Desire Resort Forums

for a Pearl pickup on a Saturday for a noon flight how much time are people leaving? USA transfers scheduled 3 1/2 hours which seemed excessive based on our past trips - thx in advance!

I think they are adding time as a buffer due to the road construction that's happening between the resort and the airport.

Qaz12129 wrote:for a Pearl pickup on a Saturday for a noon flight how much time are people leaving? USA transfers scheduled 3 1/2 hours which seemed excessive based on our past trips - thx in advance!

You can actually do a quick search (top right corner) as this topic has been discussed thoroughly on this forum since last August. Bottom line is that additional time is needed in most cases as it does back up quite a bit between the resort and the airport.

yes read all of those - was trying to see if there was a difference weekdays vs weekends

We always leave on weekdays and nearly missed our flight last time.

Wrecks and traffic and a driver who drove like a 80 year old woman.

We left Pearl on Saturday 25 Feb @ 0815 hrs for a 1145 hrs flight (USA Transfers) We arrived at airport 30 mins later !! There were no traffic delays.
Having said that, when leaving Pearl on Sat 02 Dec 2022 it took 2 hrs !!! (Just got our flight in time). I guess its always better to be on the safe side and give yourself extra time.

We just left Sunday March 12. Traffic wasn't too bad at 1130 but some construction taking place even on Sunday.
The Friday before it was a good 30 minute delay on our way to the hotel zone.

For a noon flight, we usually leave around 8:30 AM. It gives us a comfy buffer without feeling rushed, and we avoid any surprises. A few trips ago, we opted for a limousine rental, and it was such a nice touch! The ride was smooth, and we could just kick back and relax. Plus, our driver was super chill and shared some great local tips. We ended up getting to the airport a little early, but that was fine since we had time to grab a coffee and soak in the airport vibes. If you’re worried about the transfer time, maybe consider how much you like having that extra time at the airport. Better safe than sorry, right?

Everyone has different tolerance for buffer time in the airport. Cancun is not a great airport in my view to spend time. There’s always a very long line at Starbucks, chairs and tables always packed and none of the American Airlines have first class lounges.
The limo companies always err on the very safe side in case you hold them responsible for missing the flight. But I tell them what time I want picked up. Sometimes they make me sign a waiver. But it only takes about 20 minutes tops on a decent day from Pearl, so I never leave more than 2 hours 15 mins before departure time.
I’ve never come even close to being late for a flight.

Slightly different approach, but another option is leaving Pearl a night early and staying at the Hilton in the Airport. You can store your bags at the Spa and, at least when we did it, stay at Pearl until an early dinner. You miss out on one evenings activities (and get the savings of another night), but it makes for a leisurely travel day since you can have a relaxing morning with no traffic concerns. Similar to what some people do when staying at an airport hotel the night of arrival if getting in later in the afternoon.

We are about to make our 6th trip to Pearl. We have always left around 2:00 pm for a 5:00 pm flight and had plenty of time for an early airport dinner before boarding.
This year we are going to stay at the airport Fairfield Inn on Saturday night (our last day) and plan to leave Pearl after an early dinner. Does anyone know what the resort policy is regarding dinner and staying later on checkout day? Our preference would be some afternoon hot tub time followed by an early dinner and pickup around 7:30 pm. Has anyone done this?

We have done exactly that many times at DRM so I would think Pearl should be the same.

Jacuzzi until 6:40ish
Shower and getting ready and quick diner at 7
Picked up at 7:20/7:30

Sometimes the pickup times suggested by USA seem rather long.They generally leave plenty of time at the airport for a last minute drink or shopping before the flight. However, last week, Tuesday November 5th, our pickup was scheduled for 3 hours and 8 minutes before the flight. There was an accident on the highway about a mile south of the exit to the airport and the highway was a parking lot for miles. Traffic seemed to move slightly faster than walking speed. We arrived 90 minutes before the flight. There must have been a lot of people in the traffic jam that were on the way to the airport as it was not busy - we checked our bags and got through security in about 15 minutes, record time - by the time we got to Margaritaville we had about 15 minutes for a last drink before walking to the gate to board our flight. I won't complain about pick up times in the future.