DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IN A WHEELCHAIR: Riu Palace Punta Cana and Area Access Features

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed)  Here's how we found access in the Dominican Republic in 2011...

ON ARRIVAL: Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) does not have jetways. All passengers board and deplane via stairs. Four men carried Tim down the stairs (and back up when we left) in the plane aisle chair.  An airport chair awaited us at the bottom.

Wheelchair users are escorted though the entire arrival process, including through immigration and customs all the way through to your ground transportation. Our gate checked chair was provided to us at baggage claim.

The airport, other than the boarding stairs, is very accessible and nicely ramped throughout. The restrooms have handicapped stalls and there is also a family restroom available.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION: Since it was our first time, we decided to use a manual chair instead of the power chair.

We used Dominican Airport Transfers, where we were able to book a private van for the three of us, round trip, for less than $100.  They were on time (actually a little early), safe, courteous, and comfortable.  Since we've been to the DR, they have aquired a lift equipped van that you can book with advance notice.

AT THE HOTEL:We picked the Riu Palace Punta Cana because it was the only hotel we could find that would block an accessible room for us. Several resorts in the area purport to have accessible rooms and facilities, but we could not find any other that would guarantee it.

Watch the Video!

See the video above for a tour of the accessible features of the hotel. There are step-free rooms with roll-in showers which are very nice junior suites but they are not located in the prime area of the hotel. They are very close to the ramp which leads to the restaurants, pools, and beach.  Other step-free rooms with bathtubs are available closer to the beach.

There are six lifts...two on each side of the lobby and one in each wing closer to the pool and beach...four ramps, located at the bottom level of each lift, that will provide access to the plaza, restaurants, shops, pool, and beach.

The grounds are very nicely ramped throughout. A paved path runs along the beach starting at the Colonial Street shopping area adjacent to the pool. About 200 yards south on the path, it jogs pretty close to the water where you can transfer to lounge chairs on the sand.

-Darryl

Copyright 2011 - Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Trying to Get to Jamaica is Trying

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed)  Twenty five years ago, my beautiful wife and I traveled to the island of Jamaica. Tim, being all of two years old at the time, stayed behind with my parents.

Watch the Video!

We went to Eden II, and all-inclusive that was eventually bought out by the Sandals chain. The particular property is today part of the Jewel family of resorts.

Back then, all-inclusive not only meant all the food and drink you could absorb but also tours, golf outings, and more. The entertainment offerings were endless (see our picture of Toga Party night, above. That's Letty and me on the right) and "no tipping" meant that the staff would actually refuse your offer of a gratuity.

It was a wonderful trip.

A quarter century later, we're returning. This time, Tim is now a Caribbean veteran but making his first landing on Jamaican soil.

While years ago, we could take a nonstop six and a half hour flight from LAX to Montego Bay, today it's a five hour layover in Miami before a hour and a half jump to the island (I was offered a 30 minute layover, which might have worked, but it's not prudent to actually plan for such a short change over) on American Airlines.

Arriving at Sangster International Airport, it's nice to see that the airport has installed jetways. It makes getting Tim off the plane and into his wheelchair easier.  A porter is assigned to take us through immigration.  Tim and Letty are allowed to bypass the line (one person can go with the wheechair) while I had to stand in the half-hour long line and face a very dour immigration examiner.  Don't really know what this achieves since we already have to wait for everybody on the plane to disembark before us...everybody else already has an advantage over us because of that.

Finally, clearing immigration we're ready to go!  Until we see the line for customs. Fortunately, this one moves faster and we're off to claim our rental car from Hertz.

There are wheelchair accessible taxis you can book ahead of time but there is a significant extra charge for an accessible taxi over a regular one.  It's also more expensive to hire one for an accessible tour over regular tour operators. In the end for us, it's about the same amount to rent a car. We do this so we can make our own tour and not be at the mercy of anyone else for transportation.

Here are two wheelchair accessible taxi and tour operators for you:

Ken's Wheelchair Service and Tours

Jamaica Exquisite Tours

It takes us just under an hour to arrive at our hotel, the Luxury Bahia Principe at Runaway Bay (LBP). The LBP is an annex to the Gran Bahia Principe that offers extra amenities such as butler service, unlimited a la carte dining, separate beach and pool facilities, private wifi lounge, and separate bar and buffet dining facilities to mention a few.

