The Airline Thread

[bigg jay]

On 2024-07-04 at 4:22 PM, SpeedFlex27 said:

**** Westjet. 

We're trying to get home from Mexico and after 6 delays, 2 cancelled flights, a re-route through Edmonton (where we're still waiting/hoping/praying), I think I can safely say yes F**k WestJet.

On the plus side, when our direct flight to Winnipeg was cancelled & they had us overnight in Edmonton, WJ was kind enough to give us hotel vouchers... for Vancouver hotels only. 🤔

[Noeller]

After the West Final, we wake up on the Monday morning to get ready for our 2pm flight home on WestJet. Instead, when we turn our phones on, we get a notification saying that our flight has been cancelled. They can book us for a Wednesday night to Vancouver and then to Calgary from there. ******* assholes. So we race to the airport and rent a car and drive all day across the prairies to the Calgary airport, return the rental, take a shuttle to the Park n Jet where my truck is, and then an hour drive home. 

Sigh. Absolutely no money back from them or effort to cover our car rental or anything. **** WestJet so very much....

[SpeedFlex27]

55 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

We're trying to get home from Mexico and after 6 delays, 2 cancelled flights, a re-route through Edmonton (where we're still waiting/hoping/praying), I think I can safely say yes F**k WestJet.

On the plus side, when our direct flight to Winnipeg was cancelled & they had us overnight in Edmonton, WJ was kind enough to give us hotel vouchers... for Vancouver hotels only. 🤔

This used to be a company that prided itself on customer service. Now it prides itself on excuses. 

[bigg jay]

5 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

This used to be a company that prided itself on customer service. Now it prides itself on excuses. 

If you even get an excuse from them. We weren't even told why our flight this morning was cancelled (something they are legally obligated to do), just that we were moved to a later flight.  🙄

[Brandon]

On 2025-02-02 at 2:47 PM, bigg jay said:

We're trying to get home from Mexico and after 6 delays, 2 cancelled flights, a re-route through Edmonton (where we're still waiting/hoping/praying), I think I can safely say yes F**k WestJet.

On the plus side, when our direct flight to Winnipeg was cancelled & they had us overnight in Edmonton, WJ was kind enough to give us hotel vouchers... for Vancouver hotels only. 🤔

I've had two different sets of friends who had similar stories with West Jet within the last month.  Not sure what is wrong with them ,  Air Canada isn't much better either.   

 

[bigg jay]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

I've had two different sets of friends who had similar stories with West Jet within the last month.  Not sure what is wrong with them ,  Air Canada isn't much better either.   

 

Yeah WestJet is a mess right now.  We were flying out of Puerto Vallarta and we saw on the news that people in Cancun had it even worse - stranded from Thursday to Saturday before they were able to make it home.  1st world problems to be sure but still frustrating to go through.

WestJet made an operational decision to delay/cancel our flight so now they owe $1k (plus expenses) to everyone on that flight.  Can't imagine that's great for business.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

North Korea reopens to tourists just in time for late leader Kim Jong Il's birthday

[Bubba Zanetti]

On 2025-02-02 at 3:41 PM, Noeller said:

After the West Final, we wake up on the Monday morning to get ready for our 2pm flight home on WestJet. Instead, when we turn our phones on, we get a notification saying that our flight has been cancelled. They can book us for a Wednesday night to Vancouver and then to Calgary from there. ******* assholes. So we race to the airport and rent a car and drive all day across the prairies to the Calgary airport, return the rental, take a shuttle to the Park n Jet where my truck is, and then an hour drive home. 

Sigh. Absolutely no money back from them or effort to cover our car rental or anything. **** WestJet so very much....

Westjet has become a giant c**t just like the rest of them. Had a similar situation a few years back. Cancelled our flight and it cost us $400 for hotel and food to overnight in Vancouver. Submitted an online form for compensation. Never saw a dime. Just a nice email telling me to go f myself.

[Noeller]

13 minutes ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

Westjet has become a giant c**t just like the rest of them. Had a similar situation a few years back. Cancelled our flight and it cost us $400 for hotel and food to overnight in Vancouver. Submitted an online form for compensation. Never saw a dime. Just a nice email telling me to go f myself.

We did the exact same thing... Fille out the form, and absolutely squat. Told us they didn't have to because ________.... Bunch of assholes. But there's no competition in this country so what can anybody do?

