Airmiles Armchair Chatter

Edited to add:
I ended up making a full batch of jam,,I figured what else do I have to do right now while I'm stuck at home,,,,

Hey gang
I am trying to half my recipe for making pineapple/strawberry jam and was wondering if I am halfing everything if I need to half the light fruit pectin crystals?
Full recipe calls for one pkg light fruit pectin crystals.

Thanks
Hugs
Mel
 
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to everyone sharing their ideas and experiences with all-inclusive,

:thanks::thanks::thanks:

i am so grateful for all the details!

i’m dipping my toes in with some research about xcaret. it really does look amazing! so many things to do. i priced it out in the airmiles site and it looks like it’ll run about 50,000 miles for a week-long stay, so it seems a bit pricey, but also like it comes with everything.
I’ve been to Hotel Xcaret but I think everyone here is referring to the Occidental. There is no comparison. Hotel Xcaret is a million times superior and it includes unlimited access to all the Xcaret properties including food and transportation. Those additions are worth well over $1500 per person. The resort property is beyond stunning. There is a lagoon and caves right beside the beach.
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Hang up and call back. They've put you in an infinite loop.
I waited it out over an hour
Evergreen planters I bought were made with an indoor floral material which caused red dye to run everywhere,,even snow on ground is pink. Definitely not worth the $44.99 I paid for each of them.
Store manager just called and said she will speak to Floral dept tomorrow and get back to me,,she said Head office wants a report.
She said they will make it right.
I just want them to not sell anymore of them.

Oh 2020 needs to be so over.
Put me on a little raft and let me float along that waterway in the picture above,,with a pina colada in hand.

Hugs
Mel
 


I’ve been to Hotel Xcaret but I think everyone here is referring to the Occidental. There is no comparison. Hotel Xcaret is a million times superior and it includes unlimited access to all the Xcaret properties including food and transportation. Those additions are worth well over $1500 per person. The resort property is beyond stunning. There is a lagoon and caves right beside the beach.
View attachment 540298View attachment 540299

Hmm okay, so the Xcaret hotel is within the Xcaret resort and the Occidental is off property?

Is it comparable to staying in the Disney bubble vs. outside the bubble? Like...would it be the difference between staying at Beach Club vs. Bonnet Creek?

and also, how big is the property? like how much travel is there from one property to the next?

PS: The pictures are really beautiful!
 
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Occidental is actually right NEXT DOOR to the Xcaret Park, but the man-made river that snakes through Occidental and goes to the Park, it's actually a gondola FOR the Hotel Xcaret.
Yes Hotel Xcaret is much much fancier and $$$$ but Occidental is pretty nice too. I enjoyed waking up early and being one of the first ones into the Xcaret Park Aviary, that was nice.
Hotel Xcaret is expensive because yes, it comes with access to all the Xcaret activity parks (there are like 5 or 6), plus transportation to them, etc. The place is HUUUUUUUUUGE and you need transportation, so yes, it's like WDW.

At Occidental you have a min. stay before free admission to Xcaret Park kicks in, I think it's like 4 nights?
IDK about Hotel Xcaret, but Occidental does have the timeshare salespeople :)

I can't say how deluxe the 5 star Hotel Xcaret is, but I was more than satisfied with Occidental and I didn't feel "lesser" than people who were clearly on the water taxi to Hotel Xcaret.
I think the bubble is really Xcaret itself, not so much the hotel you pick, cuz there are lots of places to pick but the nature is all equally beautiful.
 


Occidental is actually right NEXT DOOR to the Xcaret Park, but the man-made river that snakes through Occidental and goes to the Park, it's actually a gondola FOR the Hotel Xcaret.
Yes Hotel Xcaret is much much fancier and $$$$ but Occidental is pretty nice too. I enjoyed waking up early and being one of the first ones into the Xcaret Park Aviary, that was nice.
Hotel Xcaret is expensive because yes, it comes with access to all the Xcaret activity parks (there are like 5 or 6), plus transportation to them, etc. The place is HUUUUUUUUUGE and you need transportation, so yes, it's like WDW.

At Occidental you have a min. stay before free admission to Xcaret Park kicks in, I think it's like 4 nights?
IDK about Hotel Xcaret, but Occidental does have the timeshare salespeople :)

I can't say how deluxe the 5 star Hotel Xcaret is, but I was more than satisfied with Occidental and I didn't feel "lesser" than people who were clearly on the water taxi to Hotel Xcaret.
I think the bubble is really Xcaret itself, not so much the hotel you pick, cuz there are lots of places to pick but the nature is all equally beautiful.
Not sure if I'm understanding, we stayed at Occidental Xcaret and we had the gondola pick up in the lobby for the park. Maybe that has changed? We could also walk, which was just a few minutes, on a sidewalk linking the hotel and park. There was a minimum stay for free access however since we booked a package week that was not an issue. We loved it and would go back in a minute.
Love the look of Hotel Xcaret but I think we would be paying more for nothing since when we are on that sort of vacation (All Inclusive, beach vacation) we prefer to sit by the pool/ocean, just not do as much in the way of activities as we do when at someplace like WDW or Universal. It would be a bargain if you wanted to be on the go all the time though.
 
