Flying into San Juan? Opinions from experience wanted

[Wildgrits]

In March my family will be on the Southern Caribbean itinerary on the Valor. We will be flying out of NYC direct to San Juan.

 

There are two flights being offered for the same price. One gets to PR at noon and the other at 2pm. I would rather leave later as I have a three hour drive and know weather could be iffy that time of year.

 

So my questions are really, what one would you pick? If we take the later one are we gonna end up with the cattle drive to get on the boat or will we have missed it?

 

Do we have a lesser chance of being delayed if we take one over the other? I worry about being on the second flight and getting bumped by passengers delayed earlier.

 

We will be taking AA.

[bookcreator]

In March my family will be on the Southern Caribbean itinerary on the Valor. We will be flying out of NYC direct to San Juan.

 

There are two flights being offered for the same price. One gets to PR at noon and the other at 2pm. I would rather leave later as I have a three hour drive and know weather could be iffy that time of year.

 

So my questions are really, what one would you pick? If we take the later one are we gonna end up with the cattle drive to get on the boat or will we have missed it?

 

Do we have a lesser chance of being delayed if we take one over the other? I worry about being on the second flight and getting bumped by passengers delayed earlier.

 

We will be taking AA.

 

We would opt for the day before, but if that is not an option, the earlier the better. We board in San Juan about 11am, and it is spread out throughout the day, no specific times for crowds. Take a taxi, it is a set rate in San Juan to the port. AFTER the cruise, make sure you get an agriculture scan of your luggage at the airport when you first enter and a sticker for your luggage, or you will be sent back for one when you try to turn in your luggage. It wastes quite a bit of time if you have to return to the entrance for the agricultural scan (it is different from the security scan).....Bring an umbrella on this itinerary, rain showers, even short ones are very frequent on this cruise whenever we have taken it.

[Darcy03231]

I would fly in the day before and spend the night in PR. If that isn't possible, take the earliest flight you can get.

 

I've flown into PR several times for a cruise, all non-stop from BOS to SJU. One time we were delayed by almost 4 hours as our flight was delayed coming in from another airport because of weather in the mid-west (where the flight was originating from).

 

I was also delayed once for close to 6 hours because of mechanical issues with our plane and we had to wait for another plane to be rerouted.

 

These were both AA flights.

 

For us it didn't matter because we always fly in a day or two ahead of time and stay a day or two later.

[Wildgrits]

I did this itinery a year ago with my sisters. We flew in a week before and really got to visit PR.

 

This time flying in a day before is not an option.

[NEREVS]

We would opt for the day before, but if that is not an option, the earlier the better. We board in San Juan about 11am, and it is spread out throughout the day, no specific times for crowds. Take a taxi, it is a set rate in San Juan to the port. AFTER the cruise, make sure you get an agriculture scan of your luggage at the airport when you first enter and a sticker for your luggage, or you will be sent back for one when you try to turn in your luggage. It wastes quite a bit of time if you have to return to the entrance for the agricultural scan (it is different from the security scan).....Bring an umbrella on this itinerary, rain showers, even short ones are very frequent on this cruise whenever we have taken it.

 

 

I would second that - if you have the option to fly the day before it is well worth it. Of the 3 times their (all in the Feb/March time frame) we have had issues with flights going out of Hartford twice and got in later - fortunatley it was Saturday. The one time we did not have flight issues was the time we went the day off, but that was when their were a lot more flight options and we flew out at 6:00 AM.

[twinbee]

I would do the earlier flight. I flew out of Newark, via Jet Blue to San Juan. We did arrive around noon. The shuttle to the port took longer than I expected. I think everyone from the plane were all headed to the port, so we had to wait is a long line for either shuttle buses or other transportation. But once we arrived at the port terminal, everything went really fast and easy.

[dave&micki]

Go the day before!!!!!!! When we flew into SJ a few years ago the day before our cruise the traffic around 3PM becomes a nightmare from the airport .

[ibcnusoon]

We are doing this itinerary Thanksgiving week. We are flying in late Friday night, after work, this way it'll give us all day Saturday to explore Old San Juan and Sunday we can leisurely take a cab to the port, board, and enjoy the pool, food, and our balcony before we set sail that night.

 

If you cannot fly in early, please take the earliest flight out on Sunday morning. if something happens you can fall back on the later flight. Have a PLAN C in place because you are limiting yourself to those 2 flights and nothing else - or you could just get a flight the next day to St. Thomas. :p

[Rarejules]

I am on the Victory on the 28th of October flying in same day from JFK on Jet Blue. Flight gets in at 10:50 am and there are there more flights after that would get me in SJU by 8pm just in case something happens. AA have limited flights.

[peptobysmol]

If you must fly in the day of, take the earliest flight. Check in ASAP then leave the ship to go explore SJ!

[Herfnerd]

I echo what everyone else said - fly in the day before.

 

We just got back this past weekend from our Victory cruise - flew in day of but only because we got married Saturday afternoon. We knew we were taking a chance cruising during hurricane season (that's what trip insurance is for!) but had no other choice.

 

We did, however, fly non stop from CLT which is much easier than flying from JFK, LGA or EWR

[bplazo]

We are also cruising out of San Juan in March. As everyone else has said, I would try to fly in the day before and if you cannot I would do the earliest flight. My husband travels alot or his job and he is always having delays and sometimes it is not even in the same day.