[Super Duper Negatron]

They gave our family of 4 a total of $100 for a hotel and food when our flight was moved by an entire day. In Toronto. 

Let's just say it wasn't even close to what it cost.

[Brandon]

2 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

North Korea reopens to tourists just in time for late leader Kim Jong Il's birthday

Who would be crazy enough to visit NK?

48 minutes ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

They gave our family of 4 a total of $100 for a hotel and food when our flight was moved by an entire day. In Toronto. 

Let's just say it wasn't even close to what it cost.

My friend was given over a grand for his one day delay...  it is in the small print somewhere where they list out prices on what they compensate.   

[bigg jay]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

Who would be crazy enough to visit NK?

My friend was given over a grand for his one day delay...  it is in the small print somewhere where they list out prices on what they compensate.   

It's on the government site as well since they set the compensation amounts. If it was a non-safety, controlable delay, you are entitled to compensation based on the length of delay.  A 3-6 hour delay gets you $400, 6-9 hours gets $700 and anything over 9 hours is $1000 per flyer.

WestJet has been slapped by the courts for misleading customers about compensation recently too.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/westjet-claims-deceptive-practices-1.7447797

 

[SpeedFlex27]

A couple of years ago, my son had flown to Winnipeg from Seattle to visit family. On his way back, he had to change planes in Vancouver. His late afternoon/early evening flight out of Winnipeg was late leaving & he missed his connection to Seattle. Westjet gave him taxi & hotel vouchers to stay at a hotel in Vancouver where he could catch another flight to Seattle in the morning. When he checked into his hotel, he found out that all the electricity was turned off because of renovations & he had to use his phone's flashlight to move around in his pitch black hotel room. 

[Brandon]

My turn for complaining/warning about Sunwing & Westjet.      A warning for anyone who plans on travelling to Riviera Maya / Playa Del Carmen.  

We have gone a total of 5 times.    The first three times pre COVID we would arrive at the airport in Cancun.  Walk outside and would be directed to stand in a line in front of a large charter bus and within 30 minutes would be sitting comfortably inside the bus and driving down the highway to our resort making stops along the way dropping people off at various resorts.    Same goes with the travel back from the resort to the airport.   These buses used to have a tour guide who would entertain everyone,  offer drinks,   talk about the area and it was always a great time. 

Last year when we travelled with West Jet,  they no longer had any large buses.  We waited over 2 hours for a Cargo van with no AC to take us to our resort.  He ended up getting lost,  my kid ended up getting sick from the heat and lack of food/drink and we arrived at 10:00 pm and wasted the day.  The ride from the resort back to the airport was in a large bus.   

This past Monday... we travelled with Sunwing.  They use a company called Nexus tours for your shuttle rides. We go through the airport and this time the "waiting area" for the shuttles is insanely packed.  Nearly no room to stand on any of the sidewalks. It's pure chaos and trying to find what shuttle and where we need to go to be picked up is like a free for all and you HAVE to be rude and push people out of the way to find out where to go.    We are directed to stand in an area... similar to last year their was very little charter buses and now it's mostly 6 seater vans.    We waited 90 minutes this time.... I should of taken a video because it was pure chaos with tonnes of furious people,  kids crying, and complete confusion.  People are extremely angry,  some give up waiting and end up paying the $100 - $150 USD taxi ride to Playa Del Carmen.   Most people who were waiting for a shuttle to a Cancun resort just jump into a taxi and pay the $30 USD fee.     I was just pulling my wallet out to pay the $110 cab ride when our name is finally called.  We hop into a cramped 6 person van and find out that one couple waited an hour... the other elderly couple waited over 3 hours for a shuttle ride!!!  Those other couples also had to pay an extra $20 for god knows what reason?   We didn't.    We make it to our resort and have a great time during our week at the resort.  

Now leaving the resort ,  I check my Sunwing / Nexas Tours app and it confirms shuttle pick up at 11:55 AM.   So we check out and sit down at 11:30 AM just in case they come early and anxiously await for our ride.    We see the dinky little vans come and go ,  come and go.  Still our name is not called.   2 other families also are waiting next to us and are getting anxious.   After waiting 2.5 hours ,   a resort staff member comes to me and says that the Nexus bus had came to the other lobby and picked up some people.   The resort staff told the bus driver that they have 8 other people waiting at our lobby... the bus driver refused to drive the 60 seconds it would take to get to our lobby and drove off.   I call Nexas and said I was waiting for 2.5 hours and nobody has picked us up,  he gets back to me and says that they can't find anyone to pick us up so I'll have to take a taxi and for me to speak with Sunwing to get a refund.    Luckily I had cash and that a taxi was nearby and we ended up making out flight back home. 

