Flying in day of cruise

Hi there’s a cruise we’re keen on from San Juan.. departing at 8pm. If We arrive at 1230 on a direct flight, should that be enough time to make it? We are not able to fly out the night before. Thank you.

Hi there’s a cruise we’re keen on from San Juan.. departing at 8pm. If We arrive at 1230 on a direct flight, should that be enough time to make it? We are not able to fly out the night before. Thank you.

"If" you arrive....

Bad idea.

Probably be OK

Not a risk I’d ever take.

Contact the cruise line and see what time you have to be on board (it will be before the 8 pm departure time-maybe an hour and a half ahead.

What time of year are you flying?

Where are you leaving from? Is this a short flight or a long one?

Keep in mind weather might delay your flight from leaving on time. I had a plane delayed four hours because of fog at the local airport. My 2 pm arrival became a 6 pm one (and one of my suitcases didn't make the plane).

For embarkation ports, many cruise lines require you to be onboard 2 hours before departure.

Depending in length of flight you will probably make it aboard in time, but it not a risk I would be comfortable with.

Hi there’s a cruise we’re keen on from San Juan.. departing at 8pm. If We arrive at 1230 on a direct flight, should that be enough time to make it? We are not able to fly out the night before. Thank you.

With an 8:00pm sailout you need to do your onboard check in at the terminal by (approx) 6:30pm. If there are no delays in your same day flight you should have no problem. You'll more than likely be onboard by 1:30 - 2:00pm.

Just returned from the Freedom out of San Juan if you have any questions will be happy to answer.

I did fly out the same day once and almost missed the cruise due to flight delay. I have also experienced delay of luggage. Now I alway fly the day before at the latest.

Factors to consider is distance, time of the year (snow/bad weather), any stops and the punctuality/reputation of the airline.

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We have flown in on the same day multiple times -- then with three of us headed for Santiago Chile through Lima (from LAX) we had equipment failure (i.e. the plane couldn't fly) that put us HOURS behind. I had phone numbers for both the cruiseline and a hired car that could have taken us to the next port (NOT a consideration when sailing from an island!) and we did make the last shuttle to Valparaiso... but that was the end of our flying in on same day.

Now, as recounted above, if everything goes well, you have plenty of time. If it doesn't...

I booked on the same day when I started to cruise. Well a snow storm came in from the north, plane delay then an ice delay. Bottom line, I thought our ship was leaving at 6:00 out of Ft Lauderdale ( no problems we cought the plane at 2:00). Ha Ha, little did I know we had about 20 minutes to get to the boat before departure! Fortunately about 200 passengers got held up and the ship waited about 1 extra hour, we still one of the last to board the cruise. Good luck on same day flights when their could be bad weather. We learned our lesson.

I would not want to be stressed about making it to ship should there be any flight problems.

We always fly in 2 or 3 days early. And even that didn't help us one year. We had a major snow storm along the east coast that shut down Atlanta and Charlotte for several days. As a result we had to cancel our cruise as it would be 5 days into our cruise before we could get to Tampa and then a couple of more days before we could catch up to the ship.

If you cannot fly in the day day before as you indicate, then yes, you will have plenty of time to make the ship. If the flight is on time, allowing for time to retrieve your luggage, you will be on the ship between 1:30 - 2:00, as the taxis from the airport - which IMO is the easiest way to get there - only take about 20 minutes to get to the ship.

You will PROBABLY make it. If the plane is close to on time: no sweat. A cruise from San Juan is likely to be in winter - when weather delays must be considered - particularly if northern airports are involved.

Since you want advice, I would say: “Do not take the chance”. I am curious, though: are you really “NOT ABLE” to fly out before - or just strongly prefer not to?

As long as you are “able” to accept the risk of missing your sailing, your plans sound great.

Not everyone can spare an extra day. The OP should be fine, as long as there are no major flight delays.

You will PROBABLY make it. If the plane is close to on time: no sweat. A cruise from San Juan is likely to be in winter - when weather delays must be considered - particularly if northern airports are involved.

 

Since you want advice, I would say: “Do not take the chance”. I am curious, though: are you really “NOT ABLE” to fly out before - or just strongly prefer not to?

 

As long as you are “able” to accept the risk of missing your sailing, your plans sound great.

Even if all flights are through southern airports, weather can still impose delays if the aircraft involved are flying from a northern airport to a southern airport. For example, a flight from Dallas connecting in Atlanta then to San Juan might appear to be safe from weather but that could be misleading. The flight from Dallas or Atlanta might utilize an airplane that departs from Newark or Chicago. Dallas and Atlanta might be severe clear weather but that won't matter if the plane is snow bound in Newark.

