american airlines out of san juan

[ddean52]

we will be flying aa out of san juan after our cruies and was wondering if useing aa will avoid alot of the issues others have posted about in ref. to san juan airport and the lines?
if you have solid info. on this subject please advise!
thanks,
dean(& alice)

ALICE & DEAN
ADVENTURE 5/23/04 EXPLORER 9/27/03
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time left till adventure of the seas

[Travel Angel]

In my experiences flying out of San Juan.....BE PATIENT because I have yet to see a short line at any airline check in area.

Think about it.....on any given weekend when ships are back in port you may have in excess of 8000+ passengers trying to get in or out of San Juan and the airport just can't handle all those passengers efficiently.

However, I have found that later flights in the day due tend to be less crowded and quicker when arriving at the airport.

Curtis...
Waiting patiently for MY ship to come in !!!

[SuzieQ123]

We flew out of San Juan this past Sunday on AA to Newark, we had no problems within the airport ,but upon leaving the gate we experienced mechanical problems and the plane was taken out of service, we had to wait for another plane to arrive, so instead of a 5:40 arrival in Newark we arrived at 9:30 pm. This of course was beyond anyone's control.

We did see most of the AA flights were delayed by at least 2 hours no matter where they were arriving from in Newark.

The San Juan aiport however was more organized then Newark, we experienced no problems and are planning to sail on the AOS again Thanksgiving week. In my opinion sailing from San Juan beats sailing from Miami anyday

[trish1c]

We flew AA into & out of SJ in March. AA was great. They let us fly standby down & we got a much earlier direct flight instead of a long lay over. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Coming back, I was so paranoid after reading these boards, we arrived at the AP 3 hours early. We had absolutely no problems but we saw huge lines trying to get through the 2 TSA security x-ray machines as departure time approached.

Packing patience is a must.

Trish

[gardnerna]

How early can I get a flight after the cruise out of San Juan?

I've done a search and it isn't working right now.

Thank

Nancy

[trish1c]

The cruise lines recommend that you book no earlier than 12 noon.

Trish

[gkrebs]

Using AA out of San Juan is the best way to go. They have there own concourse and check in is a snap. On our last cruise we left the ship at 9:30 and were checked in and at the gate by 10:10. I actually thought the airport might have been closed or something when we got to AA terminal

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Gary


Explorer of the Seas 10/24/04
Dawn Princess 10/12/03
Voyager of the Seas 12/01/02
Adventurer of the Seas 4/21/02
Sea Breeze 06/98
Atlantis 06/70

Time to Set Sail

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[Todd320]

I see it different than most on this topic. The following is a copy and paste from my 4/3/04 Serenade cruise. I have done 8 or more cruises out of SJU.

Just want to share my experience last week getting of the Serenade because it was such a pleasant one. We had a 11:30 flight booked on AA out of SJU but had an option to catch a 9:00 am flight at no extra charge. We did ask the concierge if we could get off early for that flight and she said yes but I need the flight number. We were given white baggage tags and to meet in the tropical theater by 7:25. When we arrived at the tropical theater the third purser verified our name and that our cabin number was on the list. There were about twenty of us and at exactly 7:25 we were marched to the gang way were the third purser handed the list off to a custom agent. We continued to immigration and customs were all lines were open for our small group. I have a passport but the wife and kids have BC's but that didn't slow us down. We grabbed a taxi and were at the AA counter by 7:55 AM and at the gate at 8:15 AM. The airport was not busy at that time of the mourning. The airport doesn't turn into a zoo until 10:00 AM so we did beat the rush.

Customs and immigration have complete control when debarkation starts but my impression was that since they know who is getting off in this early group by name and cabin number, it usually runs like clock work. Since there is no PA made the rest of the ship doesn't know when that early group gets off. The early group is for flights before 11:00 AM. From what I have seen of the airport and debarkation process is that you have a better chance of catching a 10:00-30 flight that a 12:00 flight.

Todd


Norway 7/87
Inspration 01/99
Galaxy 01/00
Ocean Princess 10/00
Ocean Princess 12/00
Enchatment of the Seas 04/01
Dawn Princess 10/01
Dawn Princess 12/01 14 days
Explorer of the Seas 08/02
Spirit 01/03
Adventure of the Seas 02/04
Serenade of the Seas 04/04

[Adventure Girl]

American Airlines, as well as other airlines I am sure, have a self-check in now. You can take your e-ticket and scan it and get your boarding pass on your own. When I sailed in March out of San Juan I had no problem leaving San Juan...the lines looked long, but went very quickly at the self check-in. After you check-in and get your boarding pass, you simply wheel your luggage to the scanning machine and drop it off. Not hard at all, and not a long wait.

Kimberly
Monarch of the Seas 4/02
Disney Wonder 11/02
Adventure of the Seas 10/03, 3/04

"Girl's Getaway" on Mariner of the Seas 11/7/04 !!