Second guessing arrival time to San Juan for Viva

[DanSgt]

I have a trip scheduled on the Viva out of San Juan in February 2024. I normally arrive a day early being fully aware of what could go wrong. However, this time I took a gamble with scheduling a direct flight into SJU arriving at 2:45 PM on embarkation day. The ship leaves at 8 PM. This would normally give me a an hour and a half to three hours to make the cut-off.

I just would like input concerning this turnaround.  I'm not familiar with SJU or the port in San Juan. I've already booked the flight and would be subject to change fees and hotel costs if I were to change. Please no lectures 

[rodndonna]

30 minutes ago, DanSgt said:

I have a trip scheduled on the Viva out of San Juan in February 2024. I normally arrive a day early being fully aware of what could go wrong. However, this time I took a gamble with scheduling a direct flight into SJU arriving at 2:45 PM on embarkation day. The ship leaves at 8 PM. This would normally give me a an hour and a half to three hours to make the cut-off.

I just would like input concerning this turnaround.  I'm not familiar with SJU or the port in San Juan. I've already booked the flight and would be subject to change fees and hotel costs if I were to change. Please no lectures 

 

We just received our BOGO NCL assigned flights for the Viva yesterday, and the gave us flights arriving at 2:45.  🤞

 

We typically fly in day of *yikes - the horror!" and thought with an 8:00 departure, 2:45  arrival was actually pretty good 😎 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[graphicguy]

42 minutes ago, DanSgt said:

I have a trip scheduled on the Viva out of San Juan in February 2024. I normally arrive a day early being fully aware of what could go wrong. However, this time I took a gamble with scheduling a direct flight into SJU arriving at 2:45 PM on embarkation day. The ship leaves at 8 PM. This would normally give me a an hour and a half to three hours to make the cut-off.

I just would like input concerning this turnaround.  I'm not familiar with SJU or the port in San Juan. I've already booked the flight and would be subject to change fees and hotel costs if I were to change. Please no lectures 

What's done is done.  So, if you don't want to change the flights/hotel I'm not sure there's much you can do.

 

I guess the questions I have are...

 

-Where are you flying from?  Will bad weather possibly be a factor to delay or cancel your flight(s)?

-Is your flight direct?  Or, are their connections which could make your risk of delay more likely?

-Are there alternate flights that will get you to the port on time if any of your flight(s) are delayed or cancelled?

 

The good news is the cruise port is less than 10 miles from the airport.

 

 

 

[brookie848]

I wouldn't do this from Chicago in February -- especially if you have a connection. That's just me.

 

We flew in the day of the cruise to San Juan once, simply because there were no hotels available to stay the night before. This was a few months after hurricanes of 2017 and hotels were really only renting to relief workers. We flew as far as FLL the day before and took the first flight out that morning and were on the ship around noon.

 

It's not a horrible drive to the port, but traffic can get bad. You are going to be cutting it a bit too close for my comfort, especially if you check luggage.

[rodndonna]

5 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

What's done is done.  So, if you don't want to change the flights/hotel I'm not sure there's much you can do.

 

I guess the questions I have are...

 

-Where are you flying from?  Will bad weather possibly be a factor to delay or cancel your flight(s)?

-Is your flight direct?  Or, are their connections which could make your risk of delay more likely?

-Are there alternate flights that will get you to the port on time if any of your flight(s) are delayed or cancelled?

 

The good news is the cruise port is less than 10 miles from the airport.

 

 

 

 

Good points. 

 

Just adding "as a day of flyer" from a bad winter location (Toronto), we  always keep an eye on the airline website in the days leading up to the flight. Our major Canadian airlines (and I assume US ones) allow you to rebook your flight at no charge staring about 3 days before if it is flagged as having any chance of being impacted by weather or other issues (and they are really generous in that predictor in an effort to mitigate the onslaught of potential issues from delays or cancellations.

 

[DanSgt]

Thanks Rodndonna, that's a promising bit of news. It tells me that NCL planners feels that the turnaround time from airport to ship is doable. On paper anyways.

Graphicguy as always you are very insightful. I'm leaving from Chicago in February,  on the only direct flight that day. The reasonable (unreasonable for me) option was to come in the day before. I guess I went through all the variables in my head before I booked this flight, just having buyers remorse.

[ColeThornton]

Minor detail about flight terms.  Non-stop and Direct are different things.   Direct flights will have one or more stops while non-stop is obviously straight from point A to point B.

