St. Lucia Adults-Only Paradise at Sandals Grand St. Lucian

Travel advisors Julie and Ryan welcome Julie's husband Steven to discuss their incredible 5-night couples getaway to St. Lucia's Sandals Grand St. Lucian Resort. After seven years without an adults-only vacation, this Eastern Caribbean adventure offered the perfect blend of relaxation, adventure, and luxury service.

Getting There:

• Unique helicopter transfer from airport to resort (first helicopter ride for both!)
• Scenic flight over rainforest and landmarks
• Alternative ferry option for return journey

Accommodations:

• Club Level beachfront walkout room - 30 steps from pristine beach
• Rodney Bay location with mountain views and yacht-filled waters
• Perfect resort size - not too big, easy navigation

Dining Excellence:

• Gordon's over-water steakhouse (exceptional snapper and lamb)
• Bombay Indian restaurant (world-class cuisine)
• Soy sushi bar (visited twice)
• Outstanding breakfast buffet with fresh omelets and tropical fruits

Must-Do Excursion:

• Full-island jeep tour with amazing guide Lulu
• Rainforest waterfall hike and swimming
• Drive-through volcano experience - unique to St. Lucia
• Volcanic hot springs and mud baths
• Cultural immersion learning about local life

Why St. Lucia:

• Adults-only Sandals experience vs. family-friendly Beaches
• Top honeymoon destination with 80 couples on their flight
• Small island (24 miles long, 180K population) perfect for exploration
• Excellent snorkeling, kayaking, and water activities included

Practical Tips

• Club level provides private check-in and concierge services
• No beach service unless Butler level
• Fast-track airport service highly recommended
• Pack food for departure (limited airport dining)
• Bring proper footwear for excursions

Bottom Line

Perfect adults-only Caribbean escape combining luxury resort amenities with authentic cultural experiences. The couple would "return to this resort in an instant" and highly recommend it for couples seeking relaxation with adventure opportunities.

Next Episode: Vacations off the beaten path series begins!

Planning your own St. Lucia getaway? Contact Wonder and Beyond Travel at wonderandbeyondtravel.com

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Episode Transcript

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (00:13):
Hello and welcome to all things
Travel.
Julie and her husband Steven,just returned from a wonderful
couples trip to St.
Lucia.
This Eastern Caribbean islandhas so much to offer, and today
we'll discuss their time on theisland and experience At
Sandals, grand St.
Lucia.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (00:32):
Listen in with travel advisors and
destination experts, Ryan andJulie.
He is your travel professorteaching you everything you need
to know to have a magicalvacation.
And I am a Disney lovingMaryland mom of three and a
specialist in family travel.
we're discussing incredibledestinations, top vacation tips,
or sharing personal stories,it's always all things travel.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (00:55):
All right, Julie, so we are
recording this right after 4thof July and so I'm used to booms
and crashes and sounds going onbehind me.
So I am prepared because tonightwe are recording with both you
and Steven with three children.
That are supposed to be in bedat your house, so I, I'm well

(01:17):
trained for any triggers thatmight happen during this
recording.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (01:21):
one is supposed to be in bed, but she's
a screamer, and the other twoare supposed to be watching a
movie, but one is in the processof losing a tooth.
So we've already had oneinterruption

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (01:33):
So we may have a live extraction while
we're recording.
I love it.
It's all for the ratings, right?
It's all it all.
It's all for sweeps week, uh, atthe podcast here,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (01:45):
our house is pure chaos.
So the fact that we could evenboth get on this is a small
miracle.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (01:52):
So today I was working and I went
to the kitchen for something andJasmine was asleep on the couch
and Nala, our little puppy wasasleep underneath the couch and
I'm like, yeah, this is aboutright.
This is, you know, it's nice andquiet much like your life.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (02:08):
Oh my God.
That was not our house today.
We had some friends over Theirthree kids were here.
It was chaos.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (02:15):
Well, Steven, welcome so much to all
things travel.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13 (02:18):
Thanks for having me.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_1 (02:20):
Absolutely.
I'm excited to hear about thistrip.
Um, I know.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (02:24):
amazing.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (02:26):
you all have been planning this for
a while.
I know talking with you, Julie,during the trip.
You were just having an amazingtime.
I want to get right into it.
I've got lots of questions.
I know our listeners want tohear all about it.
First I want to remind folks ifthey need to get their nostalgia
on.
Last week we talked all aboutnostalgic Walt, Disney World.

(02:48):
the things that were, the thingsthat are, and the things we hope
will always be there.
Well, first, before we getgoing, give us the stats.
it was the two of you.
When did you go, where did yougo?
Why did you go?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (03:03):
So we went about two weeks ago.
At the end of June, we went forfive nights to the island of St.
Lucia.
There are three Sandals Resortsin St.
Lucia, Sandals Halcyon, which isa smaller, quieter resort.
There's Sandals LA talk, Regencyla talk, which is kind of.
Built into the side of a cliffso it doesn't have a great
beach.

(03:23):
And then there's Sandals, grandSt.
Lucia, which is where we went.
It is the biggest of the threeSandals Resorts on St.
Lucia.
It did not feel big to me.
It felt like the perfect regularsize for an all-inclusive
resort.
I knew that they had the bestbeach, which, if you've ever
listened to our podcast, youknow that I love beaches.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (03:43):
Yep.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (03:43):
and so that was really important to me.
And when we were thinking aboutdoing an adults only trip,
because it's been like sevenyears, we brainstorming where to
go and the way we ended up onSt.
Lucia was we knew we wanted totry sandals because

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (04:00):
huh.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (04:01):
is a brand that I advocate for a lot.
And we have done BeachesResorts, which is the family
friendly sister to sandals.
And it was kind of like, whereare we not going to take the
kids in a couple years?
Right.
Steven, we had kind of talkedabout like we would take the
kids to Jamaica because there'sBeaches resorts there.

