Hi Saucy,
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to write about our carnival experience. Mine was nothing but excellent! My experience began in March 2008 when I started religiously reading your blog every day. I also booked my flight at that time hoping to benefit from a lower airfare, but in the end I didn’t save that much – my luck. I also reserved my room at the Hyatt in March and I was not required to pay a deposit or in full. In the end I canceled at the Hyatt (without a penalty) and booked at the Hilton just a few weeks before Carnival, the rates were cheaper and the location better, in my opinion.
After reading your review of Rugeri Promotions launch, I contacted them and a couple months later registered in their Chutney section of Trini Revellers. As a reader of your blog it felt like everyone was playing in Tribe or IP. When I arrived at the Hilton, that was also confirmed, all the guests I spoke to were playing in Tribe! I was very worried. But I figured, my friend and I will make the best of it. In the end, the choice was best for me. Rugeri was excellent. The ‘girls’ needed special attention and so I shipped my bra to be sure they were housed properly. That worked out well and my top was ready when I arrived in Trinidad. When I picked up my costume, my belt need to be a bit bigger. And how fantastic, they were happy to adjust it and deliver it to my hotel. During the parade on Monday and Tuesday we were asked several times if we were having fun. And of course, the answer was yes! I’m confident that if we had an issue they would have done their best to rectify it. Great customer service and a huge part of my positive experience! People there are more bands than Tribe and IP! No, I didn’t have washrooms, a cooling zone or bus, but I survived. And at the risk of revealing my age, it was not something I had when I played mas when I was younger. More importantly, the drinks flowed all day on both days!
I didn’t want to be up at 5 am to do my make up on Carnival Tuesday so, again, thanks to you, I saw your post about custom make up by Melissa Deane and I chose this route. Sadly, we didn’t give ourselves enough time to really do a good job on the make up. Next year - I’m up at 5 am.
I also had a custom bag by Mimi. It looked great, but a few gems fell off and some of the braiding started to come off. I’m so glad that I only used the bag on Tuesday, because I’m not sure it would have survived both days.
I played Jouvert with Yellow Devils and that too was great. I didn’t think that I could consume alcohol that early in the morning, but when in Rome ... The washroom break was in an open lot. Need I say more?
As for fetes – we attended Tribe Thursday, Girl Power, Insomnia and Moka Explosion. All were great. If I had to pick a favourite of these 4, it would be hard. The only negative would be that it’s not worth getting VIP tickets for Insomnia. Also, KES were at 3 of the 4 fetes and their performance (and banter) was exactly the same each time. My luck, again.
As I write this I’m still recovering, but I’ll be back next year!
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to write about our carnival experience. Mine was nothing but excellent! My experience began in March 2008 when I started religiously reading your blog every day. I also booked my flight at that time hoping to benefit from a lower airfare, but in the end I didn’t save that much – my luck. I also reserved my room at the Hyatt in March and I was not required to pay a deposit or in full. In the end I canceled at the Hyatt (without a penalty) and booked at the Hilton just a few weeks before Carnival, the rates were cheaper and the location better, in my opinion.
After reading your review of Rugeri Promotions launch, I contacted them and a couple months later registered in their Chutney section of Trini Revellers. As a reader of your blog it felt like everyone was playing in Tribe or IP. When I arrived at the Hilton, that was also confirmed, all the guests I spoke to were playing in Tribe! I was very worried. But I figured, my friend and I will make the best of it. In the end, the choice was best for me. Rugeri was excellent. The ‘girls’ needed special attention and so I shipped my bra to be sure they were housed properly. That worked out well and my top was ready when I arrived in Trinidad. When I picked up my costume, my belt need to be a bit bigger. And how fantastic, they were happy to adjust it and deliver it to my hotel. During the parade on Monday and Tuesday we were asked several times if we were having fun. And of course, the answer was yes! I’m confident that if we had an issue they would have done their best to rectify it. Great customer service and a huge part of my positive experience! People there are more bands than Tribe and IP! No, I didn’t have washrooms, a cooling zone or bus, but I survived. And at the risk of revealing my age, it was not something I had when I played mas when I was younger. More importantly, the drinks flowed all day on both days!
I didn’t want to be up at 5 am to do my make up on Carnival Tuesday so, again, thanks to you, I saw your post about custom make up by Melissa Deane and I chose this route. Sadly, we didn’t give ourselves enough time to really do a good job on the make up. Next year - I’m up at 5 am.
I also had a custom bag by Mimi. It looked great, but a few gems fell off and some of the braiding started to come off. I’m so glad that I only used the bag on Tuesday, because I’m not sure it would have survived both days.
I played Jouvert with Yellow Devils and that too was great. I didn’t think that I could consume alcohol that early in the morning, but when in Rome ... The washroom break was in an open lot. Need I say more?
As for fetes – we attended Tribe Thursday, Girl Power, Insomnia and Moka Explosion. All were great. If I had to pick a favourite of these 4, it would be hard. The only negative would be that it’s not worth getting VIP tickets for Insomnia. Also, KES were at 3 of the 4 fetes and their performance (and banter) was exactly the same each time. My luck, again.
As I write this I’m still recovering, but I’ll be back next year!
