Cruise Terminal to SAN

[kywildcatfanone]

Hi, we are considering a cruise (Holland America) out of San Diego to the Mexican Riviera. My question is, how far (or how much time) is it from the Cruise Terminal to the Airport? We can get off the ship starting at 7am,and I'm looking to book our return flight and am seeing one around 10:30am and wanted to know if that was allowing enough time.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[AZchieffan]

It is real close. About one mile.

[kywildcatfanone]

It is real close. About one mile.

 

Awesome. Thanks for the quick reply. The early flight it is!

 

Mike

[Jen1000]

Is the ship scheduled to dock at 7 AM or they have said you can get off at 7? If it is scheduled to dock at 7 that does not mean you will get off at 7. The dock is not far from the airport but if there are delays it may not be enough time. Also, the airport can be very crowded, especially when a ship arrives. I have not had major delays in San Diego in arriving back but others have posted they have.

 

Jen in SoCal

 

Hi, we are considering a cruise (Holland America) out of San Diego to the Mexican Riviera. My question is, how far (or how much time) is it from the Cruise Terminal to the Airport? We can get off the ship starting at 7am,and I'm looking to book our return flight and am seeing one around 10:30am and wanted to know if that was allowing enough time.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[mjesf]

I do hope you have not booked that flight.

 

This is because you do not instantly teleport from the ship to the gate.

 

Remember, the ship itself needs to be cleared, you need to go through US Customs and Immigration, then you need to schelp to the airport, check in, and go through what may be a LONG security line :eek:. If all goes well and you self debark with an early group you MIGHT make it. Should Murphy's Law kick in (and we all know that the shorter the time frame, the more likely that one happens) at best you will have a gut - wrenching, nerve - wracking experience. At worst, you could miss your flight.

 

In short, consider picking a later flight.

[kywildcatfanone]

Is the ship scheduled to dock at 7 AM or they have said you can get off at 7? If it is scheduled to dock at 7 that does not mean you will get off at 7. The dock is not far from the airport but if there are delays it may not be enough time. Also, the airport can be very crowded, especially when a ship arrives. I have not had major delays in San Diego in arriving back but others have posted they have.

 

Jen in SoCal

 

It's scheduled to dock at 7am. I plan to do the early walkoff. I don't have any experience with HAL or SAN, but at FLL, usually the ship docks around 7, customs clears and disembarkation begins around 7:30-7:45, and we are usually at the airport by 8:15, so I was working off of that kind of schedule. If you think I should expect significant difference than that on the West Coast, I will look at a later flight. It looks they have have one at 11:52am.

 

Mike

[kywildcatfanone]

I do hope you have not booked that flight.

 

This is because you do not instantly teleport from the ship to the gate.

 

Remember, the ship itself needs to be cleared, you need to go through US Customs and Immigration, then you need to schelp to the airport, check in, and go through what may be a LONG security line :eek:. If all goes well and you self debark with an early group you MIGHT make it. Should Murphy's Law kick in (and we all know that the shorter the time frame, the more likely that one happens) at best you will have a gut - wrenching, nerve - wracking experience. At worst, you could miss your flight.

 

In short, consider picking a later flight.

 

Right, I just responded to Jen with a similar comment. I'm basing my experiences off of FLL, and maybe SAN will be significantly different. I have not booked yet, but there is a flight at 11:52am, maybe that is a better fit.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[riffatsea]

Our Carnival ship docked at 6AM but we were not off until 9:30(first group) because some folks who needed to talk with immigration did not show up on time to take care of business.

Book the later flight!!

[Splinter]

Our Carnival ship docked at 6AM but we were not off until 9:30(first group) because some folks who needed to talk with immigration did not show up on time to take care of business.

Book the later flight!!

 

This is a VERY common problem in San Diego. I would go with the later flight. Customs and immigration can be slow in the port of San Diego, and the TSA security lines at the airport can also be lengthy, esp. on weekends.

[Tee4Travel]

My personal experiences echo those of riffatsea: All three cruises (two 2009; one 2010) on RCI and HAL docked early in San Diego, but hundreds of passengers were delayed in getting off because a handful of inconsiderate persons failed to complete the required documentation. AARGH!

 

A friend's TA recommended not booking any flight before noon. If you expect delays, then you'll be better prepared and not allow a frustrating ending to spoil your trip. (Maybe it won't happen on your cruise, in which case you will have a leisurely time to regain your "Land Legs.")

Good luck!

Tee

[zebra36]

As others have noted the airport is close by as the crow flies. However, due to the traffic pattern and the busy time of day you may actually disembark it may not be the quick trip you may envision for such a short run, though at most a 20 -25(?) min ride. My recent experience on the Grey Line bus took about that long once the bus departed. The line for a cab was extermely long as we departed the terminal area and I do not believe that route got many of those folks to the airport any quicker. There was a Grey Line rep selling tickets as you leave the terminal area at $10/person and not sure what a cab ride for that distance and time would run in San Diego. Generally folks would say skip the bus for the hassle factor but to my eye the cab line was a much worse hassle.

Good luck with your plans.

[mjesf]

It's scheduled to dock at 7am. I plan to do the early walkoff. I will look at a later flight. It looks they have have one at 11:52am.

 

Mike

 

That flight would make a lot more sense in that you are very likely to make it.

 

Be aware that the lines at SAN are long - especially at the security checkpoint.

[kenish]

I arrived into SD on Oosterdam last Tuesday. The Zuiderdam was also in port, and our ship had a lot of Canadians on board since it was repositioning to Vancouver. Although I had expedited self-disembarkation and everyone was prompt at clearing Immigration, I did not step off the ship until 1030. I think two ships and the number of non-US citizens caused the delay.

 

On a cruise about 3 years ago the experience was similar....Immigration was doing a special clearance of all crew members. I was one of the first passengers off the ship at 1230pm.

 

Don't book a flight before noon or 1pm unless you're able to easily recover from a missed flight.

[silverado44]

The cruise ship dock to airport is approximately 2 miles, about 5 minutes by taxi. Cost has always been about $8 plus tip.

[scottbee]

Hi, we are considering a cruise (Holland America) out of San Diego to the Mexican Riviera. My question is, how far (or how much time) is it from the Cruise Terminal to the Airport? We can get off the ship starting at 7am,and I'm looking to book our return flight and am seeing one around 10:30am and wanted to know if that was allowing enough time.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

 

The big issue is getting off the boat at 7am, that never seems to happen. We had a 12:30, and got to the airport around 11 (and we dragged our own luggage off fairly early).

[marcyn]

Hi there!:)

 

we came in 4-30 and that taxi cost us $18 to the airport tons of traffic...:eek: