San Juan Puerto Rico

You won't have any problem getting off the ship and getting your luggage. Just let the ship know of your flight and that you need early debarkation.

I know the cruise line provides transfers from the pier to the airport. It's probably more expensive than taking a taxi. Anybody have any clues what the ship transfer costs vs. taking a taxi?

According to Fodor's "Complete Guide to Carribean Cruises" (2nd edition is just out), it takes about 20 minutes from airport to pier and "taxi turistico" cabs charge a fixed rate of $19, plus 50-cents for luggage (those are cabs with a logo on the door). Other cabs may charge a bit more. Determine the price before you get in.

It's almost always less expensive to take a cab than a cruise line-provided transfer, unless you've purchased an air-and-sea fare, in which case the transfer is included.

Keep in mind that the above fare price was accurate at the time of publication and is subject to change. However, I can share that it hasn't gone up a lot in the past ten years

Hope that helps!

Linda Coffman
Author, Fodor's The Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises

Last year, in the fall (November) the transfer offered by RCCL was actually cheaper than the cabs that one could get at the dock. So, we used the ship's transfer to the airport. We had a very early flight and there was no problem making it using the transfer service.

Are you coming the night prior to the cruise or arriving the day of the cruise? Probably the best bet to get to the dock is just to use a cab unless you bought air through the cruise line in which case you probably will have a transfer included.

We are doing Empress of the Seas 11/19 and had booked transfers from RCL. Cost was $29.50 per person roundtrip. After reading cruise critic about transfers vs cabs, I called RCL the next day and cancelled the transfers.
You might want to look under cruisecritic for more commentary on your question.