Jamaican Me Crazy! (frm the "Batgirl Blogs", originally posted 29 July 2008)

I want to begin this tirade by first stating I love Jamaica! I love the people, the culture, the country…I have the island tattooed on my left arm! I love everything reggae, I have researched and studied the island and Bob Marley for a long, long time and I was more than excited & well-prepared for this 1st trip to "Paradise". Not to mention, I paid an arm and a leg to book this trip and treat myself to a vacation!

We coordinated this vacation to coincide with Des' birthday – which was Sunday the 13th, the day we left Jamaica. She arrived here in Philly the day before we left and met my family and we had some time to catch up. We chose the Grande Ocho Rios because it was the closest Sandals resort to Nine Mile, which was supposed to be another important part of the trip. I met Rita Marley in NY at a book signing and ever since I have been a HUGE Bob Marley fan and desperately wanted to see his birth and resting place.

I booked the vacation over the telephone thru 1-800-SANDALS back in late March, early April. I put a lot of thought and preparation into this beforehand and was looking forward to a great experience in Jamaica. I bought 3 new bathing suits, cover-ups, clothing, shoes and dresses…all of the necessities a woman would need for a tropical vacation.

I received an e-mail confirmation for our trip on April 20th. I called the airline Sandals chose and asked about baggage limitations, liquids, etc. I was told we would not have to pay the $25 "extra baggage" fee because we booked the vacation before US Airways' new rule came into effect. I was also told our seats were already assigned and that this was done so thru Sandals! I never called and chose seating, chose an airline, none of that. I simply called the 1-800-SANDALS number and spoke with an agent, gave her the dates of travel and told her where we wanted to stay.
On Thursday, July 10, 2008 Des and I arrived at US Airways in Phill to depart for Montego Bay, Jamaica. Our flight was scheduled for 10 AM, so we arrived at 8 AM as told to do by the same agent who said we would not have the extra baggage fee. As soon as we arrived at the counter, they hit us with the $25 fee for our baggage. This was unexpected and surprising, but I did not want to argue and risk missing our flight. I figured we could deal with it after the trip and not let it ruin our vacation. Besides, what a small price to pay to get to paradise…finally! So Destiny and I both paid $25 each for our baggage and boarded our flight.

We arrived in Montego Bay on time (approx. 1pm, their time. Jamaica is one hour behind EST), excited and exhausted. We went thru immigration and finally to baggage claim. We waited and waited until the entire luggage was thru and unloaded. Both of her bags arrived in Montego Bay – one had my name on it and the other had her name on it. Only ONE of my bags arrived in Montego Bay – and it had HER name on it! So the missing bag - the one I paid EXTRA for –was properly tagged with my name and information.

We approached the US Airways desk and waited in line. We missed the first shuttle to Sandals because we had to go thru a HUGE process to report the missing luggage. This was an inconvenience – it was hot, we were exhausted and frustrated, not to mention I was in a HUGE panic about my luggage as this was the bag with ALL my clothing (swim suits, underclothes, EVERYTHING!!!). The bag I did receive only had shoes, purses, make-up and misc. items in it. I was hysterical and crying, the woman at the desk was unhelpful and not sympathetic. I asked to speak to her supervisor and she said there wasn't one. I asked to use the phone at the desk to call US Airways 1-800 toll-free customer service number, she said no. I had no cell phone service myself, yet she sat there and talked on her own while I was completing the form. She said "this happens all the time" and continued to talk on her phone! I completed the form and she told me I had to go to Customs. I asked for what when I had NO BAGS to take through!? She said "just do it", so I left Des at the counter and went to Customs to stand in line. I finally got through that line and got the form signed, then I had to stand in yet another line to get a stamp. I took the form back to the counter, and she gave me a "Property Irregularity Report". I also asked for the name of her supervisor, and she wrote a phone number at the top of the report and told me she doesn't even work for US Airways and it's not her problem!

