mspflyer3

We're planning a trip to STX over July 4th weekend. We're flying Delta to SJU and then planning to catch an inter-island flight on either Seaborne or CapeAir from SJU to STX.

Does anyone have any experience doing this?

How long would you all advise to have as a buffer between arrival in SJU and departure to STX?

Will we be switching terminals? Riding shuttles? Staying in the same terminal? Any other advice about this connection would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

StayingHomeIsBetter

Wow... bringing back memories.

I used to travel about once/year to STX. Only took Cape Air once. I like my aircraft to have two pilots. Cape Air, at least at that time, did not. In fact, if you were lucky enough you could sit in the co-pilot's seat.

Aircraft was a small Cessna, maybe 8 passenger.

Currently, Cape Air flies a CNA, which I have found described as a "Cessna light aircraft." This would indicate that it is likely a Cessna 402: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_402

Jet Blue flies SJU to STX in Embraer 190s.

I have never flow Seaborne. IIRC, the last time I made the trip, AA still flew the route.


Question: Have you traveled to STX before? Be very careful of straying beyond the busier tourist areas when you are in Christiansted or Frederiksted. On one trip, two of my team were robbed at gunpoint just two blocks from the restaurant zone in Christiansted. Locals will tell you there is a reason that cruise ships no longer stop in St. Croix. Now that the refinery (main employer on the island) has shut down, my concern would be that conditions have not improved.

Yes, there is crime in Baltimore and NYC. The problem on a small island is that the distance you have to walk to get into an undesirable area can be a lot shorter.

rylan

Both DL and CapeAir use terminal B so connecting there would be easy... arrive on your DL flight, just walk a bit down the terminal and go downstairs to the ground level gates. This of course assumes carry-on only and that you don't have to exit security and go to ticketing. If you checked a bag you'll have to claim it and go back through, which in that case you would need a couple hours buffer.

Seaborne leaves from D. Note their connecting time and baggage recommendations on their website:
http://www.seaborneairlines.com/dest...s/san-juan-pr/

mspflyer3

Sounds like we might be staying on the resort! I lived in STT for 6 months about a year and a half ago, but haven't been back to the islands since.

Will connections via JetBlue differ from CapeAir/Seaborne as far as where in SJU we need to go?

mspflyer3

Thank you, very helpful!

StayingHomeIsBetter

"Please be advised that all JetBlue flights at San Juan, Puerto Rico's Luis Munoz Marin International Airport are now departing from our new home in Terminal A."

"SJU Airport Locations: Seaborne is conveniently located at the Terminal D Check-in is conveniently located near check point 2 , only steps away from TSA. Seaborne boarding is Gate 18."

"Cape Air is located in the main terminal. Boarding occurs at Gate 31A (Terminal B)."

mspflyer3

You're better at interneting than I am Thanks for the help!

StayingHomeIsBetter

On a more positive note, some of the best buys that I have found on Single malt scotch were in STX... I believe at the Plaza supermarket.

And Cruzan rum is not too shabby either.

billythekid

I flew Delta to SJU then Cape Air to Vieques last February. As has been mentioned before, the Cape Air gates are just a couple of minutes walk from the DL gates. It could not have been easier.

I could never find a firm answer online as to whether we'd have to leave security to check in for the Cape Air flight; we didn't, they checked us in at the gate. (We carried on baggage.)

TrojanTraveler

And the stairs to the Cape Air gates are right by the SC...until it closed.

StayingHomeIsBetter

It has been closed so long that I think it was still a Crown Room when it closed.

TrojanTraveler

It wasn't much of a club, but at least it was self-service.

andrewstahl

Last December, we flew to into SJU and connected on Cape Air to Vieques. Our checked bags were routed to VQS through Cape Air. There was a link on the Cape Air site that discusses their interline connections.

weezl

Interestingly, Seabourne is asking for 2.5 hours on their website. The woman on the phone said 2 hours from the time you get to immigration, "...which is a 20 min walk from the Seabourne gate to mainland check-in area"
The UA 1K desk said a connect from islands on BB to a mainland UA flight is 90 min minimum requirement.

Which is the "correct" amount of padding for an island-->mainland connect (in my case, connecting to UA from BVI on Seabourne)?

MSPeconomist

You should look for this in the UA forum. Note that double posting isn't allowed on FT, but you can use the little red triangle to the left of the bottom of your post to ask a moderator to move it to an appropriate thread in the UA forum.