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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: candj]
#58272
06/15/2015 08:22 AM
06/15/2015 08:22 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Posts: 82,900
Central Florida!
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I hope that means there are more places to eat now. I actually don't really care about shopping at the airport. I do care about getting something decent to eat before I get on the plane.
Carol Hill
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: RoryS]
#58276
06/15/2015 02:47 PM
06/15/2015 02:47 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 882 Arizona
marybeth
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Traveler
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Posts: 882
Arizona
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I agree with you- the A&B gates are ghastly. Hot, not enough seating, poor PA system, no bathrooms. And when your husband is in a wheelchair that's a problem. And there are a ton of flights that park on the tarmac & use those gates so it's not just every once in a while.
MB
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: marybeth]
#58277
06/15/2015 02:59 PM
06/15/2015 02:59 PM
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 234 TOTOWA NJ
lina
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 234
TOTOWA NJ
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when we left yesterday it was all done...really nice..but only about 4 or 5 places to eat.
lina and piggy
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: RoryS]
#58287
06/16/2015 06:05 PM
06/16/2015 06:05 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 882 Arizona
marybeth
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Traveler
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Posts: 882
Arizona
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We were luckier than you - Don needs a wheelchair in an airport so our bus was just 1st class & the pre-board passengers. No crazy driver but our plane was way off the terminal - & Don still had to walk up the stairs. The gate area was a total zoo - 2 planes loading at once, people standing around the gate, hotter than hades. I had to nip a few ankles to get Don to the door. Don't know how many more times I can leave out of the downstairs gates without feeling like a second class citizen. Not much different from the old airport and we leave on a weekday!
MB
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: Modi]
#58288
06/17/2015 07:18 AM
06/17/2015 07:18 AM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 880 Boston, MA
marge
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Posts: 880
Boston, MA
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Whoa!! The airport is more"opulent" than what was there before, but..."(now more a silvery mall) amidst the miles of the poverty and decay surrounding it " ????? I'm not sure the people in Beacon Hill or Simpson Bay would agree.
marge
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: marge]
#58289
06/17/2015 07:39 AM
06/17/2015 07:39 AM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,649 Brookfield, CT.
pat
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Thank you, Marge. I read the same passage and had similar thoughts about it but I do agree with another poster, there's way too munch emphasis on looking good and still not enough on both arriving and departing passengers needs as the previous poster cited.
If you talk to some of the check-in people there's not enough room for luggage once checked and pre-loading and for sure, that lower level gate area is a disaster when there's more than one plane there - it's hot, has very poor acoustics, inadequate seating and no organization at all in the actual gate/boarding areas, and that's just for starters off the top of my head. I'm sure up I could think of more if I put my mind to it... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: pat]
#58290
06/17/2015 07:25 PM
06/17/2015 07:25 PM
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 978 Middletown DE, North of SXM
mscottc
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 978
Middletown DE, North of SXM
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pat said: Thank you, Marge. I read the same passage and had similar thoughts about it but I do agree with another poster, there's way too munch emphasis on looking good and still not enough on both arriving and departing passengers needs as the previous poster cited.
If you talk to some of the check-in people there's not enough room for luggage once checked and pre-loading and for sure, that lower level gate area is a disaster when there's more than one plane there - it's hot, has very poor acoustics, inadequate seating and no organization at all in the actual gate/boarding areas, and that's just for starters off the top of my head. I'm sure up I could think of more if I put my mind to it... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> Agreed... the lower departure area is a total wreck.
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: mscottc]
#58295
06/24/2015 02:40 AM
06/24/2015 02:40 AM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,022 Westchester /NYC
Colour1
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Traveler
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,022
Westchester /NYC
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Scott, You know me and Fabila, we're not cheap people!! I will starve first before I spend $40.00 on a hamburger!!!! This is not "Morton's" this is the airport!!! What? one last deposit before going home???LOL!!!! I'd rather give it Bruno first at Dreams for a lunch and go!! Loved your post, but that my good friend got to go!!!
Sand Gravity, got to love it!
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: candj]
#58297
06/24/2015 10:36 AM
06/24/2015 10:36 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Posts: 82,900
Central Florida!
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Well, we went through there yesterday. Had brought a sandwich with us for lunch. There are only about 5 places to eat, as someone else said. One place had some cold sandwiches and salads and wine and beer. There is the burger place, Domino's and a caribbean type place, as well as Bacchus, which had some nice looking sandwiches, which were $12. We bought a 375 ml bottle of chilled wine there for $12. Not a bad deal, considering the other place that we looked at wine, it was $7.50 for a small (plastic) glass of wine. And there is only ONE full service bar, which was absolutely JAMMED. The high end stores were pretty, but EMPTY. Oh, and another totally annoying thing--there are NO water fountains anywhere inside security. I know there USED to be a water fountain for sure by the bathroom which is closest to the smoking lounge. So, in their 'renovations', they took OUT the water fountains. Nice..