We FINALLY left the US Airways counter and approached the Sandals kiosk in the airport. We were told the next shuttle to Ocho Rios would be shortly, to put the luggage we had there, and to wait to be called. I told the Sandals rep at the airport about my lost luggage situation and showed her the receipt I was given. She told me to give it to the front desk as soon as we got to the resort and they would handle it all for me.

We arrived at Sandals Grande Ocho Rios approx. 5 pm that day. I met "Francisco" there and explained my situation. I gave him the luggage information, asked him to call the number for me, he told us to check into our room and he would handle it all for me. I was crying and miserable! How was I supposed to shower, change and enjoy myself without any clothing, no underwear or swim suit, nothing!?! Des and I are different sizes, which is beside the point. I purchased NEW clothing specifically for this trip, and here I was in "paradise" without anything but what I left Philly with on my back!

We went to the room and settled in. I had to buy shorts from the gift shop to wear as underwear*! I waited a few hours and called the front desk and was told Francisco was gone for the evening. They said they would have another manager working on it. I attempted to call the 1-800 on the slip from my hotel room and was told by the operator it was $4 per minute, I had no cell phone service, so I said screw it and went to the Riviera lobby to try to obtain Wi-Fi access on my laptop to e-mail someone to call me and help me! Everyone in Jamaica at the resort kept saying "no worries", "no problem"…it WAS a problem! A serious one! And I was more than worried! I was desperate and pissed.

The Wi-Fi access was not working. I saw another guest on her laptop, the same as mine (but hers was black) and asked her for some help. Destiny, the guest and I sat in the Riviera lobby for awhile trying to gain access to no avail. We ate dinner and went to the room. We were unable to eat in the majority of the restaurants offered because they have a dress code. I had no clothing because of the lost luggage, thus I spent the first night in paradise miserable, crying, unable to swim, change clothing, etc.

Friday, July 11, 2008 I called the front desk first thing that morning. I was told I reached the Riviera lobby and not the Manor, no one was coordinated or knew what was going on or who was handling my issue! I kept getting transferred, placed on hold, told to hang up and someone would call me back…it was a nightmare and all I wanted was my clothing! I went to the Riviera lobby again and tried logging onto my laptop, again the service was not working. Many of the guests were asking if I could get on and complained that they could not either. I spent all day Friday inconsolable, Des was miserable, we couldn't even swim or go anywhere and I still had the SAME clothes on from the day before!! I called the front desk so many times I think they were purposely ignoring my requests and tired of hearing me complain about my luggage. I asked her how she would feel in another country, unable to reach anyone, no clothes, underwear or swim suit…most were rude, unhelpful and didn't follow through like they said they would.

All day Friday passes and still no luggage! Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I went to the Riviera lobby and spoke with Xiomarra, who was very helpful and sympathetic. She said I could call US Airways from my room and Sandals would remove the charges from our bill. I spent an hour and 40 mins. on the phone with US Airways, she documented all my complaints with the airline and said there was nothing she could do about the luggage. She also told me there were NO inquiries on their side from the resort! So the entire time I thought someone from Sandals was calling and working on trying to get my luggage for me, no one had worked on anything and I was still stuck with nothing!

My luggage FINALLY arrived Saturday – the DAY BEFORE WE WERE SET TO LEAVE. There went all the dresses, swim suits, etc. I had bought for the trip and planned to wear! Not to mention the fact I was in the same clothes for 2 days! When we returned to our room after a meal on Saturday, my bag was sitting IN FRONT OF OUR DOOR, not even in the room! Just sitting outside for God knows how long, anyone could have taken it, went thru it, etc. So we arrived Thursday and finally got to swim Saturday.

Saturday, July 12, 2008 Des and I were in our room showering and changing, listening to music on my laptop which was sitting on the desk chair and plugged into the outlet behind the desk. When we were leaving the room, she asked how to turn the music off, and I told her to shut the lid. We left the room at approx. 6 pm to go to the Riviera lobby to obtain change and make a trip to a store off- resort for cigarettes. We were in the lobby approx. 15-20 mins. with Xiomarra waiting for change, we walked to the store, walked through the Eden Garden to take pictures and returned to our room. It was between 7 and 7:15 pm when we returned, and I immediately noticed my Apple MacBook laptop was GONE! It was in the chair at the desk when we left! I went directly to it because the USB cord for my camera was connected to the back of the laptop to charge it and my camera needed charging. The laptop charger was still plugged into the wall where it had been, but the laptop itself was gone! We looked under the bed, checked the doors, everything was locked and secure. The laptop was gone. I dialed "0" and told the operator I needed security and the hotel manager at my room immediately! We were kind of afraid and began searching through our other belongings to see if anything else was missing?!