Apparently my cousin had the exact same experience a month ago, different resort but same issues getting back and forth from the airport.

Moral of the story...   If you go to Cancun or Riviera Maya... budget a taxi ride.   The system they use these days is god awful and you end up wasting so much time waiting.   I'm guessing they are trying to cut costs and that the taxi drivers are ignoring these "free shuttle rides" because it doesn't pay out like a full price fee that they can pull from a tourist directly with no middle man.  All I know is that what used to be an A+ experience has changed to a F-  and it's extremely disappointing because it really takes away from a great week in Mexico.  

Edited Tuesday at 07:06 AM by Brandon

[SpeedFlex27]

3 hours ago, Brandon said:

My turn for complaining/warning about Sunwing & Westjet.      A warning for anyone who plans on travelling to Riviera Maya / Playa Del Carmen.  

We have gone a total of 5 times.    The first three times pre COVID we would arrive at the airport in Cancun.  Walk outside and would be directed to stand in a line in front of a large charter bus and within 30 minutes would be sitting comfortably inside the bus and driving down the highway to our resort making stops along the way dropping people off at various resorts.    Same goes with the travel back from the resort to the airport.   These buses used to have a tour guide who would entertain everyone,  offer drinks,   talk about the area and it was always a great time. 

Last year when we travelled with West Jet,  they no longer had any large buses.  We waited over 2 hours for a Cargo van with no AC to take us to our resort.  He ended up getting lost,  my kid ended up getting sick from the heat and lack of food/drink and we arrived at 10:00 pm and wasted the day.  The ride from the resort back to the airport was in a large bus.   

This past Monday... we travelled with Sunwing.  They use a company called Nexus tours for your shuttle rides. We go through the airport and this time the "waiting area" for the shuttles is insanely packed.  Nearly no room to stand on any of the sidewalks. It's pure chaos and trying to find what shuttle and where we need to go to be picked up is like a free for all and you HAVE to be rude and push people out of the way to find out where to go.    We are directed to stand in an area... similar to last year their was very little charter buses and now it's mostly 6 seater vans.    We waited 90 minutes this time.... I should of taken a video because it was pure chaos with tonnes of furious people,  kids crying, and complete confusion.  People are extremely angry,  some give up waiting and end up paying the $100 - $150 USD taxi ride to Playa Del Carmen.   Most people who were waiting for a shuttle to a Cancun resort just jump into a taxi and pay the $30 USD fee.     I was just pulling my wallet out to pay the $110 cab ride when our name is finally called.  We hop into a cramped 6 person van and find out that one couple waited an hour... the other elderly couple waited over 3 hours for a shuttle ride!!!  Those other couples also had to pay an extra $20 for god knows what reason?   We didn't.    We make it to our resort and have a great time during our week at the resort.  

Now leaving the resort ,  I check my Sunwing / Nexas Tours app and it confirms shuttle pick up at 11:55 AM.   So we check out and sit down at 11:30 AM just in case they come early and anxiously await for our ride.    We see the dinky little vans come and go ,  come and go.  Still our name is not called.   2 other families also are waiting next to us and are getting anxious.   After waiting 2.5 hours ,   a resort staff member comes to me and says that the Nexus bus had came to the other lobby and picked up some people.   The resort staff told the bus driver that they have 8 other people waiting at our lobby... the bus driver refused to drive the 60 seconds it would take to get to our lobby and drove off.   I call Nexas and said I was waiting for 2.5 hours and nobody has picked us up,  he gets back to me and says that they can't find anyone to pick us up so I'll have to take a taxi and for me to speak with Sunwing to get a refund.    Luckily I had cash and that a taxi was nearby and we ended up making out flight back home. 

Apparently my cousin had the exact same experience a month ago, different resort but same issues getting back and forth from the airport.

