Let the clean up begin<\/em><\/h3>\nStaff returning to the resorts on Monday and Tuesday immediately picked up a brush or a bucket and got to work. Everyone lent a hand, whether it was to clean the pools and clear debris from the gardens. Others swept the corridors and sun decks, washing walls incrusted with salt and seaweed, carried water up to the villas, served food or assisted members and guests.<\/p>\n
There was no power in the Hotel Zone or Downtown and accordingly no lights, water, computers or phone lines at the resorts. Staff used pool water for the toilets and drinking water was rationed. As the storm approached, Food and Beverage staff had left the refrigerators on their coldest settings in order to preserve frozen produce for longer. On Monday, October 24, they were ready to start serving food and cooked two hot meals a day for guests and one for employees as the clean up got underway.<\/p>\n
Some enterprising IT employees managed to power up a generator so that members and guests could charge their mobile phones and call home. Enrique Rubio remembers, \u201cMaintenance staff found some multi plug adaptors for us and we were able to do 20 phones at a time. We also activated electronic key cards with partially used batteries and one colleague managed to process the staff payroll on a computer in an area of the city where electricity had been restored.\u201d<\/p>\n
Members and guests regrouped after their ordeal, spending the days in their villas or sunbathing on the lawn. Others contacted friends and family back home and tried to make arrangements to leave Canc\u00fan. Royal Graeber remembered, \u201cThe resort staff tried every way they could to make us all comfortable, even forming a \u2018bucket brigade\u2019, lifting pool water in five-gallon buckets up seven, eight, and nine floors and filling up laundry carts so that occupants wouldn\u2019t have to climb down all those stairs and back up again with pool water.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mexican government had declared a curfew and as night fell members and guests began impromptu sing songs to keep their spirits up while they waited for news of their evacuation. Some made \u201csend planes\u201d and \u201csend beer\u201d signs from towels on the sun decks to catch the eyes of news crews aboard chopper flights along Cancun\u2019s battered shoreline. These signs were to make headlines around the world, as did the first Welcome Party for returning guests.<\/p>\n
The airport reopened on Wednesday, October 26 and in the days that followed, the resorts gradually emptied as members and guests were finally able to get flights out.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nWelcome back to Royal Resorts<\/em><\/h3>\nWhile other hotels were devastated and took months to reopen, the Royal Resorts escaped relatively lightly. A handful of units at each resort were damaged and had smashed windows, cracked floor and ceiling tiles, flooding and wet, stained furniture. Uprooted palm trees, branches and leaves littered the gardens, the tennis court lights were blown down, and there was damage to railings, decks and beach staircases. The lobbies at The Royal Caribbean and The Royal Islander were trashed when the windows blew in. All the beach palapas were washed away, along with the sand.<\/p>\n
After analyzing the damage report, Management decided to close for one week to complete the clean up and essential repairs. The resorts reopened on November 5 (The Royal Cancun never closed) and we welcomed our first 617 members and guests back to their home away from home. Some had made extraordinary efforts to get here, catching two or three different flights and in one case flying to Mexico City and taking the bus to M\u00e9rida and then to Canc\u00fan, a journey that took 44 hours! With every week that passed more followed and the support and love that members showed for their resort home and Cancun by returning so soon helped start up the local economy reeling from the hurricane.<\/p>\n
In the months that followed Wilma, international hotel developers and architects would visit Royal Resorts to see why the resorts had fared so well when others had not. Built to the highest standards, their secret lay in the very strong backbone of the buildings and a design based on deep pilings, columns, joists, compressed concrete and the use of reinforced retaining walls. From the outset, they had been built to withstand hurricanes and to quality standards that far exceeded those specified in local codes. The construction techniques used were more labor-intensive and therefore more costly but they ensured that the resorts came through Hurricanes Gilbert in 1988 and Wilma in 2005 with distinction.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
<\/h1>\nWilma Memories Slideshow<\/h3>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/vimeo.com\/142888745″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Wilma memories, 10 years on<\/em><\/h3>\nWe asked our members what they remembered about Hurricane Wilma and received many photos and accounts. We would like to thank all those who shared their thoughts and pictures. In some cases they are extracts of longer documents. This selection also includes memories sent in the wake of the storm.<\/p>\n
Grace Fraley, The Royal Sands<\/h4>\n
