Here's a bit of what I wrote to travel agent as well as problems with Air Jamaica JFK/Montego Bay flights that were NOT on AJ!:
1- they do not represent AJ as I told the AJ rep that was on our outbound flight- she said they have had numerous complaints and I should report my problems to headquarters but she needed to know also. On the return flight same thing when talking to the AJ reps.
2- AJ boasts "Lovebird service" and free champagne with meals. Leaving JFK I asked for glass with breakfast- was told they only serve with lunch and dinner. I told the attendant oh no- you serve with ALL meals at which she backed down and opened a bottle. Then others who did not press the point joined in. The AJ rep was furious about this. Was the champagne coming out of the attendants pocket one wonders?
3- Seats -many many of them- did not recline or reclined when you sat down and then ended up in the person behind you-in their lap. There was almost a fistfight about this on the flight back till attendant found aft guy another seat and musical chairs was played.
4-Tray tables dumped food onto peoples laps as they also were broken.
5- Returning from Montego Bay while sitting on runway for 1 hour (Ernesto!!!) "condensation" formed and was pouring onto people near windows. They were given napkins and told it "should" lighten up when plane took off. Later I looked around and saw so many napkins stuffed into vents that it reminded me of a guy who was shaving with a old razor blade and cut himself a hundred times and stuck tissues all over his face!
6-Attendants while nice were semi incompetent- people asked for stuff-drinks, water, a meal choice they were given and it was forgotten. I watched when we landed in MB - the pilot had told the flight attendants to prepare for landing- we started to hit the ground and one bozo was walking down the aisle instead of sitting like he was supposed to and he went flying (no pun intended).
The planes were just plain ancient things and were not what we paid to be on. I wondered if they even had working engines.
There are other problems that I am going to write to my agent and AJ about but they are written on some papers at home and not here at work.
I have no problem with charters- WHEN I PAY FOR THEM. The first AJ rep told me that since their problems a year ago June (where they canceled my flight from JFK and told me I had to go to EWR- that did not happen- they had to pay over $300 to get me onto AA flights to CUR!)-, they lost alot of pilots and attendants and so now had to use North American. They should advise
people of that when booking as well as lower their fares since using a cheap charter.
Lydia


As far as Buddys I would not send people there. While I admit I do like luxury I know we did not pay for it. But we did pay for a "dive hotel" and not a divey place. The dive operation has no right calling themselves one. They run cattle boats and do not have enough of them for the capacity of the hotel. They did not run some of the 3 scheduled boats some days even, making it a race to sign up for the cattle boat that they did run. When everyone complained to the manager we were told sorry but later in the week he'd put on more boats. That meant 2 days we had boats of 14 people instead of 16. Mooooo!!!!
I have been to many ops in Bonaire that are fun correctly- Capt Dons, Sand Dollar, Harbour Village and even the Divi is run better.

The hotel was so run down that they should be ashamed. Other places were similar prices and vastly nicer so it's not like we paid cheap to get cheap.
While of course you can't even compare it to Harbour Village, - Sand Dollar, Capt Dons and certainly Plaza are vastly nicer and better accommodations.
Again the people were nice but we paid for more than nice people. I never stayed at a hotel without tissues- we were told to use toilet paper. Also no washcloths. Told to use handtowels if we really needed too. The walls were not only peeling on 3 of the 4 livingroom walls- they were cracking with large paint pieces all over floor and counter that housekeeping left for the entire week. The drawers in all the bedrooms either had no handles, had makeshift handles or dropped on your feet if you could open them. The bathrooms had rusty faucets covered with lime and deposits. The shower door used to have a handle but it was broken off and you cut yourself if you went near it. The shower was a hand hold on a hook. The water pressure caused it to jump and at times shoot off the hook - and writhe around like a snake till you got it- when it hit you during this it could cause damage as the pressure was strong. You had to be constantly aware of this or risk getting hit of bonked on the head with the metal shower head. The front door handle kept coming off in our hands and later in the week you couldn't lock it without a 10 minute struggle. I will admit the a/c in the kids room worked great. The living room was great when we arrived and then dwindled till it broke entirely later in the week. Our bedroom never worked right thought they came up and told us there was a "sensor" and we had to keep the door shut- still didn't work right. I will also admit the rooms were large. Tony is not a picky person and he even thought Buddys was a dump with a cattle boat op.

