When we finally arrived in NY, our limo driver was still waiting for us. We used a different service than we have used in the past and were very happy with them. We cannot put a link here, because American Airport & Limo Service does not have a website. Superclubs heavily advertises their no hurricane guarantee. Or as their website says, "should a hurricane happen to strike the resort, guests at the resort will receive a reimbursement for the total value of disrupted nights. In addition, a voucher for a future stay will be issued for the same number of disrupted nights". When we checked out the next day, they would not acknowledge the first part of this guarantee. They produced a few local documents that only mention the voucher and put very heavy restrictions on their use. And they were not even able (willing?) to produce a voucher, because they didn't know we were leaving early. So they knew we were leaving, because we were on the transportation list, but they didn't know we were leaving when it came to having a voucher ready for us. Our travel agent contacted the resort after our return and their initial response was that since the resort did not get hit and since it was fully capable of taking care of the guests, the guarantee did not apply. The fact that the airport was closed and the road under water so that nobody would have been able to leave on his scheduled departure date, does not count for anything. Those people would have been able to extend their stay (supposedly at no charge). That is of course little consolidation for people that have to go back to work or, like us, have baby-sitters waiting for them to come back. After further contact by our travel agent, they finally reimbursed us for the last day in cash. Once we were home I contacted Air Jamaica about a partial refund for the missed First Class upgrade, but they never even acknowledged my letter. The Credit card Company looked at this and immediately credited the value of the upgrade back to us. Conclusions from this trip are that we will never fly Air Jamaica again. We will definitely again use 'our' new limo service, and we are also very happy with our travel agent. However, while we really like Grand Lido Bravo, we will bring our own spice cabinet if we ever go back. . . |
The only reason we did not get stuck in Jamaica, was that we left a day early. Once it became obvious that we would not be able to leave on Saturday (and probably not even on Sunday), we tried to get our return flight changed. The resort was no help and told us to call the airline. Isn't it great to stay at a resort where they promise to do anything for you? Called Air Jamaica at 5:45PM on Thursday and was not able to get anybody on the phone. Strike 3 for Air Jamaica. Called our tour operator (Air Jamaica Vacations) on the 24 hour service number. Got an answering machine. Left a message that was never returned. Finally called our travel agent in the US (David Parker of All The Way Travel). He had our return flight changed in less than 30 minutes. We informed the front desk that we would be leaving a day early because of the hurricane. They put us on the list for transportation to the airport. What can we say about the return trip? First we almost didn't make it to the airport in time, because of road construction. Nobody at the resort had figured out that if there are long delays, people should leave earlier. But we made it, thanks to the driving skills of our Jamaican driver (he drove passed the traffic jam with his blinkers on and honking his horn) and because our flight was delayed by hours again. And just like our flight from NY to Jamaica, the delays were announced in small increments even though there was not even a plane at the terminal for the first 2 1/2 hours. Nobody would accuse Air Jamaica from being overly organized. More than 2 hours after our original departure time, they were still checking people's paperwork. And pretending that we would be leaving any moment now. At least the plane we had was a nice one. Because all planes had to leave Jamaica before the hurricane and because there were more people trying to leave early, they were using a bigger plane that normally flies to London. So we sat in real comfort this time. |
Stephanie and Diederik made a trip to Jamaica in July 2005 without the kids. The trip turned into some unexpected situations. This is how you make a hurricane sandwich: Use the following ingredients A class 3 hurricane Dennis A class 4 hurricane Emily Air Jamaica North American Airlines Grand Lido Braco Many Jamaican flavors, especially the 'no problem man' attitude Do not add organizational skills Our trip was scheduled to start on Saturday July 9. We almost did not get there because on Thursday hurricane Dennis passed within 50 miles east of Jamaica. He did not do significant damage, but it completely messed up air travel. The Montego Bay airport was closed on Thursday and Friday. Thus the incoming flight from Friday evening never arrived. Air Jamaica did not have their own plane on Saturday morning so they rented one from North American Airlines. This plane did not have first class, so they hung some signs Business Class on the front rows in coach. As you can see on the picture Stephanie barely fitted in it. Also note the beautiful china for her coffee. Because there was no first class on the plane, Air Jamaica offered us a highly restricted voucher covering a fraction of the difference between first class and economy. They looked surprised when we did not consider that an acceptable solution. First strike against Air Jamaica. Although the plane was parked at the gate more than 2 hours before departure, we left 2 hours late because they had a problem getting the food on the plane. The same food that was prepared to go on our originally scheduled aircraft. But eventually they did get it loaded. Most of the beverages never made it on the plane. Of course, while we were waiting to leave, we had no idea what was going on. We cannot remember how many times we were told "5 more minutes". Second strike against Air Jamaica. As mentioned before, these 5 minute increments added up to 2 hours. Now if this was some rinky-dink airline, we would not have expected more, but Air Jamaica claims to be the best airline of the Caribbean. Once we arrived in Jamaica, things went pretty much as you can expect. Since we came in on the first day that the airport was open after Dennis passed, there were very many people in the terminal trying to get home. The line for immigration was about 40 minutes long. Based on what we have read in other trip reports, that is not bad at all. From there Superclubs got us set up with transportation to our resort. They do not have their own busses, but rent small vans as needed, and load them up. About halve way to the resort, the driver made a stop at his buddies bar and souvenir shop to create some business (and probably get a kickback). We did buy a hand carved Egret from an unrelated carver next door. Bus driver was not too happy that we took our business there. Grand Lido Braco is not a very big resort. It has 234 rooms with 52 of them in the 'au naturel' section. Those who know us will not be surprised to learn that we stayed there. This part has its own beach, pool, bar, and clubhouse, but is still only steps away from the main (a.k.a. prude) side of the resort with all its facilities. This part is relatively large and never feels crowded. The beach is about the same size as the one at the prude side and the au naturel pool is the largest on the property. Below are 3 pictures; the first one is from 'our' beach looking west, the second is from the opposite side of the beach and shows the building in which our room was. We were on the 2nd floor, almost in the middle. The last picture is the view from our room. |
