San Diego Flight Advice

[Travelrd]

the oosterdam arrives san diego at 7am from the mexican riviera cruise. i can book a southwest flight at 10:55 or 12:30. from one past cruise in san diego, i think i would be ok booking the 10:55 flight but i just wanted to ask a more experienced cruiser what they think. i know the airport is no more than a 15 minute taxi ride from the port but i also know there will be lots of people doing what i am doing too. this will be a tuesday arrival since it's a 10 day cruise. what do you think?

 

thanks

[a56traveler]

I've taken several cruises out of San Diego, and always fly Southwest. I personally would not take any flight later than the 10:55am. I would rather have extra time in case the flight out of Phoenix is delayed for any reason. I would think that your ship would be the only one in port on a Tuesday. Have a great time !

[Skeezics]

Sorry, but booking a flight before noon is not a good idea. There are some mornings that the ship does not clear customs until 10. One time even 10:30. Don't take the chance.

[maxout]

Sorry, but booking a flight before noon is not a good idea. There are some mornings that the ship does not clear customs until 10. One time even 10:30. Don't take the chance.

 

I believe he is talking about arrival not departure?

[Travelrd]

let me clarify. i'm talking about leaving san diego after the cruise is over on tuesday morning and returning to phoenix.

[Travelrd]

just in case you're wondering why i'm asking this now. southwest just opened up their flights through june 3, 2011 and the fare from san diego to phoenix is $49 so i want to buy it tonight because its a great fare.

[maxout]

let me clarify. i'm talking about leaving san diego after the cruise is over on tuesday morning and returning to phoenix.

 

I sit corrected! :D

 

I think 10:55 would be fine as I believe you are the only ship in port.

[mudscraper]

There have been a few posts this year regarding the late disembarcation in SD due to foreigners not reporting to immigration at 0600hrs. It happened on our cruise in January and we didn`t begin disembarcation until 0915. Keep this in mind.

[Travelrd]

thank you all for your advice. i'm going to book the 12:30 flight just to play it safe i won't be stressed.

 

thanks again

[photomikey]

Personally, I would book the 10:55 and risk it.

[Jemima]

Good choice. Get a later time off the ship so you aren't that last morning. Choose the express luggage so you don't see the luggage until after your about 1 hr. flight to Phoenix.

[sapper1]

When our Oosterdam cruise ended in San Diego last May, we were staying aboard to sail up to Vancouver. However, for those who were leaving, the ship was not cleared until going on to eleven o'clock in the morning. People were standing in line frantically phoning to change airline reservations.

As a rule I never book a flight leaving before 1PM. I would sooner wait at the airport at my leisure than be involved in a mad dash.

[Hflors]

Justa a note. Our cruise last april arrived in SD several hours late and then didn't clear customs until noon! The year before on the Veendam Panama Canal my sister almost missed her flight because they didn't clear customs until after noon. I myself wouldn't book a flight until after 2pm! Luckly for us sis and I stayed that night in SD and flew home the next morning. They told us it happens often that they hit rough weather coming up from Cabo. Me I wouldnt take the chance.

[DaveOKC]

I would opt for the later flight. Why stress out the last day. If you get in on time, you can relax in your cabin until last call and then go over to the airport. By then the crowds will have liekly disappeared at the ship (luggage area).

 

We had one cruise where we had to RUN to catch a plane - it was not the way to end a great week!

 

DaveOKC

[savvysailor]

We saw our plane taking off as we approached the airport. We were the first 2 people off of the ship in December of last year. San Diego customs clears all non USA people on the ship prior to allowing any one to disembark. The customs people were in no hurry and arrived late on board to start clearing. We were returning from a Panama Cruise and there were many non USA guests on board the Celebrity Constellation.

 

We spent hours at the airport trying to get on standby. It was a very long day!!!

[Sir PMP]

the oosterdam arrives san diego at 7am from the mexican riviera cruise. i can book a southwest flight at 10:55 or 12:30. from one past cruise in san diego, i think i would be ok booking the 10:55 flight but i just wanted to ask a more experienced cruiser what they think. i know the airport is no more than a 15 minute taxi ride from the port but i also know there will be lots of people doing what i am doing too. this will be a tuesday arrival since it's a 10 day cruise. what do you think?

 

thanks

 

 

You'll be fine, embarking starts at 11:30am, so you'll be off at 9:30 latest

[Travelrd]

thanks again for all your advice. i appreciate it very much. will go with the 12:30pm flight. hope the ship arrives on time and customs does become an issue. the ship does depart for canada that same afternoon so there might be many canadians on board who don't have to clear u.s. customs.

 

thanks

[sapper1]

thanks again for all your advice. i appreciate it very much. will go with the 12:30pm flight. hope the ship arrives on time and customs does become an issue. the ship does depart for canada that same afternoon so there might be many canadians on board who don't have to clear u.s. customs.

 

thanks

From experience I can tell you that all Canadians have to be cleared on board by US customs whether they are departing in San Diego or continuing on to Vancouver. The showroom was packed with people waiting to be cleared. I stand to be corrected but I think everyone was cleared that way as there were too many people involved to have just been non-Americans.

