New Things at CN

[rudi]

Some new things we see at CN today.

The beachgrill floor is white – still boards, but painted white w/ several coats of paint – per Mrs I.'s desire we're told.

The Beachgrill now issues pagers for your orders. Not a big fan, but it works.

Bathroom toiletries returned to old style (no tubes).

The hand dryers outside Lychee are gone – back to paper towels.

Heliconia no longer has antipasto or salad bar- you order an appetizer plate and/or salad.

Carrie has some long locks.

Has been overcast mostly so far – which is probably a blessing in that we're njot burned.

[Cands]

Hey Rudi - we were there with you - well we just came back today.

I will say we kinda like the pagers at the beach grill - don't have to focus on hearing your name being called if you're at the bar!

We also noticed since last year there are new sinks and shower heads in the bathrooms in building #9.

Printer now available in the internet room to print out boarding passes - or whatever.

They now have containers at the nude beach and at the other end of the beach where you can get fresh towels whenever you want - love that!!!

Miller Lite is now served in cans - unless you want it poured into a cup or a glass (at night).

Lychee has a nice small bar inside - didn't notice that last year.

You can now get your pictures - that are taken by the resort photographers - on a CD for $10 cheaper than getting them printed. I don't remember that from the last 3 visits.

We didn't have much sun Friday or Saturday but of course it was sunny when we left this morning!!

This years lobster tails were huge and delicious!!!!

How I miss CN already!!!

[leoconnor]

Keep 'em coming, Rudy -- always love your reports!

[rudi]

Cands - guess we missed you. We apparently brought the rain with us- though it is clearing somewhat today so far.

Other new things (to us) :

Bed pillows are orange (as opposed to the blue/white stripes before)
Pool Bar stools have been painted blue (like the awning and the new boardwalk couches)
BG has a hummus platter, but no fish sandwich (mahi mahi fillet instead)
Jerk Chicken is now served bare w/ 3 self serve choices (mild, medium, spicy)

Have seen most of the fantastic bar staff so far. Will post names later - beach time!!!

[rudi]

"(as opposed to the blue/white stripes before)"

correction- the blue/white striped bnd roll pillows are still here. It is the larger pillows that are now orange.

Ent Team is Simone, Anjelica, Nellie, Dianna, Carlos, Soren (Trainee), and Nana. Travis is no longer here,

Beach Time!!

[BC]

Sounds great so far, not that everything wasn't fantastic already! Dreaming of experiencing it again in November if all goes the way we'd like!! Thanks for giving us more to daydream about!

[Ladydia41]

Thanks for all the updates guys!! We are headed there this Saturday...ready for that "Beach Time"

[Art and Francine]

Hi Rudi - So Glad you folks are having another wonderful trip!!! LOVE Hearing all the updates... love the details (as always!)....
Please give everyone a HUG From us, especially Ivy,Tennyson,Carrie & Franklin (guess we spend a lot of time at the bars??).....
Have a WONDERFUL vacation!!! A & F
P.S. Switched up the schedule a bit? Keeps life interesting

[Matisjam]

Please give everyone a HUG From us, especially Ivy,Tennyson,Carrie & Franklin!

Agreed. Please tell them hello from St. Louis and we'll be there in 128 days! Carrie is one of the reasons we come back every year!

[chobeecpl]

Thanks for the updates... We will be there tomorrow (Sunday) and get to enjoy it all once again.... Just sad no Andrew :-(

[amershon]

Is it true that Travis is no longer at CN? He was my favorite!!!! He made all the activities fun and comical!!! I will definitely miss him next time.

[rudi]

Art and Francine - Jermaine said hello to you almost as soon as we saw him. Got hello's and hugs to you two from Ivy, Tennyson,& Carrie. I think Franklin was just at the pool bar too much and we only saw him a little bit.

Matisam - sorry missed your message, but I'm sure they'll be glad to see you soon.

More on new things later but one more big thing is they have been replacing the tile around the Cassava buffet areas all week. IT looks similar but much newer, bluer, and brighter.

An even bigger change in the works is they will finally replace the entire boardwalk - so no more splinters - but a project that big could take awhile.

[rudi]

Have seen most of the fantastic bar staff so far. Will post names later -

Got distracted and forgot about this.

We've seen Carrie, Elkie, Ivy, Tennyson, Franklyn, Marlon, Amanda, Jouevan (sp?) (trainee), Nikita (trainee), Charles, Lindon, Camille, Omar, Conroy, Sheryl, Shantea, Jermaine, Yannick, Denva, Rohan, Taneshia, Durval, and Melissa.

