What does everyone think about Punta Cana right now? DD has a trip planned...

All of that is possible. But, still the fresher it is, the more accurate the reporting will be.

I do sort of get the hotel's perspective too. Let's say that HAD paid her 2.2 million (or whatever it was that she wanted). Would she STILL have told? Or would her motivation to care about other people be lessened? From their perspective, that's exactly what it looks like. So long as they were discussing settling with her, she hadn't "healed" sufficiently to talk. As soon as negotiations broke down, she was ready to tell her story. I'd bet dollars to donuts that had they reached a deal, she'd have willingly agreed to confidentiality. I've seen that enough IRL to know exactly how people's "concern and care" for others can be bought.
 
All of that is possible. But, still the fresher it is, the more accurate the reporting will be.

I do sort of get the hotel's perspective too. Let's say that HAD paid her 2.2 million (or whatever it was that she wanted). Would she STILL have told? Or would her motivation to care about other people be lessened? From their perspective, that's exactly what it looks like. So long as they were discussing settling with her, she hadn't "healed" sufficiently to talk. As soon as negotiations broke down, she was ready to tell her story. I'd bet dollars to donuts that had they reached a deal, she'd have willingly agreed to confidentiality. I've seen that enough IRL to know exactly how people's "concern and care" for others can be bought.

Hmm, I have more of a problem with the resort settling with the stipulation it be kept secret if that was truly the case.
I would have no issues with her if she decided to not tell her story.
I guess I just have more sympathy for a woman who was beaten to within an inch of her life and think she should do whatever she feel is best for herself. She doesn't owe it to anyone to tell her story.
The resort owes the public the truth about what happens on their property though.
 
When we travel to the Caribbean now, we bring our own alcohol from the duty free at the airport. It costs minimal amount for peace of mind. We aren't big drinkers though.
 


My coworker switched her vacation from punta Cana to Aruba. It’s costing her some $$$ but it’s worth the peace of mind.
Aruba is fabulous! Expensive probably to switch airfaire now though, typically expensive anyway if you don't book way in advance. Vacation should be about not worrying about safety. Heck, she's a college student, plenty of places to go domestically that they would probably love.
 
All of that is possible. But, still the fresher it is, the more accurate the reporting will be.

I do sort of get the hotel's perspective too. Let's say that HAD paid her 2.2 million (or whatever it was that she wanted). Would she STILL have told? Or would her motivation to care about other people be lessened? From their perspective, that's exactly what it looks like. So long as they were discussing settling with her, she hadn't "healed" sufficiently to talk. As soon as negotiations broke down, she was ready to tell her story. I'd bet dollars to donuts that had they reached a deal, she'd have willingly agreed to confidentiality. I've seen that enough IRL to know exactly how people's "concern and care" for others can be bought.

As to the bold, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that argued in a courtroom ... IMO that's a severely overworked viewpoint in contentious situations that quite often (conveniently) overlooks a lot.

The flip side to that line of thinking is to stop and consider events in our own lives, don't even limit them to traumatic or perilous circumstances, and think back to times when perhaps you shared the story at a family holiday, dinner with friends, etc. Have you never shared an anecdote yourself or had a friend, family member or coworker share with you and subsequently the storyteller circles back with -- OMG, I can't believe I completely forgot to tell you X?

Where did the information about a settlement demand or any amount demanded come from? If the information came from the resort how credible is it? Would they have any particular reason to tell the truth or any particular reason to lie about it, or about any amount suggested?
 


I’m sorry but 8 people over one year does not make a RASH of people dying. No matter what the media wants you to believe.

People dying on vacations does happen. Barring something like an accident or overdosing while binging on drugs, couples don't tend to die together from sudden illness -- at home or on vacation.
 
Exactly. Yeah, the stories are unsettling - especially the ones that took place at the same resort within days of one another and the speculation that drinks from the minibar might be a common thread - but it is still an insignificant level of risk compared to the number of people who travel there without incident. Even if we assume for a minute that all of the deaths were foul play, your odds of dying in a car accident in any given year (1 in about 80) are way worse than your odds of becoming a victim of whatever is happening in the DR in the past year (1 in about 275,000). It is literally more dangerous to drive to the airport than to vacation in the DR.
and of those killed in Chicago - none of them paid thousands of dollars to get here. NOT ONE TOURIST was killed in Chicago on ANY weekend. Gangbangers killing gangbangers and innocent people with their stray bullets. Until communities start to speak up....nothing is going to change. I've live in Chicago my entire 50 years - I work in the Loop for over 30 years - and I don't know ONE person that's ever been shot.

OP - I'd stay far way from the DR.
 
I’m sorry but 8 people over one year does not make a RASH of people dying. No matter what the media wants you to believe.

That is true, and it is quite possible that all the deaths are isolated incidents that would have occurred if those people traveled elsewhere, or stayed home.
However, 2 people vacationing together, dying at the exact same time, in the exact same place, due to the exact same "natural cause" seems suspicious. It is possible that what happened to them isn't just the natural circle of life and their deaths have shed light on something people have just brushed off as regular statistical occurrences just happening.
Maybe there is more to these 8 deaths (although I've seen the number is up to 9) and reported sicknesses happening to the tourists in DR. Now that they are being investigated by the FBI who knows what will come out of it all.
 
