Celebrity provided air to San Juan - airline and routing - your experience, please

[MisterBill99]

I booked a Southern Caribbean cruise on Galaxy next February. I got it with the included airfare since it is cheaper than I can get it for myself (it's Presidents Week and Celebrity has a promotion going). I read in a review from a cruiser last year that their party was all booked on Delta and they all flew through Atlanta, even the group coming from Florida. Well it turns out that Delta does not have a non-stop from Miami, so the routing through Atlanta makes sense if they are going to use Delta. I am flying from the NYC area and trying to figure out if I should tell them I want to leave from JFK or Newark. If I fly from Newark, there are no non-stops so I am guaranteed a connection through Atlanta (and likely a 6am flight) But from JFK there *is* an 8:30am non-stop, as well as the 6am connection flight. Has anyone booked air from JFK through Celebrity? If so, what flight did they put you on. Was it on Delta?

 

If I have to do a 6am flight, Newark is more convenient, which is why I'd like to get an idea if I will get the non-stop if I select JFK.

[Adlibjac]

We depart from san Juan next February. Celebrity have booked our flights on BA departing London changing at JFK then on to San Juan.

 

So....we take a direct BA flight from JFK to San Juan at 13.30 arriving 18.15. However, we do not sail till the next day.

 

Not sure if this answers your question.

[greeneg]

We did it CLT to SJU in January of 2006 and had no problems. If you are Captain's Club you can pick your flights ( Custom Air) at no additional charge. It worked fine both ways for us and was actually a little cheaper than booking our own. Sometimes it works that way.

 

Hope that's helpful.

[MisterBill99]

Has anyone gotten flights from Celebrity from NYC (Newark or JFK) to San Juan lately? I need to decide on my airport before I make my final payment at the end of the week. My TA claims that Celebrity usually uses Continental. They have non-stops to SJU from EWR. But if they book us on Delta, they only have a non-stop from JFK so we'd have to change planes flying from EWR.

 

I am not a Captain's Club member (4 cruises of RCI buys me nothing on Celebrity) so i can't do custom air. And it's Presidents Week so getting airfare from Celebrity came out to be much cheaper than doing it on my own.

[Lsimon]

Has anyone gotten flights from Celebrity from NYC (Newark or JFK) to San Juan lately? I need to decide on my airport before I make my final payment at the end of the week. My TA claims that Celebrity usually uses Continental. They have non-stops to SJU from EWR. But if they book us on Delta, they only have a non-stop from JFK so we'd have to change planes flying from EWR.

 

I am not a Captain's Club member (4 cruises of RCI buys me nothing on Celebrity) so i can't do custom air. And it's Presidents Week so getting airfare from Celebrity came out to be much cheaper than doing it on my own.

 

You can do custom air. It is $50 within North America if you are not a Captains Club member. I've never used Celebrity Air, although I plan to next year, but it is my understanding that the only way to have any voice in your routing or airline is to do the custom air. Details are on Celebrity's site - it is listed under Plan a Cruise : Transportation : Air on their web site. If your routing or airline make any difference to you then I wouldn't rely on what someone else experienced as I don't think this is necessarily an indicator of the flight you'll receive. I've read a lot of postings on cruise critic where one person got a nice direct flight and the next had a crazy set of connections along the same, or similar, route.

 

It is a good idea to consider flying down at least a day before the cruise to eliminate a chance of a late flight or missed connection causing you to miss the ship. Also, it is a long travel to San Juan and we find it makes starting the cruise a lot more fun if we're well rested. San Juan is also a nice place to spend a little time, and we like to arrive a day or two before our cruise to tour around there.

[MisterBill99]

You can do custom air. It is $50 within North America if you are not a Captains Club member.

 

It is a good idea to consider flying down at least a day before the cruise to eliminate a chance of a late flight or missed connection causing you to miss the ship. Also, it is a long travel to San Juan and we find it makes starting the cruise a lot more fun if we're well rested. San Juan is also a nice place to spend a little time, and we like to arrive a day or two before our cruise to tour around there.

Well they already got my extra $50pp for their fuel surcharge so I don't feel like giving it to them again. I understand I have no say but it would be nice to stack the deck in my favor by selecting an airport that has non-stops available on the airline I am likely to be on.

