Trip Report: VivaAerobús, Mexico City to Merida (May 2022)

  Trip Report: VivaAerobus, Mexico City to Merida
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I needed to fly from Mexico City to Merida and the day I was looking to fly, only two options were available: VivaAerobus and Volaris.  I looked at both websites and priced out both flights - both flights were leaving around the same time and both were low-cost airlines; the only difference between the two that I could see is that VivaAerobus included the airport tax within your ticket price while for Volaris this had to be paid separately.  For this reason only I decided to book with VivaAerobus. VivaAerobus is a low-cost airline based in Mexico.  As a lcc, the airline operates like any other lcc in that you pay for your ticket and that comes with a seat; anything else is additional.  The airline has 4 different ticket options and I choose the option that includes a personal item + carry-on.  The option that I choose did not include choosing your seat as that would cost extra.  There were no bundle options and when booking lcc's around the world I find that the bundle options always seem to work best for me but they did not have that option.  Throughout the booking process there were options to upgrade or add features such as selecting your seat or adding luggage; these options were available all the way until check-in.  I booked and paid for my ticket and received my confirmation and then downloaded the app so that I could manage my booking through the app (I could also add all the options for my booking through the app).

With my ticket I was able to check-into my flight 36-hours prior to my flight.   Up to this point, and

during the check-in process, there was the availability to add the options of preselecting my seat or adding additional luggage.  I did add additional hand luggage because I was not sure how strict VivaAerobus was in enforcing the hand-carry weight restrictions (were not strict at all).  After upgrading my hand luggage, I checked in and received a random seat number and my boarding pass.  I was assigned a middle seat and I was not able to change/modify my seat without paying for a seat selection.                                                                                                                                                                                          The flight was scheduled to depart at 8:00pm and I got to the airport 2-hours in advance.  Because I had checked-in online and had a mobile boarding pass, I did not need to go through the check-in desks but could head straight to security.  After security, I checked the screen to see which gate the flight would take off since neither the mobile boarding pass nor the app stated a gate number.  When I checked the monitor it said "T gates" and I was confused since every other gate had a number and no letters.  I later found out that this is the general waiting area until your gate is announced and then you proceed to your gate since there is limited to no waiting space near the gates.  We got a seat near the monitors so we could watch our flight and this is where the fun began.  Our flight was scheduled to take off at 8pm so boarding would begin at 7:15p; that time came and went and there was no announcement nor information regarding the flight on the main screen.  I had to go to VivaAerobus's own counter where I found out that the flight had been delayed; there was no announcement nor information provided.  A little while later, the flight was still delayed and now said a departure of 9:30pm; I talked with the agent who said that the incoming flight was delayed but that the plane had departed and would land into Mexico City at 9:30pm which meant we would not take off until 10/10:15pm.  There was no general information nor announcement from the airline nor ground staff.  Finally at 9:30pm a boarding gate was announced and we all proceeded to the gate.

The gate was extremely chaotic and disorganized because there was more people waiting for the plane than what the gate could accommodate.  Passengers were supposed to board through one line but it was very difficult to hear which group they were boarding unless you went right next to the gate agent.  VivaAerobus boards the plane by rows from the rear to the front in 3-row increments; you wait for your row number/group to be called and proceed boarding that way.  I am not sure if this was a COVID thing or if this was done pre-COVID as well.  During the boarding process, I did see other VivaAerobus staff rolling around carts with weighing machines to enforce hand-carry restrictions but the staff on this flight did not do that.                                                                                                                   The flight was 90% full so we boarded and pushed back from the gate at 10:15pm.  The plane was an Airbus A321 in a 3-3 seat configuration.  There were business class seats which VivAerobus contacts as VIP and there were also some economy seats with extra legroom.  I was in the standard economy seat in row 18.  The standard seat had a seatback pocket on the top which contained the onboard menu, the safety card as well as the airline's magazine.  Beneath that was a standard tray table and beneath that should have been a small pocket to store valuables but that was removed so there was nothing.  The seats themselves looked nice and decent and were slimline seats; the plane and seats seemed somewhat new.  Even though the plane just landed from another flight and they quickly turned around the flight, the airplane was in decent and somewhat clean condition; probably not sanitized but definitely cleaner than I have seen for other airlines.  The seat width was decent but the seat pitch was definitely tight and this is where you could feel the low-cost effect.  Overall, the seats were decent for the 1h45m flight that we had but I am not sure they would be comfortable on the longer flights that VivaAerobus operates (to Chicago or New York).

