Has anyone flown the St. Louis-Cancun route? I have some family members considering using F9 for this route and would like to get some insight. Is it usually a pretty full flight? Anything would be appreciated. Thanks!

No one can say if it is usually a full flight because this is the first year that Frontier will be flying STL-CUN year through the summer. Usually it is seasonal, ending after Spring Break.

The Apple Vacations contract has changed that - Apple buys a deal of the capacity on the flights and STL is a good city for them. In all other respects it is regular Frontier service and there is surely good space available this far out.

davy

Coincidentally, I will be flying this round trip tomorrow morning. While I can't speculate on what loads will be like in July, I can answer any other questions you may have on my experience tomorrow, both going and returning.

One nice little perk on the International stuff is that you will receive our Direct TV service for free during the first half of the flight (or the last half coming home) - but when we're over the gulf, we lose the service.

Hope you'll give us (or Apple?) your business. Either way we'll be glad to have you.

A trip report would be awesome. The family is a bit nervous about flying internationally so all info would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

Welcome aboard WhereItsWarm! Looking forward to your contributions! I didn't realize the DirectTV cuts out over the gulf. I guess I figured since its satelite based it had coverage over the water. You'd think with JetBlue's Carribean market they would get some coverage down there since they have LiveTV too.

I think it has to do with where DirecTV is allowed/decides to provide service. So, in this situation DirecTV doesn't broadcast over Mexico.

Tell your family that flying in/out of CUN is a relative breeze and they shouldn't be worried at all. Customs is fairly efficient and in general, I've found the agents to be even more friendly than some of the surly ones you are bound to run into in the U.S. (especially in Atlanta).

The only recommendation I would make is to reserve your ground transportation prior to arriving in CUN as the tour sales people will drive you nuts exiting baggage claim. Full of barkers, it's like walking the midway of a county fair on a slow day.

Tell you family to have a fantastic time!

Thanks for the welcome, Mike. The part about ‘losing the LiveTV signal’ over the water is simply me parroting the flight attendants. I looked in the books for more clarification, but could not find any. I, like MostlyAir, suspect it is more of a licensing type issue, than any shortcoming of the satellite equipment. Regardless, when you’re out over the water, it’s time to pick up a book (or one of our premium beverages).

Jimbo, if you’re more interested in the logistics of flying internationally to Cancun, I will attempt to address that stuff first. If you (your family members) are undecided about Cancun specifically as a destination, I will talk you into that a little further down the page.

TRIP REPORT: The flight this morning departed at 8:05am local in STL. The line at security was not too bad, and once in the gate area I asked some of our passengers how long it took them to get through and their answer was 15 minutes. That is probably the exception rather than the rule, ALWAYS give yourself lots of time, especially on International flights – the ‘official’ recommendation is to arrive 3 hrs prior to departure.

I strongly encourage you to bring some type of snack with you, or get something to eat at the airport. The flight time from takeoff to touchdown, depending on winds of course, will be somewhere in the three hours and ten minute range. Clearing customs in the Cancun airport can vary from ten minutes to over an hour, depending on how many other flights arrive coincidentally. Getting to your hotel, getting checked in, and settled in can add another hour easily. So getting from your breakfast table in St. Louis to the snack buffet beside the pool in Cancun can take upwards of nine plus hours. For somebody like myself who eats every three hours, this can be a serious logistical operation. The only real food near our current gate on the B concourse is a Quizno’s sandwich shop, and they make a decent breakfast sandwich.

Once in the air, you follow the mighty Mississippi all the way to the ocean and ‘coast out’ over New Orleans and the massive Mississippi River delta. Over the water, there is nothing much to see except a few oil platforms, or an occasional cruise ship (which you will see again a day or so later from the beach at your hotel, as it steams past you on it’s way to Cozumel). The only other exception is the large Alacranes Atoll off the right side of the aircraft that roughly coincides with the start of the descent, but it has to be a very clear day to get a glimpse of it coming from STL. If you want the best views of Cancun and the Zona Hotelera (Hotel Zone) on the inbound AND outbound legs, try to get an ‘A’ window seat on the left side.