By the time we arrive, it's been about 20 hours since we left our home in California. We're tired, a bit cranky, and in need of showers and rest.  I just want a key to our room and to lay down.

That wouldn't be the LBP way, however. We paid for the Don Pablo experience (as they call it), by gosh, they're going to make sure we get it whether we want it or not. 

We're told to wait in the lobby for an escort. Twenty minutes later, the same guy says he can't find one so he escorts us to the exclusive LBP welcome center. There, we wait until there are five parties waiting to check in.

Champagne is handed out and a smartly fitted out representative shows us a package that we will get in our room. A printout of all our amenities and a map of the property will be given to us. Then she proceeds to read each one at a time, and explain each one. 

Really, I just want to go to the room. I can't even get my brain to sort out anything she's saying. Finally, she's done.  Now it's time to go to the room?

No...go into the adjacent lounge, have a cocktail, and someone will be along to escort you to your room shortly.

About ten minutes later, finally, a bell woman shows up with our luggage and takes us up to our room, only she takes us to a lesser wing with sub-par views. 

"This isn't the room we booked."

"It's all we have, we're all booked up."

"It's the nadir of the low season, it doesn't look to be that crowded. Surely, something else is available."

"You can request to be moved back downstairs."

When we get in the room, I tell her to just sit the bags down. I am not going to unpack until we get this straightened out.

Going back downstairs, I log onto the hotel's website while we're waiting to talk to somebody. I put in a request for 4 rooms (the maximum) for tonight to see what would happen. They have plenty of space available.

I bring this up to the rep, she says I'm wrong.  She shifts us to the reservations manager, who also says the same thing. My wife gets a little perturbed and says she feels like we're getting the run around. The manager assures us that she is doing her best to make us happy.

"It sure doesn't feel like it," comes the curt reply from my normally quiet spouse.

"Come back tomorrow morning at 10:30 to 11:00 and we'll see if we can find a better room for you."

Back upstairs, we find that in addition to the view, the shower drain is loose (creating an injury hazard), the shower door won't close (flooding the room when you took a shower), and the balcony door wouldn't lock, In addition, they outfitted the room for two guests instead of three (two towels, two washcloths, etc.).

...

One of the perks is unlimited dining at the themed a la carte restaurants. These are sit down, waiter served dining experiences as opposed to the buffet. You have to adhere to a dress code and many guests consider this a highlight of the trip.

"As a courtesy, we have made reservations for you for each night," we were told at check in.

They did, but not at times that were good for us so we went down at 8:00 the next morning, as instructed, to make changes that would suit us better. 

Those changes were made with no problems, then the woman said "you're the family that wants to be moved, correct?"

We affirmed that we were. "We have a room for you that is much better with the view you're looking for."  

Great! When can we move in?

"Change into your swimwear, bring your luggage down here, enjoy the day at the pool, and come back at 3:00."

Well, wasn't really planning to spend the whole day at the pool but we'll comply and see what happens.

At 3:20, we return. Damp, a bit sunburned, sweaty, and in serious need of a shower.

"The room is not ready yet."

"You said 3:00."

"Please...sit in the lounge, have a drink and we'll be with you shortly."

So three transient-looking people saunter over to the lounge among the newly arrived to wait for the next step. 

At 4:00, I wander back over and stand in front of the rep's desk. After a few minutes of pretending I'm not there, she asks if I'm waiting for her.

"I've been very patiently waiting for our new room all day. I think it's time something happened."

Without another word...not one...she picks up the phone, dials and asks "is 603 ready yet?"

When she hangs up, she says we'll be shown up to our room now.  

Finally, we're taken up to our new room, with a beautiful view of the pool and beach.  We unpack, shower, and get ready for our first dinner at the Italian a la carte restaurant.  It's been a long, trying 36-or-so hours since we left our house and gotten the room we paid for.

Stay tuned to see how the rest of the trip will shape up.

Darryl
Copyright 2014 - All Rights Reserved
Darryl Musick

Photos Copyright 2014 - All Rights Reserved
Letty Musick

The Castaways of Coco Cay - A Private Island Day in the Bahamas

Thankfully, after the hassles and fiascoes of the first day of this trip, we got a good night's sleep. Morning found us still at sea. Soon, an island came into view along our side of the ship. This must be Coco Cay, one of the Bahamas' Berry Islands, Royal Caribbean's private island. We are to spend the day here.