Once airborne, inflight service commenced.  As with all low-cost airlines, VivaAerobus operates a buy

on-board service.  Nothing is given for free and everything is available for purchase.  They have a variety of options available including sandwiches, drinks and snacks; I did not purchase anything but I did see a lot of people purchasing items and the costs was the same as what you would get in the airport terminal.  The airplane also offered wifi onboard and once connected you could access the onboard menu and magazine, the flight status, information about VivaAerobus, newspapers, movies and TV show, and of course wifi.  Wifi was available for purchase and some movies and TV shows were locked and could be accessed by purchasing an entertainment package.  The wifi and availability of many options for free was something I was not expecting so kudos to VivaAerobus for that. We started our decent into Merida and landed 2.5hrs later than our scheduled arrival.                                                                                                                                                      Overall, it was an interesting and frustrating experience with VivaAerobus.  The on-ground experience was frustrating as there was no announcements nor information regarding flight delays, the agents were not service friendly and many of them seemed annoyed that questions were being asked.  Onboard, the plane looked new, the cabin was clean, and the seats were decent for a low-cost airline.  The main question - would I recommend VivaAerobus?  I would say definitely not recommend VivaAerobus for long-haul as the uncomfortable seats and the buy-on-board would not make it a comfortable long-haul flight.  For short-haul, under 2-hours, I would say if the price is right then yes.  I paid $50 for my one-way flight and that included the extra payment for the luggage (which we ended up not needing) so that is a good price for a short-haul flight.

Trip Report: Amtrak Train Service - Baltimore to New York City (March 2022)

  Trip Report: Amtrak Train Service - Baltimore to New York City
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There are many options to travel within the Northeast - plane, car, bus, or train.,  Each option has its pros and cons and each option ranges in terms of price, availability, convenience, and total travel time.  I was traveling from Baltimore to New York and the best option for me in terms of price, availability, convenience and travel time was Amtrak Train.  Amtrak is the train service within the United States and they are known for transporting a lot of people in a lower cost but also not have the greatest quality of service - this is definitely NOT European train travel.  The most popular route for Amtrak is probably the Northeast Corridor which provides service between Washington, D.C. to Boston with stops in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.  Because it is the most popular they have timings throughout the day starting early in the morning until late evening.  There are also 2 different trains going - the Acela which is the business class or the regular class trains.  Since we were going for a leisure trip we booked the regular fare on the regular train - this review is a compilation of three different trips that I took on the same route.

I had picked up the train at the BWI Airport Station - this was the second major stop on the train as thefirst major stop was in Washington, D.C.  Sometimes the train started from D.C. and sometimes it started from other stations but a lot of individuals got on at certain stations - I had chosen the BWI Airport station because it was convenient to park and it was spacious so it was easier to get on the train.  The fare that I had booked did not have assigned seating so you choose whichever open seating was available.  I had booked the ticket online and had downloaded the ticket through my phone app; booking the ticket online was very convenient but trying to modify or change the ticket online proved extremely difficult and Amtrak customer service was not helpful.

The trains that I took generally were scheduled to depart Baltimore BWI Airport Station in the afternoon - 3p to 4p - and arrive into New York around 7pm or 8pm.  When the train arrived, there was a noticeable smell of the restroom that permeated the train - it was not a great welcome to train travel.  Once we got on, the train was laid out in a 2-2 section with every seat being an aisle or window - thankfully there were no middle seats.  As I said, there were no assigned seats so you just choose whichever open seat was available.  Some individuals would put their luggage on the seat to prevent people from sitting but by the third station this had to be removed given the volume of people arriving.

The seat itself was wide and felt comfortable but the seat-pitch or legroom was a bit tight.  Each seat contained a tray table to work on and power ports next to the window.  Wifi was supposedly available in the train but it did not always work.  Overall, the train looked and felt decent but a little worn for wear so it needed to be updated and upgraded.

In the end, we arrive into New York City Penn Station generally on time.  I also took the train on the reverse routing - New York to Baltimore - and the train was the same but in NY station there are many tracks but you do not know which track your train is on.  The track is announced 30 minutes prior and everyone has to rush down a tiny escalator to the appropriate train track.  Whomever designed it was not thinking about when it was a large volume of people and it is extremely annoying to take a train like that.

