Episode Transcript
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(00:04):
Welcome to the No Before You GoTravel Show show, where we share all
the latest travel tips, tricks andinsights to make your next vacation the best
one yet. So sit back,relax, grab a cocktail and enjoy the
show with Benyak Travels George ben Yetand our senior travel consultant Janet ben Yet.
What is up? Everybody and everyone? Welcome back to another edition of
(00:25):
the Number four Travel Show. One. We've got a show for you today
on this beautiful late in September,Monday afternoon, and it's the day after
your birthday. Yes, it isso Happy birthday. Happy birthday to the
Caribbean Queen herself. She is twentyfour years old today and fantastic for twenty
four. Thank you. You don'twant to tell everyone it really held your
(00:49):
mid thirties, mid thirties creeping upuntil the late thirties. Yeah, I
think the next one will be consideredlate thirties. There you go. People
can figure it out from there.Yeah. I'm already am my late thirties,
so I'm painfully there. But happybirthday. We had a lot of
fun this past weekend. Yes,I had some friends that friends came into
town from out of town to spentsome time with us for the holiday or
(01:10):
not for the holiday. For yourbirthday. We sponsored a five k event,
a local five k nine to elevenmemorial event for it called the Heroes
Run, and had a booth there. But we haven't done a booth like
a physical event a long time,three and a half years. Yeah,
I mean all, I mean alot of our clients stared just all over
the country. So the local events, it's, you know, just we
just stick to what we do.You know, we really haven't been doing
(01:33):
much of them. But it wascool. It's good get back. We
had a booth. It was goodto get back out there. Yeah,
it was neat. I ran thefive k, nearly killed me. Oh
you I pushed myself hard on thatlast half mile. Good and you know,
because everyone's like it was literally likefor those that don't know it's a
legit like race. I had anumber and everything and they're timing people and
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you know, the competitive juice tostart flowing and that last I'm telling you,
if you haven't ran a five kan, while you haven't really ran much
in awhile, to just jump intoa competitive running, oh my god.
It was brutal. Well, Ithought you did great, throw up all
over the booths. Well, I'mglad you did it. But it was
a really good weekend, a lotof fun. But it did rain yesterday
on your birthday. It did rainlike all day, so that was kind
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of a bummer. But Saturday wasamazing, Friday was amazing, and then
we have our anniversary coming up,so just a lot of good stuff coming
up. Yep. And it's goingto be fault by the end of the
week, so that's always exciting.Football seasons back. We are in full
swing here and then you know howthis works, whenever October hits, the
rest of the year's done. Yeah, the holidays just come and go so
(02:36):
quickly. And I saw something onInstagram other day it was like, why
time is so slow when you're youngerand it's so fast when you're older,
And it was something to do withhow like the percentage of your life,
So just call it, like ayear when you're only ten years old,
a year is ten percent of yourlife that you've lived, and really you
only really know and remember things fromlike the age five and up, So
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really a year when you're ten isreally twenty percent of your life now a
year and you're you know, thirtiesis really like just a small fraction.
Yeah, And so they say yourrelationship with time changes and that's why time
feels like it goes faster the olderyou get, and that interesting. It
definitely does seem like it goes fast. Yeah it does, Yeah, it
does. Like what what's that sayingyou always say about time? The week?
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What you say, the weeks areslow, but no, the days
are long, but the years areshort. Yes you're right, Yes,
you're right. That's really a somberand sad reality. All right, Well,
let's let's talk about a happy things. We need to talk about happy
things. This is why you gotto travel, This is why you gotta
get out take the trip. We'vegot a fun podcast for you today.
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This is a resort we've talked abouta couple times on the podcast, but
probably haven't given it enough love thatit deserves, and we're gonna do.
We're going to compare it to oneof the tried and true resorts. So
we've talked about a lot and thenwe really love on this on this podcast.
I feel like we've talked about bothof these we I feel like but
one we went to more recently thanthe other. I visited this other one
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last year. Oh you did.When I was saying, before you got
there, what was it twenty twentywhen we went, Yes, twenty twente,
COVID year. Yes, that hasbeen a while. Yeah. Yeah,
So we are going to give youa resort comparison of Secrets aka Mall
versus Secrets Moche Pietal Karmen. Yes, and these are two popular resorts within
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the Secrets brand, probably up therewith the most popular in the Secrets brand,
I would say, And they're there. They do have some similarities obviously.
The location of them are pretty similar. They're both in the Cancun region.
The price point is going to bea little bit different the I mean,
there's all. There's a lot ofdifferences though, I really I would
say the only similarity is the brandand location. Other than that, they're
(04:53):
very different properties. Yes, Andone thing I want to mention is a
not all Secrets resorts are on thissame level in terms of quality there they
are not all. Yes, theyvary between the resorts, so that's something
you trying to keep in mind.Both of these, though, are high
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quality, great resorts. Yeah,I think there's like, like we should
do a good podcast on like comparingthe brands and like, because I mean,
I think certain brands are a littlemore consistent than others, and certain
ones you have to be a littlemore picky than others. And you know,
not all resorts are the same,not all brands are the same.
So Secrets certainly is no you know, exception here. They have some resorts
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that are vastly different than others.We've been to nearly all of them.
Have we been to all the SecretsNot all, but almost all of them?
Oh yeah, almost all of thevast majority of them, especially the
popular ones. But where do youwant to start with these two? Because
I do love both these resorts.These are resorts that we recommend. By
the way, these most most ofthe resorts we talk about this podcast are
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in that recommendation leveling up. Sothese are two resorts that we do recommend
for the right traveler, of course. And then hopefully if you're thinking about
traveling and cancoon or these resorts,you'll learn some insights on this show,
this episode specifically here that can helpyou make a decision on which one to
go to. Yes, so Idon't think you can go wrong with either
one of these, So just goingto preface it. Depending on what's important
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to you, you might right,yes, So that's what we're going to
kind of go through some of thedifferences. So first starting off getting to
these resorts, So from the CancunAirport to the Secrets Mache is about forty
to forty five minute ride depending ontraffic. Down to Secrets Akamall, it's
about a seventy to seventy five minuteride depending on the traffic. The Akamall
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just feels longer, though. Itdoes feel longer. I don't know why.
