Taking a Backseat in Honeymoon Planning

I pulled out my passport the other night to send it off for renewal and realized something a little sad.  The last stamp in my book is from 2003.  I studied two languages and went abroad three times in college. It's a little startling to realize that I haven't left the country in almost a decade. The sad fact is that despite telling myself that I wouldn't let it happen, I've become a workaholic. I get to use technology and social media, which make my job pretty enjoyable.  It's not that I don't travel. I do quite a bit of business travel (enough that I could trade in hotel points for the $200 Pottery Barn gift card I mentioned yesterday). I just haven't done much leisure travel in recent years.  Clearly, I'm really looking forward to our honeymoon.

Marc, on the other hand, has been to every sunny vacation destination you can think of. Name a tropical island and he's probably been there.  As a result, I told Marc that he could decide where we'd go on our honeymoon, but I had three requests.  First, there must be a beach.  Second, I did not want to be on a six hour flight. I fly enough for work and I don't want to spend an entire day traveling.  Third, I want to see dolphins.  My response to the idea of swimming with dolphins is a lot like Kristen Bell's reaction to the idea of meeting a sloth, which you may have seen on the Ellen show recently.

From The Ellen Show's Facebook channel

For what it's worth, as an animal lover, I also feel this way about the prospect of meeting a panda, elephant, sloth, sea otter, or seal pup.

Shortly after articulating my requirements, I thought the dolphin request might be too limiting, so I retracted it, but Marc said that if I want dolphins, we'll find dolphins. After evaluating all the options, he decided that we are going to Jamaica. Apparently, there is a cove where visitors can interact with trained dolphins.  When Marc read the description out loud, I almost lost it.  I read reviews of the experience on TripAdvisor.com and they are mostly positive.  I told Marc not to make a reservation at the dolphin place just yet because I want to do more research about it (I want to make sure those dolphins are treated well), but I'm thrilled that we have a destination chosen.

Of course, now we have to figure out exactly where on Jamaica we'll go and where we'll stay.  For a relatively small island, there sure are a huge number of options for resorts there!  Marc wants to go to either Negril or Ocho Rios and each have the all-inclusive reports that are popular with honeymooners.  There are also some lesser known resorts in both locations.  To say the options are overwhelming would be an understatement.  We could spend weeks reading reviews online.

We need to book soon, so I'd love some direction.  What websites did you use to settle on your honeymoon destination?