 

Flying down a day early would be nice but not practical in my case. My son will already be missing a day of school prior to Presidents week vacation and my daughter a week and two days of her state government internship as a result of the cruise. Also, we were just in San Juan last year on a cruise.

[wrp96]

I know that Celebrity and RCCL use the same airlines. I have been on both Delta and American using cruise air, plus they also use Continental, US Air, United, Northwest, etc. It will be whatever is cheapest for them when they go to book your flights and most likely it will not be a non-stop no matter which airport you fly from. If you absolutely have to have a non-stop then you need to book it directly with the airline OR go ahead and pay for the custom air.

[w&k]

try one of the consolidators like http://www.sidestep.com to recheck for the airfare - it must be a really good special if cruise air is cheaper than booking it yourself.

 

I must concur with the other posters that flying in the day before is really a good idea, and almost a must in the winter. Our Empress trip last February had many folks arriving throughout the first three days as there was a big storm.

 

Some folks we met from Canada just made the ship at 9pm...and their original plan called for them to arrive two days early.

 

Have a great time, and warm the ship up for me...we'll be on the 2/25 trip.

 

Wendy

[curlerguy]

We are flying Celebrity air from Toronto to San Juan on Jan 25. The price couldn't be beat. Has anyone made this flight? How many connections can we look forward to having to make?

[MisterBill99]

My TA contacted me today to say that my flights had been booked, which is surprising since the cruise is not until February. Bad news is, no non-stops.

 

Going down, we leave Newark at 10am on AA and connect in Miami, arriving SJU at 6:40pm. It's later than I would like but 10am means I can easily get to the airport that morning and not stay overnight at a nearby motel as I have done the last two times. And hopefully there will not be weather problems in Miami. And I can use the AA miles. Going back they booked us on NW through Detroit (!). Not great but we leave at 10am so they'll have to get us off the ship early and we are back in EWR at 5pm.

 

My TA checked with Celebrity and they want $50 + $145 to book us on a non-stop (not worth it to me). I could still switch airports to JFK but there's nothing to believe that they would give me better flights, they might just change the Newark legs and leave the SJU flights the same.

[MisterBill99]

try one of the consolidators like www.sidestep.com to recheck for the airfare - it must be a really good special if cruise air is cheaper than booking it yourself.

I got a special deal when they were discounting my cruise and airfare. According to the invoice from my TA, I'm paying $199 for air from NY to SJU. The cheapest I can find on that site (which is very cool, BTW) is $491 (which isn't bad considering it's Presidents Week).

[eden]

We are also flying Celebrity air from Toronto to San Juan. Any idea how many connections we have to look forward to ??? Or is custom air available?

Thanks for any advice.

[ScubesDad]

This past March we flew United, Toronto-Chicago Chicago-San Juan, early flight out of Toronto 6:30a.m., with a short layover in Chicago, we were on the streets in San Juan for a late lunch. Return was through Philly, with enough time for a leisurely dinner. Return was US Air IMHO one of the worse Snafu's we have every experienced in travel. I will avoid US Air at all costs in the future.

[MisterBill99]

We are also flying Celebrity air from Toronto to San Juan. Any idea how many connections we have to look forward to ??? Or is custom air available?

Thanks for any advice.

Custom Air is always available, if you are willing to pay. There is a $50 fee (waived if you are a Presidents Club member, which means you have sailed with Celebrity before) but then you pay the price differential between what they booked for you and what the flights you want actually cost. In my case that would have been an extra $150 (plus the $50) per person.

 

I would hope they would not book you with more than one connecting flight. Of course, round trip would be even nicer, but they don't seem to do that. Interestingly, I have a MIA-SJU flight and a review I read from last year said that someone had to fly MIA-ATL and then ATL-SJU.

 

My TA explained that they basically have an inventory of seats (purchased at a deep discount) that they book passengers from. If you want something that they don't have, you'll pay.

[If only]

We are flying Celebrity air from Toronto to San Juan on Jan 25. The price couldn't be beat. Has anyone made this flight? How many connections can we look forward to having to make?