Is that the area's end. Ifeel like when we went is when
they were still doing construction on thehighway and it was like ninety minutes.
But I just did a Google Map, a little map on it, yeah,
and that's what it said. Iwas like, oh, because because
it's past Unego and Unico is usuallylike a seventy to seventy five minute ride.
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But anyways, that's what according toGoogle Maps right now. Yeah,
it just feels longer. I meandefinitely, I like Moche, it's proximity
to the airport. Yeah, itjust it feels like because I remember I
meet you at Moche. No,that was Italy am Magret. It just
feel it just feels quicker Moche one. I don't know why. No,
it definitely is quicker. Now.Size of resorts so Acamol is four hundred
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and thirty four rooms, Secrets Mocheis four hundred and eighty five rooms.
Now, Secrets Moche does have aseparate resort called Secrets Impressions Moche that is
attached to it. If you arebooked into the Impressions side, then you
have access to everything in there aswell as everything at Secrets Moche. If
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you're not, then you only haveaccess to what said, Secrets Moche.
So four hundred and eighty five rooms, Secrets Moche, one hundred and ninety
eight rooms under on the Impression side, so a total of six hundred and
eighty three rooms. Yeah, Iwas gonna say, Acamol does feel smaller
than that, like when you getthe four thirty four number for Auckamol.
Yeah, it doesn't have the megaresort feel like Mache does. Mache kind
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of has that grand feel in mybook, and Impressions definitely helps that.
Uh Mache's property is so big though, it's so spread out that you know
it depending on what end of theproperty you're on. It's very deep,
right, Yeah, it takes alittle while to get to the beach,
just not a short walk. Yeah, But Secrets Acama it is the same.
It's oh yeah, you know it'ssuch print is pretty big too.
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Now maybe because it's there's such thickjungle like grounds and alcamol, like you
can't really see where that's always gonnasay. Yeah, so Secrets Acomol is
you literally feel like you are ina jungle. And it looks like you're
in a jungle. It really,it really does. Like you there's places
on those trails that are like soso like Acamol is like a big u.
Yeah. And in the middle sometimesyou're walking around the middle of this
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jungle and you like, there's somuch like trees and beautiful lush green or
you can't even see sunlight, likeit's so much shade down there. Yeah,
and you don't know where you arethat you have to use the signs.
I will say, yeah, weI think when we stayed there,
we never fully I never get agrip of where we were going. I
always had to use the signs.It was kind of confusing to get around
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the place because you just couldn't seebecause you literally it looks like you're in
jungle. And it was beautiful.They had all these little photo opportunities,
you know, all these little nutsand crannies where you take photos next to
these beautiful trees and palms and allthese beautiful things they have there. So
I thought that was pretty cool.Moche, it was the more grand,
grand resort feel. Yeah, it'sstill because it's so big, I think,
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and there's so many pools and areasto chill. It still feels spread
out kind of because you never never, never lose crowded what there? Oh
yeah, it was probably nearly fullybooked, I bet, but it just
never really felt that crowded, Likewe always had a seat at some up
our. Plenty of pool chairs here, I mean, even if you don't
get there early, you can stillfind a decent pool chair. And just
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there's so many freaking pools. Yes, it seems like there's a thousand pools
of that resort. Well, let'swe'll get into the pools. A thousand
drink to match a thousand pools.You don't know, Oh my gosh.
So let's talk about different room categoriesbetween both in and the rooms. Yeah,
I mean obviously moches newer. Yeah, that might change a little bit
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the room categories or what's in them, the amenities, right, Yeah,
so basically you can get one kingor two double beds, and this is
between both. The biggest difference thatyou're going to find when I look through
all of these is the TV andthe room at Secrets Moche is a little
bit bigger. And then they didhave the wine fridge and the room at
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Secrets Moche, and I feel likethey had more snacks in the room there,
But otherwise the rooms are pretty comparable. The decor is different. So
Akamal definitely uses like the bright uhlike Mayan light colors like you'll find like
the orange and the pinks, andit's really pretty. It's very tastely done,
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whereas the Secrets Moche uses more kindof like gray, a little bit
more softer tones. So yeah,I mean Moche opened up when in like
twenty twenty one, twenty twenty isvery good, twenty twenty two, and
Acamall opened up in fifteen twenty fifteen, so they're about seven years apart,
right, I mean they're alcohol doesn'tneed to be renovated. It's still pretty
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new in the grand scheme of things. I mean, twenty fifteen wasn't that
long ago. And you know,I think at that time when Alcomol came
out Secrets, I'm always like themost innovative secrets, all inclusive out there
because had the sports barred, hadsome of those things that other resorts don't
have. And now you fast forward, given another seven years, Moches like
the amplified version of that. Butbut you know, as far as rooms
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go, I would say they're both. They're both really good. Like neither
one needs to be updated. Obviously, Moches brand new. You're gonna get
a little more in room medities,I think at mochees because it's newer.
But honestly, like we had somuch fun were we were at Akamol in
twenty twenty and I thought it feltvery modern. I thought it felt very
new and fresh and clean and ohyeah, if I remember correctly, I
believe that Moche has a lot oftubs on the balcony where I think their
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standard room comes with that, orthey come with a large time No Acama
does too, or that's what Imean. Alcamol and out Marche I'm getting.
Yeah, that's when i Aucamall comeswith a large tub. Yeah.
Now in terms of like the preferredClub, So with these two resorts,
you have like your luxury level room, so like you know, your junior
suite with no view, Junior sweettropical view, Junior sweet ocean view,
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partial ocean view, swim outs.Yeah, and then you have preferred Club.
So what you get with Preferred Clubat Secrets Moche is you have the
concierge service, the private Preferred Clublounge where they have daily Continental breakfast and
they have snacks in their desserts andfine liquors every day. You get a
pillow menu, upgraded in room,mini bar, and then upgraded bathroom amenities.
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You get a complimentary twenty five minuterelaxation massage one per guest per ste
never took advantage of that, No, we didn't today, and then exclusive
access to the rooftop restaurant that hasa bar and an infinity pool overlooking the
ocean. And that pool, bythe way, is one of my favorite.