\u201cThis was a powerful hurricane that stayed on land longer than any other in history. The Royal Sands staff and security took very good care of us, went with us to the shelter, stayed every minute with us. We felt very safe and protected during this destructive event. Once back at The Royal Sands, they fed us three meals a day, cost free, provided everything we needed, i.e. water, candles etc. I can’t say enough about how the entire staff went out of their way to make us feel safe, we love them and we love our home at the Royal Sands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roy Graeber, The Royal Islander<\/h4>\n
\u201cIn our classroom, affectionately referred to as a \u2018prison cell\u2019, there were 20 of us \u2013 10 from Vacation Club International (VCI) and 10 from the Royal Islander, including 2 young children. Other classrooms held 27 and one held 31 people, so many that they had to sleep in shifts because there was not enough room for all to lie down at the same time. This shelter was to become home to 140 of us from The Royal Resorts.\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cFurniture consisted of little-people\u2019s furniture \u2013 desk tables and small wooden chairs which were arranged into beds. Desk tables, each 18 inches by 4 feet, were lined up along the perimeter walls, with blankets folded in two for softness (hah!) and a pillow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDamp, tired, and apprehensive, we quickly made friends with each other, determined to endure and survive our common experience. Several long fluorescent bulbs in the ceiling of our poured concrete \u2018cell\u2019 shone down upon us. There were no windows, just wooden louvered openings. In the driving rain, plywood sheeting was wedged between the iron bars and the louvered shutters on the front side of the room, from which the storm was then coming.<\/p>\n
All night long the wind blew and the rain attacked in sheets, without letup.<\/p>\n
The electricity was turned off around 11 p.m., probably throughout Cancun, as a precaution against accidental electrocution in the event of downed wires. Candles provided our light source. A small candle placed at the bottom of a 5-gallon plastic bucket on the floor provided sufficient light for the entire room.<\/p>\n
The wind howled, blowing the largest drops of rain I have ever seen, virtually horizontally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn emerging from our imprisonment after the storm\u2019s fury had eased, we were astonished to see that the awesome power of the wind, funneled between our four barracks-like buildings, had blown down sections of the 9-foot high cement block walls surrounding the school property. We knew then that we had been blessed, for the structures in which 140 of us endured the night had not trembled, had not wavered. The poured concrete walls and roofs had withstood a most vicious beating and we were safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOff in the distance, to the west, is a church, not far away. Illuminated in the setting sun was the church steeple, atop of which was a carved-out figure revealing the outline of Jesus, with his arms outstretched in our direction, as if to say, \u201cI have watched over you and have protected you. You are safe now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard Dahoney, The Royal Islander<\/h4>\n
\u201cWhen we pulled away that Thursday night and arrived at the school we had been assigned to, little did we know that it would turn into a four-day adventure. Who knew that Wilma would like Cancun so much that it just didn\u2019t want to leave? It blew through there with its 150+ mile-an-hour winds (which sounded like a jet engine in your ear) in the early morning hours of Friday and we thought the worst was over. WRONG!! It turned around and came back with a vengeance before racing across the Gulf of Mexico to then devastate Punta Gorda, Florida.<\/p>\n
In the elementary school classroom that we were assigned there were the eight of us and a local family of four. Our hearts really went out to them as they were there with all their worldly possessions, which amounted to not much more than two beds, some clothing, basic food, a TV (which was on when we got there but not for long when all power went out), and \u2013 oh yes \u2013 a machete under one of their beds! We learned afterwards that their home was completely blown down. They had a very small house made of sticks and it was in between two concrete homes. Language was not a problem because two of our party were very fluent in Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one complained, it was amazing how everyone began to reach out to each other\u2026I can still picture the sense of community; taking turns being part of chain of people with buckets to unload supplies from a truck\u2026 Sunday was when the local community reached out to us. One of the local residents invited us to his home to call our family. One of our Spanish-speaking family members became friends with one of the shelter organizers who took some of our group to his home to shower, and a couple of other locals allowed us to use outside showers at their homes. Oh my, the creature comforts that we all take for granted!\u201d<\/p>\n
John McManus, The Royal Sands<\/h4>\n
\u201cShortly after breakfast in the Taxi Union, a fellow called for attention and announced that today was his son\u2019s seventh birthday. We all sang \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d and clapped loudly for him. The families with children were especially pitiful. Several times during our stay, in the middle of the excruciatingly long nights, a cry of \u201cMommy, I want to go home<\/em>!\u201d would pierce the night. It broke our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\nJackie Rees