Security arrived promptly. He was courteous and helpful. He asked us what I just described above and asked me to write a statement, which I did. Moments after security arrived, Mr. Clive Miller (Sandals Resort Manager) arrived. We met with him, explained what we did, where we went, that the room was secure, no one had been invited in and we only had one key to the room which was in my possession at all times around my wrist! He was very nice and understanding, he advised they would get on this immediately. I was hysterical and unhappy. There are pictures of my nephew's birth on that laptop! Now my sister is buggin', wondering where her personal childbirth pictures are and worried they could surface anywhere on the internet or otherwise! Personal information and family photos. Irreplaceable memories. Confidential work-related information. Mr. Miller assured me they would work on this immediately, I explained we were checking out and leaving the resort at 9 am the next day! This didn't leave a lot of time for resolution or investigation. Mr. Miller apologized, promised to meet with us in the morning before we left and another security officer arrived as well. Mr. Miller left and "Orville" arrived to assist the 1st security officer on the scene.

They searched our entire room with our consent. They looked under the mattress, in all the drawers, in our luggage, on the balcony, in the bathroom, everywhere! The laptop was no where to be found. After I completed their paperwork, they assured me Mr. Miller was a man of his word and he would work on it. They apologized and left. We packed all we had immediately, locked our bags, and sat in the room for awhile flabbergasted at the drama and headache we had to endure in this country, at this resort, from start to finish!

Later on that evening we went to get a drink and we ran into Mr. Miller at the amphitheater. There were dancers, singers and a kettle band performing. He shook my hand and apologized again and assured me they would reimburse me and he would see me in the morning. We returned to our room and set our wake up call and remained in the room for the remainder of the evening. We were afraid to leave our belongings and didn't trust anyone at this point!

Sunday, July 13, 2008 was check-out. We called the lobby and asked if Mr. Miller was going to speak with and see us as promised the night before. They told us to give our luggage to the bell boy (which was 45 mins late, thus we almost missed breakfast) and to report to the lobby. We did so and we were met by another manager. He said he would call Mr. Miller personally. He called him on his cell phone in front of me and then advised me Mr. Miller was not on the premises (surprise, surprise) and he asked me to wait a moment while he retrieved something for me from Mr. Miller.

We left the resort, returned to the airport, paid the $25 baggage fee again, and we were just ready to get back to the States. As soon as I returned home, I used my desk top at home to file a complaint with Sandals IMMEDIATELY!

I am unhappy and extremely disappointed with Sandals. I would NEVER recommend anyone vacation there – it is not safe, secure and we were not properly accommodated. We did NOT have the vacation we expected & planned or paid tons of money for! I expect my laptop to be replaced and I want to be reimbursed for my trip! I booked thru Sandals! Sandals can blame US Airways and vice versa – the fact remains I booked thru Sandals, I did NOT pick US Airways, I did not sign up for this drama! I expected to get on a flight, get off, get to the resort and lay on the beach and enjoy the culture and the island. THAT did NOT happen. The laptop is gone, the vacation is done and over with…it was a NIGHTMARE from start to finish.

Lesson learned. Do NOT travel with more than one piece of luggage. CARRY-ON everything. Expect the best, prepare for the worst. Do NOT travel overseas with expensive electronics. Trust NO ONE. Even the most beautiful places on Earth can be ugly.

Trip to Jamaica = $2000+
Shorts worn as underwear from Trading Post gift shop* = $15 USD
Pack of Phillies from off-resort store = $6 USD
Lesson Learned = PRICELESS!!!!!