Yeah. The view from the poolsis absolutely amazing. Yeah. Yes,
Now over at Secrets Akamall for thePreferred Club, same thing, Private
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Preferred Club lounge where you know,you have the breakfast and then the snacks
all day, the concierge service,you get the pillow menu, and then
they have the Seaside Grill, whichis a restaurant and it has daily breakfast,
all the car breakfasts from adm toten a m for just preferred club
guest, upgraded bathminities, and inroom mini bar service. But there's not
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really there's not like a separate poolor anything. I don't even believe there's
a separate beach. No, thereactually was a Subah I remember correctly,
but you know, you're right there. There weren't really. There wasn't really
a separate pool, if I remember, but too, I mean, the
restaurant was nice, so having theextra restaurant both offered the extra restaurant the
alcomol Ones kind of need you geta good view of the water, yeah,
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you know, and the service isalways really good there. We always
went there for breakfast. You can'tsee the water from that restaurant. You
can see you're talking of all,Okay, we'll agree to disagreement now I
can't really. Yeah, it's kindof like in the middle. I mean,
well, I guess you maybe havea slight view of the beach,
but you have a little view ofthe beach. Yeah, but you know,
overall, I think the preferred clubis definitely worth it at Secrets Moche,
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but I think you could go withoutit at Acamol. Yeah, I
agree. I think you know,that rooftop restaurant at Moche changes the experience
for me. And just the poolarea of the lounge. It's like,
you know, because all a lotof the pools at Moche now listen,
they're spread out, but it's abig centralized area. You just feel like
a little more secluded when you're upon that rooftop pool. Yes, like
like there weren't many people up there. We went up there twice, I
(14:54):
think, Yeah, and plenty ofchoice of chairs. They have their own
bar up there, servers going around, and just having that view from the
from the infinity pool is just sosick. Yes, and the breeze coming
off the coast. You're on theseventh floor. I believe you're pretty high
up there, if I remember,maybe ninth, Yeah, it might be
a little higher. I can't rememberexactly, but it was the tallest rooftop
pool at a non inclusive i've beentwo, Yes for sure. Yeah,
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So let's let's talk about the pooland the beach, because I think that
these are where these resorts differ alot, as well as the dining.
But so the pools at Secrets Macheare amazing. I think they're better than
the pools at Secrets Occamol. SecretsOccamol basically outside of you know, if
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you're in a swim up, theyhave like two main pools, the quiet
pools quiet pool or a party pool, and the party pool is a centralized
hustle up bar right by the beach, so you have good views and stuff.
Yeah, it's an infinity pool,you know, and you can see
the beach in the ocean, whichis beautiful, super nice. I've been
in twenty fifteen. It was likethe hottest pool out there if the quiet
pool, hardly anyone gets in.They had the quiet pool. There was
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nobody there when we were there.Now, comparing it to Sireus Maches pools,
all right, they're like Secres Mocheis the goat resort for pools.
It's the greatest resort, all inclusiveresort in all of Cribbean Mexico for pools.
So comparing the pools is not evenfair that check Mark goes to Moche
like buy a thousand, five thousandpercent like those goes about saying the best
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pools out of any on inclusive resortthat we've been to. End scene.
And the pools are heated at bothMoche and Akamal, which is a nice
uh is a nice perk, especiallyif you're going to travel, you know,
in the winter months. Yeah,I mean it can get I don't
want to say chilly, but atnight in some of these destinations, especially
in winter months, it can dropenough to make the pool water a little
uncomfortable during the day, and ifthey experienced rain in the winter too,
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it's kind of a double whammy onpool temperatures. Not every resort has heated
pools. Actually I'd say most ofthem don't, right, but these two
both actually do have heated pools.Now when we were there, not Gamal
the pool I don't think I wasgonna say, I don't think they had
turned on the heaters yet when wewere there, so Marche it felt great.
Yes, Now secrets Moche really quickto the pools they have. They
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have so many people, two poolswith swim up bars, then you have
three sinote pools where they've made itlook like you're swimming in a sinote lagoon
pool. The lagoon pool, thenthey have that pool in between the swim
up bars and the lagoon pool,and then you have the rooftop pool.
So it's like eight if I'm counting. There's tons of pools there and it's
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fantastic and it helps make up fromthe beach, which we'll talk about the
beach at both of these in aminute. And then they have the rooftop
pool. It's so like said secretsAccomol, it's just one main pool.
It is big, but that hasa swim up bar, and then there's
a quiet pool. Yeah, andin the quiet pool, nobody was at
at least when we were there,was like, I mean, it's not
a swim up bar at it,which I think it's a miss, but
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but I think it's a huge miss. At Akamall they don't have a swim
up bar at the quiet pool.I think more people would go there and
they could just play chill music doesn'tnecessarily have to be like, you know,
silence. When we say quiet pooldoesn't it's not silent, it's just
a little more low key. Usuallythere's always Most resorts have a distinctive difference
between the party pool and the quietpool. Yeah, and depending on how
(18:14):
we're feeling, we sometimes go toboth, right right, absolutely majority now
quiet pool maybe, but we don'tlike the party pool every now and again.
Yes, Now, the beaches atboth of these resorts we will get
to in a second, but weare going to pause for a quick commercial
break. But you definitely want tostay tuned for what we have to say
about the beaches at these resorts,especially akama You might be surprised with what's
(18:37):
about here. Okay, thirty seconds, we'll be right back. All right,
we are back. Nice little breakfor us at a little jet fuel
in the system, energy and thebones, hitting a little caffeine here in
the mid afternoon. Yes, solet's get older. You get sometimes you
got picked me up in the afternoon, right, yeah, I usually do
need a little bit of a pickme up in the afternoon. And now
you got one more one more year, another year, okay, So let's
talk about the beaches at both ofthese so secrets. Akamaal has one of
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the best beaches, in my opinion, in all of Riviere Mayam. I
think this is where these resorts differthe most is one has unbelievable pools and
one has an unbelievable beach. Yeah, and that beach is just absolutely stunning.