(04:21):
were potentially gonna take thekids to like The Bahamas and
Barbados in the future wherethey're building some beaches
resorts.
But we knew we would not betaking the kids to St.
Lucia in the future.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2025 (04:32):
I think the most important stat
there is the two of us.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (04:36):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (04:36):
the two of us.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (04:37):
I hear ya.
I no, I, I hear ya.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (04:41):
yeah,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (04:41):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-1 (04:41):
echoing what Julie said, definitely
looking for something, where wecould really just, the two of us
enjoy.
and maximize that amount ofenjoyment, with the time that we
had.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (04:51):
Great, great.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (04:51):
St.
Lucia felt like a place we couldreally disconnect, right?
it wasn't a regular destinationthat you hear of every day.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (04:59):
I mean, it's very popular,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (05:01):
Mm-hmm.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (05:02):
it's off the normal traveler's path,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (05:06):
I did not realize how far south we were.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (05:09):
Yeah, we're pretty close to Venezuela

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (05:11):
Yeah.
we looked at a map and I waslike, I did not know we were
this far south

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (05:17):
yeah.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (05:18):
let's talk about the trip itself, and
I definitely want to emphasizehow you got to the resort
because it's very unique to St.
Lucia why don't you talk aboutthe trip a little bit and then
tell us how you got to theresort.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (05:30):
All right.
So I'll start at the beginning.
we had a flight from Philly,where we are, we tend to fly
outta Philly for Caribbeandestinations.
That was easy.
Flight was easy.
I really liked the airport.
Based on our experience in theTurks and Caicos airport, which
you can listen to on thatepisode, which was not pleasant.
this was a Caribbean airport,but it was lovely.
There was a nice sandals loungewhen we arrived

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (05:52):
Mm-hmm.
And that's one of the thingsthat all sandals do, which is a
nice touch.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (05:57):
Yes.
So you have a place to be whileyou're waiting for your
transfer.
There's water, there's a couplesnacks, and they're kind of
just, they're guiding youtowards your transportation,
which is nice when you'rearriving in a destination you
don't know much about.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (06:09):
Yep.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (06:09):
Um, sandals Resorts in St.
Lucia, really any of the resortsin St.
Lucia are not near the airport.
Our resort was about 90 minuteswithout traffic.
So I will let Steven tell usabout how we decided to get to
our resort.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (06:25):
Yeah, so, so putting that into
context, it's 90 minutes withouttraffic and also you're gonna be
winding through the mountains

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (06:32):
it's like when people go to Ocho Rios
or Negri in Jamaica, like onceyou're there, it's fabulous to
be there.
But it's, it's a hall to getthere.
And St.
Lucia is the same.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (06:42):
you gotta definitely take that into
account.
Um, and so we opted out of that,right?
Uh, we, we opted to, uh, take ahelicopter across the island,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (06:50):
Dang.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13 (06:51):
which,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (06:53):
Uh,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (06:53):
I've never

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (06:54):
I've never been on a

squadcaster-2380_1_07-1 (06:54):
before.
I know Julie's never

j_1_07-13-2025_1954 (06:56):
helicopter.
Helicopter.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (06:57):
So both of you, this was your first
time on a helicopter and you'retaking it to your all-inclusive
resort.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (07:04):
Yes.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:04):
And our pilot, Ryan, he was so funny.
He was like, is this your firsttime in a helicopter?
Mine too.
So it was really nice.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (07:12):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (07:12):
Yeah.
I've become a little bit moreadventurous, over the past
couple

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:15):
Couple years

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (07:16):
uh, where I've just not as anxious
about those things.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:19):
we got in

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (07:20):
and,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:21):
you know,

squadcaster-2380_1_07- (07:21):
strapped

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:22):
in

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (07:22):
we're going, right?

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (07:23):
Wow.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (07:24):
away.
we're flying low across

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:26):
the

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (07:27):
and then

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:27):
over.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (07:28):
and then we're over the island,
right?
Like, we're over the rainforest.
we're getting shout outs to allthese landmarks, over the
island.
We're seeing the peons in thedistance, right?
and so, I mean, when I think

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:40):
Back on it, right?

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (07:41):
That was

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:41):
was our first,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-1 (07:42):
unquote excursion,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (07:43):
Yeah.
Right, right.
You got an excursion from thefirst minute.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:47):
yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (07:48):
to go see the island from the air,
and sort of experience it

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (07:51):
That way.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (07:52):
so what we did was we ended up
landing at their older airport,their original

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (07:57):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (07:58):
and, from there, it was about, I
don't know, there was traffic atthat time.
It was rush hour in St.
Lucia.
and, it took about, what, Julie,two hours, hour from there.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (08:08):
I would say like 40 minutes.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (08:10):
Okay, less than an

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (08:11):
That, but I

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (08:12):
it.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (08:13):
it would have been like 20 minutes But we
definitely were stuck in trafficafter.
It's not like, which I was notprepared for that, and I hadn't
told Steven that.
I was not prepared for, okay,we're gonna land and then it's
gonna take us another X

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (08:26):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (08:27):
We landed actually pretty close to
Halcyon.
So if you were, and we flew overLA talk, so if you were staying
at either of those resorts,you're pretty close.
But we had to go in rush hour.
And let me tell you, in St.
Lucia, there are not stop signs.
I never saw a stoplight, butthey are the most courteous
drivers.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (08:45):
Yep.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (08:45):
one of my favorite things that we learned,
and we learned this on anexcursion is that.
They don't have stoplights andstop signs because people are
really courteous.
They let you weave in and out oftraffic.
and they honk to say hello, notto like yell at you, which is
not how it is in Maryland.
the police do not enforcespeeding or drunk driving

(09:08):
instead.
On the sides of the road.
It's just a cliff.
So if you choose to speed ordrive drunk, you're just gonna
fall off the road anyways.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (09:16):
Okay.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (09:16):
just, just,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (09:17):
have a bad time.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (09:18):
just fascinating, watching and having
that experience.
But yeah, the helicopter wasreally, really fun.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (09:25):
Would you do that again?
Would you do that again as your

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (09:29):
Yes.
even though we still had a bitof a ride and.
a longer ride than what Iimagined to the resort after
getting off helicopter.
It was just the two of us in acar.
It wasn't a share

