For those who fly to cruise.......

[escentialssoycandles]

I am flying to San Juan for our honeymoon cruise. Living in Florida I have never had to fly to a port so I have silly questions.

 

When do you usually purchase your airfare?

Can you fly with bottles of wine?

Do you hail a taxi to take you to port or pre-arrange transfer?

 

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[wizdiz]

I am flying to San Juan for our honeymoon cruise. Living in Florida I have never had to fly to a port so I have silly questions.

 

When do you usually purchase your airfare?

Can you fly with bottles of wine?

Do you hail a taxi to take you to port or pre-arrange transfer?

 

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

 

When do you usually purchase your airfare?: For me shortly after airfare.

 

Can you fly with bottles of wine? : Wine packed in the suitcase, not in carryon

 

Do you hail a taxi to take you to port or pre-arrange transfer? I have only arranged a pre-arranged transfer in Rome where the port was over an hour away. If close I will just hail a cab or use uber

[YVRBassElectric]

I have flown quite often, mostly to/from Canada - so all the information might not be relevant. Flying on Tues & Wed is usually cheaper than Fri & Sat.

I always look on expedia, for which airlines have the best (for me) flights and then look on airlines website, book whichever way is cheaper. Plan to arrive a day early (at least, plan for weather delays, lost luggage). Rumour is that prices are cheapest 57 days before flight and then start to go up, that hasn't been my experience but might be true in US.

If you need a return flight, NCL website lists when to book your flight (ie 5 hours after scheduled landing)

For us it was cheaper to book airfare for New Orleans through NCL, that hasn't been true for any other port, but I always ask my PCC for the price. You don't get to choose flights, I only did this because we can't fly direct to New Orleans.

 

Enjoy your honeymoon!

[Moby0215]

I fly southwest and they only sell tickets about six months into the future. So that is when I purchase airfare.

 

I usually fly in at least a day or two prior to my cruise and will take an UBER or taxi to my hotel.

 

 

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[jdvmd]

Always fly. Wine can go in your checked luggage only. Easy to grab a taxi at the SJU airport.

[xitappers2bx]

I am flying to San Juan for our honeymoon cruise. Living in Florida I have never had to fly to a port so I have silly questions.

 

I wish these were the questions I had.. :D

 

When do you usually purchase your airfare?

 

Depending on airline usually 6 months to a year out. Depending on price depends on the airline.

 

Can you fly with bottles of wine?

 

Pack them in your checked bag and wrap a towel or two around them just in case they break. Accept someone with TSA may steal them.

 

Do you hail a taxi to take you to port or pre-arrange transfer?

 

Nah... Uber, Lyft, or a cab is fine enough.

 

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

Have an awesome time!

[kochleffel]

It would be prudent to fly to the departure port a day early, so that a delayed flight won't be as worrisome.

 

Later this month I'm going two days early and staying in the city. Civitavecchia, the port of Rome, is a significant distance out and I will probably take the train.

[zqvol]

I am flying to San Juan for our honeymoon cruise. Living in Florida I have never had to fly to a port so I have silly questions.

 

When do you usually purchase your airfare?

Can you fly with bottles of wine?

Do you hail a taxi to take you to port or pre-arrange transfer?

 

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

We purchase airfare about 60 days out unless we are using points. That is the time when prices are lowest. You can fly with bottles of wine but they have to be placed in your checked luggage. Taxis are easy in San Juan, but since it is a honeymoon you might want to book a car, of course the car is likely to cost about double.

 

People will tell you to fly in a day or two ahead of time, and normally that is good advice, but on a honeymoon it might not be possible. AA has many daily flights from MIA to San Juan. Fly early in the day and since sailaway is usually around 10:00 p.m. you should have no trouble with your air arrangements.

[getoutandlive]

I usually purchase airfare 3-6 months out. I've flown in the day of, and the day prior to departure, both worked out just fine. Flying in the day before allowed me to have a chance to buy wine locally and to be able to repack things so I could have a carry on with things like wine, swim suits, and things I didn't want to wait for until my luggage showed up. If you travel with wine in your checked luggage, I would suggest purchasing Wine Skins, they're little bubble wrap pouches to put your wine bottles in.

[brookie848]

If you are flying Southwest, look on their website and find out when the fares will be available for your flight date. They usually open up on a Thursday morning and if possible buy your tickets as soon as they become available (usually anywhere between 6 and 9 in the morning).

 

I would suggest flying into Puerto Rico a day early, but you could probably fly in that morning. That's what we did in November since we couldn't get a hotel room for the night before. We took an early flight out of FLL and were on the ship by 1:00 p.m. However, I also knew that there were two other flights after ours that would allow us to get on the ship comfortably plus the fact that the flights to San Juan were flying pretty empty (as opposed to the flights leaving Puerto Rico). You ship probably won't leave port until 9:00 p.m.

