Two Questions!

[Becky]

Hello everyone!

We will be visiting CSA for the first time December 3-10! We're so excited and I've already gotten tons of useful information from this site. I do have two questions though!

1. Does CSA still provide bottled water? Or have they switched to refillable containers? I only ask because Daniel prefers to keep a bottle of water by the bed and he loves the Gatorade packets that you can add to bottled water. I'm assuming it would be easier to add this to a bottle than to try to stir it into a cup of water...LOL...

2. I need opinions on taking the flight from MBJ to Negril vs taking the bus. How early will the bus get you to the airport before your flight departs (our flight going home is pretty early and I'd rather not have to get up super early to leave)? How long does the ride usually take? How often do they usually stop for bathroom breaks? Anyone have trouble getting their luggage to the resort if you take the flight instead (we have large luggage so I'm afraid it wouldn't fit or something)?

Thanks!!

[yookster]

They have bottled water... and as much as you want. We usually put it on our list for the minibar to restock every day. The staff is great and we always have water in our room. Of course any of the bars will have bottled water too.
I am not sure about the flight question. I freak out on little commuter planes like that so I just deal with the drive and any car sickness it may cause! LOL Have fun! You will love CSA! We will be there Oct 28th! 134 days! (gosh that seems like a lot of days...lol)

[LittleO]

CSA keeps 4 bottles of water in the fridge

[rachlm927]

1. We were at CSA a few weeks ago and they were still serving bottled water. You have in in your room, but also when you order water from any bar they give you bottled. I would always ask for a couple since they are small.

2. Have not yet taken the flight, but I can tell you the shuttle was fine. Just under and hour in a half. Neither to/from resort did we stop (driver asked, no one had to go). On our way to resort it was a smaller van....going back to airport HUGE bus. Actually there were 2 HUGE buses that day.

Our flight was 2:30p and I was surprised/sad to see our bus would leave at 10am. Believe it or not it was near perfect timing. Lines to checkin (this was on a sunday fyi) were insanely long. We had a quick first class checkin and yet once in terminal had less than hour until our flight.

One more point, our next trip we hope to fly airlink. We just want to get every hour we can at the resort. However, If I can stay an extra night vs. flying...I'd take the extra night.

Have fun mon

[melody]

The bottles of water are not the right size for those packets so that would be tricky. The bottles are pretty small. I think it might actually be easier to mix it onto a refillable water bottle like they are talking about getting because then you can figure out the right amount of water to put in it and then shake it like usual. I don't believe they have moved over to the refillable water bottles yet though. You might think about bringing a water bottle to use for the gatorade anyway. You would pretty much have to wing it with the small bottles.

[melody]

I took a quick look at the bottled water I have left over from our last trip and it's 11 oz. and filled to the brim. Normal US water bottles are 16.9 oz. I assume Gatorade packets are like the Kool-aid and Crystal Light ones in that they are made for 16 oz of water. Just something to think about.

[Fluffin]

There is now a new lounge in the airport. For $30.00 pp you can be swiftly escorted through all of the lines of immigration and security. They also have drinks and snacks along with some very interesting history of Jamaica. Think of it as a small museum of JA. There are actually 5 different lounge areas.

[gonegril]

If you're in the Atrium or Beachfront Suites you'll also have an insulated thermos filled with ice water (the housekeeper fills it every night). I can't remember, but I think you also have this carafe in the Verandah rooms. If not, you can always ask....Your partner could put his powdered drink mix in a 1/2 carafe or something, and it would definitely stay cool by his bedside overnight....No worries - you'll definitely be able to find a solution to that problem....your housekeeper will do anything she can to make sure you're happy!!

Some day when we're rich and famous we'll take the plane to and from MBJ. For now, we like to think we're applying that extra $$ to another night, and the ride to/from really isn't that bad....

We hope you enjoy CSA as much as we do!! Have fun!!!!

[Jeffmon]

For $30.00 pp you can be swiftly escorted through all of the lines of immigration and security.

How do you do this? In the last three trips to Jamaica, we have never seen or heard of this.

[ryanedoyle]

There is now a new lounge in the airport. For $30.00 pp you can be swiftly escorted through all of the lines of immigration and security. They also have drinks and snacks along with some very interesting history of Jamaica. Think of it as a small museum of JA. There are actually 5 different lounge areas.

