Flying in to San Juan day of cruise. anyone experience missed ship?

[layteacher]

Due to work schedule and a 7 day cruise, we will be flying into San Juan on embarkation day. Our flight is supposed to arrive at 1 and we dont embark until 6. With that said, we bought insurance from Carnival on the website. Anyone have experience with missing the ship and what happens? How does the insurance work? How do you get on your cruise?

Thanks for any help with this. 

[coevan]

The only issue would be with flight delays. Please understand if you miss San Juan you will need a passport to get to the next island unless it's STT. 

[JaxsMama]

The insurance will reimburse you for the cost of the missed cruise. You would be responsible for flying to catch up to the boat if you choose that route and a passport will be needed.  

[MzOhioLady]

If I were you, I would find the earliest flight out from your home city. That way you would have some wiggle room in case the unexpected happens.

 

I have flown to San Juan on the same day as Embarkation at least 4 times and luckily there were no flight issues. However, that's when the ship wasn't leaving port until 10pm at night.

[elcuchio24]

1 hour ago, layteacher said:

Due to work schedule and a 7 day cruise, we will be flying into San Juan on embarkation day. Our flight is supposed to arrive at 1 and we dont embark until 6. With that said, we bought insurance from Carnival on the website. Anyone have experience with missing the ship and what happens? How does the insurance work? How do you get on your cruise?

Thanks for any help with this. 

 

Do you embark at 6 or is the ship scheduled to leave port at 6? that'll make a pretty big difference. 

[MzOhioLady]

The ship is scheduled to leave San Juan at 6pm. That's what I just saw when I looked at the Fascination Schedule.

[layteacher]

yes the ship leaves port at 6

 

[elcuchio24]

3 minutes ago, MzOhioLady said:

The ship is scheduled to leave San Juan at 6pm. That's what I just saw when I looked at the Fascination Schedule.

 

OK so in all reality the all aboard is likely 5pm....and you will have to collect your luggage and clear customs at the airport which can take some time there depending on how many flights are coming in around that time. And then you need to get to the port.

 

All that said, if you have no other options just try to be positive and hope for the best!

[Bases5]

You don't have to clear customs in san juan if you flying from the states.

I have done this many times, but as a previous poster said, That when they sailed at 10 pm.

If you could get a earlier flight that might be helpful.

Hopefully it's with a major airlines that might have code share or a replacement plane if something was to go wrong.

Is weather a possible concern,  What time of year are you sailing and where are you coming from?

Most likely every thing will be OK  But there is always that chance,  We were willing to take it but knew going into it there could be issues

[elcuchio24]

2 minutes ago, Bases5 said:

You don't have to clear customs in san juan if you flying from the states.

I have done this many times, but as a previous poster said, That when they sailed at 10 pm.

If you could get a earlier flight that might be helpful.

Hopefully it's with a major airlines that might have code share or a replacement plane if something was to go wrong.

Is weather a possible concern,  What time of year are you sailing and where are you coming from?

Most likely every thing will be OK  But there is always that chance,  We were willing to take it but knew going into it there could be issues

 

You're right, great point. Last time we flew in we were coming from MX.

[klfrodo]

Insurance doesn’t just reimburse you because you missed the ship.

it all depends on your policy and what it does and does not cover. Each policy is different.

If it were to be covered, it would fall under the Trip Delay portion. Again, each policy is different. Each policy has a definition for what it considers a delay. Each policy also lays out how long a delay must be. Some policies have a 4 hour delay, some policies have a 12 hour delay. So, if your flight was delayed by 3 hours and 59 minutes, and your policy had a minimum 4 hour delay standard and you missed the ship, your claim would be denied.

Also, you must attempt to catch up to the ship for Trip Delay to enjoy at least 51% of the covered Trip. Not having a passport to travel would not be a covered reason.

 

Edit: Each policy can vary by State. I looked up my State and Trip Delay is measured at minimum 3 hours. The kicker is that the max payout is only $500.

 

Really, the only thing going for you should it appear that you are going to miss the ship would be to invoke the Cancel For Any Reason clause. You can cancel up until scheduled ship departure and receive a 75% future cruise credit.

Edited June 6, 2019 by klfrodo

[Darcy03231]

Keep in mind that if you miss the ship you need to get yourself to the next port of call.   While it's great to have insurance (and a must have as far as I'm concerned) it may not cover all your expenses and you have to pay up-front and get reimbursed.

 

This is what happened to us on our August 2018 cruise:

 

Scheduled to fly out the day before the cruise (Friday, cruise left Saturday).  Storms up and down the east coast.   Party of 10 people.  2 flew in from Nashville without any issues, 2 were leaving from Boston at 8pm Friday night (JetBlue) and 6 were leaving from Manchester NH (Southwest) on Friday late morning.

