Is Club Mobay worth it? $225 for our family of 5
Jun 23rd, 2023, 09:08 AM
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Is Club Mobay worth it? $225 for our family of 5
Hello there:
My family of 5 is traveling to Montego Bay, Jamaica next week. Its me, my hubby, 2 kids (14 and 8) and my mom. Has any one used the Club Mobay service to expedite customs, immigration, etc. and is it worth it? For arrival service only, its $50 per adult and $25 per child. So for our family, it would be $225. That's significant for us and I am wondering whether its worth it. Does anyone know if the Montego Bay airport immigration / customs takes a while? I would imagine it gets pretty busy during the summer. But perhaps they are used to it and have streamlined?
Some details they shared about service:
"You are met at the aircraft and escorted by a VIP agent with expedited service through Immigration.
The agent retrieves your bags from the carousel then takes you through Customs expedited line.
You will have the option of going to the VIP arrivals lounge for snacks and refreshments or be escorted to the Half Moon lounge"
We would mostly just be doing it for the expedited service through immigration, not the lounge as much. And we don't really need baggage help as much.
My family of 5 is traveling to Montego Bay, Jamaica next week. Its me, my hubby, 2 kids (14 and 8) and my mom. Has any one used the Club Mobay service to expedite customs, immigration, etc. and is it worth it? For arrival service only, its $50 per adult and $25 per child. So for our family, it would be $225. That's significant for us and I am wondering whether its worth it. Does anyone know if the Montego Bay airport immigration / customs takes a while? I would imagine it gets pretty busy during the summer. But perhaps they are used to it and have streamlined?
Some details they shared about service:
"You are met at the aircraft and escorted by a VIP agent with expedited service through Immigration.
The agent retrieves your bags from the carousel then takes you through Customs expedited line.
You will have the option of going to the VIP arrivals lounge for snacks and refreshments or be escorted to the Half Moon lounge"
We would mostly just be doing it for the expedited service through immigration, not the lounge as much. And we don't really need baggage help as much.
Jun 24th, 2023, 02:30 AM
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How much time savings would be worth it to you? Would saving 10minutes be worth it to you? How about 30? Or 1 hour? Or is 2 the break even point?
I have no experience at Montego but I can't see how that $ to save time is worth it.... Just a guess, but chances are good you'll be through immigration before your bags get to baggage claim anyway.
You can help yourself for free by sitting forward in the plane and not taking extra time after you get off the plane before immigration.
Jamaican officials aren't looking to exclude travelers from the US from entering or prevent illegal immigration. Travelers will all have valid passports (as verified by the airline before boarding) so it's not like there's a horde of undocumented travelers showing up at the borders slowing things doen.
Also, you don't need to just imagine if it'll be busy. You can check what planes arrive around the same time you do and compare that to other times in the day.
Regardless, you'll need to get used to island time anyway.....arrival is a good time to start.
I have no experience at Montego but I can't see how that $ to save time is worth it.... Just a guess, but chances are good you'll be through immigration before your bags get to baggage claim anyway.
You can help yourself for free by sitting forward in the plane and not taking extra time after you get off the plane before immigration.
Jamaican officials aren't looking to exclude travelers from the US from entering or prevent illegal immigration. Travelers will all have valid passports (as verified by the airline before boarding) so it's not like there's a horde of undocumented travelers showing up at the borders slowing things doen.
Also, you don't need to just imagine if it'll be busy. You can check what planes arrive around the same time you do and compare that to other times in the day.
Regardless, you'll need to get used to island time anyway.....arrival is a good time to start.
Last edited by J62; Jun 24th, 2023 at 02:35 AM.
Jun 24th, 2023, 05:01 PM
#3
I do have experience at Sangster International Airport (MBJ) but not recent enough to comment. But even 10 years ago people were using the expedited services because of how crazy the airport is. I did not and it was fine but no don't expect anything to be streamlined (haha). Just go with the flow and allow plenty of time.
Aug 21st, 2023, 01:11 PM
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Sorry I never responded back here. Things got CRAZY for us before we left (lots of flight cancellations and I ended up spending FIVE HOURS on the phone with the airlines getting the 5 of us out there to Jamaica through alternate stopover cities and multiple airlines).
Thank you so much to @suze and @J62 for responding. I ended up not buying MOBAY. It took us about 1 hour and 10 minutes to clear immigration. Not great, but I think it was not worth it to us. Someone else in the party arrived at 11 AM ish and cleared immigration in 10 minutes. So it totally depends on what time you land.
We had a fantastic trip!
Thank you so much to @suze and @J62 for responding. I ended up not buying MOBAY. It took us about 1 hour and 10 minutes to clear immigration. Not great, but I think it was not worth it to us. Someone else in the party arrived at 11 AM ish and cleared immigration in 10 minutes. So it totally depends on what time you land.
We had a fantastic trip!
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