Caribbean cruise passengers get new flight to Puerto Rico

Holidaymakers taking a Caribbean cruise and those visiting the island of Puerto Rico will have a greater choice of flights from this weekend.

Virgin Atlantic will launch the first direct flights from London Gatwick to San Juan in Puerto Rico, which is one of the starting points for Caribbean cruises.

At the moment there are no direct flights from the UK to Puerto Rico, though passengers can take indirect flights, travelling either via Madrid or via the United States with a number of airlines including British Airways, Iberia, KLM, Northwest Airlines or Mexicana.

Return fares for indirect flights start from less than £250 off peak. Caribbean cruises are available with flight-inclusive fares.

Virgin's new winter-only service will depart from Gatwick on Saturdays at 09:25, arriving into San Juan at 16:05 the same day (local time) and depart on Saturdays from San Juan leaving at 18:05, arriving into London Gatwick at 08:35 the following morning.

The service will operate via the Caribbean island of Antigua but passengers will not have to change plane. An estimated 80 per cent of passengers are expected to connect to a Caribbean cruise.

The UK airline already flies from London to eight points in the Caribbean. It has regular services to Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Havana in Cuba, Kingston and Montego Bay in Jamaica, St Lucia and Tobago.

To coincide with the launch of the new weekly 747-400 service to Puerto Rico, Virgin Holidays has started offering a number of Caribbean cruises starting from the island.

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