 

Hi we are going on the Jan 4th with the Galaxy from Toronto & we have only 1 stop unless you are travelling on the weekend there is no direct flight from Toronto, but we only paid $209.CDn for the flight so we cannot complain. Actually they put us on the shortest wait time possible we fly Toronto/Atlanta/San Juan other friends are going Toronto/Charlotte/San Juan. so it is not bad considering what we paid & this was through Celebrity.:)

[Texed]

Custom Air is always available, if you are willing to pay. There is a $50 fee (waived if you are a President's Club member, which means you have sailed with Celebrity before)

 

I believe it is called Captain's Club.

[MisterBill99]

I believe it is called Captain's Club.

You're right, my bad. I'm not a member yet so I forgot. And I can't fix it because CC locks edits after 20 minutes.

 

The equivalent of Crown & Anchor on RCCL.

[eden]

Originally posted by If Only

Hi we are going on the Jan 4th with the Galaxy from Toronto & we have only 1 stop unless you are travelling on the weekend there is no direct flight from Toronto, but we only paid $209.CDn for the flight so we cannot complain. Actually they put us on the shortest wait time possible we fly Toronto/Atlanta/San Juan other friends are going Toronto/Charlotte/San Juan. so it is not bad considering what we paid & this was through Celebrity.

 

If Only - Can you tell me what airlines you and you friends are booked on for your January cruise out of San Juan.Thanks

[wrp96]

If Only - Can you tell me what airlines you and you friends are booked on for your January cruise out of San Juan.Thanks

 

From the routings it sounds like If Only is on Delta (Atlanta is a Delta hub) and his/her friends are on US Air (Charlotte is a US Air hub).

[eden]

Thanks for the reply - I appreciate it

[curlerguy]

Hi we are going on the Jan 4th with the Galaxy from Toronto & we have only 1 stop unless you are travelling on the weekend there is no direct flight from Toronto, but we only paid $209.CDn for the flight so we cannot complain. Actually they put us on the shortest wait time possible we fly Toronto/Atlanta/San Juan other friends are going Toronto/Charlotte/San Juan. so it is not bad considering what we paid & this was through Celebrity.:)

We also paid $209 leaving on the 25th of January.

Do these stop overs involve plane changes or just waiting onboard while other passengers get on an off?

[giblert]

I booked a Southern Caribbean cruise on Galaxy next February. I got it with the included airfare since it is cheaper than I can get it for myself (it's Presidents Week and Celebrity has a promotion going). I read in a review from a cruiser last year that their party was all booked on Delta and they all flew through Atlanta, even the group coming from Florida. Well it turns out that Delta does not have a non-stop from Miami, so the routing through Atlanta makes sense if they are going to use Delta. I am flying from the NYC area and trying to figure out if I should tell them I want to leave from JFK or Newark. If I fly from Newark, there are no non-stops so I am guaranteed a connection through Atlanta (and likely a 6am flight) But from JFK there *is* an 8:30am non-stop, as well as the 6am connection flight. Has anyone booked air from JFK through Celebrity? If so, what flight did they put you on. Was it on Delta?

 

If I have to do a 6am flight, Newark is more convenient, which is why I'd like to get an idea if I will get the non-stop if I select JFK.

 

Have you considered JetBlue? They appear to have 6x daily JFK-SJU for $119 ea way.

[MisterBill99]

Have you considered JetBlue? They appear to have 6x daily JFK-SJU for $119 ea way.

Sorry, haven't checked back here lately. I did check JetBlue originally, I believe and they were several hundred dollars RT. Remember I'm flying out on the Friday of Presidents Weekend. I'd already paid in full when you posted so I could not have changed my plans, anyway.

 

I ended up with a 10:20am AA flight out of EWR, connecting in MIA and arriving in SJU at 6:40pm. Then they gave me a 10am NW flight to Detroit (!) connecting to a flight that arrived back in EWR at 5pm. Then they cancelled that connecting flight so I would have had a 3 hour layover and a 7pm arrival. So I asked my TA to check into getting them to give me something different. When he checked, it turned out they had changed my return flight to a non-stop on AA, but I now don't leave SJU at 6:40pm. This is a case where if I had flown to JFK I would have done better since there are earlier non-stops, but of course there is no guarantee that they would not have found something else to give me to JFK. And while getting into SJU that late is not ideal, it means I can easily get to the airport the morning of the flight without having to leave before sunrise or staying overnight at a hotel near the airport.