[SoloAlaska]

I would say depends on the airport but considering I’ve been on many flights leaving ohare that were delayed I personally would not have taken that chance in February. 
 

how’s your travel insurance? Will it cover you if the flight is delayed and you miss the ship?

 

my upcoming flight has a connection in Iceland which very well might get cancelled at the last second due to the impending volcanic eruption. I am checking with my insurance company to make sure they’ll cover a last minute flight change to another airline since the rules are different for EU airlines. My insurance plan has missed connections coverage. If you don’t have that type of coverage maybe you could look into it for this trip.

[SoloAlaska]

6 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

Minor detail about flight terms.  Non-stop and Direct are different things.   Direct flights will have one or more stops while non-stop is obviously straight from point A to point B.

Do airline still do “direct” flights? I haven’t seen those since I was a kid.

[DanSgt]

Thanks Cole, its a nonstop. I'm leaving from Chicago in February,  on the only non-stop flight on American Airlines. Thank you all for the advice, I will definitely price out some trip delay insurance versus rebooking.

[rodndonna]

6 minutes ago, DanSgt said:

Thanks Cole, its a nonstop. I'm leaving from Chicago in February,  on the only non-stop flight on American Airlines. Thank you all for the advice, I will definitely price out some trip delay insurance versus rebooking.

 

Check your credit card insurance - many credit cards have trip delay insurance. 

[jules181]

I've done this twice. Flying from Toronto, Air Canada only has the direct flight and it arrives around 3pm.  NCL Air has put me on it twice, both with no issues.   Also other flights from Toronto/Montreal all arrive around this time as well. 

 

In fact, I think most northern US/Southern Canadian flights leaving day of will get you in around 3pm. Just the mechanics of flying and where Puerto Rico is located. 

 

I haven't been the only one arriving at this time, hundreds of people are on flights with this timing.  Multiple busses at the airport. 

 

I'd just suggest an airport transfer through NCL as there's only one lane into and out of the port area and it can be a complete cluster on embarkation.  

 

For debarkation, I do self assist and get an early uber out of the port area. 

 

[DanSgt]

Just a final thank you to all that responded. I feel much more comfortable. Yes, I'll look into the insurance and NCL airport transfers. But mostly I appreciate the good honest advice.

[CrossM2]

On 11/13/2023 at 9:56 AM, DanSgt said:

I have a trip scheduled on the Viva out of San Juan in February 2024. I normally arrive a day early being fully aware of what could go wrong. However, this time I took a gamble with scheduling a direct flight into SJU arriving at 2:45 PM on embarkation day. The ship leaves at 8 PM. This would normally give me a an hour and a half to three hours to make the cut-off.

I just would like input concerning this turnaround.  I'm not familiar with SJU or the port in San Juan. I've already booked the flight and would be subject to change fees and hotel costs if I were to change. Please no lectures 

I had done this same thing every time I cruised and had no problems until the last one , we flew in March and a storm blew in, we got o the port at 730, the ship was there and the port closed, we watched it sail away.

[cruiser2015]

On 11/13/2023 at 9:56 AM, DanSgt said:

I have a trip scheduled on the Viva out of San Juan in February 2024. I normally arrive a day early being fully aware of what could go wrong. However, this time I took a gamble with scheduling a direct flight into SJU arriving at 2:45 PM on embarkation day. The ship leaves at 8 PM. This would normally give me a an hour and a half to three hours to make the cut-off.

I just would like input concerning this turnaround.  I'm not familiar with SJU or the port in San Juan. I've already booked the flight and would be subject to change fees and hotel costs if I were to change. Please no lectures 

Gutsy move.

I would never chance it.

I've done day of flights. Arrival late morning with a late PM sailing - and not in winter.

A delay of a few hours is so common these days.

Interesting, though, that NCL assigned the same arrival time through their air program. If anyone on your sailing received the same schedule, that may help to protect you.

Good luck!

[cruiser2015]

On 11/13/2023 at 11:35 AM, SoloAlaska said:

Do airline still do “direct” flights? I haven’t seen those since I was a kid.

Many folks seem to misuse the term.

But, yes, they exist - sort of.

Some scheduled trips continue on to  one or more additional stops after the first. Southwest, for example.

So, if you happen to want to go to that second stop, you don't need to transfer to a different flight - and, magic - you've scored a direct flight to your destination.