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (09:41):
mm-hmm.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (09:41):
any means.
And we were not the only peoplein the helicopter.
There was two other couples inthe

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (09:45):
Oh, really?
Oh, okay.
All right.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (09:47):
all had our own car to our resort.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (09:50):
okay.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (09:51):
so even after getting off of that, you
have a private transfer to yourresort from there,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (09:55):
Yeah,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (09:56):
When we kind of thought back on it, had
we take the shared transfer,which is included when you stay
at a Sandals Resort, you weregonna hit that same traffic.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (10:04):
yeah.
Right.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (10:05):
it was gonna be at least two hours.
by no means was it a quick tripfrom the airport to the resort.
It was still like two hours.
two and a half hours until wegot to our room

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (10:17):
In total, yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (10:18):
But like Steven said, we thought of it as
an excursion and anotherexperience.
It was such a fun way to startthe trip.
Steven, tell us your firstimpressions of getting to the
resort.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (10:30):
just on the note of the helicopter
two,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (10:32):
yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (10:32):
just finish that off.
the transport at the end didgive me some time to calm down

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (10:37):
from the helicopter.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (10:39):
I survived this.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2025 (10:40):
I

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (10:41):
I survived.
Yeah.
I was like, okay.
so on the way from,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-1 (10:44):
smaller airport to the island, just
being able to see parts of St.
Lucia, you know, we got thedrive through the capitol, stuff
like that.
And then once we get to theactual, resort, it's on the
north and side of the island,relatively secluded, I

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (10:57):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (10:58):
at the, on the

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (10:58):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (10:59):
side.
once we get there, we just rollup into the, I can't pronounce
the thing,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (11:03):
Port Kche.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-1 (11:05):
Posure.
Thank

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (11:05):
Thank you.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (11:06):
Um, and, uh, right

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (11:08):
right away, uh, we,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (11:09):
warm chows and they sing to us.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (11:11):
Nice.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (11:12):
was

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (11:12):
Nice.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (11:12):
was a nice, welcome party,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (11:14):
yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (11:14):
for just the two of us.
You know, we just kind of

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (11:17):
Stand there awkwardly.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (11:18):
let them sing at us.
I was like, all right, let's go,let's go figure this out.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (11:22):
Nice.
that's a really neat, way to bewelcomed.
And so you kind of felt like,I'm here, my vacation has begun.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (11:29):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (11:30):
Yes.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (11:31):
we were staying club level, which means
you get a more private check-in

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (11:36):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (11:38):
lobby.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (11:38):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (11:39):
which is a huge perk of staying club
level because they escort youover to the club lounge, When we
were checking in, there wasmaybe one other couple in the
club lounge you're right infront of your check-in person
that is helping you and they'reintroducing you to the resort,
the perks of the club levellounge, they brought us a mango
mimosa because mangoes were inseason on the island and we

(12:01):
passed a lot of mango trees onthe way to the resort.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (12:04):
that was the first drink?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:05):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (12:05):
Um.
Um,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (12:06):
There were others to follow.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:08):
yeah, There were others

squadcaster-2380_1_07-1 (12:08):
follow.
I,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:09):
I would say

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (12:10):
It was, it was white glove service,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:11):
yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_0 (12:11):
basically, you get there, you're escorted
to the concierge and you'renever really left

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:18):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13 (12:19):
you're all ready and checked in.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:21):
Yes.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (12:21):
did you feel, was that kind of
uncomfortable, kind ofburdensome?
Or did that feel ta you felttaken care of?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:31):
Yes.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2025 (12:31):
I mean we, yeah, we felt taken
care of.
I I mean, it just removed mentalload,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (12:36):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (12:36):
it's like you go there and you don't
have to think about anything,which is, a

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:39):
Yeah,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (12:40):
for Julie and I, in, in our lives.
I mean, even

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:43):
like.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (12:44):
when we got

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:44):
never been there.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (12:45):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:46):
been there before, so we don't know
where we're going, so that isnice.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (12:49):
So your last trip we talked about,
was your beaches trip.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (12:54):
So

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (12:55):
Talk about what's the, just briefly,
what were kind of thedifferences between going to a
sandals and going to a beachesand what was your experience
having now staying in the clublevel versus having butler
service with beaches?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (13:12):
Yeah, so at Beaches, the Butler level,
while Butler level is certainlya luxury you can appreciate and
enjoy, I did not think that wasnecessary for us at a beaches
resort.
I would not travel again withouta butler because.
the ages that our kids were onthat trip.
Looking back on that trip, itsaved us having a butler to help

(13:35):
us.
By bringing our lunch to us,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (13:38):
Mm-hmm.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (13:38):
securing our spot on the beach or the
pool or the waterpark, bybringing us room service,
breakfast every day at sandals.
I mostly just want at clublevel.
I kind of want it to be leftalone a little bit.
We really just wanted todecompress a lot on the beach
and, have that time.
So I wouldn't really wantsomeone interrupting us, but I
enjoyed both experiences.

(13:59):
I felt like they weren't thatdifferent as far as check in.
Went.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (14:03):
Sure

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (14:04):
when you have a butler, they're with you
every single day checking inwith you, what do you need?
What can I bring for you?
And that is a phenomenal amenityto have if you want it.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (14:14):
Yeah,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (14:15):
just not the experience I wanted I wanted
to be by myself and do our ownthing.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (14:18):
club level was the concierges there.
Were helping you with yourreserv,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (14:22):
Yes.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (14:22):
Yep.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195 (14:23):
planning, your reservations.
They have some excursions youcan be part of at club level.
There's different activitiesgoing on.
Okay, that's good.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (14:30):
so they definitely had, like in the club
lounge, they had like a, amartini night, a cocktail party,
a couple events going on there.
It was also a nice spot to goand watch some of the evening
entertainment.
They also had some really greatrum punch that you could only
get at the club lounge.
we went there to make our diningreservations.
That was really easy to do.

