Flight Home from San Diego

[doublemm16]

Good Morning Everyone.

 

This question might have been asked at some point, but I cannot seem to locate it. I am currently booked on the 15 day Hawaiian cruise out of San Diego on the Century in February 2013. I need to book my airfare, and I was not sure how late I should be booking my flight home.

 

I am looking at a 12:45pm flight to Newark. If that is too early, the next flight is at 9:30pm. I am hoping that I will have time to make the 12:45pm, but I do not want to take any chances. Does anyone know if I will be off the ship in time to make the earlier flight? I have never been to San Diego, so I have no idea what the airport is like there.

 

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

Mindi:D

[lightning bolt]

Good Morning Everyone.

 

This question might have been asked at some point, but I cannot seem to locate it. I am currently booked on the 15 day Hawaiian cruise out of San Diego on the Century in February 2013. I need to book my airfare, and I was not sure how late I should be booking my flight home.

 

I am looking at a 12:45pm flight to Newark. If that is too early, the next flight is at 9:30pm. I am hoping that I will have time to make the 12:45pm, but I do not want to take any chances. Does anyone know if I will be off the ship in time to make the earlier flight? I have never been to San Diego, so I have no idea what the airport is like there.

 

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

Mindi:D

 

You will have plenty of time. The airport is really close to the cruise terminal. We did that cruise last October, you will have a wonderful time. Have a great time on the Century.:D

[doublemm16]

You will have plenty of time. The airport is really close to the cruise terminal. We did that cruise last October, you will have a wonderful time. Have a great time on the Century.:D

 

Thank you for the information Gail!

 

Mindi:D

[CRUZBUDS]

The airport is just 10 minutes away - so you should have plenty of time if nothing goes wrong.

 

We have done Hawaii R/T from San Diego and our experiences were probably unusual, but two of the five trips arrived back in San Diego late. One arrived in the early afternoon and the other in the morning of the 16th day on our 15 day cruise. Both were due to medical evacuations and we had to return to Hawaii. One to get in helicopter range and the other we docked back in Hilo to off load two ill passengers.

 

That's 40% of our Hawaii cruises :eek: --- Have a back up plan if possible.

 

If you have trip insurance -- check to see if this would be covered -- on our trips most people's insurance did not cover them. There were a lot of pissed off people, especially those that paid for insurance from Celebrity and were not covered for the loss.

 

We leave on the Century for Hawaii four weeks from today!

 

Aloha!

[Spender Nui]

Haven't flown in many years. What happens when you miss a flight these days? Penalties, rebooking, etc.?

[lightning bolt]

Haven't flown in many years. What happens when you miss a flight these days? Penalties, rebooking, etc.?

 

I think they just rebook you.

:)

[OneStrangeGuy]

We're taking the same cruise in November of this year. Our flight departs at 11:30 Am. The last time I took a cruise we had quite a stretch between the ships arrival in port and our flight out. We spent a LOT of time sitting in the airport. As you are aware, you want to leave some leeway.

 

If you have a long stretch in between, and you can stow your bags somewhere for a while. (Or check them in at the airport). San Diego has a very scenic 'Seaport shopping village' just south of the ship terminal within easy walking distance of the dock. Just walk south and you can't miss it. You can't walk there from the airport though.

[hobo1937]

One thing you need to be aware of is that they do the non US customs inspection onboard the ship in San Diego...so no one can disembark until all the non US folks have cleared customs. If all those folks show up when they are supposed to everything is ok but that doesn't always happen so no one goes anywhere until they are all accounted for, which can result in delays. You also may want to check if there are any other ships disembarking passengers on the same day as that can also cause delays.

 

All that being said 12:45 should be ok barring any major delays since the airport is about a 10 minute taxi ride away...you can see it from the ship. Personally I would try and get an early disembarkation time just in case.

