The Ultimate Trinidad Carnival: Ultimate Crop Over recap

Paint and party - Esha's Jabnival happy!

Ultimate Crop Over recap - part 2

Thanks for visiting our blog! It’s your girl Esha here and I’m ready to share the rest of the Ultimate Crop Over Experience with you. If you missed part 1 where I talked all about de fetes and accommodations, get caught up! Click here for my Ultimate Crop Over recap - part 1.

Onward!

De J’ouvert

Okay, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with Foreday Morning, which is Barbados’ J’ouvert. For those of you who don’t know what Trinidad J’ouvert is, it’s a dirty, crazy street festival where you get to dance through the streets with paint, mud, oil and powder all over your body. To say it’s fun is an understatement. It’s my favorite experience out of everything we do in our Ultimate Trinidad Carnival Experience!

Native's J'ouvert cup (far right)!

So, you can understand my skepticism with Barbados’ J’ouvert. Would it be as much fun? Would I feel disappointed? I tried my best to rein in my expectations - lol! We booked our Foreday Morning experience was with Native J’ouvert since that was the one that everyone was talking about in 2017.

And I wasn’t disappointed. From collecting our packages to 8:30 am on Foreday Morning as the event was winding down, it was a seamless experience that delivered lots of paint, vibes, readily available alcohol (in a VERY large drinking bottle with a handle and straw – love!) and a drama free breakfast experience after the jump. The only thing I would say about this experience that I didn’t like was the very narrow roadway that we paraded on. I prefer wide roadways with lots of space for me to dingolay – as Trinis like to say! Otherwise, I had a great time. Check out my video below as proof!

De Kadooment Parade

The only thing left for me to tell you about is the Kadooment Parade. Included in our 5-night Premium Experience was a tailored costume with Aura, an all-inclusive band in Barbados.

My Aura experience really was seamless. There was minimal mas camp drama with the exception that I had to make a second trip to the mas camp to collect a collar and headpiece that I didn’t receive during the first trip. The error was quickly rectified though (with a smile I might add) – so I was very pleased!

My costume was gorgeous (pictured in the center)! And I have to give a shout out to OneIsland Entertainment for that. Our clients were also over-the-moon happy with their costumes (they fit like a glove for everyone). One of our clients couldn’t even stop taking selfies after her Carnival makeup was done and her costume was on her body – lol!

Off to the parade we went! My take? It was wonderful! Everyone was so friendly, Aura did a fantastic job with customer service – they actually had staff providing water and rum punch to masqueraders ALL DAY (you didn't have to walk to the bar) – the DJ’s were on point, there were great live performances by Skinny Fabulous and King Bubba, lots of eye candy and vibes galore. After the jump, we ended the parade right on the beach. You were promptly given lunch and there were tables and chairs under tents right by the water. There were even several masqueraders who headed into the water to cool off. What an amazing end to a fun day! More photos...

I REALLY loved my costume!

With Mikey Mercer - his song "Fetin Family" was one of my faves!

Loved meeting new friends...

...and old friends from Ultimate Trinidad Carnival!

Caesar's Army crew - pure bacchanal :)

And last, but certainly not least - some eye candy!

Okay - just 1 more...

Of course, I shot a video for you :)

Overall, I have to say that Crop Over was awesome! I was very happy, our clients were extremely satisfied and even said they preferred Crop Over to Trinidad Carnival! And yes, they’ll be back next year…

Speaking of next year…our launch for Ultimate Crop Over 2019 will be on Sept. 17! Be sure to sign up for our mailing list so that you’ll be the first to know when our packages are available - click here.

Stay tuned!

Til de next lime,