Clearing customs is generally painless, but as I said before if you happen to arrive at the same time as many other flights, the line may take a while. Once they stamp your passport, you turn right and walk over to baggage claim, pick up your bags, and then proceed into another line, where they will scan your bags and take your last customs form. Then you will proceed out a set of sliding glass doors and into the fray of people providing transportation. (Echoing Stumblefoot here..) You will probably have your transportation/hotel transfers provided by Apple Vacations (if that’s how you book your vacation), in which case you only need to look for the Apple vacations representatives. Politely decline all other offers from people along this ‘gauntlet’ – you probably have to go all the way outside the building before seeing an Apple sign. If you do not have your transportation arranged through Apple, I strongly recommend arranging it before you arrive. There are private vans, and shared vans, with private vans being faster and thus more expensive. With shared vans, you may have to stop at three other hotels before arriving at yours, but of course it is cheaper. I have firsthand experience with two different individuals that I would highly recommend for transport if you needed it. The last I heard, taxis are not available to get from the Airport to your hotel upon arrival, but they ARE available to get back to the Airport. I think this is a regulation to protect the jobs of the transfer companies, but I’m not sure.

The return trip is mostly the same in reverse. Arrive no less than three hours prior again. Frontier (Apple) is located in the new terminal building, which is very modern. Once through security, you have to proceed through the massive Duty Free shop to get to the gate areas. Like the rest of Cancun, the terminal is very easy to navigate, with restaurants such as Bubba Gump Shrimp, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, Domino’s Pizza, Johnny Rocket’s, and of course Starbuck’s, right next to the gate areas. In case you forgot to buy some silver jewelry, pharmaceuticals, or a “I’m in Cancun, BI*#H” T-shirt, there are also plenty of opportunities for last minute souvenir shopping next to the gates as well. All of the above items will include the standard ‘200% above anything-reasonable airport mark-up’ (except Starbuck’s which is always 200% above reasonable wherever you are).

Flight time home is generally about twenty minutes faster, once again depending on winds. You clear customs again in St. Louis, but will arrive at the E concourse instead of the B concourse that you departed from – helpful info when it comes to getting picked up or finding your car.

CANCUN, MEXICO
I got the impression that you are undecided about the whole concept of International travel, especially Mexico, so I am writing under that assumption. If that’s not the case, you will be getting more info than you need. I love to be ‘WhereItsWarm’, and thus I have been to Cancun many, many times. I have been to numerous beaches and foreign countries, and Cancun (including Cozumel and the Mexican Riviera) is my favorite by far. The white color of the sand, contrasted by the amazing blue of the water is something you will never forget. If you are indeed looking to dip your toes into the pool that is ‘International Travel’, there is no better place to start than Cancun because it is very ‘Americanized’ (at least in the Hotel Zone which is likely where you will spend most of your time). It is the closest thing to being back in America and still being in a foreign country. You can pay for almost everything in American dollars (sometimes even getting change in dollars, but more often in pesos). Almost everyone in Cancun speaks fairly good English, and if they don’t then the person next to them does. Half of the restaurants are American chains, from Ruth’s Chris steakhouse down to McDonalds and Subway. Cancun even has multiple Wal-Mart locations in the downtown area. The only caveat when it comes to consumables is the water. While they have made great strides in their water treatment plants, it is still best to play it safe and stick to bottled water instead of tap. If you are not interested in the Americanized version, and want to experience a more authentic taste of Mexico, you can get that too. Either take small trips into the real downtown area or even farther. Or stay farther south along the coast in one of the many towns that comprise the Mayan Riviera. The point being that you can have it just the way you want.

All of the bad things you hear about people being killed in Mexico is in the border towns, and places like Acapulco where there has long been a drug element, and it’s associated problems.

Transportation - The Hotel Zone is a thin strip of land shaped like a giant number ‘7’. This makes getting around incredibly easy because there is only one main road running down the middle of that strip of land. If you like to save a little money and mix with the locals, stand anywhere along this road and flag down a bus (there are designated bus stops but it doesn’t seem to matter, they will usually stop anywhere because I suspect the drivers are paid by passengers carried). It doesn’t even matter which bus, because in all likelihood, you will be getting off long before the road/route branches. The city buses are numerous, and easy to differentiate from the tall modernized tour buses. If in doubt, wave at a bus. If it stops, get on. Then tell the driver where you are going and they will stop there for you. I forget how many pesos it is, but they will take a one dollar bill as well and probably give you change (and a little slip of paper receipt which you do not need and can throw away) If you’re not that adventurous, you can always take a cab.