Again I have stayed many places in BON over the years- places that were cheaper, places that cost more- I will never go near Buddys again and suggest if
you have divers don't send them there.
The truck they first gave us had no seat belts- we were told you don't have to wear them. Well sure I don't but with a old truck with a stick
shift you bet I want too! Also seat did not move forward or back (Ellens truck same thing)- no one could reach any pedals- they did give us
a much nicer one cause Tony brought it back immediately. The hotel just was a real dump where we were. Old paint all over, broken stuff in each room, what I told you- would you be happy? And the dive op was - no kidding -run like a dog and pony show. I watched Capt Don boats all day go and come with the usual amount of divers. Buddys had like I said 3 boats- a few times they ran 2 at one time but they were always packed to the gills. I've been all over the world- Don Fosters in the old days ran boats like that- herd them on and off. A diver does not pay good money to be - if you're lucky enough to get on a boat- packed, rushed and returned. All the DMs were nice though but one- and you always have that. I find no fault with any personnel at Buddys hotel or dive shop. Ellen can tell you about her experiences in her room with faulty stuff, bugs etc...
And another person agreed:
That apartment seems to be in better condtion than the one we were in including the furniture. The "couch" in our room was only a 2 seater and that and the chairs were not designed for naps or and kind of relaxing other than a short sit. Our tv was smaller too. Our bedroom area was way smaller and darker with only one small window which we kept the curtains closed because we were on the ground floor with no view and tough to navigate into the closet the way the door opened into the room. Then there were the mosquitos that liked to live in the closet. And the air conditioning over the bed either kept us freezing or too hot. Never could get it right - that remote control was driving me crazy. I live in Florida, I thought I understood air conditioning. We were in room 303 the most southern side of the property looking right at the fence between Sand Dollar right by the front desk.

Really, I am not a complainer and have happily stayed many places around the world with modest accommodations and I did not know if this was Bonaire or just this room at Buddy's but the room's feel of a cheap motel did stand out to me as the only thing that was not as great as Buddy's reputation for me. Whoops, and that woman in the dive shop.

and another unhappy AJ customer:
As for the airline, I'm writing a really nasty note to AJam for the crap they put us through.

The flight from JFK to Montego Bay was NOT on Air Jamaica, but on an airline called "North American Airlines".

From what I've learned, it's a semi-charter airline that a) does a lot of transporting of government personnel (including military), and b) gets a lot of business taking flights off the hands of airlines that don't have enough planes to cover their routes (repairs, stuff like that).

For whatever reason, we had them for the flights from and to New York and Montego Bay. The flights between MTB and Bonaire were both fine and on AJ.

Both legs were on 757B's, however, AJ only had 32 rows, where NAA managed to squeeze 36 rows in.

You figure out where the difference came in.

No. Wait. I'll let my kneecaps tell you...and that's just the beginning of the complaints I have.

******

Someone did send me pic of their place at Buddys that was so vastly different and superior to our palce that it seems as we were staying at a totally different hotel! Dive op as far as boat dives seems to be similair exp with all.

Just my (and others) 2 cents,
Lydia

Lydia , I have to agree with you about AJ . We will no longer use them anymore. With the problems we have encountered in the past. We now use Continental. Any airline can have problems, but AJ seems the worst. There are other who would use them, but we no longer will . Sorry to hear of the other problems, but one good thing you were on Bonaire and were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery and ocean

Lydia: We're booked for Buddy's and flying on AJ at the end of October. So, now I'm thinking that I'm going to be in a run down, broken down room, diving on cattle cars and then never getting home because of AJ issues. Maybe long meditation will help me still be excited about the trip. Sorry about what happened to you. At least if it happens to me, I'll have been warned.

Rob- if you are out of EWR you will get AJ but if you are out of JFK bet you get the crappy charter unless they change things.

As far as Buddys- I did see someone's pic of a good room- he had a 2nd floor as I saw a staircase- that room is what I expect to get at a resort- not luxury but nice, clean with working things.
The dive op is another story- I would dive with Capt Dons if I were doing boat dives, if land based you don't have to worry about it.
Bon Bini,
Lydia

I flew on North American Airlines on a Club Med charter to Domincan Republic several years ago and agree that the plane was a complete dump. My seat cushion was broken and we had to stuff pillows on it so I wouldn't be cut by the sheet metal. My husband's tray table was broken & he had to eat from his lap.