[wwcruisers]

Our first disembarkation in San Diego (Radiance of the Seas in '06), we had a two-hour delay -- while the crew searched for two foreign passengers who had failed to show up for their on-board Customs/Immigration processing. And yes, people missed flights, and there were lots of unhappy campers waiting to get off that ship! We (luckily) were not flying that day -- but since then, I've never booked any post-cruise flight out of SD earlier than noon. But, barring a major catastrophe, I'd agree that the OP should be fine with a 12:45 flight.

[doublemm16]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I have trip insurance, and I will be taking insurance on the airline tickets.

 

Have a good weekend!!

Mindi:D

[Keith1010]

Just wanted to add one more reassurance that your 12:45 PM Flight will be fine.

 

Keith

[MauiCruiser79]

What about at 10:00 am flight? Are we going to miss for sure? We are us citizens.

[Gonzo70]

What about at 10:00 am flight? Are we going to miss for sure? We are us citizens.

 

Way too risky for me. While the majority of time you can make it if you hustle, there is minimal wiggle room for delays - and delays are not all that uncommon. While the airport is really close, the port at San Diego is known to have more frequent delays than most other U.S. ports. Also (as others have mentioned) the ship sometimes arrives late (can happen because of a variety of reasons). You will definitely want to do self-disembarkation (i.e. carry off your own luggage and be among the first people off the ship). Travel insurance is unlikely to provide you any relief if you miss the flight as policies generally require a lengthy delay before they provide coverage (i.e. they expect you to have adequate wiggle room for all but highly unusual delays).

[AkSusan]

What about at 10:00 am flight? Are we going to miss for sure? We are us citizens.

I think 10 is risking it. Doesn't matter if you're a US citizen. If one of the non citizens doesn't clear when they are called, no one on the ship gets to get off.

 

Last time we did it, we were suppose to be off like about 8 a.m. and they kept calling and calling one passenger, and finally cleared at 9:15.

 

Even though the airport is 10 minutes away, but the time you find your luggage and get a cab, you wouldn't be there for your 30 to 40 minute time that airlines now require.

 

Susan :)

[MauiCruiser79]

I just thought of something that may make a difference. Did everyone else that got delayed come from Mexico or another international port? We are actually doing a pacific coastal cruise and will have been in the US previous to San Diego, wouldn't we clear customs once we enter the US or do we still have to at the end because we started in Vancouver? Anyone know the answer to this question?

[CRUZBUDS]

We did Vancouver to Alaska, then back down the coast to Seattle and San Francisco and finishing in San Diego. I'm pretty sure we did the normal customs thing in San Diego like any other cruise we've done.

 

You actually go through US Customs in Vancouver when you go to Alaska, I'd guess it's the same for your coastal.

[phoenix_dream]

What about at 10:00 am flight? Are we going to miss for sure? We are us citizens.

That time is a huge risk IMHO. We have had more than one occasion where we were not even allowed to disembark until 9:00 or even a bit later. No way in heck could you make it then. You might make it, but I would give you odds of lower than 50/50 - way too stressful for most of us.

[Gonzo70]

I just thought of something that may make a difference. Did everyone else that got delayed come from Mexico or another international port? We are actually doing a pacific coastal cruise and will have been in the US previous to San Diego, wouldn't we clear customs once we enter the US or do we still have to at the end because we started in Vancouver? Anyone know the answer to this question?

 

The previous port makes no difference. The ship still has to be cleared by local authorities before anyone may leave, and once you leave you yourself will have to speak with a customs agent after you debark, but before you can leave the terminal.

[Goofyisme]

Getting a cab at the San Diego port can be a terrible experience. Worst I have ever experienced.

[AkSusan]

Getting a cab at the San Diego port can be a terrible experience. Worst I have ever experienced.

We've never had a problem at San Diego, but, oh boy, last year Tampa was one big mess. No control, people pushing forward in line. All they really needed to do was put up some control lines and it would of worked so much easier.

 

Cruise terminals should check out how a lot of the airports do now, have a taxi control manager.

 

Susan :)

[CRUZBUDS]

15+ San Diego cruise, we've never spoken to a Custom person, except on B2B. Once called you make your way to the terminal, find your bags and hand your customs form to the agents on the way out the door.

