Is an 11:55AM flight too close out of San Juan?

[sr4mjc]

Sailing on the Serenade in January, will it be tough to catch an 11:55 flight out? The only other direct flight home is 5:25 pm :eek:

 

ETA: was looking at the Luggage Valet service but it doesn't look available for San Juan. Should we just carry our bags off the ship? So used to driving and being in no hurry, this is new for us.

 

Will getting a cab right off the ship to the airport be tough and how far away is the airport?

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

[castro]

Hello!

 

I think you will be fine. The important thing, dont forget to let them know (RCCL), that you have an early flight. They sould give you priority the day of debarkation.(They will assign you a lower number tag(1-5 maybe)). In terms of taxi, (I guess you will be in Isla Grande port for the Serenade) Will be no problem. More than 100 cabs will be waiting for you outside! :D From Isla Grande will not take more than 20 minutes to the airport.

 

Have a nice cruising!

[martyap]

We disembarked the millennium on a Monday this past March. We had a noon flight and were worried.....even though Monday is less crowded than Sunday or Saturday debarkations.

 

We got to the airport by 9:00 and were able to change to a 10:00 flight to JFK

without a problem.

 

Get off the ship as early as possible......make sure you notify them of your early flight.

 

One suggestion......we had a porter assist us at the cruise terminal......he quickly whisked us through customs and to a taxi........

 

Marty

[trish1c]

If this is your very 1st cruise ever, take the later flight.

If you have cruised before & have no health issues which could slow your departure I think you will be OK but it will be tight. If you can get off in the very 1st group fine. If not, do the self disembarkation. You really want to be at the AP by 10 a.m. b/c you have to go through the agricultural screening, then check in, then get through TSA.

FWIW, we were in the very last group to disembark off the Carribbean Princess last March & we were in a taxi by 11 am, having gotten our luggage (which was very easy to find in the empty terminal :p ) & cleared customs.

[MDSue]

I have never had a problem getting to the airport in San Juan for an earlier flight. Taxis are plentiful and fast. The ship alllows people with early flights to depart earlier. Getting through customs is fast and efficient on every cruise I've ever been on.

Just carry off your luggage, step into a cab, take the 15-30 minute (tops) ride to airport, then you have to go through both security x-ray and agriculture inspection.

I keep reading on here about long lines and delays, but have yet to experience any- yes, it's crowded, lots of passengers, but no worse than many other major US airports I've visited.

There is no reason anymore to be at the airport two hours early (other than peace of mind)- you can and should print your boarding pass the day before on the ship (otherwise- yes, you need more time). As long as you have a boarding pass in advance for your flight- you just go straight to your gate after security and inspection.

I think an 11:55 flight is perfect and anything later would just mean sitting in the airport for a long time. You are not allowed to check bags more than 4 hours early anyway.

[sr4mjc]

Thank you for all the replies! I'm on the fence, lol. Seems it's probably ok but there is a small chance of being late, or at the very least being stressed a little. Which is not what I'd want after a great cruise. What to do, what to do.

 

It's not our first cruise, but it is our first cruise where we were trying to fly back home on the same day. We usually drive from Port Canaveral or FLL, and on our Med cruise we stayed an extra night.

 

I'm leaning towards the later flight, but is there anywhere to store luggage and go around town for a while? Would hate to sit in the airport for 6 hours.

[millermadness]

Im the same as you on the planning things with plenty of time. But this time we are cutting close like you on the Carnival Victory arriving at 8:00 and our flight in at 11:20. But we are carrying the luggage off and whats the worst that can happen? Spend another day in San Juan. Poor us. Good luck and have faith

[LEtue]

I would not hesitate to book a flight at that time and I will as soon as Jet Blue opens their future schedule to include all of February and early March. On the last two trips out of San Juan we made it to the airport in plenty of time :)

 

As others have mentioned make sure you let RCI know and get off the ship as early as possible.

[sr4mjc]

Im the same as you on the planning things with plenty of time. But this time we are cutting close like you on the Carnival Victory arriving at 8:00 and our flight in at 11:20. But we are carrying the luggage off and whats the worst that can happen? Spend another day in San Juan. Poor us. Good luck and have faith

 

So true! the worst is we wait for the next flight or stay.