Jamaica 2005 or our hurricane sandwich |
While at the resort we did just what we wanted to do. That is almost nothing. We sat on the beach or in the pool, we read books, swam, had a few drinks, ate, slept and repeated it all over. Some meals were at the au naturel pool; many were at the main restaurant. The best food by far was in the Japanese restaurant, which has limited seating and is by reservation only. So we only went there once. All the other food was surprisingly bland. For a country that is known for its spicy food, it must have been a real effort to remove all hints of spices from the kitchen. Even the jerk chicken and pork had no flavor until they were dosed in hot sauce. That is not the way Jamaicans would prepare this dish. No wonder the bus driver that brought us to the resort stated that these places only served BBQ and suggested that people who want to eat real Jamaican food, leave the resorts and find a 'jerk center'. The resort has also a restaurant that is advertised as French. We went there once too, and other than that the waiters were all dressed up and wore gloves, I am not sure what would have made it French. The food was just about the same, the wines were the same cheap wines as were offered in the main restaurant, and the first 2 kinds we asked for, they did not have. That was 2 of the 4 red wines listed. The picture below is from this dinner. It is required that the men wear a jacket; this is the most dressed up we got on this trip. Without any doubt they greatest asset from this resort is its staff. The people staffing the bar in the au naturel area (Wayne and Merl) are very friendly, very helpful, and really want you to be satisfied with your stay. The entertainment staff (Diane and Walter) is just the same. These people plus the great facilities at this side of the resort have created a clientele that keeps on coming back. There was a group of people arriving the day we left, for whom this was there 4th trip to Braco. And those that had been at other place (e.g. Grand Lido Negril and either of the Hedonism resorts) stated that this was without question the best one of the Superclubs. Then no trip report would be complete without pictures of us enjoying the beach. |
So we were having a great time, but then came Emily. Although hurricane season officially starts on July 1st, it is very rare for any to actually happen until August. We already had Dennis roaring through the Caribbean around July 5-8, and now came Emily, an even bigger hurricane. The radar map below shows Emily close to Jamaica at the exact time that we were supposed to board our plane home. |
The only reason we did not get stuck in Jamaica, was that we left a day early. Once it became obvious that we would not be able to leave on Saturday (and probably not even on Sunday), we tried to get our return flight changed. The resort was no help and told us to call the airline. Isn't it great to stay at a resort where they promise to do anything for you? Called Air Jamaica at 5:45PM on Thursday and was not able to get anybody on the phone. Strike 3 for Air Jamaica. Called our tour operator (Air Jamaica Vacations) on the 24 hour service number. Got an answering machine. Left a message that was never returned. Finally called our travel agent in the US (David Parker of All The Way Travel). He had our return flight changed in less than 30 minutes. We informed the front desk that we would be leaving a day early because of the hurricane. They put us on the list for transportation to the airport. What can we say about the return trip? First we almost didn't make it to the airport in time, because of road construction. Nobody at the resort had figured out that if there are long delays, people should leave earlier. But we made it, thanks to the driving skills of our Jamaican driver (he drove passed the traffic jam with his blinkers on and honking his horn) and because our flight was delayed by hours again. And just like our flight from NY to Jamaica, the delays were announced in small increments even though there was not even a plane at the terminal for the first 2 1/2 hours. Nobody would accuse Air Jamaica from being overly organized. More than 2 hours after our original departure time, they were still checking people's paperwork. And pretending that we would be leaving any moment now. At least the plane we had was a nice one. Because all planes had to leave Jamaica before the hurricane and because there were more people trying to leave early, they were using a bigger plane that normally flies to London. So we sat in real comfort this time. |
When we finally arrived in NY, our limo driver was still waiting for us. We used a different service than we have used in the past and were very happy with them. We cannot put a link here, because American Airport & Limo Service does not have a website. Superclubs heavily advertises their no hurricane guarantee. Or as their website says, "should a hurricane happen to strike the resort, guests at the resort will receive a reimbursement for the total value of disrupted nights. In addition, a voucher for a future stay will be issued for the same number of disrupted nights". When we checked out the next day, they would not acknowledge the first part of this guarantee. They produced a few local documents that only mention the voucher and put very heavy restrictions on their use. And they were not even able (willing?) to produce a voucher, because they didn't know we were leaving early. So they knew we were leaving, because we were on the transportation list, but they didn't know we were leaving when it came to having a voucher ready for us. Our travel agent contacted the resort after our return and their initial response was that since the resort did not get hit and since it was fully capable of taking care of the guests, the guarantee did not apply. The fact that the airport was closed and the road under water so that nobody would have been able to leave on his scheduled departure date, does not count for anything. Those people would have been able to extend their stay (supposedly at no charge). That is of course little consolidation for people that have to go back to work or, like us, have baby-sitters waiting for them to come back. After further contact by our travel agent, they finally reimbursed us for the last day in cash. Once we were home I contacted Air Jamaica about a partial refund for the missed First Class upgrade, but they never even acknowledged my letter. The Credit card Company looked at this and immediately credited the value of the upgrade back to us. Conclusions from this trip are that we will never fly Air Jamaica again. We will definitely again use 'our' new limo service, and we are also very happy with our travel agent. However, while we really like Grand Lido Bravo, we will bring our own spice cabinet if we ever go back. . . |