Yes, if you're an absolute beachjunkie, and that's where you spend
(19:26):
a lot of your time. Asgreat as Moche is. And I love
Moche because I'm not I'm not thebiggest beach person, but if I was,
I would definitely go to Auckamol overMoche, Yeah, because the beach
there just stands out. Moche's beachis what I would call adequate. It's
not it's not inadequate, it's not, you know, bad, It's not
(19:47):
poor by any charts of imagination.I would say it's average. But Akamal
is excellent, like one of thebest beaches you can go to. Yes,
so calm, so beautiful, Imean just crystal clear, blue water
sidey beach. Yeah, I meanyou really can't beat that beach. And
then if you look at Mache,the pools are just amazing. Like you
get amazing pools, you get worldclass pools at Mache, you get a
(20:08):
world class beach at Ocamol. SoI think if you're one of the other
that's how you make your decision here. But yeah, you cannot beat the
beach at Aucamall. There's there's onlya few resorts that I can think of
off the top of my head thathave close to or equal to the beach
at Acamol. Yes, there's justnot many out there. Yeah, And
so this resort is or this beachthere's actually a protected reef like one hundred
(20:33):
and fifty meters right off shore,and so it's amazing snorkeling. It has
one of the largest turtle populations inRivere Maya. So you can literally see,
if you know, if you arelucky on some days, you can
see turtles swimming right off the beach. It's just absolutely stunning. The village
right next to this resort, ifyou just walk down the beach a little
(20:56):
bit, there's Little Acamole Village andthat's a really cute area, cute shops
and like local like fish markets andfish market, different things that you can
buy there and shops. And Ican't say enough good things though about the
beach of your beach lever. This, this resort would be for you.
Yeah, if you're a beach lever, you may not enjoy Marche that much,
(21:18):
just because if you're gonna spend alot of time there and you're not
a pool person, then you're definitelywhen I go to Alcamol, yea,
and Alcomol's gonna be at a littlemore affordable. We'll talk about prices here
in a little bit. But forme, I'm I'm a pool guy.
I like a nice beach. Yeah, I enjoy a beach, but when
we can be adequate, Yeah,I like the pool. But when we
stayed at Secrets Alcomol, we actuallyspent more time on the beach there.
(21:38):
You have to it's just so beautiful. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we
only got in the pool, LikeI know, we didn't get in the
pool very much. We did notget in that pool very often. No,
but no matter. You know,if you're hanging out at the pool
or at the beach, there areyou know, servers constantly going around to
serve you. So yeah, say, a lot of people ask the question,
and maybe we could probably do awhole podcast on this topic here I'm
aout to talk about here in asecond sargasm and seaweed like you'll ask which
(22:02):
one's better, which one's worse?What areas should you go to Yeah,
I mean we've seen them at both. And not to spoil my own travel
news segment here, because I wasgoing to talk about a couple of the
headlines that have been in the travelwar lately. To Loom in particular,
is actually launching a new initiative againstsargasm and they've bought they bought five new
ships that are called anti sargasm vesselsthat are going to go out there,
(22:26):
and what they're going to try todo is redirect sargasm back into the deeper
sea. So they're doing something withthe currents to redirect the seaweed so it
just goes back out to sea.Interesting sea out plays out, but they're
really sends it to another country.Yeah, they're just it just says they're
says, sending it back out tothe deep Atlantic. That's what they're saying
here. But this is a kindof a big investment the government's making to
(22:48):
try to give themselves the tools thatthey need to try to reduce the amount
of seaweed that gets on the beaches. Obviously, tourism is a huge part
of the local economy there, andI think they're doing a lot of things,
lot of the things that they canand make the investments they need to
make to try to minimize a sargasmthat gets the beach. Now, you
cannot one hundred percent get rid ofseaweed, no, I what I've what
(23:11):
I've always told people, And I'mnot the Caribbean Queen by any stretch of
imagination. So I'll let you talkon this. But I feel like seaweed
is almost like rain, Like ifyou're going to travel, you can't have
a guarantee it's not going to rain. Great rain. It could rain.
You could have seaweed on the beach. It is mother nature, Like I
don't know, you might know morethan me, But is there a better
time to go? I mean,it's it's seaweed. I mean, the
(23:33):
temperature of the ocean's so warm downthere, you're just gonna get it,
right, I mean it's it's notas volatible, right, So, I
mean it can it can happen anywhereat any time. Generally speaking, Mexico
see's the worst of it in thesummer months. So but there's no again,
there's no way to guarantee now asfar as the best time of year
to go, Like weatherwise, youcan go all year round, it's going
(23:56):
to be warm all year round.Technically, the rainy season is during the
tropical season, which is going tobe you know, like June through November.
If you go like September, October, November, December, not over
a holiday, that's going to beyour better time price wise, and with
their rainy season. Two, onething I want to mention is that typically
(24:18):
is like just a pop up shower, you know, for twenty minutes and
it's gone. So yeah, butwhat would seaweed if you're looking to avoid
one or the other? I wouldsay both locations are very susceptible to it.
To Loom's obviously launching this initiative.You know, we'll see what happens.
It's about thirty minutes outside of toLoom. So but one thing I
would say is I wouldn't I wouldn'teven try to plan a trip around seaweed.
It just says that because you can't, there's nothing you can do about
(24:41):
it. There's not much these countriescan do about it. The destination they're
doing the best they can. Yeah, and we've seen it both. We've
seen We've been to resorts where there'sa lot of seaweed. We've been to
resorts where there's none and Secrets Machedid have a barrier out when we were
there. They did, ye,yep, uh, Secrets occer Mall.
I don't don't believe how to barrier, but I think they did. I
(25:02):
can't. I can't remember. Andlook at our pictures. Yeah I remember.
Yeah. Now let's talk about locationof these resorts and then we'll kind
of dive into a little bit morelike on the dining and everything. So
Secrets Moche is five minutes north ofply Adult Karmen. Secrets Acamol is about
thirty to thirty five minutes south ofply Adult Karmen. Why am I mentioning
(25:27):
Plyodol Karmen, So ply Dolkarmen isa cool town, uh, lots of
local restaurants and bars and great shopping. It's known for its Fifth Avenue shopping.