 

They used to collect them at the bottom of the gangway. Either way you didn't stop unless the idiot in front of you can't remember what he did with his form :rolleyes:

 

We've never had any trouble getting a cab, maybe it was a bad day. :)

[Goofyisme]

15+ San Diego cruise, we've never spoken to a Custom person, except on B2B. Once called you make your way to the terminal, find your bags and hand your customs form to the agents on the way out the door.

 

They used to collect them at the bottom of the gangway. Either way you didn't stop unless the idiot in front of you can't remember what he did with his form :rolleyes:

 

We've never had any trouble getting a cab, maybe it was a bad day. :)

 

Definitely a bad day. Several hundred passengers waiting in line with almost no supervisory controll to stop cutting in lines which came close to causing physical confrontations numerous times. All this while we waited for a cab line up that was devoid of cabs. Seemed to be only 5 or 6 cabs that were coming to pick up passengers and then returning after drop off. I know that's not really what was happenning, but that is what it seemed like.

 

Fortunately we were spending the night so no big rush. However, standing in line for well over an hour left my wife's bad knee in serious pain so we were not able to enjoy the day we had set aside for San Diego.

 

Will never disembark in San Diego again.

[CRUZBUDS]

Definitely a bad day. Several hundred passengers waiting in line with almost no supervisory controll to stop cutting in lines which came close to causing physical confrontations numerous times. All this while we waited for a cab line up that was devoid of cabs. Seemed to be only 5 or 6 cabs that were coming to pick up passengers and then returning after drop off. I know that's not really what was happenning, but that is what it seemed like.

 

Fortunately we were spending the night so no big rush. However, standing in line for well over an hour left my wife's bad knee in serious pain so we were not able to enjoy the day we had set aside for San Diego.

 

Will never disembark in San Diego again.

 

WOW -- That was a bad day. We've never had that problem, something went horribly wrong. There is usually a line of a dozen or so cabs on the pier and dozens more queued up in a special line on the street. There is pretty tight control with a supervisor directing you to the next cab. I don't think we've ever waited more than five minutes or so.

 

Somebody must have called in sick that day

 

I hope you try San Diego again someday! :)

[Goofyisme]

WOW -- That was a bad day. We've never had that problem, something went horribly wrong. There is usually a line of a dozen or so cabs on the pier and dozens more queued up in a special line on the street. There is pretty tight control with a supervisor directing you to the next cab. I don't think we've ever waited more than five minutes or so.

 

Somebody must have called in sick that day

 

I hope you try San Diego again someday! :)

 

Some friends we made on the cruise told us later they actually walked out of the terminal area to find a cab after they saw the chaos. They also said they took 4 or 5 cabs to various places that day and said none of the drivers they had knew there was a ship due in that day.

 

I have been to SD several times on business and enjoy it, however my wife had never been there and was looking forward to a quick look. Unfortunately her leg hurt so bad by the time we got to the hotel we didn't go out.

 

On the plus side the cab trip to the airport the next day was quick and easy and the folks at the airport went out of their way to take good care of DW and get us to our gate quickly and efficiently.

[jcross2]

I just thought of something that may make a difference. Did everyone else that got delayed come from Mexico or another international port? We are actually doing a pacific coastal cruise and will have been in the US previous to San Diego, wouldn't we clear customs once we enter the US or do we still have to at the end because we started in Vancouver? Anyone know the answer to this question?

 

Just disembarked Millennium, coastal cruise from Vancouver to San Diego.

 

We cleared customs in San Francisco, our first US port. They (US authorities) sent very few agents, so it took hours, and they would not let people (other than those on Celebrity tours) leave the ship until everyone cleared.

 

Anyway ... To answer your question ... We did not have to clear immigration inspection today in SD. We just had to hand in a customs declarations form. Did not even have to show passports.

 

It was very fast and orderly.

 

Now ... On a previous r/t cruise out of SD, we nearly missed our noonish flight because some clown would not report to immigration, and no one was allowed off the ship until she finally showed up around eleven.

 

But since your cruise is like ours today, you should clear immigration in your first US port. Hth.