CTI Detailed Review Island Section 9/24 - 10/2
Let me start by saying that this was not my and my husband's first trip to CTI. We came in 2010 when we had first started dating. We visited the island then because we were both curious. I'm glad we did! In addition to meeting wonderful people, we found the freedom of not having bathing suits! I'm an old gal, mother of a teenager, with advanced thigh size, lol, and I in particular felt that wearing a bathing suit just draws attention to my "problem areas." I felt so much sexier without a bathing suit, without wet bathing suit rash and razor bumps also!
It was also very freeing that even though me and my then boyfriend, now husband, hadn't been together very long, he only had eyes for me. Keep in mind that if you are a woman, you will not be ogled (any more than you are ogled with clothes on - some guys do that no matter what) because every guy there is with the person they love most. I felt beautiful and valued.
If you are on the fence about it, I recommend trying it. If you don't like it, nobody will make you go back. But if you are like me, you will like not having your figure flaws highlighted by a wet clingy swimsuit. You'll like the fact that nobody is judging you on your stretch marks or stray hairs. You'll like the open and accepting people you meet and you'll like the direct confirmation that your man only really sees you, even when naked people are all he sees. You'll like being more than a sex object to other men and more than a person in competition with other women. Truly.
Improvements: Since last time we were there, CTI added the pontoon boat to get there instead of that tiny rickety rowboat. LOVE IT! Thanks for making it easier for us old gals to get up and down. It worked so well.
Also, they now bring lunch to the island. I really appreciate that. It's not just that I don't have to dress for lunch, although I'm also grateful for that. It's actually really good food. Mind you, compared to dinner, you won't think it's "that great". But compared to, say, cruise food, I'd eat that island lunch all day. There's a fish dish, a chicken dish, a veggie, a starch, something sweet, and a salad every day. I never eat buffet fish at home here in Indiana. It always tastes fishy and dry. Not at CTI! I ate that fish every day. The chicken was either fried or jerk or stewed, something different every day. The rice and veggies were always great. I never ate the salad because it was windy when we were there and I felt the lettuce leaves would fly away! lol.
Drink service: You can have anything you want, as much as you want. Period. They do bring the booze in on a boat every day so there were times that we were told the bottle of "X" hadn't gotten there yet, but the bartender always had an alternative to suggest. We never had to wait in line for drinks. The bartender even mixed for us on his lunch break. The service was amazing. They would even make us Bob Marley shots even though they don't have glass shot glasses on the island, but they'd mix them in the big plastic tumblers, being careful for the layers. They may not've looked pretty but tasted the same!!
MOST IMPORTANT: We met lifelong friends at CTI on the island in 2010 who we still keep in touch with. This time, we met even more friends and some of them touched us immensely by coming to our 10am wedding on the beach. We could not be more happy with those people. They are fun and accepting. We talked about our kids, things we do for fun, the nice places to eat, other places we vacation, where we met... all the fun things. We put our clothes on and had dinner in the evening together. I can tell you that we met dozens of people on the island, we met only two couples not on the island. People just seem to break down barriers and talk when you're nude! Now, there was one day when the weather was not so good and we just kept to ourselves under the shelter and read. And that was ok too. Really, whatever you are in the mood for, you can do it without a bathing suit on the island.
