sh1955

Let me preface this review by stating that NCL’s excursion office told us we would be docking at the Pan Am Pier instead of Old San Juan, and it turned out not to be true.

Consequently, I booked the NCL San Juan City Tour for $85pp.

Don’t do it!!!

It was a 2 1/2 hour tour and I would estimate that well over half of the tour was spent riding around in New San Juan looking at nothing but apartment buildings and expensive hotels.
The first stop at was an unnamed private beach for a photo op. This was a Caribbean cruise, and we’ve already seen plenty of beaches. I think the main attraction of this stop was the fact they had a plenty of space to park the bus. It certainly wasn’t to provide anything new or interesting to the people on the tour. 
On the way to OSJ, we passed the public beach which would have been of interest to see but we didn’t stop there.

Finally, we arrive in OSJ and San Castillo.  
This is where the first mishap occurred. The bus driver didn’t pull up close enough to the curb so he puts out a step, and one of the elderly people tripped getting off.  The step would have been completely unnecessary if the bus driver had done a better job of getting closer to the curb.
Anyway, he parked the bus at the bottom of a steep hill which everybody had to walk up. It was so steep that we stopped at the top to catch our breath before going up another steep incline to get to the entrance of the fort. We were given 45 minutes to explore the most important stop on the tour. Not good. While we were at the fort, I saw another person trip near the canon. 
We get loaded back up on the bus and we go less than a quarter of a mile and we get offloaded for another photo op of statues of all the US presidents that have visited San Juan. Again, I think this photo op was included because they have a place to park the bus. I would have preferred seeing more of Old San Juan, but because of the size of the bus, we didn’t really see anything of importance in Old San Juan except San Castillo.
At the last stop, they  dropped us off in Old San Juan for shopping on our own. Our tour guide wanted everybody get off so they didn’t have to take us back to the pier, but several of us insisted on going back to the pier. They took us back, but they weren’t happy about it.

Apparently the big draw she was hawking for OSJ “shopping “ was a place that sold  T-shirts at the price of three for $10. 
Uh no. 
The lady that was our tour guide was German and you could barely understand what she was saying.I’m guessing she did a lot better job with European tourists. 
We didn’t get to see very much of OSJ, and consequently I was not particularly pleased with this tour, and I would not recommend it.

Correct. We docked at OSJ on Pier 3. 
On the screen in our stateroom, it said we were docked at the Pan Am pier!

Which tour did you select? And how much did it cost?
 

Lawrence doesn’t have any prices listed on his webpage.

Thanks!

Woah! 
It’s not good that the taxi driver took you where he wanted you to go instead of where you want it to be taken. 
I would be especially leery of that with the Sargasso Sea problem now. 

Thank you! 
This is the kind of information I need. I’ll look for that because I am have no doubt they’ll be plenty of people wanting to go to Maho Beach. 

Wow! 
Thanks  for letting me know. You’ve convinced me to get a cab instead.

On 3/30/2023 at 9:30 AM, PORT ROYAL said:

One will not recommend it, but many on CC love it for the price.

Okay, let’s give facts about the $2/2.50alleged public bus (private minivan- aka Jintys)

Off ferry at Midtown, down pier, walk to main road (Front Street) turn left down Front Street, turn 1st right, walk down side street, at main T junction you’ll meet Back Street, search up and down Back Street for a Jinty with a sign in windscreen for the required destination, board, wait until full before departing.  
 

Journey will encompass on/off main roads, stopping to drop people off and pick-up.  
 

On arrival at destination agree where the best Jinty pickup point is for regular passing Jintys for return destination.

 

Returning one has to stand at the pickup point, view from distance/search the windscreens of approaching Jintys for the destination sign required, flag down the Jinty, which may not stop if full.  
 

Repeat until one stops, board.  Arrive at destination (Back Street)

 

Note the time taken to arrive, from the time one left the ship, walked to ferry, queued, paid, queued, boarded, sailed etc.. to destination.  Then allow an extra 30 minutes minimum for the return journey for flagging down and heavy port traffic.  

I just called them again this morning, and according to their internal information, we’re docking at the Pan Am Pier East. 
However, according to crew-center.com, we are docking at Pier 3 East. 
This is so frustrating!!!

I guess I won’t be making any plans until I actually get there and find out where we are docked!

I called NCL and they confirmed that we will be docking at the Pan Am pier, which coincidentally is operated by Carnival Cruise Line, just like Amber Cove where we’re being docked in the Dominican Republic instead of Puerto Plata. 
i’m wondering if this has to do some monetary agreement between NCL and Carnival. 

I spent an excessive amount of time on the phone today confirming that indeed the NCL Getaway on April 23, 3023 is docking at the Pan Am pier instead of Old San Juan. That’s a Sunday so the tourist center will be closed.

Has anyone had any experience getting an Uber from the Pan Am pier to El Morro on a Sunday? 

I read an article about taking public transport to Maho Beach, and I was wanting to get some more detailed information.

So do you walk  to downtown Phillipsburg or do you take the water taxi? Where do 

you get off if you take the water taxi?

Is it still $2.50  per person yo ride the bus and do they take American money?

Would like to know if someone has actual experienced riding the bus  and would you recommend it. 
Thanks!

7 hours ago, sh1955 said:

The information I am finding indicates that as a port of call, the Getaway will dock at pier 1 near Old San Juan. Can anyone confirm this?  Thanks!

Update: 

Thanks to Steve Millian who shared the crew center info for the Getaway on the sailing FB page, I now know what we are docking at Pier 4 which is near Old San Juan.

https://crew-center.com/sites/default/files/norwegian_getaway_itineraries_2023.pdf

The information I am finding indicates that as a port of call, the Getaway will dock at pier 1 near Old San Juan. Can anyone confirm this?  Thanks!

Thank you.

I appreciate your response.

However, the Sheraton on Convention  Boulevard offers pool day passes through ResortPass. My reluctance in booking is that it will be raining on the day that we’re in port. 
https://www.resortpass.com/hotels/sheraton-puerto-rico-hotel-casino

Has anyone been able to walk off the ship and buy day passes at the Sheraton? 

Any experience or recommendations using these apps?

Thanks

I was looking into this to for a party of four adults, but I have decided I’m going to do that walking tour instead since we are  only in the port until 3 PM.

I thought the courtyard by Marriott in Carolina looked nice.

A day pass for two children and two adults is $90.

I found it through the ResortPass app.

https://www.resortpass.com/hotels/courtyard-by-marriott-isla-verde-beach-resort

Initially, I was  interested in the Blue Waters  resort, but the cost is a bit steep for me of $150 per adult for a few hours in the beach. 
 

Has  anyone used Caribbean day pass with the $80 not all inclusive offer?

I’m open to other suggestions for a more affordable beach break in Antigua.

Tell me what you would recommend!

Thank you!!!

Do you happen to know what type of coffee machines are in the suites?

Other commonly mentioned carriers are http://charleystaxi.com/ which has a $29 flat rate from airport to Waikiki Beach and in reverse.

Also mentioned is https://www.johnnycabhi.com/

Thank you everyone!

Hello!

Need advice on a good inexpensive place to eat, drink, and maybe chill near the Wailea Beach Walk in January.

My 86 year old Mom is part of our party of seven and we will be in beach attire.

Thank you for your suggestions!

Does anyone know what brand of coffee machines are in the suites on Pride of America?

Hi:

We will be sailing on POA in January 2018. We have never sailed on NCL and don't really know what to expect with regard to the suite experience.

Also, would like some guidance on tipping the butler.

Thanks!