by Scott Chase

The hardest part of our Spring Break trip in April to Cancun, Mexico, was deciding, for the first time ever, to place our collective destinies into the hands of total strangers. We went pre-paid, and plunked thousands of dollars sight unseen into an “all-inclusive” family vacation in sunny Cancun, Mexico. But the hand wringing, the predictable clash of last-minute personal and professional commitments, the harsh terms for postponement or cancellation…these considerations almost torpedoed the adventure before it got started.

Picking Cancun was the easy part. This once-sleepy coastal resort on the Gulf of Mexico atop the Yucatan Peninsula has become a destination of choice for the current MTV generation. It rocks all the day and all of the night. Europeans, it seems, have discovered Cancun as well. And, just as artistes reverently refer to the “light” of northern France, near Honfleurs and Deauville, connoisseurs of seawater simply run out of adjectives for describing the tranquil blue expanses offshore the thin strip of land that’s Cancun. It is, we were to find, the perfect place for tired parents and tireless teens.

So, what about the strangers into whom we put our trust? Vague details about an untested tour operator, a charter airline (horrors!), an unknown hotel, a flimsy computer printout as proof of payment, and a “packet” of pre-flight information constituted the entirety of our departure paperwork. For a family used to individual airline tickets, assigned seats, brand name airlines, detailed itineraries, and confirmed overnight arrangements, the first few rocky steps of the pre-paid process seemed just a bit loose.

As it turned out, we needn’t have worried. Check-in at Dulles International Airport (IAD) was very smooth, and the ticket agents for charter operator Falcon Air got everybody onboard in time to push back from the gate just six minutes after the advertised departure. A cheery Vacation Express representative met the plane in Cancun and whisked us through customs. Our names appeared prominently on every key list. All the bags appeared, the bus was waiting, and our rooms at the Cancun Palace were ready.

And what rooms they were! In fact, the only snafu encountered during the whole trip was that we weren’t assigned adjacent rooms (as requested), one for my wife and I, another for our two children. The Cancun Palace staff offered rooms 928 and 929, one facing the ocean, the other directly across the hall looking out over the bay, but in the end the seaside vista won us over and we took two rooms about six doors apart. Not a great sacrifice for the balcony and the view that came with the room. The Cancun Palace itself - part of a complex of four privilege-sharing Palace hotels along the Cancun strip - was immaculate, and the service superb.

Within minutes of arrival, the travel clothes were off, the swim suits on, and the beach beckoned. In the past we’ve usually traveled to more distant destinations, so it was a thrill to get up at 6 a.m., fly, arrive, transfer, refresh, and then be sunning ourselves in under eight hours, door to door and suitcase to dresser. I had my first close encounter of the pre-paid kind when I stopped at one of the many bars - in fact, the one closest to my beeline to the shoreline - to order up margaritas for two.

For harried parents or big eaters, the best part of the pre-paid experience may be the food. The groaning boards just seconds away from any Cancun Palace seaside siesta offered up a nearly 24/7 gastronomic experience. From regional specialties to “International Night” to all-American favorites (dogs, burgers, and pizza), the ample and ever-ready food supply was always in arm’s reach. No more discussions about where or when to eat, no more anxious lookouts for a reasonable place, and no more arguing about the joint passed 15 minutes ago. In our case, with an insulin-dependent diabetic child, the blessing of instant, nutritious and edible food anytime completely erased worries about low blood sugars and between-meal snacks. For those who wished to venture beyond the artfully tended boundaries of the Cancun Palace, cross-property privileges linking the several Palace hotels (Sun, Moon, and Beach) in the immediate area offered non-stop culinary alternatives away from the home court.

Included in the pre-paid price of admission were two family tours, with a fair selection of activities and destinations offered, from ancient Mayan sites (Tulum and Chichen Itza) to city tours, island hops and eco-parks. In the end, the beach was so inviting, and the weather so perfect, that we only optioned the all-day Chichen Itza tour. Despite the three-hour bus ride each way, Chichen Itza, which has been called “one of the greatest and the most fully restored” Mayan site, was well worth the effort. This impressive temple complex covers hundreds of acres, scattered with palaces, gardens, and ceremonial centers. Chichen Itza’s centerpiece is the famous pyramid known to some as “El Castillo.” Looking out over the Temple of the Warriors from the top of this dizzying edifice, it’s not hard to imagine solemn prayers to the gods and even human sacrifices taking place in this setting. Lunch was included at “an authentic local restaurant,” and even though it sounded a little hokey on the front end, it turned out to be the perfect capper to an exhausting afternoon.

By the time Day Seven had arrived, we matter-of-factly expected everything on our pre-paid magical mystery tour to be perfect, and departure proved to be more of the same. In fact, because the Vacation Express team at the Cancun Palace had so assiduously tracked down all of the “returnees” and had individually confirmed departure and flight information, we were all settled and seat-belted on the Falcon Air 727 a good quarter of an hour before the scheduled push-back. So, without any fanfare, we took off several minutes early, putting us back into Dulles in time for dinner at home, with our dirty laundry, our suntans, our souvenirs, and our memories.

So, in sum, what did we think of pre-paid, having taken the plunge? The upside was that it was terrific, and we’d definitely consider another packaged Spring Break adventure. The downside? Well, it’s going to be very difficult for the next tour operator to match the performance of Vacation Express,  the Cancun Palace, and their various vendors and partners. From the amiable para-sail hawkers to the staff of the hotel gift shop, people just couldn’t have been nicer. And that made our Cancun trip a pleasure to live and to remember from just about every point of view.

Details: JTM Tours Inc., Rockville, MD (Dana Shuman), 1-800-247-7311. Vacation Express, 1-800-309-4717, www.vacationexpress.com. Cancun Palace, 1-800-346-8225; www.palaceresorts.com. NCP Travel, Mt Airy, MD, 1-301-831-5079.
Traveling with Teens/Family Travel Worldwide is based in Montgomery County, Maryland. We specialize in family travel adventures, and rate airlines, agencies, tour operators, hotels, restaurants, parks, museums, sites, attractions, and other travel items/accessories for kid-, young adult- and family-friendliness, value and fun. 1-301-529-9809; teentravel@hotmail.com.