By Chuck H (BonaireTalker - Post #33) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 8:34 am: |
I have been to Bonaire 3 times in the last 10 years. Its a great place and I feel comfortable while there. I've never personally had anything stolen but it does happen. I think that is possible just about anywhere. All 3 trips have had baggage problems or last minute cancellations. This is not a complaint but a plain and simple fact. The moderators and regulars of this board can say what they want about these facts. I have no idea if more people have good experiences or bad but its obvious there are frequent travel problems to Bonaire.
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By Marcus L. Barnes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #328) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 10:04 am: |
Sorry Chuck, I've never been very PC so I am compelled to respond. I have been to Bonaire 5 times in the last 4 years and I have never had any travel problems getting there and back. I have done plenty of boat and shore diving in the past and in my mind you get way more bang to the buck when shore diving not to mention the fact that I can dive on my own schedule and at the site of my choosing. I will leave you with this - if someone posts negative expiriences, I retain the right to respond to it with my positive expirences. People who have not been to Bonaire should hear both sides of the story. This, in my mind, is not bashing. Have a nice day.
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By Jason Bratton (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #7) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 10:14 am: |
I'll split the difference. Shore diving is just what the Dr. ordered for the wife and I. We love the dive at your own schedule, to our dive site of choice, avoid the crowd experience we get shore diving. It is just as big a factor for us to come to Bonaire as the reef. (And the reef is exceptional for Caribbean standards)
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By DARLENE ELLIS (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1457) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 10:47 am: |
Out of ten trips in the last five years we had only one problem of one of three suitcases not arriving until the next day and it was on American Airlines on our first trip. Flew Air Jamaica for the rest and we loved using them and the arrival times. Even our last March trip went well with all that is going on. However, I wouldn't quite trust Air Jamaica at this point in time to get me there. I am just hoping that they get their act together and get the great flight back to Bonaire! In the meantime, the next two flights are already booked on American Airlines!
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By Sue (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #101) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 11:06 am: |
I guess I need to put my 2 cents into this debate. I can both agree and disagree with some of the posts that are here. As some of you have said maybe some of the negative reviews have turned people away and I hope the good reviews have brought people to the island.
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By John"Smack"Anderson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #718) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 11:19 am: |
Hey Chuck! Thanks for the input. I respect your right to your opinion and agree with you on some points such as "getting there" and boat diving.
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By Cam (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #357) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 11:47 am: |
It seems that lately there have been numerous complaints regarding various Bon-related issues, from travel to theft to poor services, but what I find interesting is that pro-Bonaire posters are being constantly challenged and accused of being intolerant and biased. I for one, am biased in favour of Bonaire, and, like Marcus said, feel that any complaint or accusation can be addressed, most often with a positive anecdote. But what I find most interesting, is that people seem to feel that that this site and its posters, moderators, etc. are obligated to provide TOTALLY unbiased and objective reporting...I come to this site to look at the webcams, daydream about my next trip to Bon (in Oct), and converse with friends I have met there and on this site. When I found this site, I wasn't searching "Critique of Bonaire"....that is what we have Fodor's Guides and Travel agents for...I have found that this site has been a wealth of information, graciously given by generous posters and managed by diligent, FAIR moderators. I, for one, am getting a little tired of what seems to be travellers coming to this site for no other purpose than to bash Bonaire. With all the information on this site, I find it next to impossible that one can be surprised/shocked/appalled upon landing in Bonaire that IT ISN'T CANCUN, GRAND CAYMAN or HONALULU....so if your flight was late, your selection of beer was limited, the mosquitoes feasted on your legs, there was limited nightlife, you couldn't find white-powder beaches, your favorite Ray Bans were stolen from the dash of your truck while you were diving, and the only music in your hotel room are scratched "Best of Milli Vanilli" cd's, don't say you weren't warned. Go ahead, get on this site and complain your little heart out, but please allow me to retort that I like arriving in the dark, like Amstel beer, love my little mossie friends, love going to bed early after diving all day, rejoice in getting scatched by coral when exiting a great dive site, hate Ray Ban/love Serengheti, and still think Milli Vanilli rocks (it was all a conspiracy you know)...anyway, my point is that this site (as I understand it) was created as a mechanism for Bonaire LOVERS to keep in touch and talk about all things Bonaire (good and bad). As a relatively new member, I appreciate this site immensely. If people really had a crappy time on Bon, sure, put your tale on the site and move on, don't loiter around and argue with people who truly love the island and it's experiences, both the good and the bad. Hawaii can always take more people. So ends my rant.
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By Jim McCabe (BonaireTalker - Post #25) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 11:54 am: |
Isn't the purpose of trip reports to convey real life experiences, both good and bad, to those BT readers who might benefit from the information? Why is there a need to balance any negative experiences with a load of positive experiences? Seems like the goal with many people on this board is to promote the island, for whatever reason.
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By Sue (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #102) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 11:55 am: |
Here here CAM!
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By Jim McCabe (BonaireTalker - Post #26) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 12:02 pm: |
Cam sez: "...pro-Bonaire posters are being constantly challenged and accused of being intolerant and biased. I for one, am biased in favour of Bonaire..."
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By Cam (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #358) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 12:09 pm: |
Sigh...Yes Jim, guilty as charged...sob...yes, it is true....sniffle.....My name is Cam....and I am....a.....Bonaireaholic....there, I've said it...we've made great strides today
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By Marcus L. Barnes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #329) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 12:48 pm: |
Jim: Here's Why. If you look under Trip Reports entitled "Yikes - Bonaire Trip Reconsidered" you'll see that the author of this thread was thinking about cancelling his first Bonaire Trip based on the negative reports he was reading on Bonaire Talk. Those with positive expiriences came on line and related their positive expiriences. This persuaded him to continue with his plan to visit Bonaire. This, to me, is a good thing. My name is Marcus and, I, too am a Bonaireaholic.
