What time to get on Celebrity Summit from San Juan?

[harry345]

I just noticed that my April 4, 2020 Cruise from San Juan does not depart until 8:30 PM, so I’m just wondering what time I am able to/should get in line by, this is my first cruise as well so feel free to walk me through how it all works 🙂

[son3cruisers]

You can arrive at the port at 11, if you want to have lunch on-board.

Others may choose to tour San Juan for the day and arrive before 5. I personally wouldn’t wait that late. 

I found the check in lines to be very busy at the Pan Am pier ( with Royal) and long lines outside for our last two cruises out of San Juan. 
This year, I hope to arrive closer to 2pm to avoid the lines and still be able to grab some food on-board. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by son3cruisers

[youwash]

Last year when we sailed the Summit I think we were at the port shortly after 10:30 and they opened the doors at 11 and we were on board in about 10 minutes. We always go early because that's my first day of the cruise and I want to be enjoying it as long as possible. 

[GACrusin]

We typically board around noon, and did the same on the Summit for our Thanksgiving cruise.  There were no lines, and having already uploaded our pictures, and with the express pass on our phones,  it was a quick and easy boarding process!  It was nice to miss any potential early lines, and still be on board for lunch, get settled in our stateroom, and spend some time at the sunset bar prior to the late afternoon muster drill!  Have a great time!

[zdad59]

We sail on Summit in February.    We plan to board around noon.   This allows us to get situated on the ship, get unpacked, and check out the ship before the masses board.    Later in the day we can have an early dinner (we are AQ so we'll eat in Blu) and be on the top deck with a nice after dinner drink for sail away.     We like being on the ship and enjoying its amenities.     Now we also will have been in OSJ for two days already, so touring the city that day isn't a thing for us either.

 

We did something similar when we sailed on RCLs Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan a few years ago.    It worked well and started the trip off in a very relaxing manner.

[Host Kat]

3 hours ago, harry345 said:

I just noticed that my April 4, 2020 Cruise from San Juan does not depart until 8:30 PM, so I’m just wondering what time I am able to/should get in line by, this is my first cruise as well so feel free to walk me through how it all works 🙂

 

Howdy harry345 and welcome to Cruise Critic!!

 

Cruise Critic is a great resource and we are so glad you found us!   Please feel free to browse the Cruise Critic Community Categories list. Read a few threads in the forums to get a feel for what each forum is about. Make sure you read any pinned threads on the top of the first page of threads in a forum. You will find very important instructions or information there.

 

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And since we both are sailing the same April 4, 2020 Summit cruise, you do NOT need to search for yours! Please click here April 4th 2020 Summit! to go to our mutual Roll Call thread. Read the entire Roll Call thread to get to know the other members sailing with us. For them to get to know you, use the Reply to this topic button to post an introductory post about yourself. And then if you want to reply to or have a question about a particular post in the thread, first click the Quote feature on the post you are replying to. Type your reply under the Quote box as I have done with this reply to you. When done, click the Submit Reply button. Anytime you need to edit your post after it posts, you only have up to about 15  minutes to make a correction using the Edit feature on the new post. When the time limit expires the Edit feature will disappear from your post.

 

Looking forward to "seeing" you on the Roll Call thread! All of us there will be happy to help you with how things work when cruising. Fun fact: Some of us were "thrown overboard" by Celebrity due to their chartering our March cruise out from under us and we landed on the April cruise. And some of us have sailed on Summit before and after her being "Revolutionized" earlier this year.

 

I sincerely hope this information will be helpful to a new member and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

 

Edited to add: Uh oh! Forgot to let you know about the Celebrity Cruises/Cruise Critic Connections party that will take place during our cruise. When you have a chance, please register for the party on the Celebrity Cruises website at https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-critic-connections.

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Host Kat
Additional information.

[PhoenixCruiser]

We usually leave the hotel around their check out time. Last November we left the room at 11:00, requested an Uber and were onboard The Summit by 11:35.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[JustAGirl79]

We just checked in for our February 15, 2020 cruise on Summit (our third on Summit from San Juan) and for the first time, as part of the check in process, we had to indicate what time we plan to arrive/board the ship. The earliest time listed was 2-2:30 p.m., so that's what we picked. I assumed because no earlier times were listed, that we can't board earlier - is that the case?

[hiccups]

9 minutes ago, JustAGirl79 said:

We just checked in for our February 15, 2020 cruise on Summit (our third on Summit from San Juan) and for the first time, as part of the check in process, we had to indicate what time we plan to arrive/board the ship. The earliest time listed was 2-2:30 p.m., so that's what we picked. I assumed because no earlier times were listed, that we can't board earlier - is that the case?

Not in my experience.  I think that was the time we had for our Summit cruise, but we boarded as soon as we got to the pier, which was around 1 PM.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, JustAGirl79 said:

We just checked in for our February 15, 2020 cruise on Summit (our third on Summit from San Juan) and for the first time, as part of the check in process, we had to indicate what time we plan to arrive/board the ship. The earliest time listed was 2-2:30 p.m., so that's what we picked. I assumed because no earlier times were listed, that we can't board earlier - is that the case?

The estimated boarding time you selected during the online check in is a suggested time. All our experiences we arrive early and we've never been dined the check in process at the terminal or boarding when arriving before the printed time on our Express Passes. 

[PhoenixCruiser]

11 hours ago, JustAGirl79 said:

We just checked in for our February 15, 2020 cruise on Summit (our third on Summit from San Juan) and for the first time, as part of the check in process, we had to indicate what time we plan to arrive/board the ship. The earliest time listed was 2-2:30 p.m., so that's what we picked. I assumed because no earlier times were listed, that we can't board earlier - is that the case?

 

We were also assigned that time frame.  My post above details what we did instead.

 

[doxiegal]

We boarded Summit around 2;30 for our cruise in November. There was no line checking in and no line by the buffet. We are sailing again in April, and will probably get on around the same time.

[trucker den]

Whatever time you board, just make sure to arrive in San Juan a few days early. It is a great place to visit. This will be our second cruise on the summit out of San Juan. last April we flew in on friday and stayed in old San Juan. One night wasn't enough time. This April we are staying in Old San Juan for 3 days precruise. But to answer your question, last time we got to the port at 10:30 and we were on board by 11.  Our boarding time was listed as 2pm. San Juan is easy to get around and the taxis are not metered in the tourist areas. You can find cab prices online to get the idea of costs.