You can also take the ferry fromthere over to Cosmel and there's a
fairy port if you want to dothat. Just super cool area. Absolutely
(25:48):
love it if you do want toget out and experience some of the local
nightlife and stuff like that. SecretsAcamol is a little bit further away now
as far as like off resort activitiesand proximity to both of those. There's
tons of things to do in thisarea. So I would say if you
want to see like ruins or doany like snow tas or like Rio Secret
(26:10):
Toe is a really cool like undergroundcave system, you're in a great location
for both of these to do alot of adventure type activities. I think,
yeah, I think both. Ithink Cancun in general is underrated for
the amount of activities you can dooff property. Yeah, like if you
want adventure, if you want ziplining, if you want to hike or bike
(26:32):
or you know atv remember the snowTays we went in, Yeah, that
was all. I mean, there'sjust so much cool stuff to do.
Golf as fantastic golf. You're kindof getting something for everybody in Cancun.
I think Cancun is also a greatspot for destination wedding because it's very affordable.
Yeah, but do you have todo the blood test thing in Cancun.
Yes, you have to do ablood test if you want to have
a legal wedding. So like ninetynine percent of destination weddings in Mexico are
(26:59):
are like symbolic symbolic, Yeah,That's what I'm saying. So do you
do this, if you want todo the blood thing, go ahead.
I mean I would probably would.I wouldn't. I wouldn't mess with that.
Yeahs do the symbolic there. Yeah. But it's just a great place
for groups. I mean, there'sjust so much ado I like. I
like the proximity that Moche has twois it Isla, No, that's Cosmel
(27:19):
Cosmel. That's what I mean.Cosmel. Yes, I love that.
I love the proximity. Yeah,you can actually see Cosmel, That's what
it is. Yeah, from theresort. I'm confusing Italy Exalis you can
see Isla. Yea, all theseall inclusives have been to they all blend
together. Eventually, they do startto blend together. Yes, So let's
talk about the dining at both.So both are great. I would give
(27:42):
Secrets Moche a slight edge on thedining and they do have more options to
choose from. So Secrets Akamall forDinner has six Ali carte restaurants, whereas
at Secrets Moche they have seven allof cart restaurants. And but it's all
like different concepts. So if you'vebeen traveling around to a lot of secrets.
(28:07):
You'll, you know, see thatthen you have your standard like El
Patio is the Mexican restaurant, himAsu is the Asian, Portofino is the
Italian So this secrets Mache. They'vekind of like reinvented dining concepts and they're
all new. Plus they have someother options that you can add on,
(28:29):
like you know, the sushi table, a sushi bar and different things like
that. I give, I thinkthey're a little there's a little bit bit
bigger gap in the food offerings inbetween the two. I think Moches food
is a slight step up. Yeah, it's definitely a step up in my
book. Definitely. In the breakfastbuffet is a huge step. Breakast buffet
is a huge step up. Ithought the steakhouse there was a big gap
(28:51):
in that. The Amber Grill isAmbergrill fantast member member. Yeah, with
the open, open kitchen concept,you can see them meat being I mean
they just I think there's a significantgap there. Yeah, you pay more,
though we're gonna get to price atthe end. I mean, you're
definitely gonna pay for that gap.But I would say, you know,
(29:11):
food edge goes to Moche lounges andbars. If we're gonna talk about a
little bit of nightlife, Edge goesto Mache again. Yeah, I think
I think they hit that. Thathidden bar that Moche has behind the pharmacy
pharmacia is one of the coolest thingsI've seen. It all includesive that is
unique, that is different, UScreams, NightLive, screams, party vibes.
(29:33):
If you want to hang late night, you can at Moche. It's
just yeah and secrets talking. Molldoes have a nightclub they do. Ye.
Yes, it's like a rooftop indooroutdoor tight. Yeah. Yeah.
They had it closed when when weactually stayed there though because of COVID,
so it looked pretty cool though.Yes, But the secrets. Moche has
a full on secret nightclub that youhave to know the password too. And
(30:00):
it is located in the pharmacy andthere's a hidden door. There's a hidden
door. It's like it's so coolit I mean, the DJ when we
walked in there was like pumping itout and you know, had like the
glow sticks and like it it wasa party. It was it was,
And they had a champagne bar inthere. Remember the champagne bar like,
if you were in that pharmacia,I'm gonna say pharmacy and that just sounds
(30:22):
better. If you're in that PHARMACYAyou would not even know that door's there,
right, It's literally behind the shelving, and the shelving is like it's
got lighting in and everything, andit's probably a was a twelve foot tall
ceilings. As I took literally atwelve foot tall door. You wouldn't even
know it's there. We have areally cool Instagram reel on it. If
you go back to our reels appbrobably follow us on Instagram falls YouTube shout
(30:42):
out to our YouTube followers. Wehad three thousand subs. I know that
over three thousand subs. Got Igot duns River coming out soon, guys,
so stay tuned. I'm working onthat video now, Sandal's Dun's River.
I know it's going to be aa hot one on the tube.
So definitely go check that out upwith the link in the description to to
sub to our YouTube channel. Anyways, that little hidden, not little,
(31:03):
that hidden lounge at Hidden nightclub atMoche is so cool. Yeah, and
then I think that kind of parlaysus into drink quality in general. I
think both of them have very highquality mixology. Top tier for Secrets.
I put both of them in thetop tier category for mixology. Well,
let's just say real quick, soSecrets Moche has eight bars and lounges and
(31:25):
Secrets Ocamol has seven bars and lounges. They do both have a sports bar.
So the one at Acomol it's poolside, pool side sports bar open
twelve it's outside, open from twelvepm to one am. Now the sports
bar at Moche is amazing. It'sindoors. The only thing is they don't
(31:47):
surf food at it, which Ithink that's a miss. Well that bring
they bring the food on the outside. Oh remember that they keep bringing food
on the outside, so you gooutside and grab what you want. But
also Acamols doesn't serve food. Yeah, I don't think they should, but
just because it has more of likea feel like you're at an actual restaurant
sports bar. It's a two storybar, yeah, and it's got like
(32:08):
the it's the middle's open and thebars down in the middle, and you
have two stories though with like thebalconies looking over to the middle, foosball
tables, pool tables. They havea golf simulator that's open for like one
or two hours in the evenings.A freaking golf simulator, Are you kidding?
