RenoFrank Posted October 19, 2017 #1 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I'm disembarking in San Diego at 7am. What time should my flight be to fly back home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted October 19, 2017 #2 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Welcome to Cruise Critic! There is a portion of Cruise Critic devoted to San Diego, located here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413 San Diego has a very long history of troublesome disembarkations. However, on that board, we have been seeing much more positive reports the last 6 or 10 months. As a result, while the airport is very close, I wouldn't recommend a flight before 11am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted October 19, 2017 #3 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I agree with CruiserBruce. No earlier then 11:00 AM and if you don't want to worry go with something at around Noon. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hflors Posted October 19, 2017 #4 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I would say later in the afternoon or the next day. I have disembarked in San Diego 3 times and not once been off the ship until after noon.... All three times passenger's names and cabin #'s were called over and over again. Luckily for us my sister had done the cruise the year before us and advised us to fly home the next day, and she was sooo right. We definitely would have missed our flight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenoFrank Posted October 19, 2017 Author #5 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I would say later in the afternoon or the next day. I have disembarked in San Diego 3 times and not once been off the ship until after noon.... I have to work the next day but will book the 3:45pm flight. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted October 19, 2017 #6 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Damn..that's a LONG time, considering you'll need to be OUT of your cabin at 8am....I'd book something closer to noon...but that's just me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyboy Posted October 20, 2017 #7 Share Posted October 20, 2017 I have to work the next day but will book the 3:45pm flight. Thanks I guess that would be fine. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hflors Posted October 20, 2017 #8 Share Posted October 20, 2017 I have to work the next day but will book the 3:45pm flight. Thanks Good luck and I hope you have a great cruise!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taglovestocruise Posted October 21, 2017 #9 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Get to the airport and drop your luggage and get a boarding pass from the curbside skycap. Seaport Village and Old Town are a very short taxi ride away, easy to spend several hours walking the shops and getting some great Mexican food. happy cruising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted October 21, 2017 #10 Share Posted October 21, 2017 I would say later in the afternoon or the next day. I have disembarked in San Diego 3 times and not once been off the ship until after noon.... All three times passenger's names and cabin #'s were called over and over again. Luckily for us my sister had done the cruise the year before us and advised us to fly home the next day, and she was sooo right. We definitely would have missed our flight! Sorry but I don't understand what having several passengers called for disembarking would have to do with causing you a delay? They don't hold up the process waiting for a late few - all others disembark and they then check the ship for the remaining passengers. Besides, every ship I've been on has all passengers off typically by 10:00 AM as they start to board the next itineraries passengers around 11:00. Being delayed past noon doesn't sound right. And even so, why would that result in waiting until the next day to schedule a flight? :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHPURSER Posted October 23, 2017 #11 Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) Sorry but I don't understand what having several passengers called for disembarking would have to do with causing you a delay? They don't hold up the process waiting for a late few - all others disembark and they then check the ship for the remaining passengers. Besides, every ship I've been on has all passengers off typically by 10:00 AM as they start to board the next itineraries passengers around 11:00. Being delayed past noon doesn't sound right. And even so, why would that result in waiting until the next day to schedule a flight? :confused: To understand the challenges in San Diego, you need to know how the US Immigration Service works. Even though it is a Federal organization, it is divided into geographical sections. Each section is managed by a Commanding Officer who is given great leeway on how he wants to interpret and enforce US Immigration regulations. The officer in charge of the San Diego area is a very unhappy, short, Mexican-American man who seems convinced that foreigners are trying to sneak aboard cruise ships that call at Mexican Riviera ports, then sneak past him when the ships call at San Diego, entering the USA illegally. So he has decided that when a cruise ship coming in from Mexico or another foreign port calls at San Diego, ALL passengers must clear immigration onboard the ship before anyone is allowed to disembark. Invariably, there are a few passengers onboard who are confused, deaf, suffering from dementia, don't speak English, don't know that the cruise has ended, or just plain don't want to be bothered to go through immigration. These people fail to show up, meaning that ALL passengers must wait for them before disembarking. After a few hours of searching and dozens of increasingly urgent announcements, the missing passengers are located; asleep in bed, swimming in the pool, reading a book in the library, having a late breakfast, or some other activity. Security has to escort them to their cabins to collect their things, sometimes pack their things, then gets them to the Immigration checkpoint onboard the ship. Only after they have been cleared by US Immigration officers can any passenger leave the ship. Meanwhile, passengers who booked early flights can see their airplanes at the airport just across the street, departing without them. The other geographical sections of the US Immigration Service do not have this crazy requirement. In other US ports, when a ship arrives from an international cruise, passengers who have cleared immigration - either onboard or in the terminal - can leave. Passengers who show up late for immigration in those ports are delaying only themselves and the immigration officers. Edited October 23, 2017 by CHPURSER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted October 23, 2017 #12 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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