Can you tell us more about this lounge Fluffin? How do you buy tickets and etc?

[Becky]

Thank you all for the information!! He might just have to use half of a pack of Gatorade and save half for later...Not a big deal in my opinion...LOL...

Still not sure about the flight option...I personally would rather spend the money on the spa or coffee to bring back...LOL...I'll see if I can convince him...Maybe we'll take the shuttle in and see how that goes...Then fly out if he's not okay with the shuttle...

[BobandJudy]

We've taken TimAir roundtrip from MBJ to Negril the past two trips. It really saves you time on the return trip. For example, for a 3:30 return flight, the van shuttle will leave at 11:00. That really doesn't give you much time to enjoy the resort on your last day. If you take TimAir, you don't have to be at the Negril airstrip until 12:45 - plenty of time to enjoy lunch and have a few cocktails. CSA provides the van transportation for free to the airstrip.

Bob actually misses taking the shuttle to the resort, so we may just take the return flight next year. Plus this past year we didn't save any time by taking TimAir to the resort. Even though we had advance reservations, we had to wait 45 minutes for our airplane. Not what you would expect from a "charter" service.

[J&TEdmonton]

We have done both the shuttle and the flight to CSA. We took the flight from CSA to the airport last June. The flight itself (Tim Air) only took about 25 minutes. Our flight left MBJ at about 1300, we would have had to leave CSA at about 830 to make it in time. With the flight, we got a bus (Couples provided the ride to Tim Air...across the street from CN) from the resort at 1015 and were in the airport checking in by 1055. It was also a very spectacular view from the small plane. That said, we love the van and will take it most times at least one way...especially on arrival as it gets the mood going and gives us a chance to meet some of our fellow guests.

[pharma girl]

We took the TimAir flight back from CN last year and it was great. Would had an additional 1.5 hours in resort and the flight was great fun. It took the 'sting' out of having to leave as it was such fun.

We ddin't take the TimAir flight to CN but only because our flight from London arrived at 5pm and TimAir can only fly during daylight hours.

That said, the bus journey was quick 1 hr 15 mins without a stop - we all just wanted to get there!

[drbcwp]

Our first 6+ trips to negril we always took TimAir, because if took hours on really bad roads to get to Negril, one the new road was finished the trip was much smoother and shorter so we usually take the bus now. The resort is not that far from MBJ but the traffic is heavy and the driver usually wants to stop for everyone to buy beer. Several times we have all told the driver that we do not want to stop and the trip takes just over an hour.

They make you leave the resort 4 hours before your flight and the bus trip back hardly every takes more than 1 hour and we end up sitting in the airport for hours. We usually book our trips mid-week so that the airport is not a zoo which it tends to be on weekends. Plus, we only go in the winter so the crowds are less than the summer months.

Tim Air used to only charge $65 pp each way but it is much more expensive now.

The Tim-Air agent will meet you and take you to their terminal and most of our trips the cessna was ready but once we had to wait about a 1/2 hour for someone and we barely beat the bus. The in air is only about 15 minutes to the negril airstrip. They cannot fly in bad weather or at night, there are no lights or tower in negril.

I would take Tim-Air on the return trip to get you a little more time at the resort but that depends if you want to spend the $$ to get about and hour or hour and half.

[knd]

Our first trip we took the bus to CSA. Took about an hour and twenty minutes. Our next trip we took the bus to CSS, seemed like an hour and 30 minutes. Our third trip we took Tim Air to CN, took about 15 minutes. The bus ride both directions was nice for the first time, but we don't need to experience it again! For us, we are limited on the number of days we can be away from the office, so offsetting the price of TimAir v. an extra day isn't an option. TimAir was easy, fast, and allowed us to experience extra time at the resort on our arrival day and especially on our departure day.

[newtnugget]

http://lilylilyphotography.com/2011/...o-bay-airport/

Yes its true! $30 VIP woooohooooooooooo

[zaraforty]

re the Fluffin post

sign me up
now we need an arrival lounge too LOL

[rsmith2078]

Was this going or coming? Is this a Couples lounge or service? Was it worth it?

[bluemoon0510]

I'm so excited to have stumbled on to the Mobay Lounge! In my opinion $30 per person is well worth the time and trouble it will save, not to mention we can ease back into reality gradually!!

[zaraforty]

If you look at Fluffin's link it is not owned by Couples and is for departure only