Travel between Lansing, Michigan and Cancun, Mexico via MiamiAir booked through Apple Vacations (destination Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an in Riviera Maya )

January - February 2017

This post could easily become extremely long. I have condensed the information somewhat to focus on the main points. If you have any questions, or would like more details, just ask!

Although our travel experiences include over 15 resort stays in Mexico and the Caribbean (some before I started this blog), this was our first experience with Apple Vacations and MiamiAir. You can find separate posts in this blog for Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an and our excursions.

Booking through Apple Vacations with MiamiAir charter flight

We booked our vacation over the telephone with an Apple representative, since we had not booked with them before, and I had a few questions. If you want to have access to your Apple Vacations booking online, I suggest booking online instead. I found out afterward that you can access your Apple Vacations booking online, if you book online; however, you cannot access your itinerary and such for reservations that have been booked over the telephone.

We booked this trip at the last minute because we happened upon an amazing price--$839 each for 7 nights, including air. We then paid an additional $78 each to upgrade our airline seats to Preferred Perks Plus roundtrip, which is similar to first class. The airline upgrade said it included the following per person each way: fresh meal/snack box, two standard alcoholic drinks (21yrs.), and preferred check-in, security, boarding and seating. Without Preferred Perks Plus, there is a fee to select seats, and another fee to check bags ($40 roundtrip per bag when purchased through Apple beforehand--$50 at the airport).

The telephone number provided in our travel documents to check flight status before heading to the airport was incorrect. The telephone number Apple Vacations provided was for Norwegian Air. The telephone number on the MiamiAir website to check flight status is: (305) 871-8001.

Miami Air in Lansing, Michigan

Departure from Lansing, Michigan via Miami Air 

The MiamiAir website provided the following information for check-in: Ticket counters will open 3 hours prior to departure. Check in locations are as follows: Lansing, Michigan Capital Region International Airport (LAN) – Main Terminal, check-in counters located at Door 2. I also found this news story about the Apple Vacations/MiamiAir/Lansing Airport relationship.

Cancun, Mexico Airport and Transportation ~ Canada Transfers and between hotels

February - March 2015

Arrival experience - February 2015

Delta baggage claim

We waited a long time for our bags, because we did not know that Delta has a new process for Sky tagged luggage. I do not know if this is a new process for all International travel, or if this is only in place in some airports. We traveled to Jamaica less than two months before this trip, and our experience was different at that time.

When the bags from our flight came around on the carousel, only a couple of them had Sky Priority tags on them. After most of the bags had been delivered, I started to look around and walk over toward the Delta baggage counter. As I walked around the carousel, I observed our two bags lined up, along with several other Sky Priority bags. I do not know how long the bags had been sitting there or how they had been delivered to where they were. When we collected our bags for customs in Detroit (DTW) on the way home, I observed a sign on baggage claim #5, which said that all Sky Priority bags would be delivered at baggage claim #3. We saw no such sign stating this in Cancun, and when we returned through Atlanta (ATL) from Jamaica, Sky Priority bags had not been delivered separately.

Hotel shuttles/Canada Transfer information

We booked transportation with Canada Transfers a couple of weeks before our stay. The cost for non-shared transportation for two was $53 round-trip between the airport and our resort in the hotel zone (before tip). We would have preferred to pre-pay with a credit card, and then just pay the tip in cash upon arrival; however, that was not an option with this company. The company accepts pre-payment through Paypal only, or payment in cash upon arrival. We opted for cash upon arrival.

Cancun Airport--Christmas Week 2011

Arrival in Cancun

I read a lot of information about transportation options before our trip, and everything I read, talked about shuttle services, and the need to set up transportation beforehand. I even read information that said that taxis are not allowed in the airport for arrivals. Since we saw many taxis when we arrived--and, the shuttle service was a MESS--I tried to find that information online again. I could not find what I had read before our trip, although I did find this: It is against the law for anyone to approach you to offer you a fare from pirate [I assume this should be private] transportation. Cancun Airport and the Mexican Transportation Authority, and the local Police works together to eliminate any illegal activity. YOU MUST have your transportation from airport to your hotel ONLY with an official provider and BEFORE your arrival to Cancun. 

I looked at many of the transportation options beforehand, and it is not easy to tell if a company is an "official provider." Based on our experience, I wished we had not pre-booked transportation, and that we had approached a cab driver to negotiate a price upon arrival. The post above does not say that it is illegal for a visitor to approach a cab driver; only that it is illegal for the driver to approach a visitor. The impression that I have from what I have read and from our experience, is that the statements on the airport website have more to do with who gets the transportation money than it has to do with visitor safety. If anyone reading this blog has had experience taking a cab after arriving in Cancun, that was not pre-arranged, please share your experience with the rest of us! Following was our experience: