Summit out of Puerto Rico Return Flight Question

[br3ds0x]

I have never sailed out of PR before, and had a quick question. Checked with Celebrity and they said they do not recommend any return flights earlier than 11am. We are about to book one for 10:55am. Will this give us enough time to get off the ship and get to the airport?

 

Thanks!

[Jborosara]

only if you lie and say it's earlier - disembarkation in SJ is a mess and customs takes forever unless you are among the first few off the ship

[chief joe]

book late afternoon agree with other post it is a mess. been there done it.

[Dave&Robin]

Request to be among the first group to disembark and carry off all your luggage rather than putting it outside the door the night before and then looking for it amongst everyone elses once you disembark (usually it's fairly easy to find but if you're able to carry it off yourself it will save you that step). Take a cab to the airport (it's only $19 plus $1 per bag) rather than the cruise transfer (they'll wait until the bus if full before leaving). When you get to the airport go straight to the agriculture screening first (you'll get sent back there if you try to check in before having your bags scanned). You should be ok if you have a plan and follow it.

 

Robin

[LV2COOK]

We are doing this cruise...and will fly back from SJ on Dec 24th...I was going to book an early flight and decided to go with a 3pm departure...and since I currently don't know the origination of the flight I am going to back us up by reserving a hotel just in case...

[RuhRoh]

We came back through SJU in 2005 and would have to say a later departure is a wiser choice. Better to spend time staring out the window waiting for your scheduled flight than looking out the window at your scheduled flight leaving without you. I imagine you could do it if everything falls into place but when does that happen at the end of any cruise?:)

[masonpips]

We flew out after an RCCL Adventure cruise 3 years ago and had no issue. We got in the first group to get off and grabbed our bags and a taxi. Went through agricultural station and then stood FOREVER in the American Airlines line. We got in line about 8:40 a.m. and they had TWO agents until 9:00 a.m. Then about 3-4 more came and things improved. I believe our flight was about 10:30 - 11:00 or so and we were through Security by 9:45. The longest time by far was because of American.

 

The key is to be first off the ship (carrying your own bags if needed) and hoping there is no issue at the port. The earlier you're at the airport the better/faster.

[dodger1964]

We did a 9am flight in April. We were first people to walk off ship, shared cab to airport (think it was $35 for 4 of us). Carried our own bags off ship. Cab ride was 15 minutes at most. No problem making flight. My only worry would be if ship was back in port late, but with such short travel on last day, I think you will be good to go. Doing same cruise this Xmas, but our flight isn't until late afternoon. As somebody else mentioned first thing u need to do upon arrival at airport is have bags screened at one of the three ag inspection stations. Do NOT go to counter without doing this. You will just get sent back

[alcpa1]

OP,

Because you have cruised before you are aware of the need to expedite your transition through Customs and Immigration at the port.

If you have not done self disembarkation before, you are totally responsible for your luggage. There will be no one to help you lift it or carry it down the ramp. Avoid the escalator and wait for the elevator.

We have sailed out of San Juan quite a few times and have never made it from the pier to the airport in only 15 minutes. It takes a little longer than that.

It would be beneficial for you to check in onboard for your flight. You can prepay any baggage fees and it will save a few minutes.

Not only are the airline check ins long, they are clogged and confusing on cruise days. TSA is archaic.

Personally, I'd try for a later flight but with careful planning you should be able to make the flight. Good luck!

[Essiesmom]

Conditions wil vary by how many ships are turning around that day also. Bigger crowds at the airport...EM

[Atwell]

I have never sailed out of PR before, and had a quick question. Checked with Celebrity and they said they do not recommend any return flights earlier than 11am. We are about to book one for 10:55am. Will this give us enough time to get off the ship and get to the airport?

 

Thanks!

 

I think you will be OK as you should be assigned in the first group off the ship based on your flight time. I agree if would be quicker if you take a taxi which will be abundantly available just outside the disembarkation hall. There are larger taxi vans available if you have a lot of luggage (you didn't mention the size of your group). The taxis are fixed rate to the airport (I recall about $20 total including luggage). It usually takes about 20 minutes to the airport.

 

Another suggestion if you don't want to carry your luggage off the ship yourself is to hire a porter in the luggage pickup area once you are off the ship prior to customs. The porters are able to bypass the lines and get you quickly through customs and get you to a taxi (you should plan to give them a nice big tip). Maybe someone on this forum can verify if the porters are still able to bypass the lines; we have done this on 4-5 trips to PR the most recent was in January 2011. One reason not to take the cruise transfer is that they load the luggage in a separate truck and once you get to the airport you have to wait until the luggage truck arrives which can be 15-20 minutes or longer.

 

Likewise at the airport, since you are not familiar with SJU, hire a porter to take your luggage through the agriculture x-ray screening and to your airline check-in; it will save you some time.

[Jborosara]

I didn't see any porters last February - I'd have jumped on it if there were.... there were, however, folks available to help mobility impaired passengers, but they merely stood in line with them - getting through customs took us over an hour and we were off the ship by 9am

[ozark74]

We have done 3 cruises on the Summit out of SJU and never had a problem flights. Last year our flight time got changed to 1030. We were in the first group off at 0730 walked thru customs and were at the airport and at the gate by 0900. This March we had a 1050 departure also had no problem. We got our boarding passes on the ship to make sure we were checked in. There are a lot of cabs waiting and it only about 20 minutes to the airport.

[van-lop]

I am from PR and live here. To catch a 10:55AM flight you need to be aware of several things:

1. Date that you are flying, is not the same to catch a flight during the Holiday Season as to fly during off season.

2. Since San Juan is the first american port when you return, you will need to go through customs. This could take longer, depending on how annoying the custom people want to be.

3. Although the traffic in PR is bad, at that time should be ok, because you will go against the traffic.

4. My recommendation, take a late flight. Lines at the airport sometimes get really long and remember to go to Agriculture first. Now you need to inspect even the carry-on bags.

[63galaxie]

We've sailed out of San Juan several times. The trick for us was to grab a porter at the port AND at the airport. Tip @ $20 upfront and mention your flight time several times. Each time, the porter at the port found our luggage right away and hailed a cab immediately. We also tipped the cab driver well and told him our rush (showed him the tip upfront) and asked him to get us a porter as soon as the cab arrived. Gave the porter at the airport a tip upfront and explained our flight time. He took our tickets, our passports and we never had to stand in a line for anything. We had several hours to spare. We tipped each person $20, which is alot, but nothing compared to what we would have paid if we would have missed our flights. Good luck.