First, we must eat breakfast and the buffet is at the bow of the ship. We're eating there because the dress code is more relaxed. Tim and I are dressed in swim trunks (I want to change his clothes as few times as possible) so we're skipping the main dining room for today and hitting the buffet instead.

The buffet is a zoo, with everybody cutting in line, butting their way in to grab some bacon, being wide to scoop up some scrambled eggs. There's no rhyme or reason to how people should line up or what direction to go in.

I finally grab some food for Tim and I...Letty's on her own for this one.

The announcement comes over the PA that the boats to the island are now in operation and to make our way down to the bottom deck to go to the island.

This is the great unknown for us. Coco Cay is a tender port, meaning that there is no pier for the ship to dock at. Smaller boats...tenders...shuttle passengers back and forth to shore all day long.  Tenders mean that there is no guarantee that wheelchairs will be able to disembark, it's strictly at the crew's discretion.

I had tried to ascertain with Royal Caribbean before we left on if a wheelchair would be able to go on the tender. All I could get was "we can't guarantee it," but browsing through people's reviews and trip reports online before we left suggested that it could be done so this will be a gamble for us.

(NOTE: Royal Caribbean is in the middle of a massive construction project on the island. A new pier has opened for the ships to dock at, making the tender transfer obsolete. There is also now a large water park on the island)

No need to worry, though, there's a ramp to the tender (after going through security to get off the boat) and a flat area up front where wheelchairs are allowed to sit during the short journey. The crew graciously lets me stand there with Tim, although Letty is told she must sit in the seats inside with the rest of the passengers.

A shore excursion specialist is standing next to me for the trip. He tells me he's from Chile and we talk about all the things to see and do there, also telling me what destinations I should see, where to fly to, and more. A font of information for a future trip...I'm putting his suggestions into the memory bank for that distant vacation.

We talk about shore excursions and I tell him that in Nassau, we plan to take the glass bottom boat because that's the only one that was listed as accessible.

"Oh, that excursion's been cancelled to to lack of bookings," he tells me, "but we have one on the island today."

Once on the island, I follow him to the excursion office to sign us up, "be back here at 1:15 this afternoon."

I should also mention that when we left the tender, Tim's power wheelchair was traded for a beach wheelchair with fat tires for the sand. We'll exchange them back when we leave (NOTE: although special needs passengers are advised to get on the island early because beach wheelchairs are first-come, first-served, we noticed that there were a lot of beach wheelchairs, much more than the demand for them).

With that taken care of, the three of us head to the sand where we have an easy time finding some lounge chairs to relax on.

The Bahamas, while usually uttered with the word "Caribbean," are not part of that tropical sea. Rather, it lies just outside of the warm Caribbean east of Florida. This is readily apparent when I go for a swim and there is a definite chill in the water.

It's clear. I can see the coral, some fish swimming around, and not a trace of cloudiness. It's just not warm. I do my best to get used to it but a half hour in that chilly ocean water is really all I need. It actually feels warmer when I get out and back into the air.

I go to get some snacks. I went healthy for Tim and I, mostly because the more 'junk' food stands at the Island buffet were overrun just like the breakfast buffet. The salad and cold cut bars were mostly untouched.

Letty went to get a bucket 'o pina colada from one of the bars. I had a beer and filled up two of our soda glasses. Then is was time to go on our glass bottom boat ride.

Arriving at the counter, we're given the bad news...the weather's not good enough to go out so it's been cancelled.  We've pretty much done all we wanted to do so we trade back for our power chair, go through security, and get back on the tender to the ship.

About halfway back, cool drops of rain fall on Tim and I...exposed on the bow of the tender...while we wait to get back on the ship.

Since Tim won't go in the ocean, I take him up to the pool deck. There are a couple of lifts for handicapped people. He usually floats around in an inner tube we bring along, The ship also has a variety of swim vests, intended for children but some of the larger sizes looked like they'd fit. We ask the lifeguard...who's Russian...what we should do for Tim.  He says to go with our inner tube.

After we get it inflated, the lifeguard along with a pool attendant comes over to operate the lift. We get Tim in the chair and I jump in to get him out and ease him into the inner tube. That's when I found out that the ship's pool is not heated.

