Bag-Drag updates?

[judydivescoz]

I use a taxi often from the airport in Cancun and have never had an issue with getting dropped by the ADO bus station. Even in a van we get dropped off there. The Xcaret ferry runs on the 1/2 hour. It’s our preferred ferry. It’s clean and fast. About 35 minutes. No cocktails served.

 

[dberry]

That's good to know - I guess my previous taxi drivers were less flexible about where they could drop us off.

 

[Brodydog]

No cocktails served.

That’s ok. I can get my first adult beverage at the bar stand at the ferry docks. I don’t recommend the watered down frozen drinks, but their sign gave me a laugh.

 

[judydivescoz]

That’s ok. I can get my first adult beverage at the bar stand at the ferry docks. I don’t recommend the watered down frozen drinks, but their sign gave me a laugh.

View attachment 868949

By the time I get to the ferry all I want to do is get home! No cocktails Required!

 

[Bookworm11]

I just did the bag drag on 11/9. The Cancun airport was a nightmare. It took me 90 minutes to get out of there between clearing customs and getting my luggage (and my luggage came fairly quickly and our flight arrived 30 minutes early!) Customs was a total disaster. The bus and ferry were OK. My flight landed at 2:30, and I was at my hotel by 6.

 

[ReefHound]

I just did the bag drag on 11/9. The Cancun airport was a nightmare. It took me 90 minutes to get out of there between clearing customs and getting my luggage (and my luggage came fairly quickly and our flight arrived 30 minutes early!) Customs was a total disaster. The bus and ferry were OK. My flight landed at 2:30, and I was at my hotel by 6.

That's odd. What terminal? Were they inspecting every bag, every passenger? Every time I've flown in there last few years we have literally walked past customs. There would be a person in the hall ask about alcohol and tobacco and direct many 1 in 20 to inspection tables. We saw that while waiting for bags one time and headed to them right after they pointed someone over on the theory that the next dozen would be directed to keep walking and so far it's worked.

 

[ggunn]

That's odd. What terminal? Were they inspecting every bag, every passenger? Every time I've flown in there last few years we have literally walked past customs. There would be a person in the hall ask about alcohol and tobacco and direct many 1 in 20 to inspection tables. We saw that while waiting for bags one time and headed to them right after they pointed someone over on the theory that the next dozen would be directed to keep walking and so far it's worked.

Like any other international airport the CUN airport is designed to handle X number of non resident passengers arriving at once, and if conditions cause 2X passengers to arrive at the same time, it will cause the system to slow down until the clog is cleared. It can happen anywhere.

 

[Snoweman]

Like any other international airport the CUN airport is designed to handle X number of non resident passengers arriving at once, and if conditions cause 2X passengers to arrive at the same time, it will cause the system to slow down until the clog is cleared. It can happen anywhere.

The last time I returned to ATL from CUN, there were huge lines at customs (ATL). I got in the shorter Global Entry line. By the time I got through the line, all the other lines were gone. Global Entry sucks compared to what it used to be.

 

[rmssetc]

The last time I returned to ATL from CUN, there were huge lines at customs (ATL). I got in the shorter Global Entry line. By the time I got through the line, all the other lines were gone. Global Entry sucks compared to what it used to be.

YMMV, and it's all pretty random on any given day & airport.

My experience:

Nov 4
PHL -> DFW -> CUN -> ADO -> CZM
Left PHL at about 10AM
Customs in CUN -- there was a long backup in the lines for domestic (Mexican) entry, and the queue for US visitors was empty and closed. As I approached behind 2 other people, they opened the barricade, I walked up to the passport scanner, and then was almost immediately directed through immigration with no delay. Luggage took about 45 min. There was no delay for inspection (and no significant number of other passengers being inspected). The ADO bus was delayed by about 15 minutes due to an accident on the highway, so I missed the 7:30 ferry, got the 8PM, and was in CZM before 9.

Nov 14
Left CZM on the 10AM ferry -- rainy, choppy, but not terrible weather -- I purchased my ferry ticket the night before.
Heavy rain in PDC -- to the point where my luggage was soaked through during the few minutes of bag-drag, trying to stay under awnings.
I had pre-purchased the bus ticket in CZM (from the ADO storefront on Calle 2N between 5th & 10th) so I walked right past the line of people queued to buy tickets and boarded promptly. No significant bus delays despite heavy rain for the first 1/2 of the drive -- the 11:05 bus got to T3 by 12:20PM.
Outbound security took seconds. There was no check for the FMM QR code or Visitax.
Inbound Immigration in PHL was fast -- stand still for about 3 seconds for a photo then walk directly to baggage claim (thanks, Global Entry). No Customs paperwork or inspection. Home before 9PM.

Of course, this is only a single anectdode, not "data"...and it's a lot better than my last experience doing the same return route, where everything went fine until PHL, where they sent all luggage to a different carousel and didn't notify any passengers for about an hour (last international arrival of the evening).

 

[ReefHound]

Like any other international airport the CUN airport is designed to handle X number of non resident passengers arriving at once, and if conditions cause 2X passengers to arrive at the same time, it will cause the system to slow down until the clog is cleared. It can happen anywhere.

The point is, there was nothing in customs to "clog". No line. No button to push for red light or green light. No wait at all, unless you were one of the random directed to an inspection table. Baggage area was jam packed and the airport overall was crowded. So it's not like there were few planes arriving and within 1X number of passengers. Customs simply was not causing a backup by selecting people for inspection unless there were inspection tables and officers ready to go.

CUN is not like CZM where every bag goes through a scanner, every household turns in a customs form and pushes the button.