Day 1 arrival

I wasn’t prepared for the [censored] show that the arrivals would be despite the posts here.

Flew Delta for the first time in 30 years in one of the oldest 757’s I’ve been on in a long time. 28 years old, and the IFE showed its age. Look e like my game boy from the 90s

Fresh snow in New York delayed us so instead of a four hour ride it was five hours. Arrived in Saint Martin assuming we missed the rush-hour since we landed at 525. Boy was I wrong. We were corralled into these long, arcing queues and stood outside under canopy cover for about 59?minutes before finally going through immigration.

Leslie found us and we’re off! We had our celebratory first cocktail at the Driftwood, and then this really good mushroom chicken at Three Amigos that I’ve had for the second year in a row.

Just took a walk over to Sunset and the Morgan this morning and oh Paris is closed. Off to the French side!

Well, at least you arrived, and allegedly, departure is better than arrival! Enjoy!

Welcome back once again Captain and do enjoy your vacation.

Oh, Paris closed? Is that a permanent closure or just not open when you were there? Things just don’t seem to last there for too long, or so it seems to me.

If Oh Paris closed that's not a bad thing. It was expensive and terrible. Maybe another better bakery will open there and we in the area of BSV can have croissants for breakfast.

RonDon--I was never there at Oh Paris. I send Eric to Le Suciere from BSV.

The airport is a joke and the CEO should have been shown the door a few years ago.

I don't think any 757 is newer than 20 years.

Well J.D , if the Airport is a joke for you then stop visiting our Island .

Wow. That's harsh.😳

That is not very friendly! Not at all!

Hey Mr. Bruce, J.D. as well as all others, including yourself, are entitled to their opinions. You might not like his, or others, opinions but try to be respectful. The last thing a businessman needs is to get a reputation for being nasty.

Must not be a client. 😆

I kind of agree with Mr. Bruce on this one. We all know arrivals are kind of a pain right now. No need to keep harping on it.

Well, just like Mr Bruce and J.D., you also are entitled to an opinion. You shouldn't be attacked for expressing an opinion, no matter what someone else thinks of that opinion. That was my point.

Thank you .

Motown Tim, I disagree. Yes, lots of us know what a mess airport arrivals are. But there is a need to keep harping on it. There are plenty of first timers who come to this forum for information. If the airport arrival situation is not current, then new comers to this forum may not know.
Better to be aware of the issue and be informed than to arrive and not have any clue.
Also, frankly, it is better that new comers to the island know that the s&*tshow that the airport is right now is not the way it will always be.

Lesley, I'm sorry that you take it personally when people comment on the airport. But it IS the first impression some people get of the island.

Thanks for your constructive response Icote and that's how it should be and not belittling our Island . And what we I have been doing is telling our customers about the situation hence to try and only come with carry on and not check in luggage , which works big time because of their only being one belt. Just yesterday our good client from Toronto that usually comes for three weeks and usually travel which check in luggage did the opposite only carry on which helped big time because of Airfrance and KLM being there the same time. Finished at 5.00pm and on Saturday at 7.30pm tells the difference .

Sorry, the resolution is NOT!! for people to do only carry on. The resolution is to fix the d*mn problem.

lcote--Exactly. The very first line of the original post in this thread--"I wasn’t prepared for the [censored] show that the arrivals would be despite the posts here."

I agree with Carol. Those of us who come for multiple weeks would have a tough time doing carryon only.
It was a bit short sighted for the people in charge of the airport to move to the new arrival hall during high season.....and to build one so small?
I don't understand that.

The current arrival hall is temporary and the renewed renovated one should be ready before this year end.

Lesley--The current timeline from the airport says 2nd quarter 2024. Do you know something we don't know? Although of course I don't think they have met any of their timelines yet. Going on 7 years post Irma. Unacceptable.

So maybe I missed this. With only a carry on can you get into a different immigration line? Or do you need to wait in the narrow lines with everyone else? I see that people say you don't but looks like little room to move past people.

Carol , I know that the work at the Airport was put back because of the late money approval which is a fact and its our Island and we are doing our best to complete everything before this year end period , hence screaming and rattling about people will not make a difference .

Tom, if you let the people managing the lines know that you have only carryon, they will let you go through immigration before those who have checked bags. Immigration isn't the holdup; baggage claim is.

Thanks . Plus seniors if you use the wheel chair you are out one two three and some of our long time customers use VIP service for a fee and are lead directly from the plane right through . No hassle.

As I recall wheelchair passengers are first on and last off the plane. Not sure after that as far as immigration and baggage.

Probarly depending where they are seated on the plane .

Thank you Gakaye, we are just 10 days out. Staying our longest visit yet of 10 days. I feel like I am counting the seconds at this point.

Lesley--Again, do you know something we don't know?? The airport has said numerous times that the arrival hall was going to be completed by end of quarter two. And I for one will continue to complain about it until it is finished. It has taken way too long, and the excuses are just that--excuses.

SXMScuba, I used a wheelchair for the first time in December. First on, last off is probably true if you can't get off the plane on your own. I can walk for the most part but standing for more than 20 or so minutes, my back gets very very painful.

We flew Jet Blue Mint and we were among the first off the plane. We had to wait for the bus to get to our plane. But once the bus was there, they loaded us promptly on the bus. And when getting off the bus, they forced people to make way for the wheelchair people.

I'm curious about this VIP service. VERY curious. How do I find out more about it?

PS: Are you Peter ?

Long stay--carry-on and laundry service. Maybe go naked.

There's a regular that we see at Flamingo that wears the same shirt and pants every day for three weeks straight. Must be a carry on passenger. He's acquired the nickname 'stinky' year after year. You can smell him before you see him. Don't be that guy.😉

So wow, I didn’t expect so many replies. In my experience on Saturday afternoon, even though I told them I have no checked luggage, I still had to wait in line. Your mileage WILL vary.

All that said, our friends arrived on Sunday afternoon, and I warned them what to expect. They had a completely completely normal and fast experience. Their plane landed at 2:30 and they were in the Sonesta by 3!

What a difference 24 hours made!

And as a business owner, I stand behind Leslie! Sometimes you just need to talk real and not play to the crowd!!!

Thanks Captain and Forty years and over living and working on St.Maarten from Mullet Bay Resort Holiday Car Rental and then unto Kenny's Car Rental named after our Daughter , Kenya Ashira Bruce , , Kenya from Mom ( Gladys Knight Daughter that visited where my Wife worked at Point Piroutte ) and Ashira , Hebrew ,means rich while in Puerto Rico for our Honeymoon from me . Blessings.

Lesley, nice to find out how your business got it's name and the history of your start. See you in a week! We will have bags so pray things go smoothly. We have learned in our 30 times coming St. Martin to go with the flow.

"We have learned in our 30 times coming St. Martin to go with the flow"
Good attitude. 👍👌

We arrived February 14, Jet Blue from JFK, had wheelchair service no problem at the airport, got luggage in record time, no complaints at all.

The same person, Brian Mingo, has been in charge all along and the same delays and excuses continue. But he is a local and therefore can do no wrong in the eyes of some and is exempt from any negative comments or criticism. Telling anybody to only do carry-on is NOT the answer.

Thanks and looking forward to seeing you Folks.
Just look for sign after exiting the arrival Hall.

"Telling anybody to only do carry-on is NOT the answer."
True that.

Wow, captain, that picture is brutal!!