We have made it to Negril, and I am sitting here in bed, absolutely exhausted from the trip. The entire process went off without a hitch, but I find as I am getting older, the process just wears me out more.
Flight out of Philadelphia with us air was absolutely flawless. We checked in at the curb, the red cap had us sit down, checked our luggage, and came back with boarding passes. Maybe it was early or they were bored, either way... Best service I have ever had at PHL. Literally from curbside to the end of security it was 13 minutes. Of course, I screwed that part up by wandering straight past our terminal and into a totally foreign part of the airport
We decided to stay at the airport Marriott last night, rather than drive to the airport in rush hour traffic. I've never stayed in a Marriott, and it was lovely. Dinner was ass expensive, but the people were nice, the bed comfortable, and the hotel was immaculate. But.... Who wants to hear about a Philadelphia hotel. This is the Negril board.
When we landed, we had the Club Mobay service. THANK GOD WE DID! I am reasonably sure half the population of Canada arrived before we did, and immigration was packed. There were no fewer than 8 club Mobay reps waiting on the ramp when we arrived. Luggage retrieval, immediate. Straight to the front of the line for immigration (the immigration rep pointed out on our passports that he had signed us in last year... Small world), customs was another two minute wait, and off to the Mobay arrival lounge while they found a Tim-air rep.
Tim air... Their service is incredibly friendly, the pilots are awesome. I am not sure this is really worth it though. Mainly because it is super pricey. $320 one way for my wife and I. I had to have a charter because of the insane amount of luggage we had (the raft), but $320 for a 15 minute trip just seems exorbitant. I may not do that again... Not sure. The other thing is, the plane is definitely the same one we used when we came down the first time 16 years ago. That plane was old then. They have repainted them, but the inside panels and the like are coming apart. Plus, it just scares the hell out of me. We flew in just as a storm was hitting the west end, and let me tell you... That is some scary stuff to see from that height.
Anyway, we got to Tensing, and I felt like we had arrived home. We were greeted not with the usual bs "I remember you" but by name by multiple staff members. At dinner, staff came up and greeted us, the manager stopped by, and of course friends we have made from trips past are here as well. The greeting, and sense of sincere welcome was almost an emotional event to me. While I realize we are paying guests, it's nice to actually be remembered year after year. I can't even get the place where I get a morning tea to remember what I want, but these folks not only remembered my name, but what we like as well.
We arrived fairly late, so I don't have a lot of pictures yet, but I've got days ahead of me to post pictures, retell events and experiences. I'm a fairly boring person compared to a lot of the reports I read on here, but will do my best to post as many photos as possible for those in their countdown to experience vicariously. Everyone have a great week!
