Sunwing Vacations

I travel for leisure rather frequently (4 – 5 times a year) however this is my first time traveling with Sunwing/​Vacation Express and it will certainly be my last because this has been the worst vacation ever!!! I and the 189 other people on this trip have dubbed it «the vacation from hell» and have agreed that we will NEVER book a trip through this company again I arrived at the airport for my 9:15 flight only to find out that email had been sent in the middle the night delaying our flight until 2pm. Another email was sent shortly after that delaying our flight to 5:30 PM. At this point we became upset because we should have arrived in our destination by noon and we were now missing a day of vacation. During check-​in we learned that our flight has been delayed once more to 6:20pm. Upon realizing that every restaurant and activity at the resort would now be closed at our arrival we became even more upset. We headed upstairs to wait for the elusive flight and called the tour company once again since previously we were told that there had to be more than eight hours of delay before they would do anything. While talking to the representative we learned that our flight has been delayed for a FIFTH time and would now leave at 8pm. When the plane finally arrived a plane full of disgruntled passengers filed by us telling us good luck and that it was the worst vacation they ever took (They were coming back a day and a half late). We boarded and cheered as we finally left Philadelphia only to arrive in Freeport, preparing to land before being told that the airport was closed and since no one was in the tower we could not land. I find it very HIGHLY unlikely that the pilot and crew had no idea that this airport was closed until they arrived. What happened during in-​flight communications? When we ask the crew these questions they were dismissed abruptly and we were told that they had no idea what was going on which was clearly a lie. Instead, they took us to Nassau where they mysteriously had over 100 hotel rooms ready and waiting for us (further proof that they knew in advance that we weren’t landing at Freeport) and after staying there for the night we had to return to the airport once more check in and fly back to Freeport again thereby wasting most of the second day of our vacation as we finally checked into our hotel around 3 PM. We were given vouchers towards future trips for our troubles, however none of us ever plan to take a future trip with this company so instead we were told we could use 65% of the vouchers value to book an excursion through Nexus Tours (another affiliate). When we tried to book these excursions we were told that we could only use one of the vouchers. After demanding to speak to a supervisor we eventually were allowed to use both of them. We booked an ATV excursion which we weren’t able to complete since more than half of the ATVs broke down about 20 minutes into our three hour excursion. since there weren’t even enough ATVs for everyone to double up and ride back they left some of our group standing on the trail in nearly 100 degree weather while they returned to get another vehicle to pick them up in. They took us back to our hotel and told us that we would get our vouchers back and should book another excursion. My travel partner and I decided to put our two $ 50 vouchers together to get a JetSki excursion for two that cost $ 90. We were told once again that we cannot combine the vouchers at which point I became livid because the only reason why we were trying to do this is because our first excursion turned out horribly! We had to demand to speak to a supervisor again before we could use them. We hoped for an uneventful return flight, but I knew something was wrong when they took us to the terminal marked DOMESTIC AND NON-​US DEPARTURES as we were leaving (upon arrival our shuttle bus driver had pointed out this terminal and told us that we would never have to use it.) We were told that since we were leaving so late in the evening we had to use this terminal instead. Upon arriving at the Philadelphia airport we actually cheered because we were so happy to be back home after this horrible trip. As we started to deplane we were told to take our seats again because there had been another issue. We were supposed to have cleared customs in the Bahamas but didn’t since we left out of the non-​US terminal and there were no US customs agents there. Customs in Philadelphia had already closed for the night and we couldn’t leave until we were cleared. We had to wait almost an hour before finally ending the worst vacation ever. SUNWING (and its affiliates) SUCK!!!

I went to the memories resort in Cuba and got bed bugs. Hotel was the worst service ever. I booked through sun wing as they own the hotel and I got bed bugs so bad I had to go to the hospital because it spread all over. It was the worst vacation ever. The bites lasted my entire trip and are still present. I was killing the bed bugs off the bed. Very disappointed in this hotel and the service I received. Never going back!!! Don’t go there.

