The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - 11 Nights 11 Sunsets

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday in Negril! Arrived on the 22nd around 11:00 am. Breezed thru Immigration with Club MoBay. It took over an hour to get our bags....only one other plane there...guess they went to lunch before they unloaded our bags, lol... Went to the lounge to change clothes & grab some beverages. Our driver was waiting, so we grabbed a drink for the ride. Traffic in MoBay was CRAZY! Stopped at MegaMart for wine, Moët, & beer. I sat in the van while hubby & Damion shopped. I figured it would be a long wait, but they were out in 15 minutes - record time! Traffic still bad...got out of town & made a quick stop for cold beers. I thought that the traffic in MoBay was bad...that was nothing compared to Lucea! Took an hour to get thru “downtown”, got to Hammond’s Bakery and no traffic....Arrived at Charela at 3:00.
Quick change into our suits and hit the beach! Walked down to Rondel to see our favorite bartender, ordered a pizza. We hadn’t eaten since 5:30am at the airport and I was hangry! All was right in the world at this point... we’re in Negril, sitting at Delroy’s “office” watching the sunset!

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Had a few rounds & lots of laughs and decided to call it a night - long day. On the way back to our hotel, I get the big idea to go get something to eat, lol! That pizza wasn’t doing it for me...I wouldn’t make it til breakfast. Talked hubby into grabbing a cab & heading up the cliffs to Cool Vybez. 😊 We introduced ourselves to Miguel and he told his Dad that we were there.Trevor came out of the kitchen to talk with us for awhile & went back to fix our meal. The jerk chicken was really good, but the veggies were delicious! I could have eaten a whole plate of them! Told Miguel & Trevor that we would be back. We were tired & went back to our room. Hubby went to bed while I unpacked.
12/23 Beautiful morning - breakfast at Charela. Francella made fresh ginger tea for us. Beach time!

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Back to Rondel for cocktails & sunset

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Caught a cab to Swordfish

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Our first time there and it was one of the best meals of the trip! Lobster Mac n cheese - off the hook!

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Christmas Eve - spent the day on Beach & had lunch at Charela. Got cleaned up & headed to Rondel. Do you see a pattern???

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We both got a good charge on, so we walked back to Charela and had dinner there. Went up to the room and went to bed. I got into bed and remembered that it was Christmas Eve😳 What the hell...I totally forgot what day it was....I must of had too much fun & lost my mind...I jumped out of bed to decorate our balcony and room.

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Christmas Day - breakfast at Alfred’s - a tradition for us
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Christmas dinner at Kuyaba...another tradition. We lucked out and were able to sit in the tree house! Dinner was fabulous! I had the bird of paradise - Yum! We were stuffed, but had to order the warm coconut pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream��

12/26 - Nothing like lunch on the beach! Jerk pork from Dean, coca bread & cheese from Anthony, and banana bread from “The Bread Guy” Layton

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Dinner - pizza at Chance’s

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I guess you’ll have to lean sideways for some of these pics...it’s an iPhone thing that I can’t figure out....gremlin!

12/27 - Our friend Karl came to visit us & spent the afternoon with us. Good to see him! Delroy is back to work today, so we’re off to happy hour!
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12/28
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Back to Cool Vybz!
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12/29 spent the day on the beach in anticipation of our friends arriving from VA. We went to the gift shop past the Palms to buy cigars for our friend. They had Cheeto puffs!!!
Our friends were staying at Sandy Haven, so we had dinner at Bongo’s.

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12/30 - We rented the Red Stripe Catamaran for a late morning/lunch cruise for the six of us. It was a little choppy and overcast. We had a good time and many laughs...a few a my expense, haha!

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Right when the cruise was finished, it poured down rain.... We were drenched. We hung out at the Biat Bar for a couple of rounds until the rain stopped. We went to the Rock House for dinner. I had jerk lobster & it was spicy...HOT!
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12/31 We started the morning with breakfast & mimosas at Charela with our friends! Had to pace ourselves so we could stay up late!Hung out on the beach and had quiet time (nap time) late afternoon. Dinner at Charela and off to Rondel to ring in the new year!

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These sideways pics are drivings me crazy...Sorry...

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1/1 Our last full day. Hubby & I spent the whole day on the beach swimming & floating in the sea. I got my last massage from Miss Pat ( did I mention that I had a massage every day��). Met our friends at Cocoa la Palm for a late lunch. Went to Rondel for our final sunset and to say goodbye to Delroy.

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1/2 Last day...time to go home...We checked out around 10:00am and made sure our reservations for next year were booked! Damion picked us up & we were off to the airport. A few buses pulled in when we got there, so we hurried inside to the kiosks. So happy we had Club MoBay departure. The airport was packed! We only had time to grab a few bottles of Coco Mania and some rum cakes on the way to the gate. Didn’t have time to go to the lounge. Hubby surprised me & upgraded our seats to first class for the ride home. See ya next year!

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Great trip report!! Isn't the lobster mac n cheese at Swordfish amazing? It's def on my list this trip as well as the Red Stripe cruise.

Thank you, Bluez! Yes, that mac n cheese is AMAZING! Swordfish will be a must stop on all of our trips! We sat upstairs. There were 3 tables of people. By the time our food arrived, they had left & we had the upstairs to ourselves! We had a lovely evening.

"Our first time there and it was one of the best meals of the trip! Lobster Mac n cheese - off the hook!"

I had the same experience! THE BEST mac n cheese I have ever had.

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Originally Posted by mmoffat1980

"Our first time there and it was one of the best meals of the trip! Lobster Mac n cheese - off the hook!"

I had the same experience! THE BEST mac n cheese I have ever had.

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Absolutely the best ever! I will dream about that mac n cheese...only 343 days until I can order it again!

Awesome Trip Report. We may have to try that Mac n Cheese when we get there. I also appreciate how you tied the pics into each day and experience. Maybe I am selfish but this really helps me with trip planning for the family. :)

Great pix! Thanks for the report.

Great trip report and awesome pics! Thanks for sharing! My wife and I also loved the lobster mac n cheese at Swordfish!

Awesome report! I’m surprised you don’t get a room at rondel. We met Delroy over the holidays too. We are staying there next year.

Thank you for the trip report! Soon come Jamaica for us. Will the glad to get out of this below zero weather.

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Originally Posted by TimP420

Awesome report! I’m surprised you don’t get a room at rondel. We met Delroy over the holidays too. We are staying there next year.

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We stayed at Rondel for over 8 years and would recommend it. Loved all the staff! Nice place, however...there is a large group from MD (30-45 people) that come the day after Christmas and TAKE OVER the place. We spent 2 miserable Christmases and my husband said no more! The last 3 Christmas holidays we’ve stayed at Charela. We go to Rondel everyday to see Delroy!!! I AM NOT KNOCKING RONDEL! IT IS A LOVELY PLACE! We will stay there again, but not at Christmas when that group is there!