SJU Flight time out for Summit

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've searched and I can't find good recent information.  For flying home out of San Juan, is a 10:00am flight reasonably do-able?  We are flying to the West Coast with TSA Pre-check in first.  We'd do walk-off disembarkation and are "get the lead out" kind of people vs. dawdlers.  The last time we sailed the Summit out of SJU, we were at the airport in the gate area by 8:45am but that was a couple years ago.  Any recent experience or recommendations?

[djpbaltimore]

We took an 11am flight in April. We used OBC to buy the celebrity transportation, but would just walk off with your bag and get one of multitude of taxis waiting at the terminal. Sju was not very busy in the morning. Obviously, things can happen, but I wouldn't feel too anxious about flying out at 10am.

[bayonnejoe]

45 minutes ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

I've searched and I can't find good recent information.  For flying home out of San Juan, is a 10:00am flight reasonably do-able?  We are flying to the West Coast with TSA Pre-check in first.  We'd do walk-off disembarkation and are "get the lead out" kind of people vs. dawdlers.  The last time we sailed the Summit out of SJU, we were at the airport in the gate area by 8:45am but that was a couple years ago.  Any recent experience or recommendations?

Sorry to disagree with the previous poster. There is no way I would do a 10:00 flight out of San Juan. Too many things can go wrong. Late ship arrival. Customs lines can be very long in San Juan. Global Entry would help, but I'm not sure  they have that in San Juan. You can't account for how many ships are coming in that day, although you can find that out pretty easily. The San Juan airport can be a nightmare. Airline check in. We once were at check in behind a large group of cruisers from another cruise line, and were on line for a good half hour. There is also the agricultural bag check. Of course it's your call, but I would never do it, and I'm sure most responders will agree.

 

[DrivesLikeMario]

We do have Global Entry too and that did help the last time we were in SJU.  We were pulled out of the line to go in a customs line that didn't have anyone else in it.  We do plan to just grab a taxi too.  Easiest and fastest IME.

Appreciate everyone's information.

Edited June 2, 2019 by DrivesLikeMario

[ozark74]

2 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

We do have Global Entry too and that did help the last time we were in SJU.  We were pulled out of the line to go in a customs line that didn't have anyone else in it.  We do plan to just grab a taxi too.  Easiest and fastest IME.

Appreciate everyone's information.

Global Entry is not available in San Juan. It just has suites/ handicap and everyone else. This was in January. 

We have precheck and made 1045 departure with plenty of time to spare. Got to the airport about 9am. It is only about 25 minutes by cab to the airport. Cost was $25 fixed rate no meter.

[djpbaltimore]

I saw that Celebrity offered some kind of expedited service for flights leaving before 11 am. Since it did not pertain to us, I did not get any information on this option. There were no other boats unloading and customs took only a few minutes. We put our bag on a transport and got on a different bus and waited about 10 min to leave. We then had to wait at sju for the bags to arrive. It felt disorganized and I would not do it again. We accidentally skipped the ag check and had to backtrack after going to the baggage counter. With all that, we still were up at the concourse by 9am. As bayonnejoe correctly states, things can happen so your mileage may vary.

[DrivesLikeMario]

All good to know everyone, thanks!

[CruisinCons]

We're on the Summit repo in October and have a 2ish flight on SW.  We received an email from SW about a week after we booked the flight instructing us to be at the airport at least three hours before our flight.  Seems like a REALLY long time to us...

[PhoenixCruiser]

On 6/2/2019 at 4:34 PM, ozark74 said:

Global Entry is not available in San Juan. It just has suites/ handicap and everyone else. This was in January. 

We have precheck and made 1045 departure with plenty of time to spare. Got to the airport about 9am. It is only about 25 minutes by cab to the airport. Cost was $25 fixed rate no meter.

 

Did you have to do express where you carried off your own luggage?  Out flight is at 11 but due to my husband's mobility issues I'm not sure we can manage all of our luggage.

 

Edited to add - we are in a full suite and always use porters.

Edited June 4, 2019 by PhoenixCruiser

[alcpa1]

DrivesLikeMario,

You didn't mention your date. That makes a difference. If it is one of those days with five ships in I wouldn't recommend a 10 am flight. We've cruised out of San Juan at least ten times and have seen just about everything at SJU. The only time I would have been comfortable with a 10 am flight was our cruise after hurricane Maria in '17. 