And it's actually a really nice highend golf simulator too. I mean
(32:28):
that sports bar is the goat ofsports bars at all inclusive resorts, like
they have set they have set thebar supers moche for sports where I've said
it all. I've been saying iton this podcast for five years now,
half a decade. People like theirsports and when they travel, they want
to stay connect to their team,whether it's college football or basketball, baseball,
whatever. That's your time to reallydisconnect from work and really enjoy your
(32:52):
hobbies and your leisurely activities. Andsports usually is part of the American way,
I think, and I think alot of fans want to stay connected,
like you know, when we're traveling, we want to watch the game
caught game, yes, you know, and it's just kind of fun.
So you know, I think forsure that Mooche Moche is like a kind
of set the new standard for whata sports bar should look like. A
(33:13):
uncles now, I agree with you. I wish there was a kitchen on
site where they just delivered food,but they do a good job bringing the
food out. Another another edge I'mgonna give Moche, and this is popping
up more and more at all inclusiveresorts, is the wine bar. The
wine concepts they have like a Idon't want to call it a wine bar.
It's like a wine lounge and youcan upgrade the wine taste different wines.
(33:34):
And we love wine. And sowhen we saw that, to see
it's a whole separate room and area, Now, wasn't that busy. I
hope it gets busier. They don't, you know, I hope they don't
repurpose because I want to see morepeople use it. I think it's kind
of tucked back there. We don'tknow it's there. But I was really
impressed with the wine and the wineofferings they had at Moche and Alcama didn't
have that. That's kind of likea twenty twenty and beyond thing. And
(33:55):
I like the coffee shop at Mochebetter than Alkama because I think that that
was also just it's an elevated experience. Yeah, Like I think I think
a lot of the learnings that mocheeshad over the last seven or just travel
trends, like what people want tosee they're incorporating it really quickly in the
newer resorts. Yes, and twentyfifteen, I mean, you know,
(34:15):
coffee shops were still kind of standing. They were standard, but it was
kind of, you know, nota focal point. Sports bars not really
a focal point back then in thosedays. Because we PANDIC travels around in
twenty fifteen, so we know,we remember what it was like at the
all inclusive resorts before this evolution ofresorts, because really I think the last
really the last three to four years, you're seeing a lot of evolution in
(34:37):
the all inclusive industry. Yes,yeah, yeah. So now let's talk
about activities at the resorts. Sosecrets ackamall. They have a little bit
more activities on property. So youhave archery, beach volleyball, beach volleyball,
bike tours available on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, cocktail classes, cooking
(35:00):
classes, they actually do CrossFit,dance lessons, they have giant dartboard,
mythology lessons, tennis courts, yoga, tequila tastings, ping pong, and
they have pickle ball. And sothese are the this is outside of the
water sports, which I'll go throughthe water sports in a second, and
then over at Secrets Moche, youdo get discounted green fees at the nearby
(35:23):
golf course, so that that isa nice perk. There's one tennis court,
ping pong available, two pickleball courtsbecause pickle ball is coming very popular,
yoga, pool volleyball. There's nobeach volleyball. Uh, dance lessons
yoga if I didn't say that,and then cocktail classes now water sports at
(35:44):
Secrets Moche kayaks, sailing, paddleboards, water aerobics, uh snorkeling,
water polo, and then catamaran,which is like it's the hobbycats, but
it's like a miniature. Yes,yeah, that's what the water sports.
Yeah, it's pretty standard for themost part, so ocamol. Uh they
(36:06):
have kayaks, paddleboards, the volleyball, water aerobics, water polo, and
it says they have a water casino. I don't I don't know what that's
about. But yeah, I don'tknow about that. Yeah, I know,
I've just read that. I'm like, I don't know what that's about.
I would say too, Like we'regonna talk about activities and entertainment.
Moche's theater it's just amazing. Wellyeah, so entertainment that was going to
(36:27):
be the next thing. Ocamol hasentertainment every single night. I mean we
saw like water aerobics shows and variousthings. But I like the theater at
Secrets Moche a little better because theydo theme nights in there, like they
have rock shows, Mayan shows,just a circus la show, just different
more it's an elevated the entertainment experience. Yeah, and they all said live
(36:52):
music everywhere. There's just live musiceverywhere at Moche, and I think,
you know, we're just seeing Comparingthe two, it's just like one is
just an elevated experience based on theevolution of what an all inclusive is going
to an Alcomol. You know,given their instructure, Alcomol just can't add
a beautiful indoor theater overnight. Youknow, they're kind of doing it the
little more traditional inclusive way like theydo. They do a lot of outdoor
(37:14):
stuff at Alcamol. Alcohol really ismore of an outdoor definitely is like open
air stuff. You know. AcomolMoche has that, but you're gonna get
more of that at Alcomol. Yes, Now, you know, I think
both are great for groups, andboth would be great for destination wedding.
Again, if you want to getmarried on the most beautiful beach, I
(37:35):
think Alcamol is perfect for that.One unique feature that Secrets Moche has for
weddings is they have a rooftop venue. I love that. Yeah, and
it's overlooking the ocean and stunning.It's just absolutely stunning up there. Reminds
me of Cabo. Blancaba also hasa fantastic wedding venue. Yeah, one
of the best I've seen. Weneed to do a podcast on the best
(37:58):
on inclusive for weddings. Yes,that's a good idea. Now, I
always say what we're gonna do,like this will make a good podcasts.
I need to write that. I'mgonna write that down. Why you say
what you're about to say. Soas far as like resort atmosphere goes,
I think they're fairly similar on that. You know, if you are looking
for a place where you can justkind of chill and relax and you know,
(38:20):
not have it be like a partyscene, you can find that at
both of these. But if youdo want a little bit more liveliness,
you can also find that at bothof these. So I think it has
a perfect balance between the two andthere's something for everyone at both. I
think kind of Cancun in general,you're gonna get that a lot like you
do, get just a variety ofthings to do and activities at the resort.
(38:44):
So if you're more of a quietperson, you can find a quiet
place chill. If you're more livelyenough, but you're gonna find that too.
It's just about every resort. Yeah, how would you compare some of
these fatalier I get asked that alot. I actually gotta asked that today
about comparing Moche and Tell. Okay, I'm putting them on the list.