Where to stay – If you want to play in the waves (and use the sound of them crashing as your nightly lullaby) then you should choose a hotel along the long, north to south, ‘leg of the 7’. If you want the same great sand and water, but a calm beach with no waves, stay along the east-west running ‘top of the seven’. The area at the upper Northeast corner, or ‘crux’ of the 7, is the convention center, otherwise known as ‘Party Central’ (and sometimes erroneously referred to as ‘downtown’ – the real downtown area is much farther to the west, less Americanized, but still tourist friendly). If you want to party until 4 or 5 in the morning, then this area is for you. If not, the music from the bars may actually keep you up! This is where places like Senor Frogs, La Boom, Daddy O’s, and Coco Bongo are located, as well as another Mercado (souvenir marketplace – ALWAYS haggle). Everything along the Hotel Zone is referenced by the ‘mile marker’ type system on our highways, except in kilometers.

If you are flying into Cancun, but staying somewhere else (Mexican Riviera, Cozumel, Tulum, etc) I can offer limited advice on those areas as well, just let me know.

Things to do – The excursions are endless. Chichen Itza is a large Mayan ruin site that is featured on television more and more lately in conjunction with the 12/21/2012 ‘end of the world’ theory related to the Mayan Calendar. It is one of the most popular trips, but is a FULL DAY including a long bus ride in both directions. I tell myself I am going to do it every time I stay there, but as yet I have not done it. My personal favorite way to spend a full day is to take the ferry over to a small island named ‘Isla Mujeres’ - The Island of Women. Once you get off the ferry, pay a reasonable fee (again, HAGGLE) to rent a four-person golf cart for the day and then tour the entire island from tip to tip. It is more like ‘real’ Mexico here, and let’s face it – riding around in a golf cart with a cold cerveza in your hand is just plain fun. (Disclaimer: Never drink and drive). While there, make your way to the North end of the island to the beach – ‘Playa Norte’. Park the cart and saunter up to a bar with hammocks and swings instead of chairs. The sand at this beach is like powdered sugar, and the water is calm, crystal clear, and it shallows so gradually that you can walk many hundred yards out into the water and still be only waist deep. Play alongside the multi-million dollar yachts that drop anchor here. In addition to these excursions there are places like Xcaret, Xel-Ha, the ruins at Tulum, world class scuba or cenote diving, zip line courses, etc. etc. If you choose to leave the hotel, there is no shortage of things to do.

The Mexican people are humble, gracious, and polite. And let’s be honest – they are exceptionally good at dealing with a bunch of demanding, drunk, spoiled foreigners who come into their country and seem to act as if they own it. Obviously not everyone fits that description, but you wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve seen.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Cancun, and I’m understandably partial to the greatest Airline I’ve ever worked for (this is the fourth), Frontier.

WhereItsWarm, I'd like to second Mike's welcome to the F9 forum.

Your info and trip report were fantastic...much better than any professional tour book! It is readily apparent that you truly love your job. Hopefully, you will have the time and interest to be a regular contributor here.

Again, welcome aboard...to the Frontier forum.

+1

+3, excellent

+4. Please keep posting! I'm sure they could benefit from your report in the trip reports forum too, but I'm not sure if they would count it as a duplicate post. Let me find the Moderator rules....

Nice trip report, WhereItsWarm, and welcome to the forum. ^

Feel free to add photos if you like. As the wags over in the OMNI forum say, pics or it didn't happen.

Here is a tail lineup including us in LJ the Lynx Kitten. It's always interesting in places like this, with all sorts of misc. Airlines and planes. I especially enjoyed seeing the Tupolev from Cuba that is an obvious Airbus copy. Notice three tails down is one of the remaining USA3000 birds. Gotta remember that all of this great new flying for my airline, ultimately means a loss of jobs for those crews. One more way this industry is jacked up. Best wishes to all of those from 'Getaways'.


May be hard to see, but this is the new CUN control tower. Where else can you get your takeoff clearance from a giant bottle of Corona?

And finally, just a couple of leisure shots.

Thanks for the pictures too WhereItsWarm!

I got approval for you to repost this in the Trip Reports forum if you like, or if you want I can do it an link it back to here. Up to you of course!

MikeFromMKE