I purchased a hotel-​only voucher from SUNWING for double occupancy at a beach front hotel in Cuba, where SUNWING also offers all-​inclusive packages. All of pertinent details were disclosed to SUNWING in advance, including our names and birth dates. When I arrived in Cuba and contacted the hotel, the hotel demanded to know if we were married and then said they were refusing admission to us, on the basis of a difference in age. SUNWING sold me a room under terms that they knew, or ought to have known, would not be honored. It is a breach of contract on a basis that is unjustly discriminatory under Canadian law. Discrimination on the basis of age is illegal in Canada. My contract was with SUNWING, not the Cuban state run hotel company. The contract was made in Canada, not Cuba.
I am demanding compensation from SUNWING. SUNWING is obfuscating and doing everything it can to blame the Cuban hotel for this fiasco, to the point where it is ridiculous.
In the travel business, when something goes wrong as a result of the tour operator’s negligence, the M.O. of tour operator is generally the same: deny, obfuscate, twist the truth around to suit its own end, lie and/​or when all else fails, blame somebody else. Buyer beware when dealing with SUNWING.

Hi,
In speaking to someone last month, it is believed that a similiar type of incident I have written below has happened in 2012.
Our vacation was purchased using Red Tag for Sunwing Airline on Oct. 30, 2013 departing from Toronto Pearson on February 1, 2014 to Freeport Bahamas staying at the Memories Grand Bahama Freeport for 7 days. Afterward, I noted the hotel was scheduled to open on January 18, 2014.
I emailed the Memories Grand Bahama Freeport several times and since I was not able to get a response, I contacted Red Tag to make prior arrangements for our daughter’s birthday on Feb. 2, 2014. I was advised by Kerry at Redtag, by email, the information was given to Sunwing.
We were notified of our options on February 28, 2014 to get a refund, re-​book at current rate or stay at another hotel. We opted to take the refund option. This cancellation caused us to incur extra costs in order for us to go on another vacation in high season. In January 2014, we noticed that Sunwing did not allow any bookings for this hotel until March 1, 2014. Therefore, it is believed that Sunwing had prior knowledge and did not give us options until Jan. 28, 2014, only a 4 day notice prior to our depart date. Several attempts to get information from Sunwing about the hotel being open for Feb. 1, 2014 and was assured that on Jan 27, 2014, the hotel was going to be open in time for our arrival and «may get an upgrade and or perks». We asked 3 times the same question on the phone on January 27, 2014, is the hotel going to be open for Feb 1^st, 2014? We got the same answer, yes, three times. The next day we were offered the 3 above noted options.
An Article in Freeport News states: «it appears Sunwing was booking some vacation packages at the memories resort and knew or should have known at the time of booking that the commitments could not be kept due to the state of construction. What make their conduct even more egregious is that they have an ownership interest in the resort, which makes it next to impossible for them to hold out or represent their conduct as an innocent mistake, or negligence. Therefore, it appears their conduction was intentional. In Canada, this type of action is referred to as „FRAUD“ and known „as obtaining property by means of a false pretence“. S.362 of our Canadian criminal code defines the offence. Canadian authorities may have good reason to investigate some of Sunwing business activities as it pertains to taking money for vacation packages that the company has known from the outset can’t be delivered.
On Janaury 27, 2014 we were promised that the memories hotel is going to be open for our arrival on Feb. 1, 2014. On Jan. 28, 2014, we were advised of our options, one of which we can cancel with a full refund as the hotel was not going to be open. Were we misinformed intentionally? Is there a conflict of interest since Sunwing Airlines has an invested interest with the hotel?» Too bad I had to give them a one star!

My friend has been stuck in a Sunwing plane on the tarmac at Pearson Airport in Toronto for over 12 hours now. They have only been given a granola bar, some tiny corn snack and two glasses of water in the entire 12 hours. The flight crew stopped serving them over three hours ago due to work hour restrictions. The de-​icing crew abandoned them over an hour ago, and when they got a gate assignment for take-​off, they were informed that the brakes were frozen and maintenance staff were being requested. All the while however, the 180 passengers on this plane have been watching WestJet and Air Canada planes taking off. I called the company’s customer service line and the only assistance they could give was to recommend that she email the general delivery customer service inbox, detailing her «concerns or dissatisfaction.» Daryl McWilliams — VP of Sales and Marketing for Sunwing Vacations has been interviewed by local media and is denying nearly all details of this ridiculous mess. She attempted to request information & support VIA Sunwing’s Facebook page, and her inquiries & comments were subsequently deleted & she was blocked from their page. Steer WAY clear of Sunwing Airlines & Sunwing Vacations, unless this is how you wish to be treated.