Given all this, would I take the train again?  It would not be my first choice and the price would have to be right.  If you book in advance, there are plenty of airline and bus options in a variety of choices that can provide the same service so in the future those would be my first choice; if the price was right and no other options were available, then I would not avoid the train.

Stay Report: Marriott Chicago O’Hare (Chicago, IL - August 2021 )

   Stay Report: Marriott Chicago O'Hare
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I was traveling to Chicago for a couple of days, but because of travel plans we needed to be close to the airport so we focused our search into hotels in this area.  In my search,  I was looking for hotels that had airport shuttles but also had access to the L Train and in my search I found the Marriott Chicago O'Hare.  The hotel matched all the criteria I was looking for and it was available for a reasonable price so I booked it.  After I booked it, I called to confirm the details of the shuttle and the service I received was not great; I thought it was a one-off but actually that was the type of service I was going to receive throughout my stay.

My family arrived before me and even though we had called to confirm the airport pickup and shuttle times, we were told 'just call when you arrive and the shuttle will be there'.  Every time we asked we got a different response - one person said the shuttle ran on a schedule and another said that it was upon request.  We tried taking the shuttle three times - once from the airport, once to the airport, and once again to the airport and each time it was EXTREMELY delayed and/or it was a guesstimate as to when it would actually go.  After that, we stopped using the shuttle at all.

The hotel is located about 10 minutes away from the airport and is located across the highway from the

Rosemount train station.  The hotel looks like it was built in the 1950's with a high hotel and a huge parking lot.   You have to cross the huge parking lot and walk across the highway on a pedestrian bridge to access the train - its not bad during the day but can be a little sketchy at night.  There are plenty of restaurants and grocery stores within walking distance and there are lots of delivery options available as well (we did a delivery option and when it was delivered to the hotel, they were told to leave it on the table in the lobby.  We went down to pick it up and no one confirmed to ensure it was our order so you can pick up any order you want).  

The lobby was designed in a circular fashion with the check-in desks to the left, the bar and restaurant straight ahead, the elevators to the room on the right, and the concierge desk also on the right.  We checked-in and were not given any information and in fact the attendant could not have cared less (even though there was no one behind us).  We received our key and proceeded to our room.  Even though the area for the hotel was large and the hotel building looked large, the rooms were smaller than I expected.  As you entered, there was a bathroom on the right and a closet on the left side.  The bathroom was standard and contained a sink, a toilet and a bathtub - the only negative about the hotel was the minimal space.  The closet was also a standard hotel closet and contained shelves, a place to hang clothes, an iron and ironing board, as well as a safe.  Further into the room, on the right side were the 2 double beds with a nightstand in the middle.  The beds were decent and provided a good nights sleep - again the space between the beds were tighter than anticipated.  In front of the beds was a chest with a drawers on the bottom and a TV on top.  Next to that was a desk on wheels so you can move the desk around the room.  Along the wall were windows which were a nice addition as it allowed light to come in and make the room feel brighter and bigger.  In between the beds and the window was an armchair and lamp - it was a nice addition but there was not enough space for all the furniture so it felt cramped.

Amenities in the hotel included restaurants, fitness center, a concierge, wifi, and airport shuttle.  I already talked about the poor service regarding the airport shuttle, and due to the limited time I did not have time to try out the other amenities.  I did try the wifi but it was not strong and kept dropping; it was so bad that for work I used my own hotspot versus the hotels wifi.  Overall, it was a disappointing stay at the hotel.  The only positives were easy access to transportation and easy access to services but everything else from customer service to room quality was negative.

Stay Report: Beaches Turks & Caicos (Providenciales - July 2021)

 Stay Report: Beaches Turks & Caicos
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It was a year in the pandemic and while COVID rates had decreased, it was still a pandemic so this was in my mind when searching for a destination and place.  In my search I found Beaches Turks & Caicos by Sandals and I liked it because 1) it was all-inclusive so that mean reducing exposure; 2) the resort took care of COVID testing + insurance and other health-related documents and information needed for exit and entry; and 3) Sandals is one of the biggest all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean so wanted to check out their process.  Since it was my first time booking with the resort and organization, I did most of my interaction through the phone after doing online research.  Their phone agents were really helpful but could not answer specific questions about the resort itself; they could answer general questions about the booking but not specific questions about the layout or details of the resort.