Not sure if I'm understanding, we stayed at Occidental Xcaret and we had the gondola pick up in the lobby for the park. Maybe that has changed? We could also walk, which was just a few minutes, on a sidewalk linking the hotel and park. There was a minimum stay for free access however since we booked a package week that was not an issue. We loved it and would go back in a minute.
Love the look of Hotel Xcaret but I think we would be paying more for nothing since when we are on that sort of vacation (All Inclusive, beach vacation) we prefer to sit by the pool/ocean, just not do as much in the way of activities as we do when at someplace like WDW or Universal. It would be a bargain if you wanted to be on the go all the time though.
You can use the plain gondolas in Occidental too, yes!
what I meant is that Hotel Xcaret has its own devoted boat... it's pink and covered in pink flowers and has signage.
 
Occidental is actually right NEXT DOOR to the Xcaret Park, but the man-made river that snakes through Occidental and goes to the Park, it's actually a gondola FOR the Hotel Xcaret.
Yes Hotel Xcaret is much much fancier and $$$$ but Occidental is pretty nice too. I enjoyed waking up early and being one of the first ones into the Xcaret Park Aviary, that was nice.
Hotel Xcaret is expensive because yes, it comes with access to all the Xcaret activity parks (there are like 5 or 6), plus transportation to them, etc. The place is HUUUUUUUUUGE and you need transportation, so yes, it's like WDW.

At Occidental you have a min. stay before free admission to Xcaret Park kicks in, I think it's like 4 nights?
IDK about Hotel Xcaret, but Occidental does have the timeshare salespeople :)

I can't say how deluxe the 5 star Hotel Xcaret is, but I was more than satisfied with Occidental and I didn't feel "lesser" than people who were clearly on the water taxi to Hotel Xcaret.
I think the bubble is really Xcaret itself, not so much the hotel you pick, cuz there are lots of places to pick but the nature is all equally beautiful.

oh thanks for all the detail and explanation! i haven’t heard of Xcaret before, so i really just assumed you had to stay at the resort to do all the things they offer. from a quick look, the rooms really are beautiful. it sounds similar to disney, where some of the “bubble” benefits are there, but they aren’t the difference between a good vs incomplete vacation.

and from @tinkerone ’s post, it sure sounds like the special boat isn’t really all that special, if it’s hard to remember even seeing it!! :rotfl:
 
Occidental has two entrances to Xcaret Park, three I guess if you count the river gondolas. It's like a 5 minute walk from that resort into the Park, Hotel Xcaret is bigger and fancier and the property is actually a bit further away (hence the transportation).
 
With the glitch AM had yesterday, has anyone seen their usual Sobeys AM post yet? (mine usually post on Wednesday evening) I want my Max a miles AM!
 
Hey, I never saw this mentioned and I just received an e-mail about it from Disney Cruise Line Blog. I know a lot of people have Disney Gift Cards so.. Disney is updating their Disney Gift Card website. They have a notice online saying their website is being upgraded on January 20th. ALL existing logins & gift cards will NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE after January 19th.

They say to make sure you have access to your Disney gift cards, including the full 16 digit account number and EAN (what is this?) to add your card onto the updated website.

They say all existing account details (logins & gift cards) will NOT be transferred over to the new system. Starting January 20, 2021 you have to create a NEW account or use your existing Disney account login and enter your gift card information again.
 
I opened up the PDF file and this is what it shows for the gift card offer.
Gift Card Offer Offer valid November 2, 2020 through to January 3, 2021 at participating Shell locations in ON, MB, SK, AB, BC, and NT only (excluding Shell Flying J locations). Get 20 AIR MILES® Bonus Miles on your purchase of any of the following Gift Cards: Nintendo - $24.99 or $50, Sony - $25 or $50, Keg - $50, HBC - $50, Winners - $50, or Amazon - $100. Maximum 20 Miles per transaction. Offer may be combined with other Bonus offers. No coupon required. A valid AIR MILES Card must be swiped/Collector Number entered at time of transaction. Shell reserves the right to make changes to this offer and to terminate the offer at any time, for any reason and without notice. Please allow up to 4 weeks post promotion for your Bonus Miles to be loaded to your collector account. ®™
Looks like it is a $100 Amazon gift card.
Thanks for taking the time to find this out for me.I appreciate it.
Hugs
Mel
 
Hey, I never saw this mentioned and I just received an e-mail about it from Disney Cruise Line Blog. I know a lot of people have Disney Gift Cards so.. Disney is updating their Disney Gift Card website. They have a notice online saying their website is being upgraded on January 20th. ALL existing logins & gift cards will NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE after January 19th.

They say to make sure you have access to your Disney gift cards, including the full 16 digit account number and EAN (what is this?) to add your card onto the updated website.

They say all existing account details (logins & gift cards) will NOT be transferred over to the new system. Starting January 20, 2021 you have to create a NEW account or use your existing Disney account login and enter your gift card information again.

I did have two cards but have drained both of them and applied them to my DVC dues for the next 2 years.
Thanks for the heads up.
Hugs
Mel
 

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