Once you are in San Juan, taxis are plentiful and regulated. I wouldn't bother arranging any other kind of transportation.

[Motegi]

Based on past experience I would fly in the day before. Particularly if your flights are not direct because there’s more of a chance for a delay. We had a nail biter last year getting to Honolulu for the Pride of America when the first leg of our one stop itinerary was cancelled. So we ended up flying from FL to PA to CA and then to HI. It ended up taking us over 24 hours and we arrived after midnight giving us less than 12 hours before our boarding time. On the plus side in one day we were able to enjoy a genuine Philly cheesesteak, Californian fish taco, and a plate of Hawaiian loco moco!

 

I suppose if you live in Ft Lauderdale or Miami you could schedule an early direct flight for embarkation day and still have some wiggle room to catch another plane even if the first one is cancelled or delayed.

 

For wine I would buy it in San Juan rather than risk it breaking and messing up my clothes.

 

Finally, as long as I wasn’t traveling with a large group I would just use a taxi or an Uber to get to port. Pam and I plan to use an Uber to get from the airport to our hotel in Seattle next month in advance of our sailing on the Bliss.

[don't-use-real-name]

I am flying to San Juan for our honeymoon cruise. Living in Florida I have never had to fly to a port so I have silly questions.

 

When do you usually purchase your airfare?

 

Buy your ticket somewhere around 50-60 days before sailing - allowing for an arrival 1 day early.

By buying early you have with some airlines a better choice of seat selection - wait until the last

minute and you would be lucky to get seats together (Some honeymoon !) Pick early in the day

flights not the last ones at night when all the chaos weather oversales that culminate in delays

and crew cancellations affect you flight perhaps taking away your cushion of arriving a day early.

Choose your reservations carefully allowing time for everything to click together i.e connection flights.

Any changes made to the reservations after booking may result in change fees of hundreds of $$$

 

Can you fly with bottles of wine?

 

 

YES you can "BUT" Forget hauling the wine as it is extra baggage with significant fees.

Wine can not be in your carry on luggage but will have to be checked.

If not packed well - the 800 pound gorilla in baggage handling will make sure of it - NOT FUNNY !

Suggest that you buy the wine in San Juan and carry it on board.

***CAUTION*** there is a $15 corkage fee for each bottle of wine brought on board.

Consider an alternative - buy the wine on board the ship with no corkage fee - program call VIVA VINO.

Will provide the details if interested in this - - -

 

 

Do you hail a taxi to take you to port or pre-arrange transfer?

 

Upon arrival at the San Juan airport there is a taxi stand just outside of the baggage claim area(s).

Hail a taxi and take it to your hotel or your overnight accommodation.

If at a hotel inquire at the front desk about taxi service the next day to the port and make the arrangements.

There maybe several people doing the same thing and a chartered van or small bus maybe an option.

On the day of the cruise NCL charges a $29 per person Transfer Fee for a chartered motor coach bus that

goes from the airport to the cruise terminal. The $29 charge applies also for the travel from the pier back to the airport.

Pre-arrangements should be made - but taxis are a great deal less expensive.

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

And you are welcome - more questions - come back - someone is always here !

[dexddd]

We last flew into SJU late 2016. Flew AA. Checked in with DL, left counter, agent ran us down said we needed passports to fly to SJU. ???? we thought. Why and never heard of that before. We had passports with us since we were cruising from SJU.

 

Whether that is actually legal requirement, can't say, don't know but be prepared.

 

Also, make sure you know which dock in SJU as NCL doesn't always go from old SJU - sometimes it is the one by the old airport.

[Doug R.]

I am flying to San Juan for our honeymoon cruise. Living in Florida I have never had to fly to a port so I have silly questions..

 

 

When do you usually purchase your airfare?

Can you fly with bottles of wine?

Do you hail a taxi to take you to port or pre-arrange transfer?

 

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

1. Buying airfare is an art. Depending on how close you are to the sailing date, I generally monitor airfares to see if they trend downward. A big hint: Tuesdays seem to be the best day for finding lower fares.

 

2. Wine must be in checked baggage.

 

3. In San Juan a taxi is your best bet. Fares are set to/from airport.

[Traveling Fools]

Won't speak to booking your flight, that has been adequately addressed.

 

Flying with wine...why not check wine prices in PR. Might save you a lot of hassle.

 

Cabbies today in most of the world are OK. Cruise line transfer in San Juan is an unnecessary extra expense.

 

Oh, as has been suggested, get there the day before. More time to chill out and a lot less stress about making it all come together.