TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin We're home!

No real problems coming home yesterday--unless you count the god-awful 8 AM AA flight from SXM! Getting up at 5 AM on vacation isn't my idea of fun, but it was all that was available on frequent flyer tickets.

We flew SXM to Miami and Miami to Tampa. All flights were on time. We had 2 1/2 hours in Miami, which was a good thing, because immigration in Miami was a disaster. We landed in Miami at 11:00 AM on a Monday and the lines for the immigration computers were HUGE, and then the line after that to see the agent was longer. They didn't have enough agents working the counters. In fact the line for people with the "x" on their form was shorter. Some people in back of us were with some other people who got the "x" and they got through the line at least 10 minutes faster. After that, the luggage was already there by the time we got there and there was no delay there. We got TSA pre-check, so the line to go through security was very quick--although the regular security line was pretty short also. In all, although we didn't run, as we had no reason to, we did not stop even to go to the restroom, and it was 1 hour and 20 minutes from when the plane landed until we were at our next gate. If a person had a 1 hour and 30 minute connection, they would have missed it, as they close the doors 10 minutes before. As I said, we were not running, but we would have never made a 1.5 hour connection.

If a person had Global Entry, it probably would have been maybe 10 minutes from getting off the plane, with no checked bags. With GE, I'm sure people had to wait for their bags though..

Glad you made it home in good order Carol. We will be returning through Miami on our next trip to SXM since it was the only affordable option. Not looking forward to that part since we've experienced that nightmare before when returning from a trip. We have 2:08 in Miami to make the connection, we'll see.....

We've had some bad connections through there before, including like the 2 hour line to get out of baggage claim. Fortunately they don't do that any more, you just answer the questions on the computer and you don't have to stand in line to give the guy that slip of paper. I don't know if yesterday was a blip as far as the line for immigration or not. We don't fly out of the country often enough to justify global entry, I didn't think, but perhaps I will re-think it..

Carol,

It was just that same kind of a scenario that caused us to finally get our GE.

JFK is anybody's guess as to clearance time but the time we waited forever, like an hour and a half or more after one of our entry slips got the big X on it, this was enough to convince us that even if we only traveled once or twice a year, it was still worth the time and effort to get GE, and so far, though we've only used it twice, no regrets. My fear - I suspect as more and more people get their GE those lines will get to be almost as bad though I hope not.

And if they could only do something to speed up the baggage arrival at JFK, or if I could figure out how to pack for 2-3 weeks in a carry-on bag........but I don't think either of those possibilities will ever become a reality..... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Speaking of baggage arrival, it took us 45 minutes to get our bags, upon arrival in Tampa. I thought that was too long.

Yeah, I take so much liquid stuff, not sure how we could ever do carry on bags again. Back when we did carry on only, that was pre 9-11 security..

Glad you are back safely after what sounds like a great trip.

It was absolutely one of the best trips ever! Have some more pictures to post, at some point.

Thank goodness for more pictures! When I saw "We're home" I thought oh no that's it then. Love your posts!
Thanks for taking the time!

I have a ton that we haven't posted, just a matter of when I get around to getting them posted.

We had that same 8:00 flight to MIA when we left on a Friday this last trip. 3 other international flights landed besides us and immigration was a zoo. With GE we just walked up to a Kiosk and zip we were done. Regular Kiosks had mass back ups. 5 people ahead of us in the GE line and off to baggage. No body in the PRE line to speak of and at our next gate way before needed. GE is well worth it even if you only have to use it once a year.

OK, our trip back through Miami may well not have been a glitch then, so people on that 8 AM AA flight be warned, if you don't have Global Entry! I would allow at the least 2 hours if you have a connection, if you check bags. Although truthfully for us, since immigration took so long, the checked bags didn't add much extra time at all.

I can see why they offer that flight, especially for people who have to connect to the west coast, but I hated that time. If we had not had to connect on to Tampa, and just driven home from Miami, it would have been OK, I guess. We would have been home by around 4. We did get home at 6 PM, which is way earlier than we normally get home, when we take the afternoon flight.

Just called BWI customs. It's currently taking 3 months to get GE. Maybe for next years trip...

You might just want to start the process now as the process time they quoted you might be shorter than they said. Sometimes the available interview openings open up sooner than people originally selected and you can move in to those.

Not sure how many international flights arrived about the same time we did. But people everywhere. When we got to baggage claim of the 8or 9 baggage carousels 5 were in use with luggage coming out. So don't know if there was another plane or so behind us.

Glad there weren't many bumps on the return. Welcome home.

Thanks. I think you REALLY will enjoy the a/c in the living room this fall!!

I agree with Scubaman....

We did ours downtown (DC) and it was so quick! I wouldn't mess with BWI.

A/C in the living room???

Really?

We were in unit 5 this time. Ours did not. Maybe, next year, A/C for us. I guess rank has it's privileges.

Personally, what I really want is a memory foam pillow top on the mattress and a better pillow. Oh, and more reliable Wifi. It was very erratic this year.

When were you in #5?? Read your other post, did you just leave BSV yesterday?

I THINK that all of the units are done except one or two units. I posted some pictures of the reno earlier. Number 10 for sure is NOT done, because they had not started on it as of Monday this week. They do hope to have all units done by this fall, but they are pretty full this summer. We were in #9 and there were folks in #10 who left Monday of this week and I know their unit was not done. They were working on #12 when we were there, and I think that it is now done. Marvlyn said when we arrived that there were only two or three units that weren't done.

I actually think the mattress is quite comfortable. As far as pillows, I grab the pillows from the other bedroom and use those also. As for the wifi, it was ROCK solid when we were there. I don't know how much the wifi varies from unit to unit, but we have generally had excellent wifi. Our favorite unit is 14, because it is right by the pool, and the wifi has always been decent there. Truthfully, #9 is really a good choice since the reno though, as the floor between the former atrium and the rest of the unit is totally flat, no step down at all. Although we haven't stayed in all the units, the ones we have stayed in before, I think all had a step down from the living room into the atrium.

I agree the WIFI in unit #5 is not the best. We had that unit in the past and always had problems with the WIFI. They could not figure out why the reception was so poor in that unit. Marvlyn even suggested we come down to the office to use the WIFI but that was never really convenient. I think #4 previously had WIFI problems too.

We would have to go 7 hours away to interview for Global Entry. Not worth it for once a year flight. We also cannot control when the interview would be either.

Carol,
We came over from GCBC on Thursday. Had to make a stop in Phillipsburg to re-seize a ring. Dropped our bags, gooped up and were on the beach at Cupecoy by 1:30pm.
Up early Friday to catch Sugar Rush van outside the gate at 7:45am and back at BSV around 5:30pm.
Saturday we went over to El Zafiro for breakfast then over to Baie Rouge for the day.
Sunday was Cupecoy and Monday was Friars and Happy Bay.

I kept an eye out for you but we were gone all the time. I did see Eric setting up your breakfast outside one morning, but I did not want to intrude.

We flew out a few hours after you.

Oh, too bad you didn't stop in, as if we're out on the porch, it's no problem. That was a short stay for you at Beachside though. Hope your trip was wonderful!