\nI.I. guest from Wales<\/h4>\n
\u201cJerem\u00edas was a real star to our family, he only wanted what was best for us, but I found out that he did not know how his family was doing.\u00a0He was such a hero to us Brits, giving up his time with his family to look after us.<\/p>\n
If anyone deserved compassion it was the Mexican people. On Friday afternoon, a small group of local people brought us coffee and homemade soup for the children.\u00a0 There was not much but they did not have much themselves.\u00a0 Looking outside the gates of the school, we could see that the area we were in was a very poor one.\u00a0 Little concrete shacks posed as houses, roads that were not fully made up, but the locals and our hosts were the most humble and kind people I have ever met.<\/p>\n
After the storm had passed and we drove back towards the Hotel Zone, I was lost for words, I cried as I saw the devastation and destruction.\u00a0 Electricity cables down, building collapsed, palm trees lying on the ground, twisted metal, wrecked cars, and places where we had been a couple of days before that had just disappeared\u2026 I\u2019ll never forget the mixture of disbelief, amazement and the expression on some of the faces of the hundreds of workmen around us – an eagerness to clear the mess up and get back to normal.<\/p>\n
Canc\u00fan locals did not seem like the sort of people who would let a little Category 5 hurricane ruin their lives.<\/p>\n
They worked hard to clear the debris as soon as the storm had passed and continued to do so every day that we were there.\u00a0 In fact, even a couple of days after the hurricane you would not think that it was the same place.\u00a0 The Mexican people who work in Canc\u00fan are a credit to their country.<\/p>\n
The Royal Resorts staff should be highly commended for their concern and sympathy for us poor holidaymakers.\u00a0 They only thought of us, and because of that we will certainly return to the Royal Resorts in Canc\u00fan, and we have told all our friends of the 5-star service we received in such difficult\u00a0and disastrous circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barbara Miller, The Royal Cancun<\/h4>\n
Wilma & the Dance
\nWilma came to Mexico
\nbut didn\u2019t have a chance.<\/em><\/p>\nShe tried and tried for three long days
\nand never learned to dance.
\nShe was clumsy, she was slow,
\nbut persistent and intense.
\n<\/em><\/p>\nBut the Royal Resorts all said no,
\nWe will not allow this event.
\nBut damage she did do but
\nNot so much to break the spirit of the Mexicans,
\nThey are still dancing, eh maybe not so fast.<\/em><\/p>\nBut dancing still and they always will.
\nCanc\u00fan is here to last.
\nThey kicked Wilma\u2019s \u2026! <\/em><\/p>\nJuan Carlos Aguilar, Head of Maintenance at The Royal Sands<\/h4>\n
Juan Carlos stayed at The Royal Sands during the storm and had this to say, \u201cWhat I remember most about the ordeal was the companionship. Colleagues became friends; it felt as though we were fighting side by side in battle.<\/p>\n
The resorts are very well built but I think that the preventive measures we took before the storm also helped reduce the amount of damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Betty L\u00f3pez, Telephone Manager, Royal Resorts<\/h4>\n
Betty L\u00f3pez was one of the last people to leave the resort on that fateful Thursday, after having spent the afternoon informing members and guests about the evacuation and fielding calls from concerned relatives back home. Instead of going home she went to help out at one of the shelters and rallied spirits with her unquenchable good humor and kindness. She remembers the teamwork, \u201cI think that the ties between staff and management are very strong, as strong as the resorts themselves. People worked tirelessly to look after the guests. I think that we can face anything together. I sincerely hope that we never have to go through a hurricane again, but if we do, I will be there to help out.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\n
\nPlanning for future contingencies<\/em><\/h3>\nAs a result of Hurricane Wilma, the Royal Resorts Hurricane Contingency Plan was upgraded. In the years that followed, Lexan hurricane protection screens were installed to protect windows in the lobbies and other key areas. Emergency generators were purchased for the resorts to guarantee the supply of electricity to key areas such as water pumps, refrigerators in the restaurant kitchens, lighting in the Front Desk area, the switchboard and computer systems in the event that the city power grid is knocked out. At the beginning of the hurricane season, emergency food and medical supplies and sleeping mats are purchased.<\/p>\n
City Hall and the Civil Defense Agency have designated the Royal Resorts as hurricane shelters for storms of up to category 3. The certification is renewed every year after rigorous inspections.<\/p>\n
While management policy will always be to stay at the resorts, the resorts have been assigned several schools and colleges in downtown Canc\u00fan that would be used as hurricane shelters to accommodate members and guests in the event of a mandatory evacuation order issued by the Mexican government. They are inspected every year to ensure that they are in good condition if they are ever needed.<\/p>\n
Hurricane Brigades of Royal Resorts staff are also formed each year and trained to assist members and guests in the event of a storm.<\/p>\n
\nWilma Who Anniversary Event <\/em><\/h3>\nWeek 41 members who were with us in 2005 were invited to a special Hurricane Wilma 10th Anniversary Event at Hacienda Sisal on October 15 at 6:30 p.m. This gave people a chance to catch up with the friends they made 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
The event included dinner, a signature cocktail named Wicked Wilma, margaritas and fruit punch, a commemorative t-shirt or hat, a raffle, quizzes and Wilma themed contests. Many staff who had looked after members in the shelters also attended.<\/p>\n
This was a fantastic way for members to meet up with the employees who looked after them in the shelters and the friends they made during Wilma.<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
<\/h3>\n<\/h3>\nWatch our Hurricane Wilma 10th Anniversary Party video<\/h3>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/vimeo.com\/142940377″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
<\/h3>\n<\/h3>\nSee the pictures from Wilma 10th Anniversary Party<\/h3>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/1″][vc_raw_html]<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s been 10 years since Wilma. We look back at one of the most destructive storms the world has ever known.
\n Members and employees have shared their photos and experiences with us over the years and we have included many of them here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\n
Remembering Hurricane Wilma, 10 years on - Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Remembering Hurricane Wilma, 10 years on - Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s been 10 years since Wilma. We look back at one of the most destructive storms the world has ever known. Members and employees have shared their photos and experiences with us over the years and we have included many of them here.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-10-21T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-16T05:48:11+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Arteaga\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Arteaga\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"24 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/\",\"name\":\"Remembering Hurricane Wilma, 10 years on - Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-10-21T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-16T05:48:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f16a733dfe30944a54e4f8a104c594\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Remembering Hurricane Wilma, 10 years on\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Blog\",\"description\":\"Royal Resorts\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f16a733dfe30944a54e4f8a104c594\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Arteaga\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a3a1ea39951fac66efcc4de99aaf7ea4aab59daed89c2f24b1a2338e1ac1d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a3a1ea39951fac66efcc4de99aaf7ea4aab59daed89c2f24b1a2338e1ac1d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Arteaga\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/author\/earteaga\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Remembering Hurricane Wilma, 10 years on - Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Remembering Hurricane Wilma, 10 years on - Blog","og_description":"It\u2019s been 10 years since Wilma. We look back at one of the most destructive storms the world has ever known. Members and employees have shared their photos and experiences with us over the years and we have included many of them here.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/","og_site_name":"Blog","article_published_time":"2015-10-21T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-16T05:48:11+00:00","author":"Elizabeth Arteaga","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Arteaga","Est. reading time":"24 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/","url":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/","name":"Remembering Hurricane Wilma, 10 years on - Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-10-21T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-16T05:48:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f16a733dfe30944a54e4f8a104c594"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/remembering-hurricane-wilma-10-years-on\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Remembering Hurricane Wilma, 10 years on"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/","name":"Blog","description":"Royal Resorts","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f16a733dfe30944a54e4f8a104c594","name":"Elizabeth Arteaga","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a3a1ea39951fac66efcc4de99aaf7ea4aab59daed89c2f24b1a2338e1ac1d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a3a1ea39951fac66efcc4de99aaf7ea4aab59daed89c2f24b1a2338e1ac1d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Arteaga"},"url":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/author\/earteaga\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51979"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57342,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51979\/revisions\/57342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}