It is a slower season and we were told a few other people are on vacation. They're not all at the same bar, or at the same time, of course, but we visited most of the bars at one time or another.

[rudi]

Had a chance to add a few, consolidate the list of changes (new to us) and reorganized a bit.
The usual note - this is not for readers weary of details.
• The BG (beachgrill) floor is white – still boards, but painted white w/ several coats of paint – per Mrs I.'s desire we're told.
• The BG now issues pagers for your orders. Not a big fan, but it works.
• BG has a hummus platter, but no fish sandwich (mahi mahi fillet instead)
• BG Jerk Chicken is now served bare w/ 3 self serve sauce choices (mild, spicy, very spicy)
•
• Heliconia no longer has antipasto or salad bar- you order an appetizer plate and/or salad.
• Otaheite has a made-to-order salad prepared from a cart rolled out to your table.
•
• The in-room bathroom toiletries returned to old style (no tubes).
• The larger bed pillows are orange (as opposed to red or yellow).
•
• Carrie has long dread locks.
• Pool Bar stools have been painted blue (like the awning and the new boardwalk couches)
• Replaced the tile around the Cassava buffet. It is similar but much newer, bluer, and brighter.
• The hand dryers outside Lychee are gone – back to paper towels. (were told it will be back).
• There are humming bird feeders in the garden area behind the spa. This may be a July/seasonal thing
• Guest lockers on south side of dive shop (they actually were there last trip, just didn’t report it)
•
• Entertainment Team is Simone, Anjelica, Nellie, Dianna, Carlos, Soren (Trainee), and Nana.
• Auction now uses paddles for bidding (with Jamaican names/phrases on them)
• Activities that are new:

o Beach V-ball at night under the lights - same night as beach party night
o Beach-athalon- comprised of a flip cup game, relay races, and other races
o Rainy day activities include movie in piano bar

• The entire boardwalk will be replaced. But that is a project that could take awhile
----------------------------------
Bar Staff:

Amanda
Amay
Ashena
Camille
Carrie
Charles
Conroy
Denva
Durval
Elkie
Floy
Franklyn
Ivy
Jermaine
Jouevan(sp?)(T)
KeishaTaylor
LaToya
Lindon
Marlon
Melissa
Nikita(T)
Omar
Rohan
Samantha(T)
Shantea
Sharlette
Sheryl
Taneshia
Tennyson
Yannick

[Art and Francine]

Awww..... Thank you Rudi!!! Very touched by the Jermaine remark!!! Wish we were at CN right now giving & receiving Hugs!!!
So glad you had another Great Visit!!

[Pamela]

. . . . An even bigger change in the works is they will finally replace the entire boardwalk - so no more splinters - but a project that big could take awhile.

Glad to hear this; I got a pretty big sliver just this past March, and replacing the decking is one of things I noted in my review that CN needed to do. Our next visit is scheduled for September, but I'm still planning to bring flip flops just in case this project hasn't been completed yet.

Thanks for the update!

[rudi]

A&F - Our pleasure, of course.

Pamela - we actually were thinking of your post when we were told, though we've seen a few others limping around with a splinter in the past as well. It always sends a shiver down my spine when I walk across it barefoot, anticipating the stick. You know the pace of things there, so I'm sure you'll bring the flip flops for your Sept. trip if not the next.
I should point out that several areas of the boardwalk have obviously been repaired and one can frequently see K. Lanigan, Conrad Malcomb, or Mr. Williams checking on things like rough spots on the boardwalk and having them fixed promptly.


One other correction, realizing that nobody else may care, but it helps me remember what trip was when and I prefer posts to be factually correct.
From above:
• The larger bed pillows are orange (as opposed to red or yellow).

This is not correct. The larger pillows were not red or yellow before, it was the bed roll pillows that were.
The evolution of the bed decor at CN we've seen has been something like this (noting that some of the bed roll pillow colors likely depended on room location more than date of visit) :

HB=Headboard, BRP=Bed Roll Pillow, SP=Square Pillow

• brown HB, yellow BRP, brown (w/ logo) SP
• ---new bed tapestry---
• off-white HB, red BRP, light green SP
• off-white HB, yellow BRP, light green SP
• orange HB, blue/white striped BRP, no SP
• orange HB, blue/white striped BRP, orange SP (actually rectangular)

So there! Now, about those changes to the spa appointment cards....

[Art and Francine]

RUDI - You are The BEST!!! Request for next time: Please include more details .... LOL!!!
Thanks Again!!! A&F
P.S. I do NOT even want to think about telling A about the night V-Ball!! Oh Boy!!!