(14:52):
and they did have, an exclusiveexcursion that was not an extra
cost, that you could choose togo on that was a hike and a
sunset catamaran cruise, andthat was included in your club
level room.
You did not need to pay extrafor that.
We decided not to do thatbecause we already had an
excursion booked for ourselves.
But I think that's a greatoption if you don't wanna pay

(15:14):
extra for excursions.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (15:15):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (15:16):
We secured a club level room
because I wanted that extra kindof one-on-one check-in
experience, that little bit of aconcierge help throughout the
trip.
as well as I wanted the specificroom that we were placed in.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (15:30):
All right, so that's my next
question then, guys, whataccommodations did you have and
give an overview of the resort.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (15:38):
Okay, so our room was a club level, beach
front walkout, sandals tends tolabel their rooms with like 20
different words, but

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (15:47):
So confusing.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (15:48):
we were club level and we could walk out
of our room and see the beach.
Our room was.
Phenomenal.
It was so much better than whatI had even anticipated.
We were like 30 steps to thebeach it was so close to us.
We had a little walking path wecould go down.
It was amazing.
I really liked those first floorrooms because I like being able
to walk right out.

(16:09):
it was just beautiful.
there was definitely a morelively side of the resort and a
quieter side and we were on thequieter side which we really
enjoyed.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13 (16:17):
lucked out.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (16:17):
you know,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (16:18):
You know?

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (16:18):
the sandals that I've been to, all
of them seem to be that way.
So I, I think understanding whatvibe you want, is really
important.
when it comes to booking.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (16:29):
So we learned our vibe is not the
pool, and it's not the pool swimup bar.
the quiet side of the beach.
And that's probably because ourhouse is such chaos.
We just wanted to sit on thequiet side of the beach.
But I will say like we showed upat the resort, Ryan, and we
walked over to a window and Iwas like, oh my gosh, look at

(16:49):
this beach

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (16:50):
yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (16:50):
It was beautiful.
it was a good long stretch ofbeach.
It was wide, the water wasbeautiful.
you were in Rodney Bay.
so it's kind of closed in alittle bit.
There's some boats and sailboatsand yachts docked in the water.
you can see mountains.
It kind of looks like Hawaiiwith the mountains a little

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (17:09):
Sure.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (17:10):
It was stunning.
Just stunning.
every day we walked out to thebeach and said, I cannot believe
we are here.
We loved the resort so much.
It was so easy to navigate.
Even though on the map, we wereon the left side of the resort,
nothing felt far away.
The furthest thing from us wasprobably the over the water

(17:30):
restaurant and some of the wateractivities, like kayaking, but
that was still like maybe a fiveminute walk.
It was not far.
Now that's comparing to Beaches,Turks, and Caicos, which is
huge.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (17:42):
A, a city unto itself.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (17:43):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (17:44):
this was a really lovely side because it
did lend to those people who didwant that party atmosphere at
the bar because there were a tonof honeymooners.
Our flight Ryan had 80 honeymooncouples on it because

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (17:57):
Wow.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (17:57):
is the number one honeymoon
destination.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (18:00):
Okay.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (18:01):
a lot of them were at Sandals Grand, we
kept running into the samecouples.
It was really funny.
We were on an excursion with thesame couples.
Then we went on an excursionfrom the resort with the same
couples, we just kept runninginto the same people.
It was funny,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (18:12):
There you go.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (18:14):
it was nice that it had that for those
people.
And then it had the quiet sidefor us, older folk who were here
celebrating not being with ourchildren.
Because every, everywhere thatwe went through were like, and
what are you celebrating?
We'd be like, getting away fromour children

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (18:28):
Right, right.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (18:29):
Yeah.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (18:30):
So Steven, you, you were on the
quiet side of the beach.
Did you still feel like you haddrink service?
Did you have access to food?
was it still a good place to be?

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2025 (18:42):
I mean, yeah, we definitely, to be
left alone, especially rightnow.
but there was, was a bar like apopup bar

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (18:51):
huh

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (18:52):
on that side.
Like, it was like, it was

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (18:54):
it.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (18:54):
the strangest hours.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (18:56):
Did they,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (18:56):
was a shot,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (18:57):
Did they call it Stevens?
By the end of the week?

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2025 (18:59):
I never went there because I

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (19:00):
I never

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13 (19:01):
always saw

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (19:01):
saw them set up.
And then by the time I wasready,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (19:03):
be closed.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (19:04):
that's funny.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (19:05):
and so,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (19:06):
but the bar we went to wasn't far,

squadcaster-2380_1_0 (19:09):
everything was within a reasonable

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (19:11):
Yeah.
Okay.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (19:12):
minute, a three minute walk.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (19:14):
rea like it depends on what you're,
what you mean by reasonable.
Yeah.
but there was no issue.
There was no

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (19:17):
There was,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (19:18):
and getting what we needed.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (19:19):
there was not beach service.
They were not coming to wait

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (19:22):
Got it.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (19:23):
But that did not personally bother me.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (19:25):
Yeah.
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (19:26):
remember, our room was near the beach, so
our room was fully stocked withliquor and all sorts of things.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13 (19:35):
behind us and get

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (19:36):
That's true.
That's true.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (19:38):
Yeah.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (19:39):
All right, so I want to get into the
nitty gritty with food anddining and kind of service that
you experienced at sandals.
I wanna talk about excursions,all that fun stuff.
But first I wanna talk aboutwhere in the world is all things
travel.
When I looked this week at newerlocations, Dallas, Texas popped

(20:00):
up.
I think we've had Dallas before,but it was a long time ago, and
I found a really cool place thatI wanna meet our listener in
Dallas.
It's called the Sixth FloorMuseum at Deley Plaza.
The sixth Floor Museum at DaleyPlaza Chronicles the life,
death, and legacy of John F.

(20:20):
Kennedy.
The museum is the former TexasSchool book Depository Building
where evidence of a sniper wasfound in the assassination of
President Kennedy November 22nd,1963.
Much of the space looks as itappears in the sixties, and it
highlights the snipers area andthe FBI's model of the shot.

