TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report Arrival on Saturday

We flew Jet Blue out of Boston at 10 AM.
On entering the plane, I told the flight attendant that I would give the pilot $100 if he got us in before KLM (due to arrive 35 minutes before us). She told me "Well, we ARE in a hurry so you might just make that"
They announced on take off that the flight was expected to be 3 hours 39 minutes which is the fastest we have ever made it.
The flight was great.
We arrived in SXM and beat KLM!!! I think KLM must have been delayed.
And no, the pilot did not ask for his $100 though I would have gladly given it to him!

We deplaned via ramp to the tarmac way far away from the airport. There was no bus waiting for us and most of the passengers were off the plane before one arrived.
I had requested wheelchair service since I had heard here that there would be much standing around. We waited probably 15 minutes before the first bus arrived.

We got onto the bus and arrived into the temporary arrival building. I am so grateful for this site because had I not know about the lines, I would have been standing and standing and standing. Something my back just cannot do.
The lines to get into the arrival facility were LONG. I mean LONG. We had arrived after four other large flights including American, United, Spiirit and one other. With wheelchair service, luckily, there is a separate line to go though immigration.
We got quickly through immigration and then onto baggage. Our wait for baggage was not terribly long (although again, I was grateful for the wheel chair). Maybe 45 minutes.
A porter was there to help us since Michael couldn't handle all the bags.
Out the door we went. Both the porter and wheelchair guy helped us til we found Lesley and Shirley from Kenny's car rental. The porter loaded our bags into the car.
And we were off!
A big thanks to this board for letting us know about the delays getting out of the airport. I think I would have been in a LOT of pain had I not opted to use wheelchair.
I will say that one of my fellow wheelchair assist people was a first timer to the island. She couldn't believe the lines to get into the arrival facility.

Once out of the airport, off we went to see Sylvain at Select Wine Cellar. I had contacted him on Friday to ask how late he was open since i was expecting to be even longer in the airport.
He said he didn't want to see us without wine for the weekend and he would try to wait for us. Thankfully it was only 4:30!
So, we had a glass or two of wine with him, chose our wines and off to Divi we went.

Sometimes arriving later on a Saturday can be problematic at Divi. But this time, the line was only one person long to check in.
We were greeted with great smiles from Sandra and a hug. Check in was a breeze.
Then we had to get our parking pass and welcome package from the concierge.

I was truly pissed off with this. First, the woman would not let me get the "welcome package" until both Michael and I were there. After flying all day, dealing with the airport and being tired, we wanted to split up, get everything taken care of and get back to our room. She said, "No, everyone has to be here for me to give you this." She then called her manager over when Michael joined me,
We told him we had been coming for 20 years. He proceeded with telling us stuff like the manager's party. I got a little upset with him. I said "We know all this. We've been coming for 20 years"
This "welcome package" is just a way for us to get signed up for an "Owner's update" which is nothing of the kind. It is just a way to sell more timeshare. There is NO Update. He actually got a little huffy with me. I'm sorry. Don't be pestering people for stuff like this after flying all day, dealing with the airport etc. Let me get some downtime. I can tell you that I will be sharing my concerns with the manager at the manager's party!

Once we arrived to our room, we found it well stocked by Jeannie of Shop and Drop. What a great service this is. Food and water were waiting for us. We unpacked and we could finally relax.

Sadly I am up entirely too early this morning. But I am so happy to be here.

Glad you made it mostly trouble tree. Enjoy your time and say hi to Gizmo for me. The “owners update” nonsense has to stop. They must think we’re idiots to push this message year after year. And the worst part is if you cave to the pressure or decide an hour is worth the $100 food and beverage credit, when you go to the sales center with no intention in purchasing then they get huffy too. It’s amazing how disconnected the two sides seem to be. I know Anne-Marie has received complaints before, but I think she is relatively powerless because timeshare sales isn’t part of the hotel operations.

Also I’m surprised to hear that Jeanie had your room stocked before arrival. Last time we used her service at Divi they made her wait until after we were checked in to stock the room. Has that policy changed?

Thanks for the update. How long would you estimate that it took just to get through immigration? If someone werre traveling with just carry-on, would that make a big diffefence in the arrival process? I'm arriving next month and hoping (againsgt hope - lol) that things may have smoothed out by then.

eightzerobits,--for the last few years(2 or 3), they have allowed Jeanie in! It's such a great service! And yes, to the owner's update BS. You know, if they actually gave an update it would be one thing. But there is no update!

timnboston, I don't know the answer to your question. If you are traveling with just a carryon AND they figure out how to weed out those with just the carryon to get through immigration, you might have a chance to get through faster.
I will say that there was a baggage cart at our plane before I got into the arrival hall. And the lines outside were LOOONNNNNGG. So, I have no idea how they are managing anything.

If you have just a carryon and let one of the agents handling the lines know that, you can go on into immigration ahead of your flight. The bottleneck is baggage.

Welcome and do enjoy your vacation.

Sounds like it was really a good thing you got the wheelchair service. i remember one time in Miami, returning home from SXM, I basically almost collapsed in line, waiting for immigration. One of the workers saw my distress and pulled me out of line and since then, wheelchair for me.

That doesn't make sense, that they got you off the plane, only to stand on the tarmac, waiting for a bus. It would be interesting to hear how long it took people without wheelchair service, to get out of the airport. At least that part is over and you can enjoy! (Except for the timeshare BS, but that seems like self-inflicted to me.. Ducking..... )

The timeshare BS is ALSO over. I just don't do it. I'll tell Anne Marie that I was not happy to be accosted by them. But that is it.
Honestly, we love our room. It couldn't be more perfect. So, we will deal with it

OK, I don't understand the whole t/s thing to begin with. Regardless, hope the rest of your trip is good.

We would NEVER go to a one on one "update" regardless of the welcome package. We check in (at SBR) and walk right by the person at the desk. I love my two weeks in our 5th floor upper B buliding that we inherited. The view can't be beat and we see the same group of friends every year.

I usually stop by to get our welcome package at Flamingo only to see if there are any discount coupons. When they mention the "update" I let them know I probably know more than they do about what's happening there. They still try to get me to do it but I usually wait till it's a 250 prepaid card and then sign up when I know weather is going to be iffy. When I arrive they recognize me from the past and just give me the 250 and I'm on my way. This last time I signed up for a Sunday knowing that the sales personnel don't work on Sundays. I walked into the room, they asked if I would reschedule, told them NO and I was on my way after 5 min with my 250. That's the way I do it. If I want answers about the resort I make an appt to talk to the GM directly.

Disappointing to hear that the nonsense about the Owner's Update is still going on. We are not going to waste our time doing that and never agree to it. After going to the island for 25 years I figure there’s nothing in the welcome packet I really need. After some firm “not interested” they do give us the parking pass.

I love that we don't deal with any of this BS at La Vista, and never have. Still amazed at how lucky we got.

Yes. It's a well run resort. Only thing lacking is a swim beach but plenty to choose from on island.

When I was physically able I enjoyed sitting in the tide pools. It was like a salt water Jacuzzi.