A huge reason why my husband and I love staying at Sandals Resorts is that it’s all-inclusive. Your room, food, drinks, and many activities are included.
Other than buying your airfare, you don’t have to pay anything else to have an absolutely amazing and relaxing time!
That said, many people enjoy adding Sandals Excursions, which cost a little extra.
Ranging from excursions to spa treatments, you have a lot of options.
During our recent stay at the Sandals Royal Caribbean, we tacked on a few extras that really made the trip just a bit much more enjoyable. Here are our top three. (Just a side note, this isn’t sponsored at all. We paid for everything!)
Another side note, if you’re looking for a more general review of this resort, you can read all about in my earlier blog post.
Club Mobay
Finally, it’s time and you are so excited about your vacation. You get off the airplane after a long trip and you can’t wait to get to the resort! And then you see it… a sea of people trying to get through immigration and customs.
That’s right. Though travel to Jamaica isn’t as challenging as some other smaller Caribbean countries, it is no cakewalk, either. Immigration and customs still take time.
And the Montego Bay Airport can be a pretty busy place. The airport is capable of handling nine million passengers per year. So if you are arriving at a popular time, the time from when you get off the plane to when you arrive at the Sandals lounge could be awhile.
Some online sources say you can expect a wait of 1-3 hours, especially during the busy season. But, for a nominal extra cost, you can skip the lines and start your vacation just a little sooner!
I’m talking about the Club Mobay airport expediting service. My husband and I added this to our trip and it was the perfect way to start a wonderful vacation!
Here’s the quick rundown:
We were greeted by our Mobay professional as soon as we got off the plane. As we walked to immigration, he checked our paperwork to make sure we filled out everything correctly.
This was a really good thing because we didn’t.
We heard from the person beside us on the plane that it was one immigration slip per family. Turns out that is an old rule and now it’s one per person.
Our Mobay rep had an extra slip, so I filled one out and off we went to the immigration line. Or I should say, we walked right on past the line.
There were well over 100 people waiting, but we walked over to the Mobay VIP line, where our slips were reviewed, approved, and off we went to customs.
The same situation happened at customs, but this time I’d say there were 200 plus people in line. We were taken over to the Mobay VIP line, our passports were stamped and off to the luggage pick up we went.
Our suitcases were already on the carousel. Our Mobay rep put them on a cart, walked us over to the Sandals lounge, checked us in, and said his goodbyes. This is were hung out for about 15 minutes until the next Sandals bus was ready to take us to the resort. We enjoyed a quick refresher – water for me, beer for my husband- provided to us by a butler.
If you’d rather, there is the option to hang out in the Club Mobay arrival lounge, right across the welcome hall, but the Sandals lounge is nicer in my opinion.
We also purchased Mobay for the departure.
Again, this was nice because we got the fast track lines through immigration and security.
We also got to hang out in the Mobay Lounge while we waited for our departure. It’s a pleasant lounge, with a wide variety of food (which is pretty decent for an airport lounge), free WiFi, and if you like to drink, they have an open bar.
The lounge is separated into floors, with several areas for adults and a completely separate lounge for families, which is an added bonus. Also, if you get there really early, there is a spa you can take advantage of (for an extra fee).
You can purchase Club Mobay for arrival only, departure only, or both. Arrival is $50 per adult and $25 per child (2-12 years old). Departure only is $30 per adult and $15 per child. There is no discount for getting both, so your cost is $80 per adult and $40 per child.
If you only want to do one, definitely go with arrival over departure. However, I think it’s worth it to do both.
Arrival is amazing and it’s nice to start your vacation stress-free (and get to the resort that much faster). Departure makes sense because you bypass the security lines, and if you planned to have a meal at the airport and/or a drink (or two), the departure services may make the whole cost a wash.
Horseback Ride ‘n’ Swim Montego Bay
If you are looking to take a day trip off the resort, I highly recommend the Horseback Ride ‘n’ Swim Montego Bay!
My husband and I rarely ride horses. Over the course of our marriage, we’ve gone on two horseback rides- once when we stayed at the Sandals Grande St. Lucia, and then again on this past trip to Jamaica.
For those wondering, this excursion definitely doesn’t require that you have any horseback riding skills.
The staff is trained to make sure those of us that are completely untrained on how to ride a horse still have a wonderful experience.
