Yvonne, even though we live in Clearwater, we now travel to Orlando just to take the direct flight on JetBlue. We hate Miami and Fort lauderdale for layovers too, and we have had some serious issues with Spirit and with American Airlines. The direct flight on JetBlue rocks and the drive there is not too bad, definitely worth the on time flights, the no layovers, the ease of customs and the good prices!
Rambo - when I went through Byron many months ago, I saw a sign that said the Ja. Jerk stand had moved to a place on the outskirts of Byron as you're coming from Rockford on Rt. 2. Has it closed after that move?
How long ago was that Nurse Marcia? I will have to do some investigating.....
Our flights changed but they did send an email.
marley9808...it's 5:00 am and you've already ruined my day
BTW..this is our first post...greetings all!!!
We live in Clearwater too....never thought of Orlando (duh!!!!)
Booked last month out of Tampa on AA.....$943 RT for both with 1 hour LO in Miami....just checked JetBlue out of Orlando....$545 RT non-stop....
Non-refundable tickets....ouchie....I would certainly drive back and forth to Orlando for $400...as they say, live and learn. How much is it to park over there for a week??
I have been through customs once in Miami on way back from Cayman...what a nightmare...many times came back in to TPA from Cayman and was quick and easy.
What "serious" issues have you had with AA if you don't mind telling???? This trip is for our wedding in August and we would like to be as prepared as possible.
I am glad we found this board, as with people like you with many trips to JAM, you have tons of experience to share.
Thanks for any insight and information you can provide and best wishes on your trip!!!
L&M
Margot and Lee--Moon Dance Cliffs--August 27, 2012
*****We Went and Saved the Best for Last*****
Sunbrnd! Welcome aboard neighbor!!
Don't beat yourself up about this.....you did exactly what Raul and I did! We got married October 2010. We booked our flight in january on AA along with my parents, flying out of tampa, layover in MIA. By the time ALL of the rest of our guests booked their flights JetBlue (AND Airtran) were offering cheap rates on non-stops from Orlando and every single one of our local guests flew out of orlando on non-stops! I was PISSED! lol I think we paid around $350 each or so and they were getting $250 non stop flights.
Most all of my issues with American Airlines are simply that they change flights and times a lot and they ALWAYS seemed to be delayed. When we flew out of Tampa for our wedding we had an hour layover in Miami which I thought was great.....that is until out flight in tampa sat on the tarmac for 50 minutes before taking off. I was FREAKING OUT, we were going to miss our connecting flight in Miami....to our wedding, this was not happening! And of course the flight from Tampa to Miami is not long enough to make up that much time. The whole flight I was on edge (and if you know the back story of my wedding, I really didn't need any more issues at that point). Well we finally land in Miami, I did nothing short of push everyone out of the way, and low and behold our connecting gate was literally the very next gate, we got off and got right on and headed to Jamaica. So in the end it worked out but not without a lot of stress and frustration. Coming back home we spent longer in Miami than we were supposed to but at that point we didn't really care. So overall my issues with American are not nearly as bad as with Spirit (my advice, don't EVER fly Spirit) at least when things go wrong American *seems* to care about helping....Spirit, does not!
So anyways, you can do what we did. Fly American for your wedding and then fly JetBlue for your anniversary trip (because you WILL be back). We flew Cayman air out of Tampa for a non-stop flight to Cayman Islands and we got seriously spoiled. I used to fly whoever had the best ticket price as I just accepted that a layover in Miami (or FTL) was inevitable, but since we found out about JetBlue direct flights in Orlando, we have never looked back. Can't say enough good things about them. Free checked bags, free movies and music on board..they even give you drinks and snacks (FREE) lol. Also, Orlando customs is a breeze.
We drive over the day of the flight (giving ourselves plenty of traffic time) and we park at a place called Park, Bark and Fly (funny name I know). It's about 5 minutes from the airport, you can reserve online and it is $6 a day for parking, but you can find coupons online all the time, plus they email coupons regularly too. The will bus you to the airport and then you just call when you land and they pick you up and take you back right to your car, can't beat it.
We are heading back to Negril in 17 days (YAY) so if you need us to check anything out for your upcoming wedding while we are there, just let me know, we can surely do that. Or if you have any questions about anything wedding related or otherwise just ask.
Oh and one last thing.....Congrats on getting married in Jamaica! You will love it!
All the best,
Shauna (aka Marley9808)
The 6-7 weeks of parking plus the gas & hotel room would make a trip out of Orlando more expensive than leaving from Tampa. I wouldn't want to leave my car unattended in an unfamiliar place that long. I prefer having it under the watchful eyes of my neighbors.
This is the 3rd time in a row AA hasn't notified me of the flight changes, only the first time since they declared bankruptcy. I've been a FF for years & they have every possible way in the world to contact me including my JA cell #. I'm flying 1st class round trip in the summer, not that that should make any difference on notification. Used to be they'd send me an e-mail when there was a minor change in flight times (under 5 min. change). I guess some things just go by the wayside when they cut 20% of their employees.
My big gripe w/ AA is the 4 hour layovers. On the way back, it's always more. Last year was the exception when I tried different flight times to arrive back home earlier. On time but barely enough time to make the connecting flight. Tried Spirit once. Never again.
Y'all are scaring me. I'm on AA for my flight back with a layover in Dallas (I was avoiding Miami like the plague!) so hopefully I don't have any problems. So far everything seems to be right on schedule.
Happy holiday family time!
We flew to Jamaica on AA from ORD on March 23. Our flight was to leave at 8:05am. We were delayed. Want to know the reason for the delay? Someone forgot to schedule a pilot for our flight to MoBay. Actually, it's funny when you think about it. How do you forget to schedule a pilot?
could be, I usually never go that way, to many speed/radar areas.....hope he hangs around
"One of the laundry gals pipes up ,,"LOOK AT DA BLOOD"
"YES,THAT WOULD BE MINE" I said as my leg that at first gave no pain, started dishing it out in large bunches........"
want more read our blog? our first trip.........http://negril.com/forum/entry.php?58...-The-Beginning
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