MBJ Airport Lounge - Montego Bay Club Mobay

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Our Club Mobay Experience to FastTrack Montego Bay Airport (MBJ):

 

What is Club Mobay:

Club Mobay is service offered at Montego Bay Airport that not only provides lounge access but will also FastTrack you through immigration and customs.  They offer two different services:

 

ARRIVAL SERVICE:

Upon arrival follow the ramp towards immigration and at the bottom of the ramp will be a Club Mobay representative holding a sign with your name on it.  She (or he) will begin by checking your documents to make sure you have filled out the immigration/customs form correctly.

 

You then walk with your Club Mobay representative to the front of the immigration line (which can often be very long).

 

After clearing immigration you retrieve your luggage from the baggage claim area (at MBJ your bags will often arrive before you do) and proceed to customs where the Club Mobay representative will once again 'fast track' you to bypass the lines at customs (we simply handed a form to clerk and were on our way).

 

Now that are you officially (and legally) in Montego Bay you are invited into the Club Mobay Lounge where you will be offered a cold towel to cool off, complimentary drinks (beer, rum punch, soft drinks), and help yourself to a small array of appetizers (not elaborate... think in terms of crackers and cheese, tuna salad, pasta salad).  Assuming that you have per-arranged transportation to your hotel, while you're relaxing with a drink and a snack your representative will go outside to find your driver and let them know that you are here.

 

Upon returning to the lounge your representative will ask if you're ready to leave (give you a 'to go' cup for your drink if you have not yet finished) and take you to your awaiting taxi.

 

 

DEPARTURE SERVICE:

When leaving Montego Bay your first stop is at your airline to check-in, have your passports scanned by the airline, and drop any checked baggage that you may have. (NOTE: if you have checked-in online and only have carry-on bags, be sure to stop by the airline desk OR at the podium at the gate to have your passports scanned)

 

Next you will head to security where you will also see a Club Mobay Desk.  Check-in at the club mobay desk to receive your lounge access tickets and to be guided to the FastTrack security lane (this is really just a separate security line for anyone who has 'fast track' status so is typically much shorter than the regular security line)

 

Once through security follow the signs to the Club Mobay VIP lounge (it's near Gate 10) to be granted access.

 

Unlike the arrival lounge (which is somewhat small and limited offerings) the DEPARTURE LOUNGE is quite large.  There are two separate floors and different sections which includes a family section (complete with play area for little kids), an adult only area, and a quiet zone.  Also unlike the arrival lounge, the DEPARTURE LOUNGE has a full bar and a more extensive food assortment (including jamaican patties, a few sushi rolls (including a jerk chicken sushi), salads, pasta, etc)... all included with your admission.

 

There is also a Spa for massages (and manicures??) for an additional charge.

 

 

HOW FAR IN ADVANCE SHOULD I BOOK CLUB MOBAY:

They have a limited number of 'meet and greet' agents, and the lounges have limited capacity, so they do at times sell-out.

 

We saw many people getting turned away when trying to use Priority Pass to enter the Club Mobay Departure lounge as they were already at full capacity (see next comment below)

 

 

CLUB MOBAY USING PRIORITY PASS (or any other lounge access service):

NOTE that if you already have access to Club Mobay through a lounge network it will only entitle you to access the lounge and does not include the fast track service (which, upon arrival, i think is the real benefit of the service). 

 

For departure your priority pass will gain you access to the fast track service as well as the lounge if space is available (and as noted above, they do indeed sell-out at times)

 

YOUR HOTEL HAS ITS OWN LOUNGE

Some Jamaican resorts (Sandals, Couples, etc) have their own arrival lounges... but none of these hotel lounges offer the Fast Track service (which as i mention above, is really the allure of the Club Mobay arrival service, imo).  If you sign-up for the Club Mobay Arrival service you can then choose to wait in either the Club Mobay lounge or your hotel's lounge (but be certain to check-in with your hotel lounge to let them know that you have arrived, and that you will be in the Club Mobay Lounge, as they will then know where to find you once your transportation is ready to leave your resort)

 

No resorts have their own Departure Lounge at Montego Bay Sangster International Airport (MBJ).

 

IS CLUB MOBAY WORTH IT?

It depends on a few factors but the following can you make the decision for yourself if worthwhile or not:

 

SPECIAL OCCASION:

Is this trip for a special occasion that you would like to receive VIP treatment and first class service or would you like to surprise your travel companions with a great start (or end) to your trip... it's certainly a nice touch

 

HOW BUSY IS THE AIRPORT:

Nobody can really answer this with certainty (as a general rule the airport is busy all days from 11am-3pm... and busier weekends vs. midweek) but you can research how many flights are arriving/departing around the same time as your own.  A few weeks before your trip look on the same day of the week at MBJ Arrivals and MBJ Departures.  Unfortunately this is not fool proof as schedules do change.  For example, for my arrival the previous week there were 9 arrivals within the 2 hours prior to my scheduled arrival time and one other plane arriving within 15 minutes of my scheduled arrival... but schedules must have changed since on our actual travel day there were now 9 planes within one hour of arrival time and FIVE planes within 20 minutes of our scheduled arrival.

 

Keep in mind that there are often flight delays.  Our plane actually arrived 10 minutes ahead of schedule so there was less of a back-up than i would have expected (but it was still nice to be whisked thru customs/immigration).  Even though we arrived ahead of a few other planes that probably landed within minutes of us, we still saved about 90 minutes total wait time.

 

Also, how quickly will you depart the plane and get to immigration?  If you're near the front of the plane you may be one of the first ones off and therefore one of the first (at least from your plane) in line... but if you're seated near the back of the plane that could be 150-200 people who are now in front of you.  I also travel with children who (i correctly assumed) would want to stop at the bathroom upon leaving the plane.  I didn't mind this extra 10 minute bathroom break (as there was a line at the ladies room) given i knew we would be able to skip the line no matter how many people went ahead of us while i waited for my kids to finish in the bathroom.

 

For the departure service, what will you do while you wait for your plane (or if your plane is delayed).  If you're going to grab a bite to eat and/or drinks at the (overpriced) airport restaurants while you wait for your flight, then the departure could likely pay for itself.

 

HOW WELL DO YOU HANDLE LINES:

For some people the attitude is "I'm on vacation... no problem mon" whereas others are in a hurry to start the vacation they have been planning and looking forward to for so long. 

 

If a long line is just a minor inconvenience to your otherwise awesome vacation, then it's probably not worth the added expense.  On the otherhand you're wasting valuable vacation time standing inline while you could be at the hotel (more of a factor at all-inclusive properties since you could be eating and drinking instead of waiting inline)

 

 

SUMMARY:

Upon arrival this was a nice surprise for my family (as i kept it a secret from them) and it was worth the look on my kids' faces when there was somebody holding a sign with our name on it when we left the plane. 

 

The Arrival Fast Track service was the motivating factor for me and the lounge didn't really enter into my decision making.  The lounge is a nice touch and added bonus, but in itself not a motivating enough factor for the cost.

 

Upon depature the opposite was the case... the fast track thru security was not that much of a factor (as the lines are typically a fraction of what they can be at immigration/customs), but the lounge access was great since it was a comfortable place to relax (much of the rest of the airport is hot/humid) and it was an opportunity to have a few more frozen cocktails before leaving the island.

 

Use the following link to check CURRENT PRICES (arrival, departure, bundled)

 

Feel free to reply below with any questions you may have.