 

PhoenixCruiser,

If you use self disembarkation you DO have to manage all of your luggage from cabin to pier.

With an 11 am flight just ask for the first tags. If you need wheelchair assistance that is handled differently.

I will note that unlike previous disembarkations the wheelchairs were not the first off on the Summit in January. That changes from cruise to cruise as I am sure you know.

 

[Kingofcool1947]

On 6/2/2019 at 12:54 PM, DrivesLikeMario said:

I've searched and I can't find good recent information.  For flying home out of San Juan, is a 10:00am flight reasonably do-able?  We are flying to the West Coast with TSA Pre-check in first.  We'd do walk-off disembarkation and are "get the lead out" kind of people vs. dawdlers.  The last time we sailed the Summit out of SJU, we were at the airport in the gate area by 8:45am but that was a couple years ago.  Any recent experience or recommendations?

Yes..  you will have plenty of time.   BTW, who are you calling dawdlers?

[varoo]

On 6/2/2019 at 2:54 PM, DrivesLikeMario said:

I've searched and I can't find good recent information.  For flying home out of San Juan, is a 10:00am flight reasonably do-able?  We are flying to the West Coast with TSA Pre-check in first.  We'd do walk-off disembarkation and are "get the lead out" kind of people vs. dawdlers.  The last time we sailed the Summit out of SJU, we were at the airport in the gate area by 8:45am but that was a couple years ago.  Any recent experience or recommendations?

 

Under normal conditions, you should be fine.

We have done that, as recently as a few months ago, even without carrying off our own luggage.  (We requested and received luggage tags for an early departure time.)

 

Putting our luggage through the agriculture machine at the airport went very quickly and smoothly.  It is just a conveyor belt where the luggage goes up one side of the machine and comes right down on the other side.

If somebody's luggage has a problem, they pull it off to the side for inspection so they don't hold up all the other passengers.

 

We did use the pre-check line and went right through security quickly as well.

But there is no way of predicting what may go wrong on any given day.

 

An important consideration that I have not seen mentioned yet is the temperament of the individuals involved. 

Missing a flight can be a big deal that is emotionally upsetting for some, while it is only a minor inconvenience for others.

 

As long as you have backup plans and know your options for re-routing if necessary, I would say to go for it, .......but only if missing a flight is something you can take in stride without getting all upset about it.

 

Edited June 4, 2019 by varoo

[PelicanLvr]

In  January (2019) we walked off Summit in SJU at 7am and were siting at the airport gate (thru security) at 7:45.  Very easy.  We did "self-walkoff".

 

IMPORTANT:  In SJU you MUST put your luggage thru an Agriculture Dept scanner before checking it in.  Our taxi driver pointed out the location for that scan.  The scanners put a sticker on the luggage that allows you to check it.  You can't check it without the sticker.

Edited June 4, 2019 by PelicanLvr
Added that we did self walkoff

[snyniew]

If the custom line is long get a porter. They bypass the long lines and have one of their own. I believe they even jump to the front of the taxi line as well. 

[DrivesLikeMario]

Good to know, thanks snyniew.  The last time we were there, there wasn't a Global Entry line but we asked an RCI rep and she pulled us out of the regular line and put us in a line with no one in it.  We may use a porter if that doesn't happen next time.

Yep, we would definitely travel with backup plans.   I'm not an emotional non-traveler type, but DH can be so I will prepare him to be flexible in case we miss it.  He'll be fine as long as I prepare him for the potential consequences and he doesn't have to work the next day so worse case scenario, we fly home from DFW the next morning if we miss the second flight. 
 

I haven't checked how many ships will be in port on April 25th.  Anyone know?  That could have a bearing on the decision.

[MarLieb]

We disembarked the Summit in San Juan on Dec. 29, 2018.  We had an 11:28 am flight and were through customs and in a private car at 8:45 am.  We only had carry-on luggage and have TSA pre-check.  We had so much time on our hands at the airport.  As others have said, if there aren't a lot of ships in port and you can expedite your disembarkation process and airport transportation in any way, you should be fine.  We are on the same cruise this year and I'm considering booking an earlier flight this time.