September 2, 2021 – September 7, 2021
Lets start by saying this trip was after the huge storm Ida.
I packed my bags the night before(I am a big procrastinator) and the kids were getting ready for bed because they had their first day of school the next morning. Our flight didn’t leave till 6pm the next day so we were going to pick them up from school and drive straight to the airport.
Storm Ida hit NJ/NY hard, we were fortunate to not have any damages, but our neighbors and friends were not so lucky. We received a message school was canceled and the airport had canceled all flights for the night and the morning of September 2nd. The day of our flight we checked to see the status and confirmed it was still on schedule, so we decided to go to the airport. The airport is 30 minutes from our house and we arrived at the airport by 3:30pm.
When we got to the airport, we saw all the people that were part of the delayed and canceled flights. The line to get through security was insane and people were talking it took them 3-4 hours to get through it. Newark airport terminal C line started all the way from the second floor to the third floor.
TSA pre-Check ✅
In 2018 I signed up for this paid program, which most credit card will reimburse the fee if you pay using their credit card(so technically is free). I have Chase United Explore Mileage Plus > it reimbursed the $85 fee and this pre-check is valid for 5 years. For this trip this membership was worth it and we didn’t have to spend our afternoon standing in line to go through security. The TSA precheck line was only 30 minutes and we made our way through security and had plenty of time to enjoy dinner/drinks and get a book before our boarding time. If you are interested in a card that offers points for miles this is a card to give it a try. (use this link to apply)
Boarding the plane
We were very happy our flight was still on schedule and we started boarding on time, 6pm arrived and we didn’t move, 6:15 came, 6:30 and at 6:45 our flight attendant announces the airplane still on park because they are waiting on people that were delayed on the security check point. we finally depart at 6:50pm.
CAPCANA, Punta Cana DR
We arrived at our hotel Ancora Cap Cana. Our first impression of this hotel was Spain vibes, the building and the colors were very captivating. The hotel was not fully staffed due to Covid and they told us they re-opened in November 2020. Not all the restaurants were open and this hotel did not have a lot of activities on site. We will not be returning to this hotel if we go back to Punta Cana, DR.
In this trip with two kids we visited the Scape Park and Nickelodeon water park.
Nickelodeon is a resort as well and if you are planning a trip to Punta Cana with kids this would be my number one option.
Scape Park was a fun park, lots of walking from one activity to another. We did a cave swim, lizard world, el hoyo Azul (blue hole). They also do zip lining which I think is the best activity of this park, but unfortunately we didn’t make it because my son was not feeling well.
Overall, we made lots of fun memories on this trip and with my kids 12 and 11 year old finding activities that both can enjoy was easy.
Pam2k 