San Juan cruise Pros/Cons

[dick731]

Looking to book a Princess cruise April 8 that departs at 11PM. Any thoughts about flying in that day. Also any tips about time of departing flight.

[Keith1010]

While some will fly in that day I do not recommend doing so. You still run the risk of missing the ship should your flight be cancelled or significantly delayed.

 

I would book a return flight at Noon or slightly after then.

 

Keith

[Hlitner]

It is always a good idea to fly-in at least 1 day early because of the possiblity of the sirlines being late or cancelling a flight plus it allows for luggage delay. We have had some very good luck on Priceline getting a hotel in San Juan (we have had the Caribe Hilton for less then $75). If you have never been to San Juan it is a very decent resort city with many decent hotels and resorts in the region.

 

Hank

[khm1]

Looking to book a Princess cruise April 8 that departs at 11PM. Any thoughts about flying in that day. Also any tips about time of departing flight.

 

I have cruised out of SJ several times. I have flown in the day of the cruise and the day before. I have to say that it is possible either way. However, it is so much nicer and less stressful to come in at least a day ahead of the cruise.

 

There is a lot to do and see in SJ. It is a very nice start to your vacation. You are guaranteed to have warm weather when you get there. Go to the port of call San Juan boards for lots of information on SJ. I use Priceline to book a cheap hotel room and make an extra day of vacation.

 

In April it is unlikely that you will have any weather delays. That is one of the main reasons I choose to go a day ahead. It gives you a buffer in case anything goes wrong. If you fly in the day of, keep in mind that you MUST be on board at LEAST and hour and a half before you sail. If you aren't, they won't let you board and you will have to meet the ship at the next port. Try to get the earliest flight of the day. Also try to book a direct flight with no plane changes. This gives you less chance of any delays. I would be nervous of an arrival time after about 3 PM.

 

For your departure from SJU, do not choose a flight earlier than 12 PM. It can be very difficult to get through SJU on debarkation day. Prepare for heavy delays in Agricultural screening, airline check-in, and security screening. It can take as long as 3 hours to complete this process.

 

SJ is my favorite port of embarkation! The itineraries are always fabulous and you get a much more port-intensive cruise. I am sure that with proper planning, you will have a fabulous cruise!

[dick731]

Thanks for info. I think the path of least resistance is to do a pre-cruise post-cruise. It is vacation, right?

[mizLORInj]

We had few flight options to get to San Juan so we had a very early flight the day of sailing; arrived at the SJU airport around 11am and boarded the ship around 1pm I think. Worked out fine.

[Loves_Dogs]

Looking to book a Princess cruise April 8 that departs at 11PM. Any thoughts about flying in that day. Also any tips about time of departing flight.

 

Have done 2 cruises out of San Juan. I personally never would fly in same day for any cruise. San Juan is beautiful. You would be doing yourself a favor to fly in a day early and see it. Another thing I worry about is luggage. If your luggage gets lost and you fly in same day, you are in big trouble. Flying in the day before gives them extra time to locate luggage in the event that it does get lost. I know hotels are expensive in San Juan but the peace of mind is worth it to me.

 

Far as the flight home, the airport is a zoo. That's all I can say. Both times I was there it was awful. I do know they were in the middle of a remodel when I was there last time so maybe it's better but I would not advise booking a flight before 12:00 or 1:00.

Hope that helps, have a GREAT cruise!

[trish1c]

San Juan is my favorite port of departure. Do fly in the day before. I have flown in the day of but it was stressful. DH & I also have the worst luck with planes.

Check out Priceline to get a deal on a hotel.

The biggest con to a San Juan departure is the price of the air to get there.

[PreciousCruiser]

We flew in the day of, fairly early, and all worked out just fine. Of course I guess it depends where you are flying from and when (weather conditions). Being from the south it wasn't an issue. We stayed over after the cruise which gave use time to tour around, then we flew out the next morning. But I wished we would have flown in the day before, as well as staying after, to have more touring around time. Enjoy your cruise... :)

[Cuizer2]

Looking to book a Princess cruise April 8 that departs at 11PM. Any thoughts about flying in that day. Also any tips about time of departing flight.

 

Interesting question. I always recommend flying in the day before. The one time I didn't was for a San Juan cruise. I flew non-stop from LAX to San Juan arriving around 9:00am if I recall correctly (it was April 2008). So even if my flight was eight hours late I still had enough time to make the flight.

 

However, I ended up very tired (as it was a red eye flight) and did not fully recover until the last day of the cruise (which was the one and only sea day). Given my experience, I would not do that again unless the first day was a sea day. Also, I would not do it during the winter from a snow bound airport. Finally, I would not do it unless it was a non-stop flight.

 

As to a return flight, I would shoot for 1:00pm or later.