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By Mark Degan (BonaireTalker - Post #46) on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 1:20 pm: |
Chuck, thanks for your post. What airline(s) were you flying? We've only flown AA and have had minimal delays. One time, a few of our bags were late getting back, but we were forewarned at the gate that they were bumping a few bags to the next flight.
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By William Tweed (BonaireTalker - Post #44) on Thursday, June 9, 2005 - 12:31 am: |
I think a large part of the problem of negative postings occurs because some folks feel that if one new complaining thread is good, three or four or more must be better. Usually these posts have very little information and tantalizing titles. They seem to seek to provoke, they often resemble trolls. Recently, a gentleman posted numerous uninformative posts bashing AJ and complaining about his lost vacation, when it seems his AJ flights arrived on time on the island and he and his spouse were the only ones not on the plane. Now that's a sad thing, but it is in NO WAY the fault of anyone on Bonaire, so why should he bash the island? The gentleman also withheld the information from us that he had travel insurance for his trip - insurance he bought because he read this board. I may be a cockeyed optimist, but I think I would have been burning up the phone lines to Air Jamaica, and not believing anything told to me by the agents of the airline that was screwing up my trip after they had confirmed my flight.
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By Jim McCabe (BonaireTalker - Post #27) on Thursday, June 9, 2005 - 11:46 am: |
I guess I'll never understand why folks are so concerned that others might get an "incorrect picture" of Bonaire. (Unless of course you guys own businesses there or something )
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By Marcus L. Barnes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #330) on Thursday, June 9, 2005 - 12:48 pm: |
I guess I'll never understand why some folks think only negative trip reports have any value when it comes to effective trip planning.
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By Belinda Z (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #350) on Thursday, June 9, 2005 - 12:50 pm: |
Jim,
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By Cam (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #361) on Thursday, June 9, 2005 - 1:13 pm: |
Hi Belinda..... I'm not disagreeing with Jim...my rant was more in relation to those posters that complain that every time they post something negative they get beat up by the pro-Bonaire thugs...my point is that if you really had a bad experience, go ahead and post it....you've done you bit for King and Country...helping out other naive travelers that may be considering a trip to Bonaire...leave it at that...but we may have an alternate perception of the exact same scenario...you know what they say "One man's trash is another man's treasure"....take Chuck's original post at the top as a perfect example.. "The Truth About Getting To Bonaire"....pretty catchy, eh? It sounds very much like any other post which may argue his position is a lie, no? But waitaminute....whose truth are we speaking....my trip from Calgary went without a hitch, both ways..., even though we were delayed in San Juan...to me, this was no biggie...
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By James Tate (BonaireTalker - Post #48) on Thursday, June 9, 2005 - 3:12 pm: |
THis is for mr. Tweed.When I called Travel guard I was given a feeling there might be a problem collecting since the trip cancellation was carrier caused. Through Marry's efforts at Sanddollar we will get our hotel refund I can't thank her enough. If you bothered to read my last post I explained the hours I spent with both Delta and AJ and got nowhere. I have a few smaller expenses to file with Travel Guard but according to them it could take 4 to 6 weeks.I can say one thing Bonaire must very special and I am sad that we did not get to see it.I hope all of you who make a first trip and those who keep returning have great experiences.
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By Belinda Z (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #351) on Thursday, June 9, 2005 - 10:25 pm: |
Cam,
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By William Tweed (BonaireTalker - Post #45) on Friday, June 10, 2005 - 3:09 am: |
James, I was referring to making calls from the airport on the morning of your departure to try and obtain a more accurate picture of the status of the AJ flights directly, not second hand from Delta.
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By James Tate (BonaireTalker - Post #49) on Friday, June 10, 2005 - 9:53 am: |
Thanks for the come back. Delta did refund the ticket money and the idea I got from the delta agent was this was the last resort .I am sure he did not with hold any information.I was under the impression AJ had just cancelled the flight that morning which was not the case delta just did not process the 6/1 notification in time. I had no reason to question the delta agent and I did not have the travel experience to call AJ direct things did not work out.I will be more prepared in the future. This whole experience has been a real eye opener. The trips we have taken were always with one air line using their planes, now I know better.I hope they do get reliable air to Bonaire some day, I would love to see it.
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By William Tweed (BonaireTalker - Post #46) on Friday, June 10, 2005 - 2:34 pm: |
AA is pretty reliable, James, Jake takes it all the time.
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By Freddie Hughes (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6213) on Friday, June 10, 2005 - 2:41 pm: |
Mr. Tweed , You have mail....
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By Jake Richter - NetTech (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #5525) on Friday, June 10, 2005 - 2:45 pm: |
AA and AE are part of the same network - same luggage handlers, ticketing system, and reservations. That's good enough for me...
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By Marcus L. Barnes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #334) on Friday, June 10, 2005 - 2:52 pm: |
In 5 trips to Bonaire, I have never had a problem with American/American Eagle.
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By Kelly Baum (GDLW) (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2713) on Friday, June 10, 2005 - 3:04 pm: |
A huge factor for me, and frankly I'm willing to pay a little more for it, is that flying AA/Am. Eagle, you don't have to claim your bags and go through customs/immigration and recheck baggage. I'm spoiled that way... I just want to get where I'm going, the easiest way possible with the least amount of fuss. Of course you still have to reclaim and recheck in SJU on your return flight, but somehow that seems more palatable to me.
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By Chuck H (BonaireTalker - Post #34) on Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 5:36 pm: |
I'm glad I was able to spark some good honest discussion about Bonaire. I'm sure there are 2 sides to every story and I was only presenting mine. Let me clear up a couple of points.
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