Where did the information about a settlement demand or any amount demanded come from? If the information came from the resort how credible is it? Would they have any particular reason to tell the truth or any particular reason to lie about it, or about any amount suggested?
It came from the hotel's statement to the public after the woman spoke to the media. The hotel's statement was shocking to me because it took a defensive tone. I read it as them insinuating that her injuries were not as severe as portrayed and that perhaps the situation was different (i.e. drunk/fall/domestic, etc.). They never outright said any of this as they tried to keep it P.C., but that seemed to be what they wanted people to deduce. They also made it a point to say that she promptly released her story to the media after her demands for $2MM could not be met, trying to show she had ulterior motives (in their opinion).

I'm not on one side or the other, but just relaying what I thought the hotel was trying to get across.

I’m sorry but 8 people over one year does not make a RASH of people dying. No matter what the media wants you to believe.
The problem is with the similarities - two otherwise healthy people (husband and wife) at the same time, two separate occurrences with the same vague cause of death, multiple issues with mini-bars, more than one reference to pesticide poisoning. As more of these stories come out, the less they sound like coincidences. Hopefully a common thread can be identified. which I think would give people peace of mind.
 
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The couple that died:

“The Maryland couple who died, Holmes and Day, each had internal bleeding, preliminary autopsy results showed, according to CNN. Holmes was found to have an enlarged heart and cirrhosis of the liver, while Day had fluid in her brain.”

Doesn’t sound like “tainted” alcohol to me. It doesn’t sound like they were healthy at all.
 
OP, since your DD already expressed not feeling comfortable, change destinations. It doesn't matter what I would do, it matters that she has said she would not be able to enjoy herself. I hope she has a fabulous vacation, wherever she goes.
 
The couple that died:

“The Maryland couple who died, Holmes and Day, each had internal bleeding, preliminary autopsy results showed, according to CNN. Holmes was found to have an enlarged heart and cirrhosis of the liver, while Day had fluid in her brain.”

Doesn’t sound like “tainted” alcohol to me. It doesn’t sound like they were healthy at all.

So they each appeared to have their own individual health issues and they still died at the exact same time, in the same place of the same thing. Without a toxicology report there is no way to know if "tainted" alcohol or any other substance contributed to their deaths. Their individual health issues don't prove anything.
Their bodies have been flown home and their families are having their own autopsies done, it will be interesting to see what they find.
 
The couple that died:

“The Maryland couple who died, Holmes and Day, each had internal bleeding, preliminary autopsy results showed, according to CNN. Holmes was found to have an enlarged heart and cirrhosis of the liver, while Day had fluid in her brain.”

Doesn’t sound like “tainted” alcohol to me. It doesn’t sound like they were healthy at all.

It doesn't "sound like" tainted alcohol to you. It doesn't "sound like" they were healthy at all to you. Without any firsthand, direct, personal knowledge yourself you feel it's appropriate to cast a side eye at others who think something may be amiss due to what the "media would have you believe". I see nothing to suggest your ability to opine at a distance holds any particular expertise or credibility anymore than anyone else.
 
I see nothing to suggest your ability to opine at a distance holds any particular expertise or credibility anymore than anyone else.

I will remember that the next time you opine on a subject. Of course an enlarged heart and cirrhosis of the liver is perfectly healthy. Two people die at the same time all of the time around the world. It is called...let me think...a coninkydink!
 
I will remember that the next time you opine on a subject. Of course an enlarged heart and cirrhosis of the liver is perfectly healthy. Two people die at the same time all of the time around the world. It is called...let me think...a coninkydink!

May I ask why you are so defensive? Do you own one of the resorts? No reason to take it personally.

All this going on in the same area and both spouses of a married couple die at the exact same time and you want to say it’s just a concidence?
 
and of those killed in Chicago - none of them paid thousands of dollars to get here. NOT ONE TOURIST was killed in Chicago on ANY weekend. Gangbangers killing gangbangers and innocent people with their stray bullets. Until communities start to speak up....nothing is going to change. I've live in Chicago my entire 50 years - I work in the Loop for over 30 years - and I don't know ONE person that's ever been shot.

OP - I'd stay far way from the DR.

And, this is also true in Mexico, the country many people cite as being "unsafe" due to high murder rate. Sure, if you're in the drug trade, chances are VERY high you could die young and violently. If not, you're SAFER in Mexico than in most of the US. A tourist being killed in Mexico is very rare. Exactly 4 in popular tourist areas of Mexico in 2017, and that's of 35 MILLION Americans who visited Mexico in that year. That's an extremely, extremely low homicide rate. More Americans (some of them dual citizens of Mexico and the US) WERE killed in border cities where drug cartels are active, but even then, the murder rate per capita is lower than Chicago, New Orleans and other major US cities. And, the thing we don't know about even the "4" is were they seeking to buy drugs? Avoid seedy areas. Don't look to buy or use illegal drugs. And, you'll be very safe in any of the tourist areas of Mexico.
 

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