Flying in to San Juan the day of the cruise

[maladigiz]

We are cruising out of San Juan in November, and are flying in the same day. Our plane is scheduled to land at 2:30 in the afternoon. I'm figuring that by the time we get our luggage and transfer to the ship it will be close to 4:00. Does anybody know if they will still be serving welcome drinks and lunch at that time, or will we miss it all.

 

Thanks

[Hypo]

You will miss lunch, however there are other venues where you can get something to eat.

 

That said, I would strongly urge you to consider flying in at least one day before (we always go to San Juan two days before). If one of your flights is delayed, you might miss the ship, or, what if your luggage doesn't make it to San Juan with you?

[jaybird from SC]

We are cruising out of San Juan in November, and are flying in the same day. Our plane is scheduled to land at 2:30 in the afternoon. I'm figuring that by the time we get our luggage and transfer to the ship it will be close to 4:00. Does anybody know if they will still be serving welcome drinks and lunch at that time, or will we miss it all.

 

Thanks

Personally that time frame is too close for comfort. I definitely would fly in the day before.

[TeaBag]

I wouldn't worry about missing lunch! I would worry about missing the ship! Fly in the day before if you can and enjoy being relaxed even before you get on board.

[Lois R]

We are cruising out of San Juan in November, and are flying in the same day. Our plane is scheduled to land at 2:30 in the afternoon. I'm figuring that by the time we get our luggage and transfer to the ship it will be close to 4:00. Does anybody know if they will still be serving welcome drinks and lunch at that time, or will we miss it all.

 

Thanks

 

Hi,:) you are sailing at 8:30pm If I am not mistaken...I would strongly

urge you to either 1) fly in a day early or 2) arrive earlier in the day.

Not sure where you live, but if you are coming from an area where

winter can come early? I would not chance a mid afternoon flight.

As for drinks? The bars will definitely be open at 4:00 and part

of the buffet as well.

I went out of San Juan on Summit back in January:) Hope you

have fun but again, I would look at other options and arrive earlier.

Not just due to the weather...that was just one example.....

its just too cutting it too close for comfort....for any circumstance.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Couldn't agree more with previous posters. :eek: All you need is a late flight, a traffic jam, and you're waving goodbye to the ship with your feet on dry land. It would give me nightmares to cut it SO close. As you can see, we're all worried about something other than lunch...

[maladigiz]

Thanks for all the advice. Unfortunatelly, our flights are non-refundable. But on the up side, they are booked through Celebrity, so if for some reason the flights are delayed, Celebrity will have to put us up in a hotel room in San Juan and fly us to our first Island the next day. I know it's little consolation, but at least it's something. In hind sight, I would never again book the flight on the same day that the cruise was departing.

 

Lesson learned.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Well then, here's to thinking positive and hoping for blue skies, good weather, on time flights and no traffic jams. Good luck, hope it all works out well for you. It probably will!

[John73]

Thanks for all the advice. Unfortunatelly, our flights are non-refundable. But on the up side, they are booked through Celebrity, so if for some reason the flights are delayed, Celebrity will have to put us up in a hotel room in San Juan and fly us to our first Island the next day. I know it's little consolation, but at least it's something. In hind sight, I would never again book the flight on the same day that the cruise was departing.

 

Lesson learned.

 

You might want to double check that. I think Celebrity will help with arrangements if you miss the ship but I suspect all costs will be out of your pocket. I'd definitely purchase travel insurance for coverage here.

[lobster129]

We also had to fly into SJU for a same day departure. (There were extenuating circumstance, but we did arrive on time....we were very lucky!) I also would recommend day prior arrival when possible...but sometimes you just can't do that, I know.

 

Our travel was high risk weather wise (from Chicago in Feb). We did book a direct flight...and good travel insurance!!! At least that way, if you can't make it on time, your cruise/travel insurance will help. (You trip begins when you leave your home...so often covers weather issues during your trip to the airport, accidents, health issues etc)

 

Also read those travel insurance policies before choosing/selecting one that meets your needs...mine was about 30 pages that I read on-line. You will be lots less stressed pre and during your trip if you have a strong back-up plan.

 

I would NOT assume that since you booked your air through Celebrity that you're covered. Highly recommend you check your contract with them.