Let me write that one down.We have a lot of podcasts to do
now. Yeah, I mean Ilove that resort too. I think that
(39:07):
we've done that. Have we notdone Tell? Maybe we have. I'm
not sure, But I think youshould go to all three of these resorts
because I think they're all worth avisit. I think I think they really
are. I just I love Ilove them all. But just you know,
speaking between these two secrets, youknow again, I don't think that
you can go wrong with either one. They both are great. Now,
(39:30):
there is a price difference, notI actually have found I did some pricing
Polton pricing for May. Actually it'snot a huge price difference as it once
was because ide is way higher.Yeah, it used to be, and
it seems like maybe some of thepricing on Moche has just come down a
(39:51):
little bit. So uh Seecrets Acamallis starting act and this is in May
based on double ocumency five hundred andeighty eight dollars per night, okay,
alcam All five eighty eight and thenSecrets Moche six thirty two. So it's
only a fifty dollars a night difference. So if you go for five nights,
you're gonna pay two hundred and fiftydollars more for Moche. Yes,
(40:15):
unless you're an absolute beach lever,that is one hundred percent worth it.
The upgrade, I don't know.I mean that I like the feel you
know, of Ackamall as well,though, because if you want to feel
like you're literally staying in a jungle, if you want, yeah, yeah,
and I have had you know,people say that, you know that
they want that kind of field,alcam All feels a lot smaller, Yeah,
(40:36):
it does. It feels a littlemore quaint. It does feel a
little more quaint, Yes, nowclub level Secrets Occamall six eighty eight per
night, club level at Secrets Mocheseven fifty eight per night. Yeah,
I think if you want, like, if you like the supermodern and more
chic Mexican feel, definitely going toMoche. Yeah, because Moche's rooms they
(40:58):
have like the innovative buttons were likethey had a button for the curtain that
went up and down over our slidingglass door. You know, they had
all this technology. The tablet kindof controlled everything, like their technology Clearly
obviously it's a newer resort of sevenyears newer, so you're gonna get more
of that. But we've had alot of technological advances in the last seven
years. So but I'm surprised they'reas close as they are. Yes,
(41:21):
now, Nkamal is great, LikeI feel like I'm knocking Acamall. I'm
not. It's not. It's justthat Moche is that. It's it's like
the newest is the newest, latestand greatest. The rooms at Akamaal also,
like I said earlier, have amore Miyan feel to them. Uh,
and I have had I actually hadsomeone recently who booked it specifically because
of that. They didn't want likea super modern feel they wanted they wanted
(41:46):
to feel like they were in Mexico. Yeah, that's which I do think
that Acamon gives more of that vibe. I do. I agree there.
I agree that we should. Ithink Italian Mache would be a good comparison
Italia and Secrets. Yeah, wellto do that, that's like a heavyweight
bout. So actually, the lasttime, ding ding ding, it's gonna
(42:06):
be a it's gonna be a battle. Well, when we were in Cancun,
I was gonna say it wasn't actuallythe last time we were in Cancun,
but earlier this year when we werein Cancun, we spent three nights
at uh Secrets Moche and then threenights at Italian So, oh god,
that was that was just amazing too. That's something you can you can we
can book for Yeah, you actuallycan can do Splits days if you know,
(42:29):
if that was something that you wereinterested in, we can book that
for you as well. So Ithink that about sums it up again.
We do them a shout out beforebefore Oh okay, well, I was
gonna say, you can't go wrongwith either one of these. And if
you want more information on anything thatyou've heard today. Please feel free to
slide into our DMS. Go topinac travel dot com click request to quote
it comes directly to me or giveus a call twin eight hundred and six
(42:51):
seven four three two seventy. Yeah, but we got a we got a
podcast shout out. We had todo here, we got a five star
review. Guys, if you're lovingthe content, A great way to support
the show other than booking with usbecause we don't charge a dime for our
services, and if you book yourtrip with us or a zero fee agency,
you're going to get our knowledge forfree and we can help you with
your transfers, your excursions a wholenine. But also if you're booking on
(43:13):
your own, that's okay too,But you want to give us a five
star review, it's a great wayto support pane Travel. Great way to
support the podcast if you're learning somethingnew, so from for Real Josh or
Ferrell Josh Seriously a vacation for myears. Janna and George make hands down
the best podcast for all inclusive resourcethat I have found. They are incredibly
knowledgeable and incredibly fun to listen to. Based on their recommendation, my wife
(43:37):
and I are heading to a Taliain January for our first all inclusive experience
and we cannot wait. Okay,if Talia is your first all inclusive experience,
you're setting the bar really high becausethat's a fantastic place. We've got
two kids under five and seriously welove them, but this vacation can't come
quickly enough. Totally get it.You're gonna get the kid free vibe to
it, Italia. We should grownice. Also, I was skeptical of
(43:59):
the guests the instagram is at first, but it has grown on me.
Awesome. Josh, thank you somuch for the love. Really appreciate it,
and we hope you and your wifehave a fantastic time Itali. Actually
we know you're gonna have a fantastictime Italia. Yes, so right when
you walk into Talia, you're gonnahave that fresh smell hitch. You know.
I love the way that it don'tknow how they do it. It's
something with the incense they Yeah,they have like the things. It's like
(44:21):
machines in there. Yeah, it'sa mega thing because like an incense thing
can only like smell make a roomsmell good. This is like a whole
open air lobby almost. Yeah,and you just go right back there to
the bar, send the wife tothe check in, or you do the
check in, send her to thebar and let well they have a welcome
drink, but go get you amargarita. Ye, get your margarita from
that bar, and just look atthat resort and you're gonna kick off vacation
(44:43):
very nicely. Yes, absolutely,Josh, I love it. Talia,
Yes, well, thank you somuch for that review. We really really
appreciate it. So that moves uson to question of the day day.
If you could have a conversation withany animal, which one would you choose?
And wat any and want my dog? Well that's an easy one.
You gotta go different. Oh sowith any animal but your dog? But
(45:07):
your dog? Okay, my cat? Okay, that's not fair. I
want it. You know what Iwant to talk to you. I want
to talk to the oldest turtle.What are those turtles that are like a
hundred and something years old? Hundredsyears old? Years old? I want
to know the things I've seen.Yeah, I wanted the truth on certain
things. Yeah, what's the oldestand it's a turtle? Right, there's
a certain turtle. Yeah, Ican't. I can't think this is a
(45:30):
terrible it's off ask Credit. Don'task Credit needs to step their game up.