How many stops does your direct flight make? or are you flying nonstop?

Not everyone can spare an extra day. The OP should be fine, as long as there are no major flight delays.

Of course: that “as long as” is a big if.

Put another way: if nothing ever goes wrong, things will always work out. A really helpful assurance.

We flew into San Juan on the day of our cruise this year February 2018. Fortunately, we live in the metro ATL area and our flight was on time and we had no issues. February 2019 we are flying into FLL on the day of again. Hopefully, we will have no issues again! I know we are gambling!:eek:

Hi there’s a cruise we’re keen on from San Juan.. departing at 8pm. If We arrive at 1230 on a direct flight, should that be enough time to make it? We are not able to fly out the night before. Thank you.

Are you already booked or still in the planning stage? You'll get variations on two answers here. One, "Fly in at least the day before because things can and do happen". Answer two is, "I don't have that luxury". IF everything goes right you should be fine but it's a big IF.

Do you have a "Plan B" in case you are delayed and have to fly to the next port? This would mean you would have to contact the cruise line that you are boarding at the next port and are not a no-show. Are you sailing on passports or BCs? No passport means no international flying.

You have to decide how badly you want to fit in this cruise and your tolerance for risk and change of plans if things do not go as planned.

We have done this but only for San Juan with a 9pm departure time. Our flight landed at 3pm San Juan time and we were onboard by 415pm. However, we now always fly in a day before. You see, we live in Atlanta and Atlanta is not used to snow or ice. On the Sunday prior we had a MAJOR snowstorm for the ATL, with over 9 inches of snow. Problem was, it kept melting and refreezing over the next several days. All flights out were cancelled for 3 days, delayed on day 4 and miraculously, on our cruise day (day 5--Friday) they started leaving on time. After that, I said never again will we do this.

So depending on time of year, where you are flying from, etc like everyone else said, you will probably be ok.

Now we always fly in at least 1 day before. For our next one, we are leaving at 8pm the night before because, like many, we still work and cannot take the day off. Many will say this is cutting it too close and they might be right, but we are hoping for the best.

This time we only have to fly to FLL, not San Juan so worst case scenario we will hop in the car and drive down, not ideal, but we will if we have to.

Oh and if you are flying in day of, get travel insurance in case of cancellation to San Juan. I'm not sure if they will cover delays, but I think they will cover cancellations.

Hi there’s a cruise we’re keen on from San Juan.. departing at 8pm. If We arrive at 1230 on a direct flight, should that be enough time to make it? We are not able to fly out the night before. Thank you.

Where are you flying from and what month? Welcome to CC.

Oh and if you are flying in day of, get travel insurance in case of cancellation to San Juan. I'm not sure if they will cover delays, but I think they will cover cancellations.

There are about a million different travel insurance options with a million different options. There definitely are ones that will cover delays, but not all will. It's important to research and not just have travel insurance, but have the right travel insurance for your situation (or potential situation).

If you booked the same cruise but a week or two weeks later, would you be able to fly the day before?

It is an awful thing to begin a cruise with a harrowing journey from home. And maybe not getting there at all.

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Just got back from a long weekend trip (not cruise).

Four of us were meeting and sharing a car. Two direct flights, two with connections.

Only ONE person was not delayed. One direct flight was on time. Mine.

Other direct flight was delayed and then delayed again.

One with a connection had a delayed flight, but they were the first one to arrive, so no issue.

Other connecting flight, first flight was late, missed the second flight, got rebooked adding ANOTHER connection. Finally made if over 2 hours late.

And this was without ANY weather.

A cruise from San Juan is likely to be in winter - when weather delays must be considered - particularly if northern airports are involved.

Not necessarily - Southern Caribbean cruises depart out of San Juan year round - check RCI as example. Our next one, for instance, is in November on Summit. Clearly in the winter months traveling from the US, flights can be interrupted, but that is no more likely during the rest of the year than any other US / Caribbean destination. We've traveled to PR from the North East US many times without an issue - maybe just lucky so far in the winter as well.

Clearly in the winter months traveling from the US, flights can be interrupted, but that is not likely during the rest of the year.

I would disagree with this - I have been caught up in severe weather delays frequently, usually between April and September, but outside of those months too (for example, right now, severe weather is plowing through PA/NY/CT and towards the PHL, NYC, and BOS areas right in time for their evening bank of flights to Europe...there will be delays).