Tim is eased down and is also a bit shocked at how cold the water is but he's still game and in he goes.  I figure we'll get used to it...which we do for the most part...and float around for an hour before moving on to something else.

About 20 minutes later, the lifeguard comes back up..."you done with swim?"

"Well, no, I figured we'd stay in for awhile longer to make it worthwhile," I tell him.

"That okay but you know rain coming. Lightning."

"Oh, I understand, let's get out then."

We get out, drops start falling so we move under shelter near the side of the ship. Then, a deluge hits. Lightning, thunder, and buckets of water. We're fine under the roof but many out in the pool and lounge chairs are caught out. I also think of the hundreds of passengers that are still on the island and have to make their way back.

I see that we're next to the Windjammer buffet's side door, which I can get to without getting too wet so I go in to grab some hot dogs, fries, and fruit for Tim and I.  I also take our soda cups to their machines...which are out of everything except Diet Fanta.

That's when I find the only other soda machine onboard is in the middle atrium, on the 6th deck. So, get cups good for unlimited soda on the ship. There are only three machines...two in the buffet and one in the center...for 2,400 passengers.  You can see where the math gets dicey. You can also get soda from the bars and main dining room, but the cups are specifically for the three machines on board. To fill 'at your leisure.'

Well, the food's still good so we relax here until the storm passes then we go to our cabin until dinnertime.

Dinnertime comes and, true to their word, we have a more accessible and appropriately-sized table assigned.  The food is good, the waiter is very good if a bit on the talkative side, and it all goes off without a hitch.

We do a little shopping in the duty-free mall onboard but Letty and Tim aren't onboard on with seeing any of the ship's entertainment that night.

All in all, this was a much better day than the first day. Still a few issues here and there but even Tim said he had fun today. After a couple of cocktails in the quiet mid-ship bar, we call it a night and head back to our cabin to relax until bedtime.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

Casting Off: A Questionable Start to Another Caribbean Adventure

It's about four hours from our hotel in Saint Petersburg to the Port of Miami.

Leaving town, we climb over the impressive Sunshine Skyway Bridge. It's a fairly easy drive, with a couple of sightings of alligators in the freeway median. A stop for gas to fill up our rental before turning it in, and then straight to the port.

We arrive at 11:30am. We also have a reservation at 12:30pm to check in for a three night cruise to the Bahamas on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas.

Dropping Letty and Tim at the curb and assigning our luggage to a porter, I head over to the Hyatt Regency in downtown Miami where I'm supposed to drop off our rental car at the Enterprise counter there.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

Nothing's easy in Miami...once I get off the port bridge into downtown, the traffic is at a standstill and there's construction everywhere. My phone's GPS is lecturing me to go straight but the road is closed with a huge hole in the middle. Horns, like in midtown Manhattan, blare constantly.

I'm turning down a street at random, hoping my GPS will adjust accordingly. I have to look at the map at the next stop.

Finally, I see the hotel ahead but the driveway to the lobby is stuffed with construction vehicles, taxis, and the occasional passenger car. It's a dead stop, I'm not going to get in there. I see a parking structure labeled "Hyatt self parking." I turn in there.

I find a spot, lock the car, and walk over to the hotel. I see the Enterprise counter and walk up with my keys, "I'm dropping off my car."

"Where is it?" the agent asks.

"In the parking structure."

"No, you have to bring it up to the lobby."

I point outside..."look, there is no way I'm going to get a car up there."

"You have to take it there anyway, give the keys to the valet when you get there."

Sheesh...

Hike back to the parking lot, whose main, hotel adjacent exit is closed. I have to exit out via another street, that's one-way...the wrong way, coincidentally...and navigate a jammed up four blocks back to the hotel entrance.

A half hour later, with my phone buzzing because my wife's calling wondering where I disappeared to...I make it back to the hotel driveway. Somehow, I find an opening and jam myself in. Eventually, I see a spot open in front of the door. I pull in and hand my keys to the valet.

"Checking in, sir? he asks.

"No, I'm dropping off my rental for Enterprise," I reply.

"You cannot do that."

I point over to the counter, which is visible from here..."that guy says I can"...and I walk off to the counter.

