San Diego: Disembarking and catching a flight

[AKBeagleMom]

Hello, first time cruiser here! Well, a *hopeful* first time cruiser. We are still working on the logistics before we get the tickets. I have just one question so far:

 

The cruise we're looking at disembarks in San Diego at 7:00 a.m. From there, we have to catch a flight back home to Alaska. I'm wondering how much time to allow for disembarking, transferring to the airport, etc. I want to make sure we have plenty of time to make it to the airport with our luggage, but I don't necessarily want to wait around in the airport for 6 hours.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance for any help! (And this is a GREAT website full of so much helpful information and nice people!)

[cherylandtk]

You will get a better answer if you provide a little more info: What flight times are you considering/are available? and How many ships are in port that day?

 

The airport is only 2 miles down the road from the cruise port, about 5 minutes travel time; you possiblly could be off as early as 8 am, but you cannot count on that. Best/average bet is no earlier than 9 with most off by 10:30 or so. A flight at noon or later is usually recommended, but many folks catch 11 am flights with no problem, some quite earlier.

 

Note to posters; San Diego is one port where they do NOT allow self-disembarkation due to its small size, so that is not an option.

[AKBeagleMom]

Wow, thanks so much for the quick reply! This place is awesome!

 

You will get a better answer if you provide a little more info: What flight times are you considering/are available? and How many ships are in port that day?

Available flight times are: 8:30, 10:30, 12:30 and 2:30.

It appears our ship will be the only one in port that day, if I'm reading this correctly. The date is October 5th.

 

Note to posters; San Diego is one port where they do NOT allow self-disembarkation due to its small size, so that is not an option.

What does "self-disembarkation" mean? Sorry for the elementary questions--but thanks for helping out a newbie!

[mytee4ever]

My dh & I disembarked in San Diego a year ago on 10/5 as well! I think we were off the ship around 10. We shared a cab with another couple & their children & were at the airport by 10:30. Our flight was around 12, so we had some time to wait in the airport. We could have booked an earlier flight if my memory serves me correctly, but had never sailed from San Diego before & didn't want to take the chance of missing the flight. You can literally see the airport from the pier...at least on a clear day!

 

Have a great trip!

 

 

Towanda

[wrp96]

I would take the 12:30. I've had times where I've gotten through security extremely quickly at SAN, and other times where it took over an hour - and those were all around the same time of day, on the same day of the week.

[RoofingPrincess]

What does "self-disembarkation" mean? Sorry for the elementary questions--but thanks for helping out a newbie!

It means carrying your own luggage off the ship, as opposed to putting your luggage out in the hallway the night before for collection and delivery to the baggage area in the cruise terminal the next morning.

Some ships in some ports permit it - but you have to be able to carry it all yourself (no porters to help you) and it also may entail taking it up or down stairs....

BTW, when you put your luggage out in the hallway the night before, don't forget to keep your clothes for the next day in your cabin! :D Otherwise you may be disembarking in your PJs!

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

I am not sure about the advice that you could not self disembark in San Diego, My DW and I self disembarked (walked off the ship carrying our own luggage) in January of 2008. So, it may be by cruise line or cruise ship whether this is allowed or not in San Diego.

 

Self disembarkation is great because you do not have to put your luggage outside your cabin the night before, look for your luggage at the conclusion of your cruise, and generally, you get off the ship and on your way home faster.

 

DO NOT self disembark IF the following apply to you:

 

Have lots of luggage and/or the luggage is too heavy for you/spouse/friend to handle comfortably. I have seen elderly persons trying to wrestle their luggage, and a woman with small children trying to handle both her kids and lots of luggage.

 

Lack patience, as self embarkation has become very popular, but the ports do not have the elevator capacity to handle this. There are elevators but you must be able to wait your turn without going ballistic. Also, you may have to wait in crowded areas and hallways to wait your turn.

 

There are several reasons why San Diego is an outstanding port. And one of the main reasons is that the cruise terminal is a ten minute taxi ride from the airport. And for those of you who do have later flights there is lots to see and do in downtown San Diego which has an excellent bus system that serves both the airport and downtown, which is 10-15 minutes from the airport.

 

To be on the safe side, I would not select a flight scheduled to leave San Diego earlier than 11:00 AM.

 

Hope that this helps,

 

Fred

 

Hope that this helps,

 

Fred

[cherylandtk]

Hi Fred--You might be right about that self disembarkation--I was told by both the cruiseline (Carnival) and the port that it was a Port of San Diego decision. FWIW, there were two ships in port that day and they did not allow self-disembark. Maybe if only one ship they have different rules??? Although when I called the port they told me it was due to the small size of the port and they did not allow it, period. This was back in March 2006. Maybe they have changed since then, too.

 

To OP: Go for the 12:30 flight, regardless of the disembarkation used. You should be fine.

[Fredr]

Cheryl,

 

Nice to hear from you. Self disembarkation (walk off the ship) was a very new idea back in 2006. However, we walked off the Dawn Princess in January of 2008 in San Diego. It could be that each port has its own rules/regulations and probably most importantly whether the Department of Homeland Security has enough staff to handle the ships in port on that day.

 

It is really helpful to be able to walk off but you need to be able to handle your luggage comfortably.

 

Have a wonderful summer.

 

Fred

[CaptData]

Here is another vote for 12:30. The first reason is you must go through Immigrations on your return and if they are backed up or delayed or have more then one ship it could take some time. The second is the ship must be cleared before anyone can leave. The thrid is what your coloured tag is as they have a system for letting those off who need to catch planes first (depending on time ie 12:30, 1:30 ect).

[AKBeagleMom]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions, everyone! I think we're actually going to opt for the 2:30 flight so that we have a longer wait in San Diego instead of Seattle. We might try to do something after we check in at the airport. We were thinking maybe a walk along the pier. It said there were some shops there...is this something that would be an appropriate activity to take up some time while waiting for a flight?

 

Again, thank you for all the responses. I love this website!

 

(Oh, and we booked our FIRST cruise yesterday...it's really happening!)