[Travelrd]

well, if that's the case, then i feel all the better for taking the later flight in case there are delays in customs. doesn't seem logical that if you are not entering the u.s., why you should have to go through customs? if you are on an international flight from country 1 and change planes in country 2 to connect to another flight to go to country 3, my experience has been that you are always kept in a secure area without going through customs in country 2, however, sometimes the way ice handles transit passengers is not always logical. this is the u.s afterall. whatever will be, will be and i will be less stressed (i hope)

[deserttraveler]

Take it from a fellow Arizonan and SWA flyer, after 2 disembarks in San Diego in the past year, you are doing the right thing. San Diego has the most illogical and unpredictable disembarkation of any port I've arrived at, and it can go late, late, later, and it will depend both on how many people with foreign passports don't show up for onboard immigration clearance and how many Americans stand in the wrong line (we were cleared in the movie theater in 60 seconds while the foreign passport holders stood in the slow line to the Showroom, but no one could get off until they cleared).

 

Posted arrival time for San Diego bears little relationship to when you actually get off the ship. So ask for a later disembark time, relax, have breakfast in the MDR (although this can end rather early). Once disembark starts, EVERYONE is free to leave within about an hour. Instead of waiting anxiously in a long line of people worried about their flights, sit in a lounge where you can enjoy your last bit of time on the ship, aim to get off by 10:45, when you can walk right up to your cab and be at the airport in good time. On a recent Wed. disembark, only ship in port, one that went LATE, we were off the ship at 10:45 and at the airport by 11:05

 

Does SWA have express luggage check at San Diego? I don't believe this is available yet, but I'd love to be wrong.

[Travelrd]

Desert Traveler....

Thank you so much for your post. A great explanation and makes me feel even better I've booked the 12:30pm flight home. And, yes, I'll just relax until around 10:45 and then just glide off the ship and catch a cab to the airport. It's always rough leaving a cruise ship so staying on as long as possible will be fine for me.

 

Thanks again.

[Hflors]

thanks again for all your advice. i appreciate it very much. will go with the 12:30pm flight. hope the ship arrives on time and customs does become an issue. the ship does depart for canada that same afternoon so there might be many canadians on board who don't have to clear u.s. customs.

 

thanks

 

this past year we left the Statendam at 12:30. The first people leaving the ship didn't disembark until after noon. Last year on Veendam my sis and bil were one of the first and didn't leave until after noon. Lots of people said this was common as the ship was continuing the cruise and lots of people didn't feel the need for any speed in going to customs. I don't think it matters if the Canadians are heading for Canada or not they all have to clear customs even though they are staying onboard. Like I said I wouldn't book a flight before 2pm. Better yet (am I am taking my own advice on our upcoming Rotterdam cruise next march) we are booking our fliights for the following day. I don't want to spend the last day of a wonderful cruise worrying if I'll make my flight.

 

With that said I hope you have a wonderful cruise and you make your flight!

[sapper1]

well, if that's the case, then i feel all the better for taking the later flight in case there are delays in customs. doesn't seem logical that if you are not entering the u.s., why you should have to go through customs? if you are on an international flight from country 1 and change planes in country 2 to connect to another flight to go to country 3, my experience has been that you are always kept in a secure area without going through customs in country 2, however, sometimes the way ice handles transit passengers is not always logical. this is the u.s afterall. whatever will be, will be and i will be less stressed (i hope)

Since we were all free to go ashore for the day on excursions we had to be cleared. Once the ship was cleared anyone could go ashore.

[Travelrd]

just remembering my very cruise on the oosterdam. it was in december 2006

we arrived right on time at 7am and i was off the ship by 9. i waited in these horribly long lines for transportation to the airport and was still at the airport three hours before my flight. i was too naiive to think about delays at that time so maybe i just got lucky. actually, i've never been on cruise with any delays due to immigration problems so san diego must be special. now i wish i hadn't asked the question in the first place. i would have just presumed that all would be ok and i still would have taken the later flight. who knows, with the new terminal up and running by then, maybe immigration will be easier and faster. i'm just going to forget there might delays and go happily and blissfully on my cruise. que sera, sera as doris day used to sing.

 

thanks

[cruz chic]

just remembering my very cruise on the oosterdam. it was in december 2006

we arrived right on time at 7am and i was off the ship by 9. i waited in these horribly long lines for transportation to the airport and was still at the airport three hours before my flight. i was too naiive to think about delays at that time so maybe i just got lucky. actually, i've never been on cruise with any delays due to immigration problems so san diego must be special. now i wish i hadn't asked the question in the first place. i would have just presumed that all would be ok and i still would have taken the later flight. who knows, with the new terminal up and running by then, maybe immigration will be easier and faster. i'm just going to forget there might delays and go happily and blissfully on my cruise. que sera, sera as doris day used to sing.

 

thanks

There was a time when I never had any delays getting off the ship so I wondered why you always hear to book an afternoon flight. Seems lately, I had a lot of problems and a few times barely made a 1:30 - 2:00 pm flight. You just never know what is going to happen.