Carol Hill
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: crsxm]
#58300
06/26/2015 08:08 AM
06/26/2015 08:08 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900
Central Florida!
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Yes, it's still there. We were going to use it this time, but by the time we got upstairs, decided it wasn't worth the money to do. As far as I know, WINE is still included free, which was part of the reason why we were going to go there. Is wine no longer included? They also have a couple of computers and internet, free.
Carol Hill
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: Terrance]
#58301
06/26/2015 08:10 AM
06/26/2015 08:10 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900
Central Florida!
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Yes, people want to eat and drink, not shop, so of course the VERY FEW places there are to eat and drink are busy. They need more places to eat.
Carol Hill
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: BeachKitten]
#58303
06/26/2015 08:52 AM
06/26/2015 08:52 AM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,649 Brookfield, CT.
pat
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Posts: 14,649
Brookfield, CT.
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No shower or dressing room facilities. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: pat]
#58304
06/26/2015 09:15 AM
06/26/2015 09:15 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900
Central Florida!
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We used the executive lounge at Montego Bay Jamaica the last time we were there, and they had shower facilities. We didn't use them, but I can definitely see where that would be very nice to have! The lounge there cost quite a bit more than Souliga, but they had quite a bit more services also. Having a spa place, where one can get a shower and maybe even a quick massage, now THAT would be a great thing to have at the departure lounge, instead of all that shopping, which hardly anyone one uses, other than a quick souvenier or some liquor..
Carol Hill
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: Walt]
#58306
06/26/2015 11:26 PM
06/26/2015 11:26 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,613 originally Long Island, NY/now...
irish1223
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Posts: 1,613
originally Long Island, NY/now...
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Walt said: We left May 31st, the departure level looks like one big duty free shop. We thought the same thing when we departed the island on June 20. Too many fancy jewelry and liquor stores and not enough seating for those wanting to eat (or wait). No one was shopping in them either. The downstairs 'B' gate is disastrous -- we felt like cattle with everyone jammed up against the doors waiting to load onto buses to go to the planes. IMHO, money could have been better spent improving the logistics of the airport rather than what they did.
Robin & Ed
One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. - Henry Miller
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: irish1223]
#58307
06/27/2015 08:49 AM
06/27/2015 08:49 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900
Central Florida!
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irish1223 said: IMHO, money could have been better spent improving the logistics of the airport rather than what they did. Agree 1000%.
Carol Hill
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#58308
06/27/2015 08:53 AM
06/27/2015 08:53 AM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 13,432 Peaceful Eastern North Carolin...
GaKaye
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Posts: 13,432
Peaceful Eastern North Carolin...
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Carol_Hill said:irish1223 said: IMHO, money could have been better spent improving the logistics of the airport rather than what they did. Agree 1000%. I agree as well. However, that wouldn't have brought in any additional income, as the rents from the retailers do....
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: GaKaye]
#58309
06/27/2015 09:04 AM
06/27/2015 09:04 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,900
Central Florida!
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No, not really, when no one is SHOPPING in them. They need more places to eat. They need more than ONE full service bar. Those places would make money. But allegedly, part of the renovation, I thought was to increase the enjoyment of the people using the airport, which this did not. And perhaps making money is the reason why they took OUT the water fountains that were there. If so, shame on them.
Carol Hill
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Re: Princess Juliana International Airport renovations
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#58310
06/27/2015 09:48 AM
06/27/2015 09:48 AM
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 334 Pittsburgh, PA
jerber160
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 334
Pittsburgh, PA
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Carol_Hill said: We used the executive lounge at Montego Bay Jamaica the last time we were there, and they had shower facilities. We didn't use them, but I can definitely see where that would be very nice to have! The lounge there cost quite a bit more than Souliga, but they had quite a bit more services also. Having a spa place, where one can get a shower and maybe even a quick massage, now THAT would be a great thing to have at the departure lounge, instead of all that shopping, which hardly anyone one uses, other than a quick souvenier or some liquor.. I always have to fight the urge to impulse-buy stuff at the airport. I was so close last year, but the bottle of liquor I picked up was a little sticky and I came to my senses. AND I'll say it again... I used to LOVE the PJAcafe. one last dose of conch before leaving the island in such a great place was impossible to beat.
Last edited by jerber160; 06/27/2015 09:55 AM.
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