it. We talked to the dive staff regarding sharks-one of our favorite sea creatures. The man gave us what you could consider us shark lectures. It was great, informative. But the Shark word is a no no among the rest of the staff. The lifeguard (new since last trip in 2000) made the rounds at the pool and beach. Once a group fo women came upon several crabs he rescued the crabs and took the out into the water, ladies and crabs all survived. Port Lucaya was a nice day trip. Played minature golf at water world-had the place to ourselves--too hot 95F. We even checked out the "Our Lucaya" nice toooooo big, too many people. GIVE ME OUR 'FORTUNA" any day!!!!!!!! I admitt viva fortuna is not 6 stars, but it is every thing we want. Quiet, beautiful beach, sea life, friendly (most of them ) staff, good food, and a too soft bed, plenty of airconditioning. The only people who every complained were in small numbers-not sure what they were looking for in their trip. But we find the more experienced travler does their research before they go anywhere, But most importantly always keep an open MIND, you ar not home, you are in another country. Thats what makes it exciting. Well enough about our trip, To anyone who goes to Viva Fortuna--relax, enjoy its a real bargain, find. |
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| This page was last modified on 11 April 2003. |