[Keith1010]

It might be too late but I do not recommend flying in the day of the cruise. There are just too many things that can cause you to miss the ship. This includes weather, lack of flight staff, computer shutdowns, faa problems. emergency landings due to issue such as a medical issue, security breach at the airport, and the list goes on and on and on. If you have to fly in that day (which I would not do) it should be on the earliest possible flight.

 

Keith

[Hypo]

You said your air tickets are through Celebrity; call them and see what could be worked out, they might change the tickets or they might charge you a small fee. it would be worth checking the possibility.

 

Good luck

[cruisestitch]

My advice is to double check that bit about booking air through Celebrity means that they have to put you up in a hotel and take you to the first port. We have often heard people say that, but has anyone ever had to put it to the test? It would be great to hear from someone who has been through that to see just how it works. And if it works. And if there really is no further cost to you -- including adequate coverage for missed meals, ground transportation to the airport, etc.

 

Also consider, the first port might have a small airport and only a few flights a day. If they are fully booked, Celebrity won't be able to get you there.

 

I would make sure that you have that arrangement in writing from Celebrity. Also get that travel insurance! You don't have to buy it through Celebrity -- there are others who will sell you trip insurance.

[caripoo]

I don't know what time the ship leaves, but with the Puerto Rico airport, I wouldn't worry about missing lunch and drinks, but the ship!!! :eek::eek:

[chisoxfan]

Agree with all the posters- fly in the night before it at all possible or at least earler in the day. If you are stuck with a none refundable ticket you might investigate a stanby on an earlier flight that day and watch what the passenger loads are immediately before. If the cruise is going to St. Thomas or other near port the next day you can probably hook up but not the best way to start a vacation.

[biker1972]

The cruise air forum here at cruise critic has very good information about air arranged by/through the cruise line. Most of the tickets are consolidator tickets and have many restrictions. (Read the sticky at the top of the forum) The contract that you sign with the various cruise lines spells out exactly what the cruise line will do for you if everything goes south (not much) so it is wise to have information and a plan to get yourself through any crisis. Most likely the flight(s) from Ontario will go off without a hitch, but the success of the vacation is prior proper planning and knowledge of your options when you have to make changes on the fly. Vacations are not to stress over, so make it an adventure like an amusement park ride, full of ups and downs :).

[maladigiz]

Thanks so much for all of the advice. I check the Celebrity website today, and here is a quote:

 

"When you book your air travel through any Celebrity Air Program, you can rest assured that we will be there to support you before, during and after you travel. If there is a delay or schedule change on your day of travel, Celebrity will work with the airlines to get you to your port on an alternate flight, or if necessary, to the next available port. "

 

I also spoke with them, and they assured me that if there is a problem with the flight, it is there responsibility to get me to the ship or next port.

 

I also spoke with Choice Air and they said it would be a minimum of $150 each to change our tickets to the day before. She assured me though, that even if our flight was late leaving Toronto, there are multiple flights leaving Miami (we connect in Miami) for San Juan, and we would be put on one of them.

 

She also said, that they fly people into San Juan as late as 6:00p.m. for an 8:30 cruise departure. She assured me that if we are scheduled to land at 2:25, we should have plenty of time to get to the ship. She said keep the $150 that it would have cost us to change our tickets and spend it on the ship.

 

So, having said all of that, here's hoping that the day goes off without a hitch.

 

Next cruise I'll definately fly in the day before.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Good! We're probably all just a bunch of worrywarts! Good luck. Hope it all goes exactly as you need it to go, then you can get on board, heave a sigh of relief and relax. No place better to do that than on a ship!

[lcmslady]

I absolutely understand everyone's concerns.

 

Living in St. Louis, it's almost impossible to get there the same day without getting in around 4:30 pm which is way too late!

 

Last cruise, we flew in the day before and it was wonderful because I did have some minor problems getting out of STL.

 

For my next cruise, I'm flying into Miami the night before and then taking the first flight to San Juan on the day of departure. I get into SJU at 11:10 am - which gives me a little breathing room.

 

Good luck to the OP!!!

[gbearbuck]

We almost missed the boat a few years back when Galaxy was running the 10/11 night out of San Juan. Our trip was in Feb. and we had a connecting flight in Philly. Long story short, the weather was bad and our 1.5 hour layover turned into a 6.5 hour layover. The ship was set to sail at 8 or 8:30, however well over half the ships passengers were caught in flight delays. We arrived after 9 and the ship set sail shortly after that (probably close to 10). Celebrity did hold the ship a good hour and a half or two past the published sail time.

