Jamaica Carnival 2017: Queen of Hearts
Xodus: The Queen Of Hearts…
From the moment I saw the costume I was in love with it. As if the costumes weren’t bomb enough, Xodus social media presence and website totally persuaded my choice to actually participate in Jamaica Carnival 2017. Check out their site here. The process to purchase the costume was simple. You could either purchase through the site, make a deposit to their bank account or go into their office. They also had samples of the costumes on display for you to choose. Costumes ranged from $450 USD - 1200 $USD and it was dependent on the accessories you wanted for your costumes, for example the type of backpacks, etc.
The goodie bag….
The bag! Oh! When I picked up my bag, boy was I impressed! There were some awesome swag in that goodie bag:
Bands for the road march
Coffee
2 bottles of rum
A cup
A mug
Redken Shampoo and conditioner
Gum
A Revlon lip balm
A loyalty card for Tracks & Records and other cool stuff.
Jamaica Carnival 2017...
I made sure to go to bed early the night before because I knew I was about to have one of the best times of my life. My face was slayed by the @nakeshiathemakeupbabe who did a wonderful job on my face which definitely made the day better because when look good, you feel good, and you take good pictures!!!!
"One of the best days of 2017," would be the words I would use to describe Jamaica Carnival 2017. Held on the 23rd of April 2017, it truly was an amazing experience from start to finish. The songs were really nice this year. I have a few faves:
I can't imagine how many persons participated in the march that Sunday but the roads were packed with people. I was really worried about the weather, the night before it sounded like a hurricane outside my window but the weather was great and the sun came out. The vibes.... the vibes was just right! The march started in Barbican Square, in front of The Loshushan Centre at 10:15 am. After a few pics with the crew we were on the road. We definitely “Shell Down Di Road”
The Xodus team definitely did a good job with putting together and manifesting an awesome carnival experience. I am sure everyone who had the opportunity to experience Xodus Carnival would same the same. The food was superb and the liquor selection was good too. My favourite drinks for the day was the mojito and the white wine. The bartenders on the trucks served us with a smile and moved quickly to make sure the lines weren't long for too long. Then they decided to share out shrimp kebabs on the road...uggh! They were to die for. A dream come through to a person who has been drinking too much alcohol and running on empty. By 12 noon we had reached our lunch stop and the lines again were short. They had tents, chairs and large industrial fans to cool down the tired revellers (which was unheard of for carnival!). We also had an opportunity to get our makeup touched up by the Revlon ladies on site.
Then it was road time again. It was slowly coming to an end :( Our march ended at Rio, an after party for those who just couldn't get enough but by this time I was too tired to fete anymore and more interested in consuming food.
The next day I got up feeling sore all over. “ Yep, it was a good day.” I thought to myself and I have the bruises to prove it. I couldn't stop hearing the soca in my head for days. Then the pics started to surface all over facebook and of course friends started to send the pics they took of the day and it brought a feeling sadness because it was over, the best day of 2017 was finally over.
Would I do Jamaica Carnival 2018 ?? Yes! After all the fun.. YES!
Was it worth it ? Yes I think so.
Check out the pictures below and let me know what you think.
If you are thinking about jumping in carnival and need help with the preparation process, you might want to read this post I did about prepping for carnival here.
Belize was the third country that we visited on our cruise. I enjoyed the time here in Belize city. Next to Mexico, Belize would be my favourite. We were very much on a budget so we didn't grab any of the excursions on board.