We unfortunately left a few things on the plane on rush to leave at JFK. We parked in the middle of the tarmac & they brought one of the buses out and told us to leave. After we got to the terminal we immediately knew we had forgotten things (including a child's favorite toy and her new club med hat...imagine the crying) We tried to return to the plane to get the items - we weren't allowed. That evening and the next few days I called the office every few hours, after we were promised the items were retrieved - nothing. It is the worst charter service I have ever seen and would avoid at all costs.

Given our horrible experience with AJ in Feb05, we switched to AA this year and will be on Cont in 2007 and will NEVER go back to AJ. As they say: You get what you pay for!

Lydia..We had a horrible experience with AJ 2 years ago & I swore I'd never fly them again. Last year we flew Continental without a hitch. Next year we're also using Continental & flying out on the red eye out of Newark as a non stop. AJ used to be good with the operative words "Used to". Now I wouldn't go near them at all.

We've all stayed in bad rooms at one time or another. Hope your experience didn't taint your view of the island. We've stayed many times at Belmar, Bellafonte , H.V., Plaza & Sand dollar & have always enjoyed our accomodations. I also limit my diving to land based only. I can't stand a cattleboat. Try doing beach dives only on your next trip. You may decide you really like the convenience & freedom & never go back.

Hey Vince,
Oh I love BON- been there 8 to 10 times and have stayed at Sand Dollar a few times, Capt Don's, Harbour Village (sigh!) and the Divi years ago. Even the Divi as roach infested as it was then was still in better shape than our Buddys room. And all the dive shops were vastly superior- all of them - to Buddys. While I like shore dives, I like my boat dives- 6 of them is not too many to ask to be able to do.
It's really simple- I will never go back to Buddys and tell others about my exp so they are forewarned. Hopefully they will be luckier than me but with so many other places that are nicer and 5 star dive ops that do not run cattle boats I think the choice is not to try to get lucky with Buddys.
I'll be back to BON again soon-and while EWR is a pain for me to get to I guess I'll have to do it.
Thanks for all your comments!
Lydia

Have used AJ many times and will continue to do so until they go out of business. Stayed at Buddy Dive 1 time and had a 1 bedroom condo with no complaints. Sorry to hear about your problems with AJ and Buddy's. I hope you had good diving while you were there. Next time try shorediving and a different hotel... Ron

We stopped flying with AJ.Our last flight with them was Feb 2005. That was when the FAA got after them, as they could not produce the proper maintenance documents, and they were shut out of the US, or their planes were stuck in the US. They have just simply let their fleet go. They didn't have working toilets on one of flights. The seat cushions had no padding. Some of them did not recline or simply went all the way back. I could go on and on. This past March, on our way home flying, AA had made a decision to stop serving food, so next time we will plan ahead. If your rooms were so awfull and rundown, did you not ask for a different location? If you had booked thru a travel agency, why did you not cal them and ask for their help?

In fairness to AJ - it wasn't one of their planes, it was North American Airlines (a charter). Lydia said the MB-Bonaire leg was fine.

Seeing as AJ doesn't fly out of Boston anymore, I won't be able to enjoy (or not) either AJ or North American Airlines in lieu of AJ... We're trying the Continental route in less than 2 weeks.

Sorry to hear about your flight and stay. We stayed at Buddy's in Feb and will be again in December. We had a room that we did not like but we we're moved to a much better room our 2nd day after asking.

As to their dive-op, my impression was that while there were fewer DM's to divers than you would see at a top notch dive resort I did not feel that they ran cattle boats when compared to some of the ops you will see elsewhere (Cozumel ect.).

We will not be doing any boat dives this trip but that is because there is not really a reason to do any boat dives in Bonaire (IMHO) rather than a reflection of Buddy's.

We must of stayed at a different Buddy in July. We had 3 condos between us and all 3 were fine, same with the trucks.

I had a horrible experience on AJ and I wrote them a scathing letter. In response they sent me a $200 voucher. I will never use this voucher, they could not pay me to fly that airline again. I have never seen such incompetence.

Lydia:
We have stayed several times through the years at Buddy Dive. We have always had good condos and frankly good experiences using the dive boats. Yes, at times the boats had 12-14 divers, as we often go during Christmas. However; many times, the boats had 4-7 divers as was the case this past June during a two week trip.
I am sorry your experience was not good. If we had experienced the same as you, I am sure we would feel the same.
Please, do us all a favor, and put in writing to Buddy Dive Resort, the poor experience you had both with the condos and the dive operation. They are a business, and most probably would like to hear and know how negatively they have impacted some of their guests.
I wish you safe travels and good diving.