 

Our first island was Tortola (no airport), so folks flew into St. Thomas and booked a small boat to Tortola to join the ship... most passengers that missed the sail time joined us the second day of the trip in St. Marteen.

 

We were lucky we made it to the ship... The next time we sail out of San Juan you better believe we will fly in a day early...

[chisoxfan]

Thanks so much for all of the advice. I check the Celebrity website today, and here is a quote:

 

"When you book your air travel through any Celebrity Air Program, you can rest assured that we will be there to support you before, during and after you travel. If there is a delay or schedule change on your day of travel, Celebrity will work with the airlines to get you to your port on an alternate flight, or if necessary, to the next available port. "

 

I also spoke with them, and they assured me that if there is a problem with the flight, it is there responsibility to get me to the ship or next port.

 

I also spoke with Choice Air and they said it would be a minimum of $150 each to change our tickets to the day before. She assured me though, that even if our flight was late leaving Toronto, there are multiple flights leaving Miami (we connect in Miami) for San Juan, and we would be put on one of them.

 

She also said, that they fly people into San Juan as late as 6:00p.m. for an 8:30 cruise departure. She assured me that if we are scheduled to land at 2:25, we should have plenty of time to get to the ship. She said keep the $150 that it would have cost us to change our tickets and spend it on the ship.

 

So, having said all of that, here's hoping that the day goes off without a hitch.

 

Next cruise I'll definately fly in the day before.

 

I don't mean to be an alarmist or "worry wart" but the last time I flew MIA/ San Juan only American Airlines was serving these cities and there was a flight that arrived around 2:30 pm (sounds like yours) and one around 5pm (which would still make it but it would be exciting). Again I could be wrong but I don't remember a 'mutitude' of flights. Anyway, as suggested. I would know specifically what options existed if your first flight is delayed so you have a plan of attack in place just in case. JMHO.

[cruisestitch]

It's that phrase "work with your airlines" -- it's the vagueness of it that has me concerned. No guarantee, there. No mention of putting you up in a hotel, covering expenses, etc. I'd sure like to have all that in writing, just in case.

[cruisestitch]

Sorry to be answering my own post. I got interrupted. I was on the Connie transatlantic when the Icelandic volcano went off. Lots of people with "Choice Air" found to their dismay that Celebrity would not pay for a hotel room, and could do very little under the circumstances to "work with the airlines" as you might expect. What people on board had presumed was that with Choice Air there would be no worries, that there would be no added out of pocket expenses. It was not so.

[woodofpine]

I can't believe all the Chicken Little admonishments here, especially in light your statement that you are committed to your travel plan. SJU to port is an easy quick transfer. I'm betting you be on the ship by 3:30 give or take 10 minutes. I've flown into SJU for same day departure (granted flts from Florida) twice and each flight arrived early. With new FAA regs and fines on airlines for delays (and immediate miracules improvement in on time performance) you're even less likely to have problems.

 

Can a headache causing problem occur? Always. Is there a 'significant probability' of it? No. Your dive to the airport is as likely to cause a significant problem. But paranoia has its attraction from an 'excitement' standpoint... And in the event of a real longshot problem, the likelihood is the ship will be in St. Thomas, Antigua, or some other fairly easily accessed locale next AM - and a night in Old San Juan certainly isn't a real loss.

 

Enjoy

[lobster129]

There should be lots of "my flights were affected by the volcano or ash" stories back in April & May if you do a search of this site.

 

I will share that my TA was doing a Baltic Cruise in mid May with Celebrity. Their plane had taken off from Minneapolis and just leaving US airspace by heading over the Atlantic and the Capt announced the plane would not be able to land in Amsterdam due to another volcanic ash incident and would be returning on MN. The only ones whose expenses were covered were those with travel insurance. Fortunately he had insurance (did I mention he is my SMART TA?):p

 

Honestly, I really recommend you buy travel insurance. There are many companies that offer a decent product for a reasonable expense. Just make SURE you are covering air (and/or other) transportation, all pre-paid cruise expenses that are non-refundable, and any other non-refundable expenses like car rental, hotel, tour etc!