Summit in San Juan--flight question

We're booked on the Summit for a Southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan next spring. I'm looking at flights out of SJU on the day we return, and I'm wondering what is the earliest flight you would feel comfortable booking. I will also be traveling with a 5-yr-old, so we be slightly on the slow side :)

The ship is scheduled to get in at 6:30am, but I'm not sure how long it typically takes to disembark.

Thanks for your input!

In San Juan you must first go though a US Agriculture inspection with all your luggage so it takes more time than most airports. I would never get a flight before noon but that is just me.

Even though a ship arrives early in the morning there is no guarantee disembarkation will be smooth..I would not book a flight any earlier than 11:30am

There is a noon flight that I am looking at, otherwise we will get home very late, and the flights the next day are even more expensive.

For a noon flight, is getting to the airport around 11am ok? About how long does it take to get from the port to the airport?

Also, does Celebrity have a self-assist disembark?

There is a noon flight that I am looking at, otherwise we will get home very late, and the flights the next day are even more expensive.

 

For a noon flight, is getting to the airport around 11am ok? About how long does it take to get from the port to the airport?

 

Also, does Celebrity have a self-assist disembark?

Port to the Airport by cab is fairly quick... Straight out the expressway... 10 to 15 minutes as I recall.

On D-Day the Airport can be very busy. And you go thru 3 levels of the process before you get airside... Agro Inspection - Check In - Security. There can be line ups for all 3

Your CC Profile doesn't mention your Location (you might want to add that, makes replying easier) but going to the US would be considered Domestic so recommended 2 Hours arrival prior to Flight, International is 3 Hours.

Noon IMO will be earliest that would be workable for a US Domestic flight to be on the safe side

Hope this helps,

Cheers!

We did a late afternoon flight so we could do a tour of San Juan, and be on the really safe side.

Celebrity put our luggage in the wrong location. So we were just about the last to get luggage. So much for being Aqua A1 class.

Celebrity took our luggage to San Juan Airport while we were on a Celebrity tour of San Juan, safe and convenient right?

Celebrity just dropped off our luggage in a pile with others from the Summit. No one watching our luggage, just dropped in a sort of large car port.

It's hot in San Juan and Celebrity had our luggage far from the main terminal, lots of walking. No entrance to the airline terminal so we could get in from the heat and off that damn cracked sidewalk. This was not thought out at all.

Check the crime stats for San Juan, PR. This is not a safe place away from the main tourist areas. Luggage should never be just dumped for us to pick up later.

CaptDave

From my one-time experience, I would think you would be okay with a noon flight, if you take your luggage off yourself. There were lots of cabs available and people were outside the terminal guiding passengers to cabs.

Our flight wasn't until sometime in the afternoon and we were at the airport by around 9:30 or so. We had hours to kill. No line-ups for agricultural. The only long line was waiting for the United desk to open. It wasn't open because there weren't any United flights going out before noon.

I would take the noon flight over an evening flight for sure.

There is a noon flight that I am looking at, otherwise we will get home very late, and the flights the next day are even more expensive.

 

For a noon flight, is getting to the airport around 11am ok? About how long does it take to get from the port to the airport?

 

Also, does Celebrity have a self-assist disembark?

Noon flight should be good.. airport approximately 15-20 minutes away depending on traffic. and yes Celebrity does utilize self disembarkation

I think getting to the airport around 11:00 for a noon flight is too late. I think you are supposed to be there at least 2 hours beforehand. If you got there around 9 or 9:30 as we did, so that you can get through whatever lines there may be, then you will probably be okay.

We do this cruise every Jan. out of San Juan....you will make a noon flight easily if all goes according to norm. Be sure to ask for early time debarkation and then when you get to the custom/luggage area be sure to get a porter to take your luggage (they have a special line that is very much easier/shorter than the others to customs agents and will take you to the head of the taxi line also! The ride to the airport is less than 30 minutes and yes, be sure to take all your bags thru the agriculture check station or you won't be able to check in at your airline (this whole check seems totally inane but it is mandatory and you need those little stickers affixed on all bags!). I only wish our flight back to NJ was at noon...it keeps being pushed back later and later! Have a great cruise!:):)

Been there, done that several times. Go for the noon flight. You should be fine. If your kid is really being a laggard then just just ditch him/her at the concierge desk with a note saying you will be back in a year to fetch. Celebrity is real good about putting urchins to work - especially in the galley where they always need dishwashers and floor moppers. If they make it a whole year I hear you can get bonus double captain's club points and a free beverage package on the cruise you book to retrieve the miscreant. Heck of a good deal. Worked twice for us, and our two little anchors learned to speak pretty good colloquial Spanish. Was way lots cheaper than annual language camp. Win, win. We're now looking at China cruises. Anybody know the earliest we can catch a flight out of Shanghai? Thinking it might be a good time for the young'ns to learn Chinese. I heard that on the Asian routes they might get trained in on making stir fry and sushi. Now that would be awesome and tasty.