(20:43):
It has exhibits of everythingthat happened that day and all
sorts of stuff, and I just thinkthat would be a really fun and
important and interesting placeto meet our listener.
Well, hey Dallas, do me a favor,reach out to either Julie or I
on Wonder and beyond travel.com'cause I would love to send you

(21:04):
a little thank you gif for beingfeatured on the show today.
Alright, so let's talk aboutexcursions.
What did you guys do?
What did you think about it?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (21:15):
we booked one excursion in advance.
We initially only had the tripbooked for four nights, and we
added the fifth night, lastminute.
we didn't wanna do a lot.
I'm a big beach person.
I have not sat on a beachwithout children in about seven
years.
So my biggest concern was,sitting on the beach in peace.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (21:32):
Nice.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (21:33):
the excursion we did was St.
Lucia is known for.
You know, the nature, therainforest, the peons.
We knew we really wanted to dosomething in those areas, with
some adventure to it.
this was like a, an open airjeep that we took.
There was three other couples onthis tour with us and our one

(21:56):
excursion guide.
What was her name?

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (21:58):
Lulu,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (21:59):
and our excursion guide

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (22:02):
Lulu.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (22:03):
Lulu was phenomenal.
She made the whole trip.
she told me that she used to bea nanny back in Colorado and I
literally was ready to have hercome to Maryland.
Amazing woman.
We took this Jeep excursion, webasically drove the entire
island and the island is only 24miles long.
So.

(22:23):
It's not big and the populationis 180,000 people.
we drove through every town onthis island and it was amazing.
I felt like we learned so muchabout the culture in this one
day because our guide, Lulu toldus.
So many little details andtidbits, things we would never

(22:46):
have known, and that was trulywhat made this excursion.
Like those are the things that Iremember She told us all about
the way they build their housesand why they build them that
way, The way that people maketheir living and all sorts of
things and how they raise theirchildren and how their school
system is set up.
And it was just amazing.
if you watch the Olympics mostrecently there was a TrackStar

(23:08):
athlete from St.
Lucia, Julian, all red.
and there were posters for hereverywhere, and Lulu was telling
us about the day that everyonewent into town to watch her
race.
No one thought she'd winanything and how then she won
the gold and it was just such,like this big deal, like the
island is just so proud andeveryone was so kind.

(23:28):
So anyways, so we went on thisexcursion.
We drove a, this open air jeepthrough the entire island.
We passed through significantareas like this big banana farm
where they grow a ton ofbananas.
we saw a guy next to us on theside of the road, Ryan, that had
just caught fish and was sellingthem.
he had caught them that morningand he was just selling'em right

(23:49):
there on

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (23:49):
Wow.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (23:50):
It was very immersive.
our first stop was at awaterfall.
So we pulled up and you take ahike, about 10, 15 minute hike.
And I would say I woulddefinitely recommend that you
are somewhat able to be activeto do this hike.
We did have walking sticks, butyou were definitely on like
slippery rocks, walking throughsmall streams, narrow pathways,

(24:13):
They were there to give youassistance, but I would
recommend somebody be in somesort of shape to

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (24:19):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (24:20):
this walk.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (24:21):
it was a little treacherous.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (24:22):
It was a little tress.
so then you get to thewaterfall, which wasn't like a
massive waterfall, but it wasbeautiful.
And it was great.
There were these other localsthere that were playing music.
You could tell that's like whatthey came and did for their day,
was they came and played musicat the

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (24:36):
Uh huh.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (24:37):
all the tourists.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (24:38):
Yep.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (24:38):
and then you get to go into the
waterfall.
You get to have the waterfallsplash over you.
I have some great pictures fromthis.
And then we actually opted tostay in the water.
a lot of people got right out,but I was like, no.
let's stay in like we're here.
they don't like to use the coldor the cool word for the water
temperature.
They like to say it'srefreshing.
It was definitely veryrefreshing.
it was so beautiful.

(24:59):
And then you hike back and thatwas it.
There was only one cruise ship,docked that day and it was a
smaller Royal Caribbean ship,but they sat on other days.
Like that area can get prettycrowded.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (25:10):
Okay.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (25:11):
can tell us about the second part of the
excursion, Steven, do you haveany thoughts on the waterfall
that I didn't say?

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (25:17):
it was treacherous, getting there,
and sort of, um, uphill

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (25:22):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (25:23):
our guides were wearing bare feet,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (25:25):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (25:25):
this is like what they do,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (25:26):
Yeah.
we just took, uh, old shoes.
Like you, you, you should, if,if you go on something like
this, taking, um, the rightfootwear.
Yeah, this is not a flip flopexcursion.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (25:37):
which I wore.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (25:38):
Oops.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (25:39):
Because you're also walking through
water.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13 (25:41):
grant, granted, I also left those flip
flops in St.
Lucia.
'cause that was it, for those.
just looking at, all the plantsand all the flowers and trees
around us just, we're in the

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (25:50):
Yeah,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (25:51):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-1 (25:51):
through the rainforest.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (25:53):
she would point out all sorts of things.
Like, look, this is a cashew andyou can see the cashew nut
growing down.
And then she would just eat it.
it was so immersive.
I've never been on an excursionwhere they've been that Frank
with you,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (26:05):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (26:05):
so personal with you.
Um, so after the rainforest wewent to lunch.
First our Jeep broke down and wesat on the side of the road

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (26:14):
Hm,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (26:15):
45 minutes.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (26:16):
you got, you got the true island
Caribbean life experience.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (26:20):
the ex and we didn't complain.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (26:22):
There you go.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (26:23):
we just hung out.
We just chilled.
It was fine.
So then we got a new Jeep, andthat was fine.
then we went to get some lunch,which was delicious.
It was a local little buffet,very different style foods from
here.
they definitely encouraged youto try a little of everything.
I thought it was pretty good.
We had like chicken and allsorts of different type of.
Salads and banana things and allsorts of stuff.

