As for the ramp vs steps, it seems to depend on what gate the aircraft is directed to. When we arrived on June 4th via JetBlue we were parked at the gate closest to the beach we disembarked via the ramp. When we departed on June 11th, the aircraft was at the gate furthest from the beach and we had to gain acces vis steps. It appears that the airport only has a ramp for that specific gate and it depends on what gate the aircraft is assigned.