The excursion desk (or your butler) will tell you the things you need to bring, but here’s what we found valuable:
- A swimsuit (ladies, not your “layout” swimsuit, but one that is a little more sturdy, if you know what I mean. You’ll be in the ocean on a horse, and a bikini top with loose ties might not stay tied!)
- Sunscreen
- Towels
- Old tennis shoes or water shoes to wear on the horse (you’ll be in stirrups)
- Old leggings, if you mind the feel of the saddle rubbing against your legs. I wore shorts and I was fine, but if you have sensitive skin, you might get uncomfortable.
- Definitely water shoes for the swim with the horses portion of the excursion
- Hair tie
- Bug spray
- Sunglasses
- Cash to tip your bus driver and guide (if you’d like)
- GoPro! or another suitable water-proof camera
Another important tip, the day before your excursion, make sure you double check the pick-up time with your butler or the excursion desk. The time on your booking receipt may not match the time the bus will pick you up. The time won’t be all that different, maybe 20 minutes in either direction, but you don’t want to miss your bus!
When you book, you get to select if you’d like to do the excursion in the morning or afternoon. We went in the morning and had a pickup time of about 9:30.
The bus ride is about 45 minutes from the Royal Caribbean resort. Once you arrive, you can rent a locker (it was US $5) for your things you won’t need during the land portion of the horseback ride.
Then, the super friendly staff will help you pick out a riding helmet and match you with the right horse.
Mounting up is a breeze, as they have a large platform that puts you almost at the height you need for sitting in the saddle. So, as long as you can do stairs, you are good to go.
It’s a ratio of about three or so riders to one staff member, so you get lots of one-on-one attention. My husband and I had an amazing person, Noel, as our guide. We absolutely loved him! They are all great, but if you meet Noel, try and tag along with him.
The group of about 30 riders all stay together, guided by staff, through the gorgeous countryside of Jamaica. The landscape is absolutely breathtaking. The horses are calm and the whole ride is easy, the landscape beautiful, and the interaction with the horses and staff is super fun.
Once you get back to were you started, you dismount your horse and change for the swim portion.
There are changing rooms if you need one, but I just wore my bathing suit under my shorts and tank top. I put my shorts and tank top in our locker, changed into my water shoes and was ready to go.
Back at the beach, you are matched with another horse, mount up, and then head into the ocean in small groups of about 10. You get to spend about 10 minutes as the horse swims while you are riding them.
It is seriously one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. I absolutely loved it.
After you are all done, you can change again and then get to relax at a beachfront bar and grill. You get a free rum punch drink (alcoholic) included in your ticket price, so you can just sit and enjoy the beautiful view of the ocean while sipping your drink. There also have authentic jerk chicken and pork for sale.
It’s very relaxing, and you get to hang out at the bar/grill patio or the small beach for about another 30 minutes until your bus comes to pick you up.
We got back to the Royal Caribbean about 2:30ish. Plenty of time for a nap, relaxing in the hot tub, and then off to dinner!
Rent a Beach Side Cabana
Finally, if you are looking for an excursion closer to home (aka the resort), I definitely suggest renting a cabana on the little island that is right off the main resort. Your butler can reserve this for you.
It’s basically an adorable little enclosed beach hut with a bed inside and two lounge chairs. While you have the cabana, you get your own butler who kindly gets you food and drinks from the bar. The cabana also comes pre-stocked with an ice chest with waters, juices, soda, wine, and beer.
We booked our cabana for a half day, which gave us from 10-2.
We requested to have our breakfast at the cabana at 10:30. To do this, if you have a butler level room, just fill out your breakfast card the night before, mark “serve at beach cabana” and the time you’d like, and hang it on your room door that evening.
We also had lunch brought to our cabana, at about 1. It was the amazing jerk chicken and pork from the jerk shack on the island.
While you may not see the value in the cabana- because you can definitely have a great time just hanging out beachside on a lounge chair- I highly recommend you consider it. It really was a wonderfully relaxing experience that was probably one of the most relaxing days I have ever spent at the beach. And it also felt a tad more luxurious than just the standard lounge chair, making the day so very memorable. I definitely recommend doing it at least once during your stay.
So that is my recap of the top “extras” that I would recommend during your stay at Sandals Royal Caribbean. There are many other excursions and resort extras that you can add to make it a memorable and decadent vacation, but these are some of our favorites.
Have an excursion or extra that you would suggest or have questions about one of my favorites? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below!