(26:43):
It was really good.
And then we went, uh, St.
Lucia is the only island thatyou can drive through a volcano.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (26:51):
Really

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (26:52):
Mm-hmm.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (26:53):
Steven, what was that like?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (26:55):
yet another,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (26:55):
uh, drive, through the mountains to
get there.
and when we got there, you couldtell when you were getting close
just because of the smell of

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (27:03):
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (27:04):
and so, once we get there and you
get out of the car, it's quitepungent.
So.
Uh, it really smacked me in theface.
Uh, and it was, after a while,it sort of like, you know, fades
into like, you know, uh, okay.
We, you're used to

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (27:16):
Yeah,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (27:17):
for a second there.
Wow.
Um, it, it was

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (27:21):
So the volcano there, it's active, but
it doesn't spew lava.
It spews smoke, but it's

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (27:28):
so.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (27:29):
it's active all the time.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (27:30):
I've been to Volcanoes National Park
in Hawaii.
So was it like a volcano tubethat you were driving through?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (27:39):
Caldera caved in

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (27:41):
okay.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (27:41):
of it, you can drive through that.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (27:43):
Okay.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (27:44):
Yeah, so like there, so we went to the
hot springs there, which theyhad built sort of these like
concrete ponds that sort ofcaptured this black river water
coming out of the volcano andletting you sit in that.
And then it just, the riverwould keep flowing.
there's like these four littlelike concrete sort of like hot
tubs.
Right

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (28:02):
Okay.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (28:03):
tubs.
Um, which it was like hot tublevel water or temperature wise.
Right.
Um, uh, and also had these two,um, uh,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (28:15):
Fucking

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (28:16):
of, of

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (28:17):
full.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (28:17):
one of them was like a gray mud and
one of them was a blackish mud.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (28:21):
From the volcano.
From the volcano,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (28:24):
Okay.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (28:24):
like.
Um, and you're supposed to like,put that on your body to like
exfoliate your, your skin andall that.
Um, which, uh, as I was goingthrough all this experience, uh,
mind you, I was sunburned fromthe first day.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (28:35):
Oh,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (28:36):
so, I had,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (28:37):
Terrible.

squadcaster-2380_1_07 (28:38):
terribly, and

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (28:39):
oh, oh.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (28:40):
it was tough for me to get into the
hot,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (28:43):
You, you, the, the exfoliation was
not really on your to-do list atthat, at that point.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (28:48):
less than ideal.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (28:50):
Oh,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (28:50):
less than ideal.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (28:51):
I really tried my best.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (28:52):
get into this hot spring.
I got up to my waist and I waslike, I can't.
can't go any further.
So I had to rely on Julie tosort of wash all the mud

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (29:01):
Yeah,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (29:01):
which was a scene in sight for most
people.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (29:04):
So the,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (29:04):
was having

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (29:05):
yeah.
So the idea is that you are withyour partner, your spouse, you
know, whoever you're there with,and you are supposed to be
rubbing this mud on them.
It's exfoliating their skin, andthen you can decorate them with
this darker color mud, like handprints or drawing on them,
whatever.
then you get in the hot springand it's supposed to be.
kind of like a curing type it'sdefinitely set up for tourists

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (29:27):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (29:27):
there's an area to set your things down.
there's buckets of the mudwaiting for you.
there's a little shower area tolike rinse off if you are like
Steven and don't get completelyinto the hot spring.
you load back up and go back toyour resort.
we did have like a two hourdrive back to the resort.
But let me tell you, this tourguide, Lulu was asking us all

(29:50):
these philosophical questions onthe way back.
it was so entertaining.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13 (29:54):
Before we get to that though, there,
there was a whole other likeportion of the Caldera

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (30:00):
Oh

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (30:00):
like take a tour on, right?
you could go tour the actuallike, and

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (30:06):
yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (30:06):
like.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (30:08):
More of the

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (30:09):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (30:10):
of the volcano which we didn't do,
because we were on a schedulewith the other

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (30:14):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (30:14):
but, uh, yeah.
So we could only go so far.
But it would've been, know, coolto just continue that portion.
And I, I'm a big into all thatkind of stuff and I love that we
were actually inside a volcano,right?

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (30:26):
That's really neat.
It's very unique.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (30:29):
yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (30:29):
and that is,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (30:30):
I.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (30:31):
that's definitely like the one of the
number one excursions in St.
Lucia, no matter which way youget there, a lot of people wanna
go do the waterfall and do thehot springs at the volcano.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (30:40):
Okay.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (30:40):
It was very cool.
I don't know that I would do itagain.
Steven said, going further intothe volcano was cool, and again,
I felt like it was such a bonusand not something I really
thought of was getting toexplore the rest of the island
on the drive there and the driveback.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (30:54):
And the

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (30:55):
it was very cool hearing so much.
I mean, she was pointing out.
Where the governor lives andwhere this person lives and oh,
so and so rented out thiscelebrity, rented out that
resort, and just telling us allthese little tidbits that we
never would have known.
I really enjoyed

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (31:10):
SS.
So you did one excursion whileyou were there, you had the
option to do a club levelexcursion if you wanted to.
Did you feel like one excursionwas enough to see St.
Lucia this day and then enjoythe resort the rest of the time?
I know that was kind of yourfocus of the trip.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (31:28):
because you have to remember that at
sandals you have so muchincluded.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (31:33):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (31:34):
day after our excursion, we also did
kayaking.
You could have gone sailing, youcould have gone paddle boarding.
we did do a little boat out anddo snorkeling for a while, so.
so much that you can do at theresort.
I felt like we definitely got afull vacation, especially

(31:54):
because it is a small island andwe literally drove the entire

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (31:58):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (31:58):
get to the volcano.
when you look at the map, we areopposite sides of the island,
and we did that helicopter tour,so I feel like we got so

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (32:05):
Y You did, you did.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (32:08):
Yeah, I don't feel like we missed out on
anything in St.
Lucia.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (32:13):
So Sandals is known for good food,
good bars and drinks, and goodservice.
talk to us about your experiencewith that.

j_1_07-13-2025_1954 (32:21):
experience?
Yeah, so at Sandals Grand St.
Lucian, there were threerestaurants that required
reservations.
Those reservations were veryeasy to get once we were on
site.
Concierge got'em for us rightaway.
Gordon's, which is an over thewater restaurant that required
reservations

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (32:38):
that's a steakhouse, correct.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (32:40):
yes, it is a steakhouse and they also
have a lot of seafood and it wasdelicious.
The food, literally one of thebest meals that we had there.
probably one of the better mealswe've had at any resort.
Really, Steven, right?
I mean, it was delicious.
we had snapper and we had somelamb chops there, and it was, it
was just delicious.
They had a signature drink thatwas really good.