We did a late afternoon flight so we could do a tour of San Juan, and be on the really safe side.

 

Celebrity put our luggage in the wrong location. So we were just about the last to get luggage. So much for being Aqua A1 class.

 

Celebrity took our luggage to San Juan Airport while we were on a Celebrity tour of San Juan, safe and convenient right?

 

Celebrity just dropped off our luggage in a pile with others from the Summit. No one watching our luggage, just dropped in a sort of large car port.

 

It's hot in San Juan and Celebrity had our luggage far from the main terminal, lots of walking. No entrance to the airline terminal so we could get in from the heat and off that damn cracked sidewalk. This was not thought out at all.

 

Check the crime stats for San Juan, PR. This is not a safe place away from the main tourist areas. Luggage should never be just dumped for us to pick up later.

They loaded all the luggage on a truck and gave us a claim check for each piece of luggage.

The luggage was locked up inside the truck and transported to the airport, while we went off for our tour on a bus.

When they dropped us off at the airport later in the day, the checked bags were already sorted out and lined up waiting for us in a secure area close to a terminal entrance, with an armed guard watching over them.

We even had to show our claim checks to retrieve our bags.

It was very well organized, and at the time we had even commented on how much better it was than a private tour we had taken where we had been required to take all the luggage on the bus with us.

Now I am wondering if they have changed the way they do it for all their San Juan tours, or if your experience was just a fluke.

I would feel comfortable booking a noon flight from SJU. Just self-disembark, or arrange to be in the first group allowed off the ship.

We have disembarked many times in San Juan.

The attached post answers some of your questions but I would add a few additional comments:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41323155&postcount=7

1. If you are in a hurry to get to the airport, snag a porter for your luggage in the cruise terminal arrival hall. You will get through the customs/passport control line faster.

2. Travel to the airport in a taxi. The Celebrity transfer uses buses for passengers but transports the luggage in a separate truck. You will have to wait at the airport until the luggage truck arrives (multiple buses worth of luggage on the same truck) and then they unload it in a big pile and it takes a while to get the luggage sorted out. Also, it may not be immediately in front of the entrance to your terminal.

3. Again, get a porter for your luggage at the airport. They will get your luggage through the agricultural inspection more quickly and also expedite your check-in as they seem to have their own way to get you at/near the front of the check-in line.

The airport is only about 15-20 minutes driving time from the port.

 

Now I am wondering if they have changed the way they do it for all their San Juan tours, or if your experience was just a fluke.

 

This was November 2013 on the Summit at San Juan. I checked, no one was watching our bags. Just dropped off under a overhang at the end of the terminal.

CaptDave

We have done this trip the last years in February. The latest we ever have gotten to the airport and through check in/security was 9:30.

We have never done self disembark. How does it work? Do we haul our own bags off the ship from our cabin?

Sasset,

You are correct. You will be responsible for your luggage from your cabin, through the ship and disembarkation and through customs and immigration to your transportation.

It's not quite as easy as that however because you may have to tote your luggage either up or down the crowded stairs if the elevators are too full. You will have to wait for an elevator when exiting the ship into the terminal unless you can maintain control of your luggage in one hand while the other holds the escalator rail. There will be crew stationed at the escalator to monitor this.

All self disembarking passengers gather in a central location, usually near the ship's exit. This area is always crowded with passengers and luggage. It is never a pleasant experience. Everyone in this group wants off first.

If there is any way you can avoid self disembarkation I highly recommend you do so.