 

The Manchester flight was canceled due to weather.  Airline was able to rebook 4 of the 6 on a later flight.  I rebooked the other two on another airline (American) leaving out of Boston mid-afternoon.   Manchester flight made it to Baltimore where it was delayed due to weather.  It finally took off around 9 pm.  Boston mid-afternoon flight was canceled.  Airline rebooked them on a later flight, which also was canceled.   I managed to get them on our 8 pm flight - -but the cost was $1375 for 2 one-way tickets from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale.   When everything was said and done we all managed to get to Ft. Lauderdale, albeit in the early morning hours of the day of the cruise (I think our last group of 4 landed around 3:30 am).

 

The $1375 I ended up paying for the JetBlue flight was covered under travel delay at $200/pp so I got $400 back (more than a 6 hour delay).  I was also refunded $300 from Southwest for the canceled flight.  Essentially, I ended up paying $675 for two one way flights to Ft. Lauderdale.  American tickets were refunded so that was a wash.

 

If we were flying the day of there's no way we would have made it.  I would try to make sure you have a non-stop flight that leaves as early as possible.   

 

 

 

[Aplmac]

All Aboard might be? 5 p.m.

but Last Check-In .......I suspect is 4:00 or 4:30?

 

Remember this is where the cruise starts

and where everyone gets checked-in

[Mm13]

Getting off the plane, picking up luggage, and getting a taxi took no more than 45 minutes. Then getting to the port was maybe 15-20 minutes. Of course I’m sure there will be many cruises who are also flying in the same day. 

 

I think you will be fine; however, if you can get an earlier flight you will be able to enjoy San Juan as a port rather then racing to get on the boat.

[grandmarnnurse]

5 hours ago, layteacher said:

Due to work schedule and a 7 day cruise, we will be flying into San Juan on embarkation day. Our flight is supposed to arrive at 1 and we dont embark until 6. With that said, we bought insurance from Carnival on the website. Anyone have experience with missing the ship and what happens? How does the insurance work? How do you get on your cruise?

Thanks for any help with this. 

😱😱😱 That’s my high anxiety reaction to this! Lordy, I fly in for a cruise at least one day prior, if not more. So much can happen to affect your flight—delays and cancellations. I think that if you miss your ship because of something you did (like book a fly that not make it n time) you may have to foot the bill to next port (to catch your ship) yourself. But if Im wrong, someone please correct me. Not sure when your cruise is and what part of the country you will be flying from, but for me, flying out of Buffalo, NY in the winter is always a dicey venture. I am flying into New Orleans in February for my Glory cruise THREE days ahead! I know you said it was due to work schedules, but all the years I worked, I planned on all my travel time into my days off request. It lends to a much more relaxed, less stressful, start of vacation. But only you know what you can possibly do, so my prayers will be with you that you make that cruise. BTW—I’ve cruised twice out of San Juan, a lovely port. We stayed at the San Juan Intercontinental. Best memories ever—-French doors to ocean view balcony open all night, the sounds of waves and tropical breezes blowing into room. No stress there! 😎

[layteacher]

We  will be flying out of Knoxville TN in April. I will check out the san Juan Intercontinental. Thanks so much.  

[layteacher]

thank you everyone. I will see if we can fly in the day before. 

 

[coevan]

16 minutes ago, grandmarnnurse said:

I am flying into New Orleans in February for my Glory cruise THREE days ahead!

 

 

You can't go wrong going to New Orleans early. We went on a three day food, music and drinking extravaganza, love that city.

[Mr2Scents]

We have flown to San Juan for embarkation twice. One time was great, the other not so much. The bad was bad. We were set to fly out the day before to avoid any issues. There was fog at our stopover and we were delayed by an hour plus in leaving Cleveland. We only had an hour layover. Made up some time in the air. Get to one of the worst airports in the country for congestion, ask the flight attendant to call the gate to let them know we're coming. She won't do it, just says don't stop heading there. We run through the airport, get to the gate 10 minutes prior to the departure. We aren't the only ones in this predicament as there are probably 25 of us running down the concourse. We are yelling at them to not close the doors. The agent sees us and proceeds to close the ramp. She tells us it's closed and she can't open it. There are 20+ people staring at her breathless. The plane proceeds to sit at the gate for no less than 30 minutes and they never let us on. We all have to rebook on another airline in order to get out San Juan. We get to our hotel at 12:30AM instead of 2:00PM. We would have missed the ship if this was same day. To add insult to injury(so to speak), the new airline loses my wife's luggage. We do get it back before we sail.

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[jsglow]

Without knowing where home is (edit, I see it's Tennessee), here's an option you might want to consider.  I'll use Southwest as an example as that's how we did it.  Perhaps you can fly to SJU in 2 separate legs.  Shortly after Maria essentially wiped out much of the San Juan hospitality industry for a time, we flew Chicago Midway to Orlando on a Friday night and then caught a 6a flight the next morning to San Juan arriving something like 8a.  Our Windstar ship wasn't departing until late evening so we had the cushion of 2-3 additional SWA flights that day that would get us there in time.

 

Bite off some miles the day before if you can and the price isn't prohibitive.

 

PS:  San Juan is a wonderful port to sail from.  I've done it at least 3 times.  Perhaps my favorite.  

Edited June 6, 2019 by jsglow

[Mr2Scents]

Without knowing where home is (edit, I see it's Tennessee), here's an option you might want to consider.  I'll use Southwest as an example as that's how we did it.  Perhaps you can fly to SJU in 2 separate legs.  Shortly after Maria essentially wiped out much of the San Juan hospitality industry for a time, we flew Chicago Midway to Orlando on a Friday night and then caught a 6a flight the next morning to San Juan arriving something like 8a.  Our Windstar ship wasn't departing until late evening so we had the cushion of 2-3 additional SWA flights that day that would get us there in time.
 
Bite off some miles the day before if you can and the price isn't prohibitive.
 
PS:  San Juan is a wonderful port to sail from.  I've done it at least 3 times.  Perhaps my favorite.  

San Juan is absolutely my favorite port to sail from as well. Easy on, easy off. You're starting your trip already in the Caribbean. The whole cruise is at about 8_9 knots, not 21. So relaxing.

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[2wheelin]

1 hour ago, layteacher said:

We  will be flying out of Knoxville TN in April. I will check out the san Juan Intercontinental. Thanks so much.  

Hate to be a downer but remember this past April and the rain storms. Many people who were flying to the Easter cruise we were on planning to get there a day ahead did not even make it with that cushion.

Good Luck.

[coevan]

1 hour ago, Mr2Scents said:

The whole cruise is at about 8_9 knots, not 21.

 

 

depending where their next port is, only time they might do 8-9Kts is sailing to STT, most SJU sails go further south, at 21+ Kts

[mlshum]

The last time I flew into San Juan, we were in the taxi line from the airport for 45 minutes.  That was AFTER landing and waiting for our luggage.

[SRQbeachgirl]

Our one and only time departing from San Jun was quite an adventure - and not one I would want to repeat. Let's set the stage:

 

• Flight out of Dallas to Miami with a connecting flight to San Juan
• Severe thunderstorms across the south and up the East Coast
• Only 45 minutes between flights in Miami.
• Flight from Dallas left 20 minutes late due to weather.

You can probably see where this is going, but we were among the lucky few. There were at least 20 other people on our DFW to MIA flight that were headed to San Juan for the same cruise we were taking (this was back when many people booked flights directly through the cruise line as a package deal--and everyone was sporting the very stylish Carnival luggage tags). As we taxied to the gate, we had 10 minutes before our connecting flight was scheduled to leave. Fortunately, DH and I were sitting in first class and were perched in our seats waiting to spring into action. The plane stopped, we yanked our carry-ons out of the overhead compartment, and bolted for the door--the first two people off the plane.

 

We literally sprinted through the Miami airport (I still feel bad about the little old man who I might have slightly mowed down after performing a hurdle over his luggage). We made it to our departing gate, practically threw our boarding passes at the gate attendant, and ran down the gangway into the plane with zero time to spare. They shut the door behind us. We stowed our carry-ons, dropped into our seats, and the plane pulled away from the gate. None of the other people on the previous flight who were connecting with us made it.

 

Once we boarded the ship in San Juan, we found out that planes all over the south and east coast were delayed, with over 400 passengers stuck at airports. Our ship was supposed to leave port at 10pm, but--and this is where Carnival began to earn our loyalty--they delayed departure until almost 2am to give as many people as possible extra time to get to port. We heard that the company was working furiously directly with airlines to get the passengers to San Juan. The ship's staff quickly organized a midnight buffet at the aft pool, set up a band, and then treated us to fireworks out over the water while we waited for the other passengers (I still don't know how they organized all this so fast!). In the end, only about 30 people missed departure and had to meet us in St. Thomas.

 

So, would I fly into San Juan the same day? Nope, nope, nope. Now we always get to port a day early. I go on vacation to get away from stress, not to get even more stressed before I even board the ship.