(33:01):
another restaurant that requireda reservation was, Bombay, which
is their Indian stylerestaurant.
we really like Indian food, andthis was Out of this world.
delicious Indian food, like wecould have eaten there every
single night.
the restaurant itself wasabsolutely gorgeous.
It was stunning.
the other restaurant thatrequired a reservation was for

(33:23):
hibachi, and we

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (33:24):
Mm-hmm.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (33:24):
to do that on this trip.
We're just not.
not really our scene and we kindof like a quieter dinner.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (33:30):
Sure.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (33:30):
so we did not do that, but it didn't seem
like it was hard to get thatreservation.
And that restaurant is connectedto soy, which is the sushi
restaurant.
And we did go there twice.
So it never looked like it wasovercrowded.
The resort did not feel crowdedto us at all.
it was lovely.
So we went to those tworestaurants.
Bombay and Gordon's.

(33:52):
We went to Soy the sushi placetwice, which was delicious.
We went to Barefoot By the Sea,which is a fairly casual
restaurant.
You eat, you know, your feet inthe sand,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (34:03):
Mm-hmm.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (34:03):
It

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (34:04):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (34:04):
delicious food, loved it.
and then we also ate at theItalian place one night where we
had an appetizer at the sushiplace and then a meal at the
Italian place.
that was really great.
Again, nothing felt crowded.
We'd never had to wait foranything.
The other thing that reallyimpressed us was the buffet for
breakfast.
I'm usually a big fan of roomservice, but the thing that.

(34:26):
Deters me from room service isthe wait time.
Sure.
And I'm like a hungry morningperson, so I can't really do
that.
So, so we went to the buffet formultiple breakfast and.
Steven can attest to this.
The buffet was one of myfavorite meals.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (34:41):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (34:41):
beyond thrilled with this buffet, Ryan.
I am still dreaming about thebreakfast that I had time I had
the same meal, a shrimp omeletand fresh coconut, fresh mango,
and a fresh smoothie.
And oh my gosh, I was so blownaway.
I'm not a buffet fan, but ifthey're gonna make me some fresh
omelets and give me some freshcoconut, it was amazing.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (35:04):
Nice.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (35:05):
I was impressed.
Steven, any other thoughts onfood?
I gave Ryan A.
Good overview of where we haddinners.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (35:11):
did.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (35:12):
What do you think was our favorite?
Barefoot was one of the bettermeals we had.
And again, like you're added allinclusive, you can try multiple

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (35:19):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (35:20):
we definitely took advantage of
like, okay, we don't have lamb alot at home, let's try that.
So I think that's somethingpeople forget.
We're so used to going to arestaurant and ordering one
thing, but.
You can very easily say, Hey,can I have a side of salmon?
And they'll

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (35:32):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (35:33):
the

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (35:33):
I, yeah, I, I mean, I don't wanna
waste food, but I also like thatabout, a cruise, an all
inclusive, something like thatwhere, yeah, you can, you can
get things for the table.
you can share a couple differentthings.
I, I think there, there'snothing wrong with that.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (35:49):
so, and I felt like the service at all the
restaurants was great.
You know, sometimes atall-inclusive, you're like,
okay, like we're not tipping.
Who knows what the service isgonna be like.
I never had a problem with it.
it was very relaxing.
It was a lovely experience.
I would return to this resort inan instant.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (36:04):
Good to hear.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2025 (36:05):
I mean the, the rapport that we
had with some of the, the, thestaff there too was, was, was
really nice.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (36:11):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (36:14):
you know.
just like to go and, and, makepeople, you know, feel welcome
and, and, and feel,

j_1_07-13-2025_195 (36:19):
Appreciated.
Appreciated.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (36:21):
when they talk to us and appreciated.
we really appreciated the effortthat the staff took to sort of
make at least our experience,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (36:29):
That's great to hear.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (36:30):
so.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (36:31):
So the downside to showing up at your
resort in a helicopter is on theway home.
chose not to do that.
Tell us how you got back to theairport.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (36:44):
So we chose to do a ferry, which is
the third option.
You can do the shared shuttle,the helicopter or the ferry.
still were not really a fan ofdoing the shared shuttle, so we
chose to do the ferry, which islike a two-ish hour ferry ride.
It was lovely.
There's one main company thatoperates the ferry, and I've
booked clients on this companyas well.

(37:06):
They were like these young.
St.
Lucian logos running it.
They were handing out drinks,they were handing out snacks,
they were singing, they weredancing.
They had some great music going.
It was just a really fun, niceride.
I enjoyed it and again, it feltlike another excursion.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (37:24):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (37:24):
Once we got off the ferry, we were
really close to the airport.
It was like a three minute drive

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (37:29):
Okay.
So did they have shuttles totake you to the airport from the
ferry dock, or did you?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (37:34):
waiting.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (37:35):
Okay.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (37:36):
On the dock,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (37:36):
And they

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (37:37):
cool.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (37:37):
We saw our luggage at the resort, and
then at the airport.
when we booked the ferry, wealso included the fast track
service, which I kind of forgotthat we even booked and was
lovely, I've never donesomething like that before.
Like we have TSA precheck, butwe don't usually book a fast
track, and I've never had thatbefore.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (37:55):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (37:55):
When we arrived, he was like who has the
fast track?
it was us and a couple othercouples.
He walked us to the airport.
walked us to the check-in desk.
through, check-in throughgetting our boarding documents,
through checking our luggage.
He walked us to security, guidedus through everything we needed
to know for security.
got us in the front of lines forvarious things.
It was amazing.
He was so helpful.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (38:16):
cool, very cool.
I have done Club Mo Bay, ingoing to Jamaica and really
appreciated that.
this sounds like an even moreupgraded service, at least on
that side of it.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (38:25):
And it was not expensive.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (38:27):
Yeah.
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (38:28):
But it was really nice because you're
in a new airport, you don't knowwhere you're going, you're not
used to things.
Caribbean airports are verydifferent than domestic airports
that we have here.
at the airport was a pretty goodsize.
Everything was inside,everything was air conditioned.
There are a couple places toeat, but we had learned from
past travels to stock up on foodbefore we left.
So we had grabbed a bunch ofbagels and stuff from the resort

ryan_2_07-13-2025_1954 (38:52):
Steven's sitting there and you pull a
shrimp omelet out of your travelbag.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (38:57):
when we went to Turks and Caicos, there
was not a lot of food in theairport, and there were like two
or three counter servicerestaurants but the lines were
so long that we didn't thinkwe'd have time to order and
receive our food before ourflight took off.
thankfully we had all those.
Bagels and fruits

