We arrived yesterday on the AA flight from Miami arriving at 2:14. We were the last to get on the bus. Last on first off. We were the first in immigration. There was no one in front of us. Luggage took a little time but we were in and out in 30 minutes. Off to enjoy the island.
It looks like the only larger flight that arrived a little earlier was United from Newark at 1:39. We're on the same flight from Miami later in December, but the schedules are changing and arrival will be at 2:28. If everything is running on time, we'll then be right behind JFK at 2:10 and CLT at 2:20.
We booked the same Miami-SXM flight, AA 1136 for Wednesday the 22nd (day before turkey day) for exactly those reasons, mainly getting here ahead of the big crush and all was going perfect until just after boarding was to start. The gate agent announced our plane had a significant issue and wasn't quickly fixable, so they had to find another aircraft. We were like..perfect. This is what we get for booking on the busiest travel day of the year, what are the odds they'll have not only another aircraft, but another with the same layout etc., but less than 2 hours later we were wheels up.
We ended up rolling in on the back side of the mid-afternoon crush, and made up the 4th line at the arrival hall. Basically, depending on plane size, from what I could tell just about the last half of the second bus load winds up out the end of the covered area and thus out in the sun. Lots of sweaty faces. We grabbed extra water in Miami in anticipation of the wait, but we had barely gotten into them when they called us well out of order. We felt badly for the folks that had been there way ahead of us..it had to be exasperating. As many have posted, the baggage hall and single carousel are the bottleneck. Immigration was a breeze, and they actually waived us into the residents line. The bags from the previous flight that hadn't been claimed yet were being stacked against a wall to make room for ours, and I spotted our purple bags coming through the portal as soon as we walked in. So believe me, compared to some of those poor souls we had an easy time of it.
Out the door to a taxi, and then 3 awesome days at the Holland House downtown before moving here to the BSV on Saturday.
On the service charge thing at the Dinghy Beach..been a few times now and no S/C added. That said, just about everywhere else we've been is adding 10-15%..and we've also had a few servers ask for an additional cash tip as "we don't get any of the S/C", and also one who said not even additional tip via card. It's uncomfortable, and the owners should fix whatever is driving this behavior IMHO. I'm not calling out individual restaurants, as it's not my nature to do so. In most cases, I've let the manager know how we feel about it and to let them know many are paying attention, and openly discussing on forums like this one.
Cheers!
"We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came." ~ John F. Kennedy
Based on what I've read so far, it seems like some passengers with carryon luggage are able to get through the line faster. I typically only bring a carryon, but my wife usually checks a bag. We'll be traveling with our 6-year-old, so I'm hoping it might be possible for the two of them to get through the line quickly with my carryon and then pick up our rental car while I continue to wait in the line.
Does this seem like it would work? I just don't want us all to be waiting if it's only a matter of one bag.
No idea Carol! And we were about as far as you can get from the terminal on the tarmac. With the ongoing terminal rebuild conversation going on, another thing that came to mind was the discussion right before Irma about SXM getting a U.S. C&I facility like Aruba has. Headed back home with the flight classified domestic would be a nice advantage, especially for tough or tight connections.
"We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came." ~ John F. Kennedy
That USA C & I addition would have had to be included in the arrivals remod since it does need a decent amount of space like in AUA. It would be a great addition but I have zero optimisim of it ever happenning
We arrived yesterday (28th) on AA flight 2478 from Charlotte and we waited at least 1 1/2 for our luggage. Air France landed before us and they were still waiting for their luggage. You got lucky.
Fair winds and following seas! SSN691-May She Ever Prowl The Seas in Defense of Human Freedom! SSN787-Preserving Peace, Prepared for War
A month ago the arrival was horrible and long but our departure was much better but early in the day. Hopefully it keeps improving for our next trip mid month.
Gee, I'd rather not have them on either end.. But this thing with arrivals I guess is not going to be resolved, even according to the airport, until the 2nd quarter next year. Really?