Oh Migosh! I have already booked an 8-day dive package at Buddy's (1 dive per day) for the first week of December. Having done my OW certification with them last December (I did not stay there, though, and did all shore diving on that trip), and having a great OW instructor (Matthieu Foudraine), I thought that I would give them a shot and do a dive-package trip this time -- that includes the room, truck, breakfast, and unlimited air for the shore diving that I will be doing the balance of the time. Hope I did not make a mistake!!!! I 100% concur with Sandy R. and hope that Lydia and any others with negative experiences with the "cattle-boat" diving set-up do write to Buddy's so that they get it fixed before December! (really selfish, aren't I???). My last cattle-boat experience was last March in Dominica -- and it is NOT fun!

Steve

I'm looking forward to a trip to Bonaire next week, staying at Buddy's. My last trip to Bonaire was in Sept/1999, and we stayed there. I was satisfied with the place that I booked there again for this trip. I've stayed at my share of luxury resorts - of which Buddy's is not. But I'm not looking for a Four Seasons while I'm on Bonaire. I want a place that's nice but casual, has clean rooms, and a friendly staff. I'm hoping much hasn't changed since '99, and I'll be perfectly content.

Last time I was there, we only did a couple of boat dives, and only once was the boat full. Shore diving is the way to go on Bonaire.

Sorry to hear things didn't work out on your trip. The Air Jamaica thing really sounds like a disaster.

Hi all, thank you for your experiences- good and bad. Those who had good on AJ and at Buddys- great!
I used to love AJ- still love AJ when I actually get their own equip and crew but not their charter. I paid full px and expect AJ all the way-not a cheap rubberband driven charter that they hired out for a pittance- I want refund for charter legs and will let you know what happens.

As far as Buddys- those who had good rooms and dives - again great! I didn't. I booked 6 boat dives cause we wanted to do Klein Bonaire. The rest of the dives were shore dives but if I book boat dives it's cause I want to do them, and if they accept the reservations and money they should be able to deliver as every other dive op on BON does - and the others do it better as far as I'm concerned- been there many times at many hotels- I know what they can deliver. Thanks for the suggestion I only do shore dives but that is not my schtick for whole week- Klein BON calls me and I must answer! ;-)

The room was a dump, my friends room was a dump. I did not ask for another room for a few reasons- we had 2 kids with us and after dragging the luggage upstairs I dreaded moving, I assumed that Buddy's would have put us in a decent room - that all the rooms were comparable so why would I ask to be moved to another to find the same thing? The front desk and our house keeper was aware of our dissatisfaction as we kept asking for towels, tissues, ac to be fixed a few times, amenties to try to make the week somewhat enjoyable. As a customer I expect the hotel I stay at to be properly maintained - room 712 was not, nor was my friends room 705. A customer shouldn't have to move-they should keep all rooms maintained.
A few shining spots of last week were of course the diving, the staff at the hotel was nice including an outstanding girl at front desk that helped get me to a dentist cause of severe mouth pain I got. Also Rob in dive shop certified the kids- he's a gem. Bobby Jans-yum! BLue Cactus- Yum. Richards as always -double yum. And thanks to this forum discovered Lost Penguin.


To those going to Buddys have fun- hopefully you won't get room 712 or 705 with falling paint from walls, no drawer handles, a broken shower door that cuts you if not careful, falling apart kitchen, piece mealed furniture, etc.. - Luxury? Hah- not nice nor casual as far as I'm concerned- a dump! And may you all have good diving whatever your preference.
Lydia




(Message edited by lydiah on August 30, 2006)

(Message edited by lydiah on August 30, 2006)

(Message edited by lydiah on August 30, 2006)

Steve - I would not sweat your stay at Buddy's. We will be there the same week as you in December, and while there are definitely some rooms at Buddy's that are nicer than others most of the people we met last time were return visitors so that told us alot.

We did meet some folks last visit at Gibi's who were staying at Den Lamen and the rooms there were definitely nicer. Then they had some of their gear stolen out of what was supposed to be the locked gear room at Den Lamen. I guess the moral of the story is you can have a bad experience at any of the resorts at any destination. Oh yeah and don't miss Gibi's.

Thanks, John! It's all relative, isn't it? Hopefully I can meet you at Buddy's while we are there. BTW -- I am a Minneapolis native and always enjoy visiting with fellow Twins' and Vikings' fans (which I ASSUME that you are!!! :o)

Steve

Well......I'm actually a Packers and Twins fan. I just finished watching another horrid Twins performance against your local team.