When would you fly?

[JLitfin]

My DH, DS, DDIL, and myself will be sailing early January, 2015 out of San Juan. We will be flying in from BWI Maryland. Here's my question the ship is due to set sail around 8pm, would you fly in the day before or the morning of the cruise? I guess since we never know what the weather will be like in January, it makes me nervous flying in the day of the cruise, but my DH believes we will be able to make it to San Juan in plenty of time, not thinking about the weather.

 

[Trekker]

I'm risk adverse and planning for a great weeks vacation would hate to start it off with stress!

Personally I would never fly in the day of - especially in the winter when bad weather anywhere in the country can mess up flights all over.

We are going into San Juan in October to cruise and flying in 2 days early. San Juan is actually a port stop for lots of cruises and there is tons to do.

Fly in the day before and treat it like your first port day and explore Old San Juan!

If you do chose to fly in the day of - be sure you have really good travel insurance that will cover you if you are late for your cruise.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would go a day (or two!) before, both for "just in case" purposes, but also because San Juan is lovely. We thoroughly enjoyed our day there and long to spend more time there. In fact I would ONLY take a cruise from San Juan if we were making it a longer vacation, spending some solid time there!

 

[woody73]

We typically fly in at least one day before a cruise.

Woody

 

[fluffysue]

Personally, I would find it too stressful to fly in the day of a cruise, but especially not in the winter. It's just too risky. Besides, even if the ship doesn't leave until 8, you can get on board several hours before that, why not make the most of that first day? Not to mention enjoying San Juan.

 

[ronandannette]

There are occasions when circumstances dictate we can't go a day early. Here's some criteria we use to decide: are direct flights available and affordable? There's far less chance of encountering a delay if you don't have layovers and connections. Most important is are there multiple flights a day that will get you there if for some reason you miss your flight or it gets cancelled? Obviously we book the earliest flight we can get but for some destinations there are also a number of other flights that would still get us there if need be.

We've flown day-of many times without a problem but only to those departure ports that are relatively "safe" under the above conditions - LA, Vancouver & Seattle. I wouldn't try it cross-continent, especially west to east but maybe San Juan isn't so bad from Chicago? BTW, we sailed a Southern Caribbean itinerary it of San Juan and loved it - have a great time whatever you decide!

 

[JLitfin]

Thanks everyone, I think I'm going to travel the day before our cruise, that way it will be list stressful.

 

[ronandannette]

Thanks everyone, I think I'm going to travel the day before our cruise, that way it will be list stressful.

Sorry for the error in my post; I'm not sure where I got the idea you were flying from Chicago. When we stayed in San Juan we absolutely LOVED this hotel:
http://www.atwindchimesboutiquehotel.com/

I'm not sure if you're travelling with kids as it's not super-family-friendly, but it was very romantic and perfect for DH and I. The next day prior to boarding the ship we took a segway tour of Old San Juan which was an excellent way to see the forts and I'd highly recommend it.

 

[GrumpyBelle]

Even without weather, planes can still be late for other reasons. Last summer, our flight to Orlando was 4 hours late due to mechanical issues. We have had other flights delayed for these reasons as well. I wouldn't chance flying from Baltimore especially in January. We always take the earliest flight the day before that way if there are any issues, we still have time to make it onto one of the other flights that day.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We have generally spend 1-2 days before a cruise in San Juan. We find there's a lot to do there.