Owen Roberts Airport departure lounge opens

[Joneill]

Sitting in Owen Roberts departure are now - it’s quite a zoo with nowhere near enough seating, no duty free shops and only a little snack bar with a HUGE line - lots of unhappy travelers here. They can’t finish the new departure area soon enough!

Cayman Airways is a complete cluster the last 2 days as well. Still unclear if our 4:05 flight is on time as the gate says or if it’s delayed as per the e-mail we got or the website. Not impressed with Cayman Airways this year at all! Poor communication!

 

[KathyV]

I think Miami is the worst ever, although Global Entry has really helped a lot.

Milan was also really bad and so was Cairo but Inchon, South Korea was the best immigration and customs experience I have ever had.

I had a very bad experience once in the airport in Provo, T&Cs because I was randomly selected for the dreaded ZZZZZ designation. I understand that the authorities are just doing what they feel is necessary to keep their facilities secure - but they were rude and demanding and uncommunicative. When my husband wanted to stay with me while I was being abused they shouted and threatened to arrest him. It left a bad taste in our mouths at the end of a lovely vacation.

 

[scubadada]

I think Miami is the worst ever, although Global Entry has really helped a lot.

Milan was also really bad and so was Cairo but Inchon, South Korea was the best immigration and customs experience I have ever had.

I had a very bad experience once in the airport in Provo, T&Cs because I was randomly selected for the dreaded ZZZZZ designation. I understand that the authorities are just doing what they feel is necessary to keep their facilities secure - but they were rude and demanding and uncommunicative. When my husband wanted to stay with me while I was being abused they shouted and threatened to arrest him. It left a bad taste in our mouths at the end of a lovely vacation.

The experience is very individual. We have a house in Florida, have come and gone from Miami several times, it was always fine. I have Global Entry for the return, it's great. We also had a very easy time coming and going from Cairo, quick and easy. My least favorite foreign airport is Frankfort, Germany. I have had to go through security as many as 3 times. Nearly impossible to use a lounge at times. I have faced additional security on several occasions, has never been particularly intrusive or time consuming. Entry into Grand Cayman has been time consuming on a few occasions when the arriving flights have been at nearly the same time. We had a easy time in Roatan, somewhat infamous for delays.

 

[KathyV]

Sitting in Owen Roberts departure are now - it’s quite a zoo with nowhere near enough seating, no duty free shops and only a little snack bar with a HUGE line - lots of unhappy travelers here. They can’t finish the new departure area soon enough!

Cayman Airways is a complete cluster the last 2 days as well. Still unclear if our 4:05 flight is on time as the gate says or if it’s delayed as per the e-mail we got or the website. Not impressed with Cayman Airways this year at all! Poor communication!

Are you on your way home or are you traveling to one of the sister islands of Cayman Brac or Little Cayman?

For future reference, we try to make sure that we will have enough time to check in and check our bags and then take the free shuttle to the George Town Yacht Club. It is a lovely venue and a much nicer experience than hanging around the airport, see the link below.

Home

 

[Saboteur]

Not wanting to sound vengeful, but from traveling extensively over the world (although only 60 countries or so up till now) my experience is that the worst country to enter as a visitor is the US. Very long lines and waiting times, and in general the most unfriendly immigration staff. Global Entry is only available for citizens from about 10 countries or.

This to put the comments on Cayman immigration issues in a bit more perspective!

Really? That has not been my experience. I find US Customs and Immigration very friendly and civil. You want unfriendly, try being a Canadastan citizen returning home and going through the interrogation by the gestapo.

 

[k4kafka]

Really? That has not been my experience. I find US Customs and Immigration very friendly and civil. You want unfriendly, try being a Canadastan citizen returning home and going through the interrogation by the gestapo.

Where is “Canadastan” ? I don’t find it on Google Maps.

 

[Joneill]

Are you on your way home or are you traveling to one of the sister islands of Cayman Brac or Little Cayman?

For future reference, we try to make sure that we will have enough time to check in and check our bags and then take the free shuttle to the George Town Yacht Club. It is a lovely venue and a much nicer experience than hanging around the airport, see the link below.

Home

On our way home (actually just landed in a heavy thunderstorm). I don’t mind the airport, but heard lots of folks grumbling!

Did get to speak to a woman who has lived there for 3 years now and she suggested the same thing for future (check bags and grab the shuttle to the yacht club) - we might check that out next time. Thanks!

 

[Saboteur]

Where is “Canadastan” ? I don’t find it on Google Maps.

It's a little country bordering USA along the northern states.

 

[mi000ke]

Just arrived this afternoon. Depending on where you were in the line getting off the plane you were through immigration in from 5 to 20 minutes. Most of the plane had gone through immigration before the bags even started coming out. And customs was a 30 second walk through. Will post how our departure goes next week. The word from one of the airport workers is that the departure lounge should be done by November. We're coming back then, so I'll post what I find.

 

[Joneill]

Just arrived this afternoon. Depending on where you were in the line getting off the plane you were through immigration in from 5 to 20 minutes. Most of the plane had gone through immigration before the bags even started coming out. And customs was a 30 second walk through. Will post how our departure goes next week. The word from one of the airport workers is that the departure lounge should be done by November. We're coming back then, so I'll post what I find.

We flew in on 7/12 (a Thursday) and arrival was really fast and no hassle - we were through in about 10 minutes and our bags were already waiting off the carousel!

We usually avoid traveling on weekends to avoid the crowds, but family scheduling resulted in flying out yesterday. We got there about 3.5 hours early (1:30) as Cayman Airways had conflicting info on a flight delay.

Check in and and security were fine and went quickly. However, the departure waiting area was a mob scene and the snack bar line was crazy and there was no shopping. There were also noxious odors if you sat (more likely stood) anywhere near the bathrooms! All of this should be resolved once the terminal is complete - but, in the meantime, be prepared or hit the yacht club as has been suggested!

One area that will continue to suck is the rental car area - it is a complete mess and they told me that there are no current plans to redo it. As one of the first and last experiences for travelers, they really need to address that area and figure out a better layout.