Been there, done that several times. Go for the noon flight. You should be fine. If your kid is really being a laggard then just just ditch him/her at the concierge desk with a note saying you will be back in a year to fetch. Celebrity is real good about putting urchins to work - especially in the galley where they always need dishwashers and floor moppers. If they make it a whole year I hear you can get bonus double captain's club points and a free beverage package on the cruise you book to retrieve the miscreant. Heck of a good deal. Worked twice for us, and our two little anchors learned to speak pretty good colloquial Spanish. Was way lots cheaper than annual language camp. Win, win. We're now looking at China cruises. Anybody know the earliest we can catch a flight out of Shanghai? Thinking it might be a good time for the young'ns to learn Chinese. I heard that on the Asian routes they might get trained in on making stir fry and sushi. Now that would be awesome and tasty.

Hmmm...If they were employed in the kitchen/galley, I would have thought they would have learned Bahasa Indonesia or Tagalog, not Spanish. EM

In San Juan you must first go though a US Agriculture inspection with all your luggage so it takes more time than most airports. I would never get a flight before noon but that is just me.

We've been thru the USDA inspection point 7-8 times the past 10 years, it's never taken more than 1-2 minutes..............

I think getting to the airport around 11:00 for a noon flight is too late. I think you are supposed to be there at least 2 hours beforehand. If you got there around 9 or 9:30 as we did, so that you can get through whatever lines there may be, then you will probably be okay.

Exactly. I would never get to ANY airport at 11:00 for a noon flight! Might get away with it at a small town US airport, but certainly wouldn't do that in any large city.

We are also cruising from San Juan in April. I have no input on the airport question but I am praying that your 5 year old is not on our cruise week. I will never understand why people take kids on such decidedly ADULT ships and itineraries.

I really don't understand how you can say this when Celebrity welcomes families, has cabins that accommodate children throughout the ship including some special suites, and has a children's program. Furthermore if you are traveling in April then your cruise will probably end up being in some school district's spring break. Also, a 7 night cruise is one of the most appealing to families whose children normally get a full week off at spring break and whose young parents often vacation one week at a time.

I'd suggest that if you deplore cruising with children you choose an adult ship if there is such a thing or at least one that doesn't have facilities and programs that cater to children and that you travel on an itinerary that doesn't appeal much to families such as the much longer 14 night Eclipse itinerary or at least an itinerary that is not during a school break period. Even then you WILL find families with young children on board but there will not be quite so many.

I hope that the family in question does not run into any child hating grouchy people on board. I will never understand why some people who vacation in family places feel that children are inappropriate there. Reminds me of a family road trip many many years ago when our kids were toddlers. At a lunch stop at McDonalds some grouchy lady came up to us and rudely told us that our children were ruining her dining ambiance (at McDonalds!). The only consolation where the many people who stopped by our table after that to say that we shouldn't be bothered by the opinions of such people and that our kids were doing just fine there.

We booked ~1PM flights for teh last two cruises out of San Juan. The first year we got very lucky, flew through customs and security. My wife had gotten us standby on the earlier flight (think it was 11AM). As we are approaching the gates, we heard our names being called from the standby list and were able to get on the flight. Our bags made it also. So miracles can happen, but I would never book a flight earlier than Noon.

One tip for Customs in San Juan. There are porters who you can tip and they will bring you to the head of the line. We gave ours $20 and saved at least 30 minutes of waiting.

And for the agricultural scan in the airport, as long as you are prepared for it and go to that station immediately, it is very easy. Just make sure to claim your bag. You still need to bring it to the airport counter to have it checked.

I would strongly suggest getting a porter at the airport. They will get you through and both Summit cruises we thought they were worth the $$$. Also if the cruise terminal is full the porters can get you through the customs steps rather fast also. . The duty free at the airport is great if you want to take booze back (US citizens at least). They will put your bottles in a "locked" nylon carrier and since you are past the TSA you can take it aboard the plane like the old days. Plus since you are in the US there is really no limit at that point.

Sasset,

You are correct. You will be responsible for your luggage from your cabin, through the ship and disembarkation and through customs and immigration to your transportation.

It's not quite as easy as that however because you may have to tote your luggage either up or down the crowded stairs if the elevators are too full. You will have to wait for an elevator when exiting the ship into the terminal unless you can maintain control of your luggage in one hand while the other holds the escalator rail. There will be crew stationed at the escalator to monitor this.

All self disembarking passengers gather in a central location, usually near the ship's exit. This area is always crowded with passengers and luggage. It is never a pleasant experience. Everyone in this group wants off first.

If there is any way you can avoid self disembarkation I highly recommend you do so.

Thanks. I think we can avoid it.