"Did you drop off the car?" the Enterprise agent asks.

"Yes but the valet says I can't do it."

The agent walks over with me, explains something to the valet, and it's good. I ask if I can get a ride back to the port and the agent, working for a company who's tagline explains how they'll give you a ride, says no.

Finally, I get him to hail me a taxi and a $25 dollar ride later, I'm back at the port. At 1:15pm. Yes, that is 45 minutes later than our appointment and almost two hours after I left Letty and Tim in front of the checkin building. They are still there.

Royal Caribbean would not let them into the air-conditioned building until I got back so they basically had to find a scrap of shade somewhere in the blazingly hot and humid front porch of the building until I got back.

All together again at last, we head in to get scanned and search through security. Upstairs, we get our cabin assignment and room cards...which also act as ID and charge cards on the ship...and a nice gentleman escorts us to the boarding ramp of the ship.

Inside, a narrow passage way is clogged with passengers who are just standing there. A photographer is blocking the way, taking everybody's picture to sell as souvenirs later. We finally get there and my wife is not having a good hair day anymore, is pissed about waiting in the heat, and doesn't like her picture taken in general.

"I'd rather not have a picture, thank you," she tells the photographer.

"You have to have a picture to remember your cruise!"

"No!" she says a little more emphatically.

"Everybody gets one," the photographer says.

"We're not taking any pictures," I tell him.

Finally, they let us by and now we're on our own in the crowded atrium with no idea what to do or where to go, still carrying our smaller bags.

It takes awhile to flag down a crew member who must scuffle off to find an English speaker.

"Where is our cabin?" we ask when they come back.

"Take the elevator down two decks."

The elevator. Where there are about two hundred people waiting on six cabs that can hold maybe ten people.  About ten minutes later, we're finally able to force our way onto one and squeeze in.

We find our cabin easily enough. This is an older ship and the cabin smells a bit musty but we can live with it. It's just large enough and has a roll-in shower in the bathroom, where an airplane style toilet is also located. Our room steward tells us another bed is lowered from the ceiling, like a navy bunk, and the now king sized bed can be split in two for two twin beds.

We go with that option because I'll never get Tim up into that bunk so I'll sleep up there and the other two will have their own twin sized beds.

While we wait for our luggage to be delivered, we're going to go to our lifeboat drill.

Every cabin is given a location of a lifeboat to go to. As we head...up the crowded elevators again..to deck 5 and over to our station, a crew member intercepts us and herds us into a bar midship. This is where the mobility challenged passengers will muster to in a drill and then be helped into lifeboats in an emergency.

Afterward, we make our way up to the upper deck where we have a cocktail as we watch the ship cast off. Soon, we see the last condos on South Beach glide by as we head out to the Atlantic.

It's been a hectic afternoon so far, will it get any better? For now, we'll head back to our cabin to get ready for dinner. We'll let you know how the rest of the day goes in our next post.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

Jungle Fever: Our Tropical Destinations Rated

Over the past few years, we've been focusing on tropical destinations in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and more.  For now, we're turning the chapter on that particular kind of trip but have come to some conclusions as to our favorites among the destinations we experienced.

Here is our list of tropical beach destinations, from our least favorite to the best.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS - Run down, very little wheelchair accessibility, about the only thing we could do is visit the bars. As the late, great Merle Haggard said, "I think I'll just sit here and drink.

JAMAICA - Yes, it's beautiful and has some amazing beaches.  The nightlife is wonderful as can be the food.  Wheelchair access at the hotel was extensive but away from it, hardly existed.

Over a quarter century ago, my wife and I went and had a grand time but that was also before we became so wheelchair aware.  This time, it stood out in relief as we went to attractions that promised to be accessible but were not when we arrived.

Add to this the incredible knot of trying to navigate immigration and customs upon arrival and the hotel not giving us near what we paid for of what was promised turns us off of the Island of Irie.

Twice was nice but a third time is not in the cards for us.

MAUI - On the other hand, I am willing to go to Hawaii again it's just not high on our list right now. Since it's in the U.S., access is good (not great). Scenery is wonderful as are the many beaches.

What keeps it placing higher is the exreme high prices you have to pay for basics when you get there and a 'barely tolerated' attitude towards visitors when you're there.  It's a beautiful place but I can't really call it too friendly.  Several trips have re-inforced that feeling though there are a few friendly faces here and there, enough to make me not strike it off the revisit list completely.