As it was all-inclusive, airport pick-up and drop-off is included in the fare.  During my conversation, I was told by the agent that 'there would be Beaches or Sandals kiosk outside of immigration and just let them know you have a reservation and they will coordinate the drop-off.'  Since those were the instructions I received, that is what I followed but after immigration there was no kiosk and no Sandals representative; instead there were many white passenger vans that were independently operated and these made rounds of the various resorts - this information would've been helpful to know because I did not know if this was the right transport or if this was an incorrect and I was going to get charged for it.  

That level of service, or lacking service in an aspect, is the type of overall experience I received atSandals.  When we arrived, we were given cold towels and a welcome drink and then told to sit in the lobby and someone would help us.  It took a while and when the person came to check us in, they were not as helpful or as customer service friendly as they could have been.  For all-inclusive, especially if it is your first time, there is a lot of information that you need to be aware of but that information was missing in our initial conversation and information was only given when prompted.  Even though we arrived at 1pm, our room was still not ready so we kept our luggage at the front desk and went to the restaurant to have some lunch and relax until our room was ready.  

There were many restaurants that were included in the all-inclusive and these ranged from pizza and salad and ice cream to fancier restaurants including seafood and pasta.  Some restaurants needed a reservation while others were a first-come, first-serve.  Some of the fancier restaurants got extremely crowded at dinner time and that made it difficult to choose restaurants because the restaurant you wanted to try that night was completely full.  The restaurants had set menus and set selections but it was the service that was slow and lacking at each restaurant - this caused many slowdowns and delays at restaurants and other facilities throughout the resort (we were told by others who were there often that other resorts had recently opened and were paying better thus the more experienced and higher quality staff had left to the newer resorts).  The food itself was decent quality and had decent flavor but was not spectacular; there was a lot of variety ranging from seafood to pasta to salad to dessert to burgers.  We were there for 4 nights and were able to try a different restaurant each night.  Each served the same quality of food in terms of portion size and flavor - nothing was too flavorful nor did anything stand out for being great but then nothing stood out for being exceptionally bad.  

We had booked a 2-double bed room on the 1st floor in the Caribbean village.  The hotel is divided up

into various Villages and each Village has its own pools and restaurants - each Village also has its own check-in dedicated to that area so that they are not overcrowded dealing with everyone.  The Caribbean Village was the oldest part of the resort but was also more centrally located and was near the main entrance (as well as exit point) as well as near the health service as well - it was very easy to walk to the various Villages and to other restaurants.  Each room was designed to be a little villa space so all the rooms had a mini-garden and a table with 2 chairs outside; so that you could sit outside your room on your dedicated chairs and enjoy the outside air.  Inside, as you entered on your left was a chair and a small table that faced the window.  Next to that, along the left wall, were the two beds plus a nightstand in the middle.  Across the beds, alongside the right wall, was an chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top.  The top also had a long top so that you could store items on top and next to the chest was an armoire to hang clothes up.  In the chest area was also a fridge, a microwave, as well as the coffee maker.   Further into the room, beyond the armoire, was a vanity area with a sink and a mirror.  This allowed people to get ready outside without occupying the bathroom.  The bathroom contained a sink, a toilet and a tub.  Overall, the room had a decent amount of amenities but the size of the furniture did not match the size of the room; the oversized furniture made the room feel small and cramped.  Also, the furniture looked and felt a bit dated and not fresh; the beds provided a decent nights sleep but have had better nights elsewhere.  Lastly. there was not a lot of outlets available and this made it difficult to charge all the electronics.

Amenities in the hotel were wide-ranging since it was an all-inclusive.  WiFi was available but it seemed to have been added after the hotel was built so not all areas had equally strong access; the signal was very weak in our rooms but very strong in the lobby or by the pool so went there to access wifi.  There were many restaurants to take advantage of as well as many pools.  There was beach access with a variety and plenty of beach chairs.  There were some shops on the property that had both resort and country items.  There was a health center as well and this was extremely important because this is where you accessed your COVID tests.  We were there during July 4th weekend so they had organized fireworks and a song & dance show; the fireworks were nice but very small and the song & dance show was decent but a bit amateurish.  In Punta Cana there were also song & dance shows but those seemed more professional.  

Overall, it was an average trip to Beaches Turks & Caicos.  Positives included COVID testing and supplying health-related documents, a variety of restaurants, and a large property so you can find nooks and crannies to hide-out.  Things that were not positive included the average quality of the food, the average customer service, lack of communication between staff, and poor wifi signal throughout the property.  This was my second all-inclusive total and my first with Sandals/Beaches and my experience did not turn me off to the properties but also did not make me a fan.