[IAcruising]

2 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

So, if you happen to want to go to that second stop, you don't need to transfer to a different flight - and, magic - you've scored a direct flight to your destination.

 

I will never understand the desire to sit on the plane for an hour between flights. I need the walk to my connecting flight just to return to a sense of normalcy, for a bit.

 

[BirdTravels]

Me, personally, would not risk flying out of ORD in February to make a 6 pm all aboard time (for an 8 pm departure).  Assuming you will have checked luggage, you have about 2-2.5 hour pad for flight delays... until you are literally running on the ship and to dinner (or being denied boarding). I have laterally flown millions of miles and the one and only time I ended up sleeping in an airport was at ORD during the winter due to a cancelled flight. 

[IAcruising]

On 11/13/2023 at 10:43 AM, DanSgt said:

Thanks Cole, its a nonstop. I'm leaving from Chicago in February,

 

I missed this one. I agree with Bird. ORD in February, on any given day, is a complete crapshoot.

 

[cruiser2015]

10 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

I will never understand the desire to sit on the plane for an hour between flights. I need the walk to my connecting flight just to return to a sense of normalcy, for a bit.

 

I agree conceptually with how you feel about the break. A couple of issues do arise.

First, for me, it depends on how long the legs are. They may not be very long. In fact, I think they are likely to be of short to moderate length (although, many years ago, I was on a flight that went from Jong Kong to Tokyo to Seattle to New York - and I was on for the whole ride; we did have to deplane in Seattle to go through customs; I don't know if any airlines still do beasts like that).

Further, you do increase the chance for luggage going astray (if you're checking).

Lastly, if someone has mobility issues (like my DW), they would vote to stay put (and some of those transfers can be crazy, with gates in distant other parts of the airport.

[PATRLR]

On 11/24/2023 at 7:53 PM, cruiser2015 said:

Many folks seem to misuse the term.

But, yes, they exist - sort of.

Some scheduled trips continue on to  one or more additional stops after the first. Southwest, for example.

So, if you happen to want to go to that second stop, you don't need to transfer to a different flight - and, magic - you've scored a direct flight to your destination.

 

On 11/24/2023 at 10:05 PM, IAcruising said:

 

I will never understand the desire to sit on the plane for an hour between flights. I need the walk to my connecting flight just to return to a sense of normalcy, for a bit.

 

I've been on "direct" flights recently that involve an equipment change.  In other words, same flight number from A to B to C, but when you arrive at B, the continuation is on a different airplane leaving from a different gate.  

In the past year or so I was on a flight like that but it didn't have an equipment change but everyone had to deplane anyways.   

I can't recall the last time I was on a flight that included the option to remain on the plane during the turn.

[cruiser2015]

1 hour ago, PATRLR said:

 

I've been on "direct" flights recently that involve an equipment change.  In other words, same flight number from A to B to C, but when you arrive at B, the continuation is on a different airplane leaving from a different gate.  

In the past year or so I was on a flight like that but it didn't have an equipment change but everyone had to deplane anyways.   

I can't recall the last time I was on a flight that included the option to remain on the plane during the turn.

Where do I start?

As far as I'm concerned, if you deplane and board a different aircraft, it's no different than a connecting flight. If you reboard the same craft, with the same flight  #, I'm torn on the definition.

I don't know if direct flights exist today where the passenger remains on board. I can tell you that I was on such a flight, a long time ago, where we did. I flew from NYC to Kentucky; we stopped in Pittsburgh; continuing passengers stayed on board. The far east flight I mentioned earlier - best that i can recall we stayed on board in Tokyo. Come to think of it, during same trip, we stopped in Taiwan enroute to Hong Kong - again, continuing passengers stayed on board.

 

As for flight #'s, here's a brain twister:

Delta has (or used to have) a morning flight from NY to Austin. The same plane then returns to NY that afternoon.

Both legs have the exact same flight # - in both directions. I have flown both (on different days).

I can't imagine why two flights, going in opposite directions, carry the same #. 

[RedRover96]

45 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

I can't imagine why two flights, going in opposite directions, carry the same #. 

Our AA from CLT to TPA in Dec are the same #'s so not just a Delta deal.

[cruiser2015]

8 minutes ago, RedRover96 said:

Our AA from CLT to TPA in Dec are the same #'s so not just a Delta deal.

Interesting.

Still seems wacky to me. But I don't run an airline.

[RedRover96]

I wonder if it has something to do with using the same plane/crew flying both directions?? CLT-TPA-CLT???