COSTA RICA - I want to like this verdant Central American destination better but something's just keeping it from rating higher. 

It has wonderful access (better that Hawaii in some cases), enough that wheelchair users can actually take part in some of the eco adventures like zip lining and canopy tours.  Public buses and many taxis are also wheelchair friendly and accessible rooms are not hard to find.

On the down side, the beaches on the Pacific side are not at all what you'd expect from a tropical beach paradise...the water's muddy and the sand more like wet dirt. While the vast majority of the people are friendly, helpful, and honest, there's a pretty big slice of people who live to rip you off from car rental counters, zoos, and dishonest tour operators.

The buyer really has to be aware in Costa Rica. 

Would I go back? I wouldn't rule it out but instead of a beach vacation, I'd rather go there for the volcanoes and rain forest experiences.

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO - Ah, Puerto Vallarta! Lovely city, great beaches, miles of jungle, wonderful food, a great variety of nightlife, incredible hotels...what's not to like?

Nothing, actually. It's a perfect destination...if you can walk.  If you're in a wheelchair, obstacles abound.

We came here almost every year when Tim was young and it was not as big a deal to lift him over the obstacles but he's grown bigger and heavier, and I'm older and more decrepit.  It's just not possible anymore.

I hear PV is getting more accessible but from what I can see, it's just not quite where it needs to be to get us to come back, yet.  I would really love to go back.  It is almost perfect, otherwise.

PUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - This one could be technically a tie between the next entry. Wonderful place, extremely friendly people, gorgeous beaches, excellent service, great food, drink, and nightlife. Accessible where it needs to be.

The only downside is that Punta Cana is rather far from any other parts of the Dominican. Would love to be able to visit the historic sites and go to a few baseball games without having to spend hundreds on a taxi to get there.

ST. CROIX, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS - My personal favorite on this list. What's not to like? Friendly people, outstanding accomodations (especially the Buccaneer Hotel), good (but not great) access...it is part of the USA, after all, and the ADA applies...great food and drink, spectacular beaches, and fun, accessible attractions.

While access could be a bit better...we could not find a boat that could accomodate us no matter how much we and the concierge tried and the old Cruzan distillery couldn't be done in a wheelchair...we did find more than at other destinations as far as attractions go.  Cruzan couldn't be done but Captain Morgan allowed full access at their facility. The waterfront in Christiansted...the main town...is fully accessible and even the jungle bar with the beer-drinking pigs had an access ramp.  The accessible room at the Buccaneer was nothing short of fabulous.

There's still a way to go, transit is very spotty and there are very few accessible taxis, but from the incredibly warm people, outstanding service and stunning beauty make this a great destination.

And with that, we close out our latest tropical chapter here at The World on Wheels.  We're going to point our spotlight at other destinations for awhile but I'm sure we'll be back to a couple of spots on this list at least.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Travel Tunes - Week 13

Continuing our theme of Wine and Beer, this week's Travel Tune is one of my favorite Beach Boys tunes...if not my all time favorite.  A tale of a Caribbean cruise gone bad from a night of binging and drinking, it still makes me want to catch the next plane down to Jamaica or Aruba.

The Beach Boys tend to be underrated, a lot of people thinking they're just bubble-gum pop and surf songs.  Under the surface is a musical Van Gogh...Brian Wilson...who has fought a lot of demons, starting with some truly epic confrontations with his dad over the direction of their music.  The entire group had to fight through a lot of obstacles along the way...their dad, Charles Manson hanging around, the death of Dennis Wilson, Brian's mental sickness...that usually don't show up in their music. Though he didn't write this one, I have to think that it was kind of a slap back saying he'd do things his own way.

Sloop John Bis a traditional West Indies folk song about a notorious boat whose crew would make very merry in each port they visited.  Al Jardine brought the song to Brian Wilson's attention, who didn't care for it at first, but after putting in a new arrangement, recorded a classic with Wilson and Mike Love handling the lead vocals on their Pet Soundsalbum.  Catchy tune, great lyrics that are subtly haunting ("I feel so broke up, I want to go home"), and evoking of that Caribbean vibe.  Here's the Beach Boys with their version of Sloop John B
...

-Darryl