Late Departure

[Banjo]

I just booked the Summit for a Southern Caribbean cruise and noticed the Summit does not depart San Juan till 8:30pm. Never departed that late. Usually always around 4 or 5 in the afternoon.

 

Curious, when do folks start arriving? Is the MDR open for dinner that night? And when do they do muster drill?

 

Thanks, Banjo

Edited December 4, 2014 by Banjo

[gdpups]

I've done the Summit out of San Juan 3 times before and am going again in January. The ship leaves late because lots of passengers arrive in San Juan day of and flights tend to arrive later in the afternoon, so the ship departs late. That does not affect the time you can get on the ship, we usually arrive normal time around 11 am and are on the ship soon after.

 

Sail away is at 8:30 and muster was 7:30 pm or 7:45 pm, can't remember exactly, but it does affect dinner times somewhat so we usually have an early dinner around 6 pm (select dining) so we don't miss sail away.

[alcpa1]

Back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's the ships used to embark at 10:30 or 11. But the timing is all about getting the passengers to San Juan, especially those who fly in the day of embarkation.

Dining will be arranged around the muster drill since passengers must be onboard by 7 for your 8:30 departure. And yes, the MDR will be open for dinner, just on an altered schedule.

[AlbertaCruisers]

People arrive pretty spread out through the day. We usually get there around 10 am and each time have been on the ship just after 11:00 am. Muster was at 7:45. We usually plan dinner for 8 pm. If you haven't sailed from San Juan you may want to plan to watch. The town and forts look great. The last three times we have backed up and then turned around and headed out. So town is on the left for the first bit and then on the right side of the ship as you head past the fort and out to see.

[CRUZBUDS]

Many years ago we did a couple of San Juan cruises -- they left at mid-night. In pre-Concodia times, the muster drill was the next morning.

 

We will never do another from SJ -- we don't like port intensive cruises and there is way too much flying time.

 

We did love San Juan though, the old city is beautiful. :)

Edited December 4, 2014 by CRUZBUDS

[Banjo]

Thanks I really appreciate the responses. This particular cruise intrigued me because it included several ports I never seen. Like Tortola, Fort de France and Roseau. Also, we are also planning to spend a few nights in San Juan prior to departure.