Have you thought about Aruba. As you are going in July, it will be hurricane season and Aruba lies outside the hurricane belt. It is also quite Americanized which may suit you, as you like the USA.

First Choice/eclipse do packages.

never heard of it?or am i being thick?
going to google it later

just had a quick look thru first choice and eclipse and couldnt find anything ..do you have any links please

It is one of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) and part of the Dutch Caribbean. Lies off the coast of Venezuala.

We stayed at the Tamarijn which is AI. I would certainly go back

Not sure how to do links It is under Aruba rather than Caribbean and only in the summer months.

Eclipse usually comes in cheaper than FC.

Aruba thread HERE, Tamarijn reviews HERE

Pippy

We are getting married at Couples Negril. I have stayed at Couples Ochos Rios before, and loved it! Their website is http://www.couples.com and they have 4 hotels in Jamaica.

The style of Couples is a little similar to Sandals, in that it is ultra, AI. (In fact, more AI than Sandals) but it is more boutiquey and intimate. Because they don't spend as much on advertising, their prices are far more competitive, and you should get 2 weeks for under £3000 and could upgrade to a suite (which we have done) for not much more.

Midori wrote:

Couples Negril

Midori wrote:

Couples Ochos Rios

Reviews for both HERE.

Pippy

thanx will check everything out over the next few weeks

Try the moon palace in Cancun it is a lovely hotel...

Curlylocksm

THANKS.... we have looked at mexico but worried about the weather in july august ...whats peoples experience with carribean/mexican weather in july august?

I have been to both Jamaica and Dominican Republic north coast in July and August. Jamaica had no rain at all in two weeks (it is the driest Carribean Island) and in DR we had a couple of hours rain in one afternoon during a weeks holiday. Of course, you could be unlucky, but even if it does rain, it is usually in the afternoons and not for long.

I really do reccomend Couples in Jamaica. It has a very high number of repeat guests. They also have a message board on their site, which is great for asking any questions and getting answers from people who have already been there. The website is http://www.couples.com

where can i find uk prices?

Try THOMSON

Pippy

Hi!

We booked through Thomson, their tailor made department, as we had to fly on very specific dates.

I think Airtours, Kuoni and Virgin also feature the Couples hotels though.

Hope this helps.

As the UK TOs seem to be keeping high prices this year don't forget to check out the alternatives just in case. I went cross eyed trying to get a decent price last year and eventually just for the sake of trying something different I phoned the Caribbean Warehouse. Their website has lots of nice pictures of the various hotels but you have to phone for a proper price. It put me off as I wasn't even sure of where or when I wanted to go as I usually just trawl for a good hotel with a good price and then change the dates to get it at a better price. I did focus on one or two desired hotels and gave the company a ring. They did not appear to be put out and offered me much advice and a very good deal and were not pushy when I did not take the offer up there and then as I had to contact people etc.
I then decided that I would go somewhere else entirely so phoned them back for their advice on that.
By using different companies for the hotel and flights they were able to better the Eclipse price by a couple of hundred pounds each. We made friends with people on an FC holiday exactly the same dates, same airports, but different plane. We had the same type of accomodation and obviously the same treatment at the hotel. FC were more expensive than Eclipse so we did not mention costs at all other than to suggest that when they next book the their holiday they check out the eclipsedirect website (portland for thomson holidays) and also try the agents we used.

Similarly, it may be worth checking out the caribbeanwarehouse site to see if they do any suitable hotels, and then get a price check before you book with a TO.

the decision is made ..couples it shall be.
are there set days for flights to jamaca or what is the normal days they fly..we are getting married on a saturday and dont want to go home until after the hm

Good choice!

Which one are you going to, or is that still to be decided?

I am not sure what day the charter flights are, but we booked with Thomson Tailor made and are flying with American Airlines on a scheduled flight, so could go any day we wanted. We fly on a Sunday, so are staying at the airport Saturday night, as flight leaves early.

Not long to go for us now, I can't wait!!!

I have just checked the site I mentioned earlier and they do have loads of Sandals under the Jamaica luxury 5 star hotels, so once you get an idea on costs it may well be worth giving them a check as they were not limited to particular carriers. I have no personal knowledge of Jamaica, only my holiday enquiries gave me the feeling that they can select any flight, even scheduled, as they source the holiday and flight separately. They did "save me" well over £200 pp on the best TO offer I could find, although I may have been lucky at the time. We booked in July/August to go in September and I did keep checking the TO prices until we went, to see if they went down and the above saving was based upon the lowest price the holiday ever popped up at during the entire search. I was pleased personally as the main party was booked in July and later in August I added another couple. Used to dealing with TOs I was ready for price adjustments, admin fees etc etc, but the new booking was done at the original price, no admin charges for making sure the bookings were put together on the plane, transfers and hotel. Like the TOs the paperwork was a separate entity for the two bookings but unlike my TO experiences they had actually communicated the joint booking to everyone involved and we all sat together on the planes and we all were in the same block at the hotel.

They also assured me that as they were doing "the package" I had the same protection as using one of the main TOs, which may be more confidence boosting than trying to sort out DIY as you have other things to worry about.