I feel like we should all not be surprised by that delay Carol. I am 10 days out from dealing with that mess. I've been considering many options not to deal with it including shipping my luggage down.
I don’t think the arrival/departure issues are significant enough to be a deciding factor in visiting the island for most, but it helps to be informed and prepared for a long wait. This includes everything from eating before leaving for SXM to wearing the right clothes for standing outside. It also will impact planning for things like rental car pickup and checking in to accommodations. Considering that, I feel like it’s reasonable for people to ask questions.
I think people are just trying to understand. I know that understanding the process, and knowing what to expect, made it much easier for us. Many people in the line with us didn't have a clue what was going on.
I think it’s important to differentiate between a single line of passengers going through immigration and the holding areas for flights which have arrived.
As multiple flights arrive, the passengers are brought to the arrival area and loaded into holding areas which are in lines . There are four or five of these holding lines which are areas to keep passengers and avoid over crowding in the baggage area.
There is not one single line for all passengers heading to immigration. As each flight has their luggage loaded onto the baggage carousel, the holding area for those passengers is released to the immigration line.
If you only have carry-on luggage, you may ask arrival agents if you may proceed to immigration and therefore bypass the holding areas and quicken your time at the arrival area of the airport.
That is the way I understand it. Hopefully that makes sense.
And Brian Mingo can't be found with a search warrant.
Since he came out and made noise about the opening of the airport in early Nov., which did NOT happen, then the "soft opening" in mid-Nov, which has been a fiasco in many cases, Mr. Brian Mingo seems to have disappeared. Perhaps he could come out and make a public statement, tell people what is going on, updates on the construction and address the FACT that many people are standing in lines for 2-3 hours or more. Afterall, they made some nice videos touting how well this was going to work and, in many cases, is has been a total disaster. After all, he is the top person/CEO at the airport.
You also have at least one airline (Delta) emailing departing passengers with instructions to show up 4 hours early. When they do, there are no agents working at the check-in area until 3 hours prior to departure. Perhaps this could be a little better coordinated with some communication.
And frankly THIS attitude seems to be what is coming from the airport "So much stress about coming and leaving. If it's that bad for you just find another destination. Enough of this."
And frankly THIS attitude seems to be what is coming from the airport "So much stress about coming and leaving. If it's that bad for you just find another destination. Enough of this."
I think people would (possibly) be more understanding and tolerant IF they were given accurate information and not just lip service. In this case, they are basically getting NOTHING except for a couple of facebook posts done by the airport.
You only get once chance to make a first impression and for new travelers to the island, this is not a good impression nor is it for people who have been coming for many years.
Honestly, I don't think that people who have been coming to SXM for a long time will let this (hopefully) temporary situation deter them. It certainly won't deter me, although I am hopeful the situation will be somewhat normal by our next trip. But frankly, if I were a first time visitor coming to SXM at this time, I am not at all sure that I would come back. Consider places like Aruba, that are considered safter than SXM, has USA pre clearance at the airport, cleaner, etc. A lot of the charm of SXM takes a while to really grow on you. For the first time visitor, with this impression, I think I may move on to another destination. And considering the age of many of the folks who currently travel to SXM, that would be a really bad situation for the economy of the island.
Exactly Carol. Especially considering it has been what? 7 years since Irma? I mean, come on! This is ridiculous.
I do wonder how I would feel had we come to SXM now for the first time vs so many years ago. I think I would probably feel about it the way I feel about St Thomas. I just didn't like it there. But, SXM has its charm for me now. I love it there. I love our timeshare room. I love a lot of the people that are there.
I miss Grand Case in its old glory. and dammit, I miss the airport with the sledge hammered hole in the wall where the luggage came through.
It will be basically 7 years post Irma before it is back to what it was, as THEIR estimate is 2nd quarter 2024. And who knows if arrivals will be fixed by then or not?
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