 

I am not really happy about getting in at 10pm since my son has to go to school the next day and my daughter has to get back to an internship she has and will have to drive 2 hours to get back to school. But at this point there's nothing I can do about the flights, so I decided to make the best of it and rented a car for the day in San Juan and we'll do some sightseeing. I'm assuming my luggage will be checked in when I get to the airport so all I have to deal with is our carry-ons, and we can put that in the rental car. It will be cheaper to get the car than booking the cruise line's tour, and it's easy enough to get the car and drop it off again at the airport. We never got out of Old San Juan when we were there a couple of years ago so maybe we will drive to the rain forest.

[Hflors]

I ended up with a 10:20am AA flight out of EWR, connecting in MIA and arriving in SJU at 6:40pm. Then they gave me a 10am NW flight to Detroit (!) connecting to a flight that arrived back in EWR at 5pm. Then they cancelled that connecting flight so I would have had a 3 hour layover and a 7pm arrival. So I asked my TA to check into getting them to give me something different. When he checked, it turned out they had changed my return flight to a non-stop on AA, but I now don't leave SJU at 6:40pm. This is a case where if I had flown to JFK I would have done better since there are earlier non-stops, but of course there is no guarantee that they would not have found something else to give me to JFK. And while getting into SJU that late is not ideal, it means I can easily get to the airport the morning of the flight without having to leave before sunrise or staying overnight at a hotel near the airport.

 

I am not really happy about getting in at 10pm since my son has to go to school the next day and my daughter has to get back to an internship she has and will have to drive 2 hours to get back to school. But at this point there's nothing I can do about the flights, so I decided to make the best of it and rented a car for the day in San Juan and we'll do some sightseeing. I'm assuming my luggage will be checked in when I get to the airport so all I have to deal with is our carry-ons, and we can put that in the rental car. It will be cheaper to get the car than booking the cruise line's tour, and it's easy enough to get the car and drop it off again at the airport. We never got out of Old San Juan when we were there a couple of years ago so maybe we will drive to the rain forest.

 

If I were you I would be very thankful that your 10 am flight from SJU has been changed. ON our last cruise we were standing on the deck watching the luggage being off loaded and that was after 8 am. No one had left the ship at that point and from what they told me that was pretty customary.

Also if I were you I would take the cruise line's tour of the rain forest if you want to go that far. They know the roads and where the traffic backs up. (on our trip our driver knew a side road that got us out of a pretty good back up on the main road) Besides he was excelient and knew all about the rain forest and the island in general.

 

When you say "I'm assuming my luggage will be checked in when I get to the airport so all I have to deal with is our carry-ons"

You should check with AA last year when we did this cruise they had a plan that for $20.00 pp aa takes your luggage at the ship. So there is no need to go to the airport until it's time for your flight.

 

Getting home late on a Monday night is the reason we don't do the 10 day cruise out of San Juan. Last year and again this year are opting for the 11 day cruise. We also come in a day before (this year 3 days before since we want to see more of San Juan) We also spend the night before and the night after ariving home at an airport hotel. I hope you and your family will have a wonderful cruise. (I believe I will be boarding as you are leaving)!

[MisterBill99]

Well, we had no choice on which cruise to take. This one overlaps Presidents Week and that is the only time I can take my son out of school (he will still be missing 2 days but the Friday before they do nothing since some people are out). My daughter will actually be missing time at her internship but they told her it would be ok (it will be at the state capital and they are in recess that week anyway) and she can just work the week in March that they were supposed to have off for Easter. And if for some reason they tell her that it's not ok when it starts next week, I have travel insurance with a job cancellation rider for her.

 

I figured that if I just took the transfer I am entitled to from Celebrity, they will take me to the airport and I can check it in and then go get a rental car. I would have to see if the $20pp deal is worth it.. I know on NCLA last summer they had the same deal and it is certainly convenient (and one employee suggested they do not weigh your luggage if you go that route).

 

How far is the rainforest from the airport? I asked someone at work who is a PR native and he said it's 40 minutes from San Juan obviously if that is not correct I will have to rethink my plans.