[StillPooh]

I did this itinery a year ago with my sisters. We flew in a week before and really got to visit PR.

 

This time flying in a day before is not an option.

Emphasized for every single person posting on this thread that apparently cannot read. :rolleyes:

 

We flew AirTran non-stop from BWI to SJU and arrived at about 2 in the afternoon for a 10:00 sailing (we didn't actually leave till after midnight, but that's another story). Waiting for our luggage at the carousel took longer than waiting in line for a cab and then getting to the ship. We were checking in at 3:00.

 

American Airlines is having "issues" these days, though. So the earlier flight might be the safer option.

[Crusing Nut]

Emphasized for every single person posting on this thread that apparently cannot read. :rolleyes:

 

We flew AirTran non-stop from BWI to SJU and arrived at about 2 in the afternoon for a 10:00 sailing (we didn't actually leave till after midnight, but that's another story). Waiting for our luggage at the carousel took longer than waiting in line for a cab and then getting to the ship. We were checking in at 3:00.

 

American Airlines is having "issues" these days, though. So the earlier flight might be the safer option.

 

Was that really needed?

[StillPooh]

Was that really needed?

You wouldn't think so. But if you count how many posts tell the OP to fly in the day before even after they have said it's not an option...apparently it is needed. :rolleyes:

 

Not that I expect it to have any lasting impact. :rolleyes:

[bplazo]

Emphasized for every single person posting on this thread that apparently cannot read. :rolleyes:

 

We flew AirTran non-stop from BWI to SJU and arrived at about 2 in the afternoon for a 10:00 sailing (we didn't actually leave till after midnight, but that's another story). Waiting for our luggage at the carousel took longer than waiting in line for a cab and then getting to the ship. We were checking in at 3:00.

 

American Airlines is having "issues" these days, though. So the earlier flight might be the safer option.

 

I CAN read, however, it was not in your original thread but a few down and I did miss you posting back saying that.

[joeandaimeesmom]

We would go a day early.. We would not want problems the day of the cruise..

[jimbo5544]

Keep tabs on AA, with all of the cutbacks and cancelled flights, there could easily be problems.

[travellover39]

In March my family will be on the Southern Caribbean itinerary on the Valor. We will be flying out of NYC direct to San Juan.

 

There are two flights being offered for the same price. One gets to PR at noon and the other at 2pm. I would rather leave later as I have a three hour drive and know weather could be iffy that time of year.

 

So my questions are really, what one would you pick? If we take the later one are we gonna end up with the cattle drive to get on the boat or will we have missed it?

 

Do we have a lesser chance of being delayed if we take one over the other? I worry about being on the second flight and getting bumped by passengers delayed earlier.

 

We will be taking AA.

 

I would fly in the day before. It's to stressful worrying about the weather. If you can't, fly the eariest you can. JFK is a zoo later in the morning and afternoon. Check JetBlue. They now fly direct from JFK. You may have better flight times and price.

[StillPooh]

I CAN read, however, it was not in your original thread but a few down and I did miss you posting back saying that.

Really? Because I am not the OP. :rolleyes:

[travellover39]

Must be a full moon :eek:

[bplazo]

Really? Because I am not the OP. :rolleyes:

 

Can I blame the computer? I did not mean to quote your post! :) I am going to go check out the full moon.

[CorbinCatFan]

Fly in the day before. We've flown in to San Juan (or attempted) three time and are going on our fourth next week. Here is our luck:

 

First time flying in the same day of the cruise, we landed at 3:30 and thought that we had plenty of time. The baggage claim took over 1:15 minutes. By the time we got transportation, checked in at the cruise terminal, we were on board just after 6:30 PM. Remember that now you have to be on board 60 minutes before if you have checked in on-line or 90 minutes if not.

 

The next time, we were to land again around 3:30 in the afternoon the day of the cruise. Our original flight was canceled at the local airport. We took a taxi to Cincinnati (60 minutes away) to rebook a flight. We were to change flights in Dallas. But we sat on the taxi way in Cincinnati and missed the connection in Dallas. We spent the night in Atlanta and caught up with the ship in St. Thomas just before the gangway was pulled.

 

The last time, we decided to fly in the day before and was to arrive again at around 3:00 in the afternoon. Our 6:00 AM flight was canceled, we were unable to get on a standby (fog in Cleveland) and finally got a flight out through Newark with a 6 hour layover. By the time we landed and made it to the hotel, it was 11:30 PM. If this had been on Sunday, we would have missed the ship.

 

This time we are again going to fly the day before. We're scheduled to arrive again around 3:00 PM. I'm hoping this time we make it to the hotel around 5:00 for cocktails.

 

Good luck on your cruise. (Hope this flight goes well.)

[scroggs]

As others have said, be careful with American. They are having a total meltdown and the average delay is 1 hour plus. Threat of a cancellation is high. :(

[fridaythe13th]

Emphasized for every single person posting on this thread that apparently cannot read. :rolleyes:

 

We flew AirTran non-stop from BWI to SJU and arrived at about 2 in the afternoon for a 10:00 sailing (we didn't actually leave till after midnight, but that's another story). Waiting for our luggage at the carousel took longer than waiting in line for a cab and then getting to the ship. We were checking in at 3:00.

 

American Airlines is having "issues" these days, though. So the earlier flight might be the safer option.

 

LOL... I was going to post about the same thing. Plus it is still being said even after your post in RED. I think people don't read the posts, just go to the end and reply!