Time for some winter warmth, we had decided. And back in June 2011, those nice people at BA were having a Sale … Flights plus Hotel, Club World tickets and a week at Sandals Royal Plantation for £4,600. On the basis that the flights alone usually come in at around £2,000 per person, and the accommodation [all-inclusive, with Butler] was around £3,000 a week, this was a no-brainer! However, we still had a bit of nervousness about the whole thing. For a start, we had never, ever, done a "do nothing" beach holiday. And "all inclusive" at a Sandals resort could mean many things! We didn't need to worry, as you'll discover later. Anyway, here we go in instalments, while I try to sort out pictures and web links. Oh, the Bear is Sgt Braille - he works for
Holidays 4 Heroes.
GOING THERE
12 Jan 12
BA2769, 0700 JER-LGW 0755
G-DOCV
Yeuch - the JER Red-Eye, which meant taxi at 0530 to reach the airport at 0600. In fact, we got there before they unlocked the Terminal doors at 0545! Routine bag-drop at a deserted airport [we were the first through the door] and, with the 2 cases checked through to MBJ, we had a light snack in the BA Lounge. The "secret door" from the Lounge to Gate 3 was briefly left open, so I took a quick snap for the record.
As usual, boarding for CE and BAEC Status pax was delayed until the hordes were on their way to board via the rear steps. Then the Lounge door was opened, and we made our way up the front steps to DOCV's very tired and battered CE cabin. The quick hop to LGW deserves little comment: as always the CC managed to serve an edible cooked breakfast and clear everything away afterwards in the space of some 30 minutes.
On arrival, we were inevitably parked on one of the International stands [58?] and then waited for the bus. Also as usual, the rear door was used, so the CE pax were the last ones off. Whatever, it's not exactly the end of the world, is it? Arriving in the bowels of LGW, we made our way to Connections and the security line there. This was a BIG mistake. We stood in an extremely slow-moving queue for over 30 minutes before finally reaching the solitary screening point. In future, we'll just do a normal Domestic Arrival, go land-side for a quick cigarette and re-enter through Premium Gatwick's efficient security process - that will be both faster and more pleasant!!
The LGW Lounge was reasonably quiet at 0830, and we found quiet and comfy seats for the next 2 hours. Just a routine Lounge visit, nothing special one way or another.
12 Jan 12
BA2285, 1115 LGW-MBJ 1630
G-VIIT
A 3-class 777, we had selected 4A/B on the advice of
mikey2124 and were well satisfied with his/our choice! OK, the window seat is a bit cramped compared with the wide-open feel on the 744 upper deck, but Mrs T8191 was perfectly happy to be kept away from the other pax! Sgt Braille made himself comfortable on my lap for a while, before retiring to sleep in the overhead locker.
We had a really good crew, and the CM [L******** with her large hair and short stature] was excellent, as were the other CC in the front CW cabin. The Taittinger was fine, and nicely chilled. However, the food was filed under "OK". The prawns were pretty tasteless, and the steak somewhat overdone. Although the jus was tasty, it seemed to be a bit generous - steak in soup could have been an accurate description! The Vina Hermosa Reserva 2004 Rioja was, however, a perfect companion. I chose to finish with the cheese, which turned out to be rather bland: however, that's just my opinion.
The rest of the 10+ hour flight was spent with one film on a fully functioning AVOD, and a couple of hours sleep before the arrival of the BA "Afternoon Tea". I enjoyed the plain scone, having correctly applied the clotted cream AFTER the jam, and found the Dundee cake delicious. As ever, the sandwiches [ham and cheese] would have been better used feeding ducks in the park than being served to CW pax.
Sangster International Airport (MBJ)
Montego Bay Jamaica - Sangster International Airport (MBJ)
It's quite a long walk from Gate 15 which the BA flights use. However, as we were amongst the first off, we set a brisk marching pace and followed the signs! We caught up with the tail end of the pax getting off Aanother aircraft, and expected long delays at Immigration. How wrong we were!! Having navigated an empty Tensa-barrier maze, we were directed to a vacant Immigration desk where we were processed in a couple of minutes. Paperwork is a locally modified version of our old friend, the US Form 94 but with the Customs declaration on the back - and the Departure card is separated but not stapled to the passport, so don't lose it! That was easy, we thought, and headed for Baggage Reclaim. "Good grief, Priority Bag Tags work" … we waited about 3 minutes for our 2 cases, and then headed for the Customs desks. That took one minute! One point to note - if you're carrying prescription medicines, you have to declare them and use the RED Channel. I had some prescription pills, but just declared them at a vacant GREEN desk with no problem.
And so to the Arrivals area, where Sandals have their own Arrivals Lounge.
We checked in with them, were relieved of our luggage [having had to wheel it about 100 yards in total] and everything was labelled and stacked under escort. A very pleasant "waiting room", with a small self-service bar in the corner [apologies for blurred photo!] is provided.
Then our Resort Transport was called - cases were stacked on a trolley, we were asked to verify ours were there, and then we were escorted to the mini-bus for the transfer - just 3 couples for this destination. Point to note - the baggage porters are not employed by Sandals, but by the airport, and they expect a tip.
The drive to Ocho Rios along the north coast is fairly tedious [1h 30m +] and fairly unremarkable. It also got dark, which is apparently a local characteristic after sunset.