Their questions have been very weakly.This really is not a good question.
That's a it's a terrible question.But yeah, I would have a
conversation with my dog and then Idon't. Here, here's the most you
want to you want the most popularquestion right now and ask credit? What
what are some really bad what aresome really bad common life choices? Really
(45:53):
bad common life choices, Like Iguess what do you see A lot that's
really I mean people I think thewrong significant other. That's very common.
That's on. That's a sad reality. There's so I mean, there's so
many people like that. We knowso many weddings that we have been to
where people are divorced. Like Ifeel like work, we're cursed, Like
(46:14):
we go to a wedding, it'snot good. Yeah, I'm just kidding.
I mean, we have so manythat have stuck. But I guess,
like I think that's just common nowadays, Like what is it? But
it really is over? I say, out of all the weddings we've been
to yet it's been I would say, it's definitely over fifty percent that are
now split. I heard fifty sevenpercent the other day. I like,
I feel like when we got married, it was like thirty five to forty
and then like each ten years,it just keeps going up notch. We're
(46:36):
now we're at like over half.I'm gonna say, yeah, so that's
definitely a common life mistake. Imean, but that's one that's almost unavoidable
because how do you know? Youcan't forget the future. Things happen,
Things happen. Yeah, I mean, I mean you you you could get
sick of me pretty quickly. SometimesI do. Yeah, I know.
I sometimes I feel like I'm barelyholding on. Oh my god, stuff.
(46:58):
Yeah, I don't know. Idon't know what another one would be,
but I would say, I wouldsay, especially for millennials. As
I'm speaking, I'm listening, I'mgonna keep it real, Millennials, I'm
a millennial to I'm keep real withyou. A lot of people try to
keep up with the Joneses. Ohyeah, I think that's a common one
that we see, you know,Pete, not many millennials, and gen
Z too. I think gen Z'sworse than us. They don't live as
(47:20):
humbly as the older generations did.Like older generations, like, you know,
they just accepted, they were justfine with it. They weren't.
I feel like marketing and things andsocial media have created these people to want
to live this flashy lifestyle. Andyou know, I saw this TikTok and
it was people asking someone asking,like what everyone's car payment was, and
(47:42):
there was there was one car paymentthat this guy it was like fifteen hundred
dollars a month, like some brandnew, fancy truck. You have a
rental property for that. I wouldjust go get a rental property that fifteen
hundred dollars a month car payment.I yeah, that's crazy, but hand
yeah, I grew up pretty pretty, pretty humbly, so like you're to
(48:04):
say, poor, poor, itwas a humble It was a humble beginning
for me. But you know,I just I don't know, like the
sound of that just stresses me out. Anyways, I think those are gets
good sound advice. Yes, Iwould agree. Yeah. All right.
Now we're on two, which isbecoming more popular. Clearly Josh said it
in the review. It's growing onpeople, Instagram followers, Insagram followers.
(48:27):
We got a good one today becauseone of Janet's favorite childhood bands is Are
they reuniting or they may Yes,they're reuniting. I don't know if they're
going to go on tour, butI would assume that they are. But
they recorded a song. I don'tthink they I don't know that they recorded
a whole album, but they recordeda new song uh in sing Oh my
gosh. The women, the millennialwomen from the nineties are to you unite
(48:52):
and eat in single lot. Iwould totally yes, go see them in
concert. I saw another funny thingI'm take talk this morning, and it
was like me saying I would neverspend, you know, five hundred dollars
on Taylor Swift concert tickets, butme looking to take out a second mortgage
at my house so I can getfront row seats to in SNCTS concert.
(49:13):
Here we are criticizing really really crazyexpensive car payments, but we're about to
drop some serious cash. Go watchand sing. Well, I don't know,
I don't know if they reunite.You know, it'll be interesting to
see what the tickets go for.So my favorite of them when I was
growing up, my favorite was jacHow do you say his last name Shaw's.
I think, Okay, you saidit, and I was like,
I never knew how to say hislast name. I've seen I've seen his
(49:36):
name a lot. I would havesaid Chazz. So all my friends loved
Justin Timberlake, but me, Iliked jac. So we're gonna guess how
many followers he has. I don'teven think I follow him on Instagram,
I clearly have. I have noclue, like what how many? But
I mean he's no George. Let'sbe real. Okay, good looking cat,
(49:57):
He's aged fairly well, but let'sbe really. I think Justin Zimmerlake
has aged a lot better than hehas. But all right, we're gonna
guess the Instagram I have. You'regonna probably be way more accurate than me.
No, I really, I haveno idea because he's not the most
famous of insyncs. So InSync wasso big, and I feel like millennials
are all over Instagram now. SoI mean, I'm gonna say four point
(50:19):
two million. Okay, that's that'sa lot. I mean I'm gonna say,
you said four points You write thatdown? Yeah I did. I'm
gonna go because I have no clue. I'm gonna go low. Honestly,
I'm gonna go at eight hundred grandseight hundred thousand, all right, I
said eight hundred grand like it's money. Eight eight hundred thousand, Okay,
So drum row please. I thinkI just saw it by accident. He
(50:40):
is at JC CHAZEZ. He's gota weird profile picture with a phone over
his teeth. I don't understand that. And he has three hundred and sixty
one thousand followers. Oh my gosh. Wow. See that's why that's why
I said this was This is goingto be a hard one because he's not
(51:00):
nearly as popular as justin Timberlake.So yeah, this is him, this
is him? Yeah wow? Allright. So he's only made fifty nine
posts, so he's not reactive.That's not helping his case. Well,
there you go, George one thatone, Hey, j C post some
more. Okay. Well, thankyou guys for listening. We appreciate it
so much. Again, if youwant any more information on anything you've heard
(51:21):
today, please feel free to slideinto our DMS go depending on travel dot
Com click requested quote. It comesstrictly to me. Give us a call
one eight hundred six zero four threetwo sevent eight. Both of these resorts
are fabulous and we would love tosend you to one or both of them.
Split say all right, We'll loveyou guys, have a great week.
We'll see you on the back side. See you next time.