 

LEtue - This is Jet Blue, 11:55 to Tampa :)

[LEtue]

Well, have a great time on your cruise neighbor! I almost booked the Victory for our southern caribbean cruise :)

[cheaptravel]

We'll be on Serenade at the end of September, and knowing that it's hurricane / tropical storm season I worry that weather could keep the ship from docking on time ? We have sailed this time of year twice in the past and never had bad weather, but to be safe I think I'll book a flight at 1:15pm.

 

Anyone ever had weather issues during hurricane season ? (that affected the ship's arrival to dock ?)

[trish1c]

I'm leaning towards the later flight, but is there anywhere to store luggage and go around town for a while? Would hate to sit in the airport for 6 hours.

 

Barrachina's restaurant will take all your bags for a whooping $5. Best deal anywhere.

[sr4mjc]

Barrachina's restaurant will take all your bags for a whooping $5. Best deal anywhere.

 

Wow, now that's a great tip!!

[trainnut]

I haven't done this myself, but one of the other threads was saying to leave your ship debarking tags on your luggage, and you don't get held up by the agricultural screening.

Hope that helps!

 

Allen

[Host Faith]

We'll be on Serenade at the end of September, and knowing that it's hurricane / tropical storm season I worry that weather could keep the ship from docking on time ? We have sailed this time of year twice in the past and never had bad weather, but to be safe I think I'll book a flight at 1:15pm.

 

Anyone ever had weather issues during hurricane season ? (that affected the ship's arrival to dock ?)

 

We've sailed RCCL from San Juan in October 2009, and August 2010. Sailing again this October. Never had any delays with the ship docking.

 

We booked our flights around noon each time, and were sitting in our chairs at the gate around 9:30.

 

In general, we make sure we're some of the first people off the ship. We quickly find our luggage (which is in bright, hard to miss colors) and catch a cab straight to the airport. We take everything we have through the Ag Screening immediately, and check our bags. Because so many people miss the Ag screening, we tend to be some of the first to pass through security and get settled in the terminal. :)

[*oceanlvr*]

I would not hesitate to book a flight at that time and I will as soon as Jet Blue opens their future schedule to include all of February and early March. On the last two trips out of San Juan we made it to the airport in plenty of time :)

/QUOTE]

 

I saw this post - I'm in San Diego and thought of flying to SJU on Jet Blue (our cruise is C.P. on March 4) . But as you mentioned, those March dates are not yet available.

 

Is this a daytime flight, do you know, or a red eye? Any comments on it (if you've made this Jet Blue trip before). Thanks!

[CoralReef]

I haven't done this myself, but one of the other threads was saying to leave your ship debarking tags on your luggage, and you don't get held up by the agricultural screening.

Hope that helps!

 

Allen

 

I have a hard time believing this. Our bags were scanned, then sniffed by a dog during Ag screening. I doubt if either the scanner or the dog was impressed by the tags... but the screening was very fast. The TSA line, on the other hand, was much more of a delay.

[smurfm69]

Our flight out of PR was at 11:05am and we had no problems at all. We did self assist and were off the ship at 7:30am. I'm glad we didn't have a later flight or we would have had to wait around in the airport even longer.

[*oceanlvr*]

I found a non-stop return flight that leaves San Juan at 10am. Do you think trying to catch that flight would be pushing it a bit or is it realistic? Thank you!

[megr1125]

I found a non-stop return flight that leaves San Juan at 10am. Do you think trying to catch that flight would be pushing it a bit or is it realistic? Thank you!

 

personally i would not do this.......on one leg of a cruise that left SJ, we didn't even start the walk offs until close to 9 AM.......and the ship got in very early.....

[MDSue]

I found a non-stop return flight that leaves San Juan at 10am. Do you think trying to catch that flight would be pushing it a bit or is it realistic? Thank you!

If all the stars align correctly, you might make it, but I wouldn't risk a flight that early. First the ship has to clear customs before passnegers are allowed to depart- possibly 7:30 to 8am- then you have to find your luggage (some ships do not allow you to carry your own luggage off the ship) and go through customs at the dock, then a quick taxi ride (will go faster if you get a porter), then through 2 separate screenings at the airport (cruise passengers do have to get agriculture screenings), and then to your gate (if you printed your boarding passes on the ship).

This is a lot to do and still be on the plane for a 10 am flight. Remember, 10 am means departure time, they usually board and leave the gate prior to that time.

I would not book anything before 11 am unless you don't mind if you might miss your flight. I think noonish is the safest time, but I've had earlier flights.