Moral of the story...   If you go to Cancun or Riviera Maya... budget a taxi ride.   The system they use these days is god awful and you end up wasting so much time waiting.   I'm guessing they are trying to cut costs and that the taxi drivers are ignoring these "free shuttle rides" because it doesn't pay out like a full price fee that they can pull from a tourist directly with no middle man.  All I know is that what used to be an A+ experience has changed to a F-  and it's extremely disappointing because it really takes away from a great week in Mexico.  

Best just to stay home. 

[bigg jay]

7 hours ago, Brandon said:

My turn for complaining/warning about Sunwing & Westjet.      A warning for anyone who plans on travelling to Riviera Maya / Playa Del Carmen.  

We have gone a total of 5 times.    The first three times pre COVID we would arrive at the airport in Cancun.  Walk outside and would be directed to stand in a line in front of a large charter bus and within 30 minutes would be sitting comfortably inside the bus and driving down the highway to our resort making stops along the way dropping people off at various resorts.    Same goes with the travel back from the resort to the airport.   These buses used to have a tour guide who would entertain everyone,  offer drinks,   talk about the area and it was always a great time. 

Last year when we travelled with West Jet,  they no longer had any large buses.  We waited over 2 hours for a Cargo van with no AC to take us to our resort.  He ended up getting lost,  my kid ended up getting sick from the heat and lack of food/drink and we arrived at 10:00 pm and wasted the day.  The ride from the resort back to the airport was in a large bus.   

This past Monday... we travelled with Sunwing.  They use a company called Nexus tours for your shuttle rides. We go through the airport and this time the "waiting area" for the shuttles is insanely packed.  Nearly no room to stand on any of the sidewalks. It's pure chaos and trying to find what shuttle and where we need to go to be picked up is like a free for all and you HAVE to be rude and push people out of the way to find out where to go.    We are directed to stand in an area... similar to last year their was very little charter buses and now it's mostly 6 seater vans.    We waited 90 minutes this time.... I should of taken a video because it was pure chaos with tonnes of furious people,  kids crying, and complete confusion.  People are extremely angry,  some give up waiting and end up paying the $100 - $150 USD taxi ride to Playa Del Carmen.   Most people who were waiting for a shuttle to a Cancun resort just jump into a taxi and pay the $30 USD fee.     I was just pulling my wallet out to pay the $110 cab ride when our name is finally called.  We hop into a cramped 6 person van and find out that one couple waited an hour... the other elderly couple waited over 3 hours for a shuttle ride!!!  Those other couples also had to pay an extra $20 for god knows what reason?   We didn't.    We make it to our resort and have a great time during our week at the resort.  

Now leaving the resort ,  I check my Sunwing / Nexas Tours app and it confirms shuttle pick up at 11:55 AM.   So we check out and sit down at 11:30 AM just in case they come early and anxiously await for our ride.    We see the dinky little vans come and go ,  come and go.  Still our name is not called.   2 other families also are waiting next to us and are getting anxious.   After waiting 2.5 hours ,   a resort staff member comes to me and says that the Nexus bus had came to the other lobby and picked up some people.   The resort staff told the bus driver that they have 8 other people waiting at our lobby... the bus driver refused to drive the 60 seconds it would take to get to our lobby and drove off.   I call Nexas and said I was waiting for 2.5 hours and nobody has picked us up,  he gets back to me and says that they can't find anyone to pick us up so I'll have to take a taxi and for me to speak with Sunwing to get a refund.    Luckily I had cash and that a taxi was nearby and we ended up making out flight back home. 

Apparently my cousin had the exact same experience a month ago, different resort but same issues getting back and forth from the airport.

Moral of the story...   If you go to Cancun or Riviera Maya... budget a taxi ride.   The system they use these days is god awful and you end up wasting so much time waiting.   I'm guessing they are trying to cut costs and that the taxi drivers are ignoring these "free shuttle rides" because it doesn't pay out like a full price fee that they can pull from a tourist directly with no middle man.  All I know is that what used to be an A+ experience has changed to a F-  and it's extremely disappointing because it really takes away from a great week in Mexico.  

We stopped using the "free" shuttles years ago - way too many issues and even if you got on one of the large busses, it was always a game of roulette to see when you would get dropped off as they would stop at multiple resorts. 

