|
La Caravelle
La Caravelle G.O's
Club Med La CaravelleFeedback March 2011 Locked: Login first  Active - UNITED STATES - 117 Posts 20 March 2011 22:15:20
I am in the middle of preparing the long-winded trip report, but wanted you all to know that we are back home. Returned yesterday - we knew we were in France by the little strike at the airport that prevented us from leaving on time. Got to San Juan in plenty of time for our flight back to NY.
The short version of the trip report is that we had a very nice, relaxing week. The weather was good - only one heavy rain in the afternoon one day, but we were all napping anyway! The beach is magnificent, the food was good. The GO's were very sweet, but not many of them spoke English. I speak Spanish and my son speaks Italian, both of us speak a little French, so we were able to figure things out. We specifically booked the trip for the entire family so we would have each other to speak to - there were very few Anglophones there, some from Toronto. Only a few others from the States. Our room was quite small, with no patio or balcony. I will have to do my homework better on rooms next time and see if I can do better without going bankrupt. Daniel, the C de V was visible, but did not spend any time with us in his handshaking rounds of the pool, even after we shared that this was our 20th CM trip. Olivier, second in command, is a sweetheart, and will make a great C de V one day if that is his chosen path. No babysitting available except from an outside provider, and we did not feel comfortable with that. Last year in Cancun, we were able to get a babysitter for dinnertime who was someone who worked in the Mini Club. None of that here. Lots of very tired and cranky children in the dining room for dinner. We just did dinner in shifts with the kids asleep back in the rooms. Aside from the usual dinner themes, there were a couple of goofy ones - "70's," and what they translated into English as "youthness"- some GO's dressed as babies, some in school uniform type outfits. My daughter-in-law tried trapeze... All in all, it was a good experience in a lovely spot. Susan
Trish
 V.I.PAfficionado - FRANCE - 475 Posts 25 March 2011 17:02:35
Nice pics Susan! And the commentary on the last photo ("First Week of Spring") is hilarious!
Trish Dive now; work later!
Kim
Active - UNITED STATES - 186 Posts 26 March 2011 21:22:14
We have often thought of going to this village. I am a little undecided, especially since I know it is not really part of the American Zone. Have you been to other villages ? and if so how would you compare to any other village in North American Zone ? The pictures are beatiful, and renewed my interest.
SHiller616
Active - UNITED STATES - 117 Posts 27 March 2011 01:38:21
Interesting question. We have been to every other village in the American / Caribbean zone except Sandpiper (and will probably go there when I can wrap my head around No Beach). Running out of CMs we haven't been to was one of the reasons we thought we'd try Guadeloupe. We realized from the outset that it would be very French. They don't make it easy (or cheap) for us to get there from the States.
Other reasons we chose Guadeloupe - warmer ocean further south / potential for better, warmer weather. We went to Cancun last year, and the ocean and pool were a little chilly. The Bahamas can be iffy weather - we have been to Columbus Isle 3 times, and had some pretty cool weather there except in May. We did Punta Cana end of January / early February a couple of years ago and it was quite windy. Might try that again for Spring Break next year. The beach at La Caravelle was one of the most beautiful of the Club Med beaches - nicer than Martinique. Plenty of shade, plenty of chairs. Only minor annoyance from vendors. It is a public beach, but not a thoroughfare to another beach, which I think limited the intrusions. We thought the food was very good, but the snack options were very limited. The Mini Club was adorable, but we think we really would not have been able to park the 2 year old there because the other kids did not speak English, and the GO's English was limited. All of us were looking for a nice, relaxing vacation in a beautiful spot, and we certainly got that. Would I go back there? Yes - I would upgrade to a a room with a balcony or patio or to a family suite. Hope this helps - be glad to answer any questions. Susan
John-Chicago
 V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1298 Posts 01 April 2011 21:03:09
Hi Kim,
La Caravelle is part of the American zone, and used to welcome Americans (as did Martinique)with open arms. However, when the new management of Henri came in, both these clubs were almost made exclusively French, and non-French were decidedly made to feel unwelcome. It is sad since the French and non-French used to get along quite well. I have been to both clubs multiple times, but no more. John
ReefPolice
V.I.PAfficionado - UNITED STATES - 312 Posts 01 April 2011 23:39:37
I don't agree that Club Med ever made a deliberate decision to make the Villages in Martinique or Guadeloupe "exclusively French". We went to La Caravelle quite a few times, to Ft. Royale (before it was closed), and to Martinique every winter for 20 years. The main reasons we stopped going was that it became more complicated for us to get there from NYC after American Airlines stopped offering non-stop flights to these islands. Also (very important for us), the Club stopped the on-site scuba programs in these Villages, & newer Clubs with on-site scuba programs opened as alternatives for us.(We prefer "Club Med Diving" with GO's, as opposed to diving through an outside operator.) Even in the days of non-stop flights (and Club Med charters) to Guadeloupe & Martinique, though, there were always more European GM's at these Villages than Americans, but we never found that to be a problem. In fact, the French ambiance of these islands was something we loved - and still do. (If they still had "Club Med Diving" with GO's at Martinique, we'd still be going there.) And, as Susan said, the weather in the winter is much more dependable that far South.