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-202 (39:12):
we must have looked a little
neurotic when we were leavingand stuffing bagels into our
bags.
It's just, you know, we just hada.
experience at the

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (39:20):
Yeah.

squadcaster-2380_1_07- (39:21):
airport.
So we were

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (39:21):
But I think that people forget that
Caribbean airports are not USairports, because I heard a lot
of comments from other UStravelers in the airport being
very surprised at the size ofthe airport, how small it is,
the number of people, people,and the not matching number of
seats.
The lack of food, like you're ina Caribbean island, it's just

(39:41):
not the same.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (39:42):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (39:43):
we've talked about this before, Ryan,
where you just need to berespectful of where you are and
respectful of the culture thatyou're experiencing.
and appreciate where you are forwhat it is, right?
And not being uncomfortable in

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (39:56):
Yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (39:57):
Kind of embracing that instead.
so yeah, it was an amazing trip.
I would head back to thisresort.
I could not get enough of theviews.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (40:05):
Did you get out of this trip?
What the two of you were wantingto have?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (40:11):
Yes.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (40:12):
Yes.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (40:13):
our children for five nights.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (40:15):
you make us sound like bad parents,
Julie.
we're not.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (40:17):
No, I think,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2025 (40:18):
a break

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (40:19):
Yes.
I think every parent listeningknows exactly what you're
saying.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (40:23):
Yeah.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (40:24):
So speaking of that last question,
did this spark an interest in afuture couples trip for the two
of you?
And if so, what are you kind ofthinking about?

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (40:33):
Where are we

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (40:33):
we,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13 (40:33):
Jules?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (40:34):
we would love to do another sandals.
I don't know when that's in thecards for us, because Steven's
mother was amazing and his dad,they both came and stayed with
our kids for a week and were.
amazing with our children butthat is a lot to ask.
we do know there's a lot of newbeaches resorts coming soon, so

(40:54):
I think that's kind of our nextplan for Caribbean vacation is
taking the kids with us to oneof those with hopes that with
them being a little bit older,it's enjoyable.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (41:04):
Yeah, yeah,

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-20 (41:05):
our expectations about all of these
things.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (41:06):
yeah.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (41:07):
Yeah, yeah.
Our next couple trips are allfull family trips.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (41:11):
Sure.
Sure.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (41:12):
of the Seas, we've got Disney World,
another Disney World, and thenour Italy cruise.
after that, we don't know what'scoming

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (41:19):
All right.
After that, you two deserve atrip for just the two of you.

j_1_07-13-2025_19545 (41:22):
seriously,

squadcaster-2380_1_07- (41:24):
Vacation from vacation,

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (41:25):
We went on this adult only trip to St.
Lucia and then came home andtook our three kids with us to
Ocean City, Maryland.
A complete opposite experience.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (41:36):
Yeah.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (41:37):
Well, Steven, thank you so much.
I know you are often called onto be, both the podcast and the
agency IT department.
you have heard, I'm sure moreabout this podcast than you ever
wanted to know about, and you'veheard lots of annoying things
that may or may not be trueabout me.

(41:58):
but we really appreciate yourtime.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2025 (42:00):
I appreciate that, Ryan.
You guys run a heck of a showhere.
happy to be here.
Happy to support you guys.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (42:05):
And the next time I see you, we'll
be having a drink together onthe Utopia of the Seas.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (42:09):
On Ryan's drink package.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (42:11):
my drink package.
All right.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (42:13):
keep 'em coming.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (42:15):
The world is full of wonder and your
next great adventure is waitingat Wonder and Beyond.
We work with you to create a oneof a kind journey, taking the
stress off your plate so you canfocus on the joy of exploring
and the memories that will staywith you forever.
If you're ready to startplanning or you just wanna dream
a little bigger, head on over toWonder and beyond travel.com.

(42:37):
We'd love to help you getstarted.
We look forward to talking toyou next week on All Things
Travel, when we start a reallyexciting series about vacations
off the beaten path.
​I want to see your loose tooth.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (42:57):
see, that's Mr.
Ryan.
That's who's coming on thecruise.
Oh my God.
Ellie.
Oh, Steven,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (43:03):
Is it hanging there?

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (43:07):
Ellie.

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13- (43:11):
We're gonna keep this in the final
cut.

ryan_2_07-13-2025_19545 (43:13):
this'll be one of those cuts at the end.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (43:16):
Okay, about this?
How about you pick a movie now?
Okay.
And we'll check on you in alittle bit.
Hi Luca.
Go back and watch a movie.
Daddy's in his office.
He's on with Mommy Ellie's gonnapick a movie now.
That was disgusting.
Anyways,

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (43:36):
You're excursion.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (43:37):
Yeah.
And we, so we did not really dolike, did your tooth fall out?
Okay.
Tonight go, oh my God, thisthing is bleeding profusely,
guys.
just walked in here with atissue and blood.
Is that what she just did toyou?

squadcaster-2380_1_07-13-2 (43:56):
huh.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (43:56):
Oh God, just don't come over here,
Ellie.
We're

ryan_2_07-13-2025_195458 (43:59):
Okay, well we, we can, we can wrap
this up quickly.

j_1_07-13-2025_195458 (44:02):
I'm gonna throw up anyways.