We found booking a private transport company to be much faster/easier.  Once you got your luggage, you pass through the gauntlet of time share sharks and just look for your name on a sign, and you're off in minutes.  Depending on the company you choose, you would get (or could pre-order) cold drinks for your trip to your resort or if you need to make a stop (bank or store maybe), they will do that too.  It's an extra cost for sure and more expensive than a taxi but when your vacation time is limited, we feel it' worth it to not be waiting at the airport/resort for god knows how long before getting picked up.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

8 hours ago, Brandon said:

My turn for complaining/warning about Sunwing & Westjet.      A warning for anyone who plans on travelling to Riviera Maya / Playa Del Carmen.  

We have gone a total of 5 times.    The first three times pre COVID we would arrive at the airport in Cancun.  Walk outside and would be directed to stand in a line in front of a large charter bus and within 30 minutes would be sitting comfortably inside the bus and driving down the highway to our resort making stops along the way dropping people off at various resorts.    Same goes with the travel back from the resort to the airport.   These buses used to have a tour guide who would entertain everyone,  offer drinks,   talk about the area and it was always a great time. 

Last year when we travelled with West Jet,  they no longer had any large buses.  We waited over 2 hours for a Cargo van with no AC to take us to our resort.  He ended up getting lost,  my kid ended up getting sick from the heat and lack of food/drink and we arrived at 10:00 pm and wasted the day.  The ride from the resort back to the airport was in a large bus.   

This past Monday... we travelled with Sunwing.  They use a company called Nexus tours for your shuttle rides. We go through the airport and this time the "waiting area" for the shuttles is insanely packed.  Nearly no room to stand on any of the sidewalks. It's pure chaos and trying to find what shuttle and where we need to go to be picked up is like a free for all and you HAVE to be rude and push people out of the way to find out where to go.    We are directed to stand in an area... similar to last year their was very little charter buses and now it's mostly 6 seater vans.    We waited 90 minutes this time.... I should of taken a video because it was pure chaos with tonnes of furious people,  kids crying, and complete confusion.  People are extremely angry,  some give up waiting and end up paying the $100 - $150 USD taxi ride to Playa Del Carmen.   Most people who were waiting for a shuttle to a Cancun resort just jump into a taxi and pay the $30 USD fee.     I was just pulling my wallet out to pay the $110 cab ride when our name is finally called.  We hop into a cramped 6 person van and find out that one couple waited an hour... the other elderly couple waited over 3 hours for a shuttle ride!!!  Those other couples also had to pay an extra $20 for god knows what reason?   We didn't.    We make it to our resort and have a great time during our week at the resort.  

Now leaving the resort ,  I check my Sunwing / Nexas Tours app and it confirms shuttle pick up at 11:55 AM.   So we check out and sit down at 11:30 AM just in case they come early and anxiously await for our ride.    We see the dinky little vans come and go ,  come and go.  Still our name is not called.   2 other families also are waiting next to us and are getting anxious.   After waiting 2.5 hours ,   a resort staff member comes to me and says that the Nexus bus had came to the other lobby and picked up some people.   The resort staff told the bus driver that they have 8 other people waiting at our lobby... the bus driver refused to drive the 60 seconds it would take to get to our lobby and drove off.   I call Nexas and said I was waiting for 2.5 hours and nobody has picked us up,  he gets back to me and says that they can't find anyone to pick us up so I'll have to take a taxi and for me to speak with Sunwing to get a refund.    Luckily I had cash and that a taxi was nearby and we ended up making out flight back home. 

Apparently my cousin had the exact same experience a month ago, different resort but same issues getting back and forth from the airport.

Moral of the story...   If you go to Cancun or Riviera Maya... budget a taxi ride.   The system they use these days is god awful and you end up wasting so much time waiting.   I'm guessing they are trying to cut costs and that the taxi drivers are ignoring these "free shuttle rides" because it doesn't pay out like a full price fee that they can pull from a tourist directly with no middle man.  All I know is that what used to be an A+ experience has changed to a F-  and it's extremely disappointing because it really takes away from a great week in Mexico.  

Don’t take this wrong but this was a good rant.

[GCJenks]

On 2025-03-04 at 1:04 AM, Brandon said:

My turn for complaining/warning about Sunwing & Westjet.      A warning for anyone who plans on travelling to Riviera Maya / Playa Del Carmen.  