Adria
SHiller616
Active - UNITED STATES - 117 Posts 02 April 2011 03:48:06
We were made to feel very welcome there, especially by Olivier, who made sure the announcements at the shows were made in English. He seemed to think that Americans were scared off coming to Guadeloupe by the labor troubles in 2008 - I think Americans know nothing of that.
As Adria said, it is difficult to get there from NY (even though if you go back to posts on TripAdvisor, there seems to have been a charter at some point last year). Changing planes in Puerto Rico was not all that terrible. The airfare was expensive. Compare that to what it takes to get to Ixtapa - about the same, I think, in terms of needing no direct flights from NY. Wouldn't stop me from going back to Ixtapa! The people who we met there from Toronto got there by getting to Montreal for the charter. We even joked about that it would have been easier for us to get there from Paris. It did not bother us in the least that we were a distinct minority. The beautiful beach and good food made us forget all about that! Susan
John-Chicago
V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1298 Posts 02 April 2011 16:00:26
I have been to Guadeloupe 5 times and Martinique 3 times. Some of the best vacations that I have ever spent at Club Med have been at Guadeloupe. However, it has changed. The last time I was at La Caravelle I went to the orientation and was stopped before I could enter the theater and told it was for French only. I was told to sit in the bar area and they would try to find someone who could speak English. Someone showed up 20 minutes later and asked if I had any questions.
There were maybe three other Americans there. I asked why there were so few Americans or English Canadians. I was told that there was no policy as such, but Americans are being "steered" away from the French West Indies to the Bahamas and charters were increased from Paris while charters from the US were being eliminated. In my past visits I would say that there had been about one third Americans there. I think that some of you old school CM people can remember when Martinique was heavily populated by Americans. By the way, I never went to either of the islands on American; it was always on Air France out of NYC or Miami. They weren't CM charters but were CM arranged flights for Americans. Please don't interpret my comments as Anti-French. I have always loved the mix of people at CM, although there seems to be less of a mix at these clubs than in the past. In the past CMP would have been full of reports on Martinique or Guadeloupe. Rare is there a report on Martinique here. John
SHiller616
Active - UNITED STATES - 117 Posts 02 April 2011 23:25:52
I hear what you're saying John. We were just determined that we chose a beautiful locale, and it has been such a horrible winter we weren't going to let anything bother us. btw - we were once at Columbus Isle when there was a French-only show. We just found something else to do.
Susan
John-Chicago
V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1298 Posts 03 April 2011 16:45:54
Susan,
You made the right decision. It is a beautiful location and my favorite island in all of the Caribbean. Also, the club there has the best food that I have had in the American zone.  BTW, I do have an very interesting story to relate about my recent trip to India and Club Med.John
rikkitis
 Junior - BELGIUM - 44 Posts 25 April 2011 10:32:26
Dear Susan, I will head to la Caravelle in 3 weeks from now. Would you by chance remember the dress code there? WOuld you have planning fax in order to ask for a specific room?
Thanks!! Belgium girl! Latest trips: Djerba la Fidèle, Punta Cana, Djerba la Douce, Marrakech, Cervinia, Kemer
SHiller616
Active - UNITED STATES - 117 Posts 06 May 2011 23:46:18
Sorry - didn't catch your post sooner. Hope it's not too late.
Elegant, of course One night they did "70's" and people were wearing tie-dyed stuff, long hair wigs, etc. One night they translated into English as "Youthness" - some GO's were wearing fake diapers; some had school uniforms, I don't know what I would have even brought along for that one. I guess it was more like "childhood." Tan / beige I think there was the usual black, black and white, red. Have a great time. If you aren't in a room that has an outdoor space like a terrace or a balcony, upgrade... It is a gorgeous beach, great food. Susan
SHiller616
Active - UNITED STATES - 117 Posts 07 May 2011 00:18:41
85 49 70 is the fax number - not sure what country code you need to dial from Belgium.
One other theme: jeans and flowered blouses for females, jeans and something else for males. Maybe someone knows the email address for Planning. They are all "something that has to do with the name of the village" plan01@clubmed.com Good luck!
ReefPolice
V.I.PAfficionado - UNITED STATES - 312 Posts 07 May 2011 01:50:44
quote: Had to laugh, Susan, when I read your report about the "1970's night" for the dress code at La Caravelle. When we were there back in the real-life 1970's, women mostly wore pareos & men mostly wore caftans - no tie-dye in sight! (For you youngsters out there, we wore our tie-dye back in the 1960's.) Adria
SHiller616
Active - UNITED STATES - 117 Posts 07 May 2011 13:17:00
And the show that night had a "Woodstock" theme - also in the 60's. Close enough, I guess.
ReefPolice
V.I.PAfficionado - UNITED STATES - 312 Posts 07 May 2011 21:47:57
If they didn't pump in some mud, it wasn't authentic Woodstock....
(editorial comment from someone who was actually there at Woodstock and also, astonishingly, actually remembers everything!) but sounds as if you had a fun evening at Caravelle (to stay on topic) Looking forward to seeing you this July at Columbus Isle, Susan - but no mud, I hope. Can't promise no tie-dye.....I'm regressing.  Adria Locked: Login first |