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We are flying into St. Thomas on a Saturday at the end of May. We are contemplating bringing our dive gear with us but we're concerned about how long it takes for luggage to be offloaded from the plane and then to get through customs. We are sort of on a time crunch. Any recent experience with this? Thanks for your help.
that's a good question. and here's a bad answer...
1) No customs -straight from the plane to the terminal.
2) Is this a direct flight or are you connecting thru SJU?
AA San Juan is famous for delaying bags (and loosing bags) If you have enough time between flights your bags have a better chance of making the connection.
3) Are your dive bags "over sized" if so they will be manually carried into the terminal. This mean a handler must be available to carry the bags.
4) In the past I've waited anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 before the bags arrive on the carousel. I've also waited several days.
Here's a hint. Carry-on only and mail (USPO) to your destination. Contact your rental agency and ask if they'll hold your dive bag. Property managers normally charge a fee.
We've never waited more than 15 minutes for our bags (via American, Continental, United, Delta, Spirit & Cape Air).
Just curious as to why you're on a "time crunch" - are you going on to the BVI and have a ferry to catch? I might have a couple of suggestions if you could give a little more detail.
The one thing you can absolutely rely on in St. Thomas is ................................Nothing!
I have had my bags come out within minutes or hours. One Sunday there was just one baggage handler to unload three difeerent planes that all landed one after another. Other times the carosel is broken so everything is done by hand. It is just impossible to tell how long it will take.
Are you staying on STT or heading somewhere else in the Caribbean.
You may want to consider shipping your gear down. There are a places on the island that you can mail your stuff to and they'll hold until your arrival. Another option would be send directly to where you are staying if it's allowed.
If you give us more details like is it a direct flight, connecting flight etc. and then details on where you are staying, which island, we can hopefully give you more info.
I'm on STT now, arrived Sunday, and my bag made it to the luggage carousel before I did, so I guess you never know! 🙂
MissSara wrote:
I'm on STT now, arrived Sunday, and my bag made it to the luggage carousel before I did, so I guess you never know! 🙂
I am in the same boat as MissSara. I have to admit I have only flown in once, but it was a fully packed AA plane with lots of passengers........ we got off, took our shot of that new Khaluah Killer made by Cruzan, lol, love that stuff, then went to baggage claim and the bags were coming out! :S I have never seen that my entire life in the mainland! So I am sure it has it's off days as others have mentioned, but it can definitely be way faster than the mainland US when it wants to be!