We have gone a total of 5 times.    The first three times pre COVID we would arrive at the airport in Cancun.  Walk outside and would be directed to stand in a line in front of a large charter bus and within 30 minutes would be sitting comfortably inside the bus and driving down the highway to our resort making stops along the way dropping people off at various resorts.    Same goes with the travel back from the resort to the airport.   These buses used to have a tour guide who would entertain everyone,  offer drinks,   talk about the area and it was always a great time. 

Last year when we travelled with West Jet,  they no longer had any large buses.  We waited over 2 hours for a Cargo van with no AC to take us to our resort.  He ended up getting lost,  my kid ended up getting sick from the heat and lack of food/drink and we arrived at 10:00 pm and wasted the day.  The ride from the resort back to the airport was in a large bus.   

This past Monday... we travelled with Sunwing.  They use a company called Nexus tours for your shuttle rides. We go through the airport and this time the "waiting area" for the shuttles is insanely packed.  Nearly no room to stand on any of the sidewalks. It's pure chaos and trying to find what shuttle and where we need to go to be picked up is like a free for all and you HAVE to be rude and push people out of the way to find out where to go.    We are directed to stand in an area... similar to last year their was very little charter buses and now it's mostly 6 seater vans.    We waited 90 minutes this time.... I should of taken a video because it was pure chaos with tonnes of furious people,  kids crying, and complete confusion.  People are extremely angry,  some give up waiting and end up paying the $100 - $150 USD taxi ride to Playa Del Carmen.   Most people who were waiting for a shuttle to a Cancun resort just jump into a taxi and pay the $30 USD fee.     I was just pulling my wallet out to pay the $110 cab ride when our name is finally called.  We hop into a cramped 6 person van and find out that one couple waited an hour... the other elderly couple waited over 3 hours for a shuttle ride!!!  Those other couples also had to pay an extra $20 for god knows what reason?   We didn't.    We make it to our resort and have a great time during our week at the resort.  

Now leaving the resort ,  I check my Sunwing / Nexas Tours app and it confirms shuttle pick up at 11:55 AM.   So we check out and sit down at 11:30 AM just in case they come early and anxiously await for our ride.    We see the dinky little vans come and go ,  come and go.  Still our name is not called.   2 other families also are waiting next to us and are getting anxious.   After waiting 2.5 hours ,   a resort staff member comes to me and says that the Nexus bus had came to the other lobby and picked up some people.   The resort staff told the bus driver that they have 8 other people waiting at our lobby... the bus driver refused to drive the 60 seconds it would take to get to our lobby and drove off.   I call Nexas and said I was waiting for 2.5 hours and nobody has picked us up,  he gets back to me and says that they can't find anyone to pick us up so I'll have to take a taxi and for me to speak with Sunwing to get a refund.    Luckily I had cash and that a taxi was nearby and we ended up making out flight back home. 

Apparently my cousin had the exact same experience a month ago, different resort but same issues getting back and forth from the airport.

Moral of the story...   If you go to Cancun or Riviera Maya... budget a taxi ride.   The system they use these days is god awful and you end up wasting so much time waiting.   I'm guessing they are trying to cut costs and that the taxi drivers are ignoring these "free shuttle rides" because it doesn't pay out like a full price fee that they can pull from a tourist directly with no middle man.  All I know is that what used to be an A+ experience has changed to a F-  and it's extremely disappointing because it really takes away from a great week in Mexico.  

We didn't travel south this year but have decided never to book the full shot with a tour company, will book flghts, transfer and stay on my own so that I can control it.

On 2025-03-04 at 8:24 AM, bigg jay said:

We stopped using the "free" shuttles years ago - way too many issues and even if you got on one of the large busses, it was always a game of roulette to see when you would get dropped off as they would stop at multiple resorts. 

We found booking a private transport company to be much faster/easier.  Once you got your luggage, you pass through the gauntlet of time share sharks and just look for your name on a sign, and you're off in minutes.  Depending on the company you choose, you would get (or could pre-order) cold drinks for your trip to your resort or if you need to make a stop (bank or store maybe), they will do that too.  It's an extra cost for sure and more expensive than a taxi but when your vacation time is limited, we feel it' worth it to not be waiting at the airport/resort for god knows how long before getting picked up.

This, 100% this. We've been lucky and have always had reasonable experiences but vacations should be stress free and this is how to contribute to it.