Serenade San Juan dock??

[mringenoldus]

Which dock will the Serenade of the Seas use for the April Panama Canal crossing when departing San Juan - the Pan Am Pier or the one near Old San Juan?

Thanks!

[bUU]

Serenade of the Seas is using the Pan Am pier in San Juan for its upcoming winter season. I'd be surprised if they don't use it straight through until their repositioning cruise.

[mringenoldus]

Thanks for the info. The RCCL site only says "San Juan" and gives both locations. We have used the Pan Am pier twice before and will be able to tell our relatives how to get there. Thank you!

[bUU]

My pleasure.

 

As I understand it, RCI has used the OSJ pier for in-transit cruises, but for their cruises that start and end in San Juan, they seem to stick with Pan Am.

[lovetocruiserccl]

Is the new pier close to OSJ or SJ? I'm trying to figure out where to stay when we leave from SJ next year. Last time we stayed in OSJ we stayed at the Wyndham now The Sheraton. I want to be as close to the peir as possible. Help:confused:

[bUU]

The Pan Am pier is on the southern bank of the Caño do San Antonio, on the northern edge of what used to be the old airport. That is across the channel and a bit to the East from the OSJ piers. I've been told it is not safe to walk through the freight port area to the Pan Am pier.

 

We're staying at the Caribe Hilton, which seems to me to be pretty close to the Pan Am pier.

[lovetocruiserccl]

Thanks for your help. We love OSJ but really like to stay closer to the ship. Now I'll research hotels again.

[bUU]

gtaylor provided this map: http://home.pacbell.net/rccooks/image_map.gif

[lovetocruiserccl]

Thanks again. The map really helps. Now I know exactly where it is at. Hopefully the AOS will be leaving from there. :)

[mringenoldus]

We departed on the AOS from the Pan Am pier October 2003 and saw it docked there again this past October. Enjoy the AOS - we sure did!

[Ocean Boy]

Does anyone know if the airport on the map is Luis Munoz Marin Intl Airport?

[bUU]

It definitely is not. The airport on the map is the "old airport." It is no longer operating (which is why they build the Pan Am pier there, I suspect).

[bUU]

Here's a map that shows the relative position of the two airports, OSJ, etc.

 

http://www.iit.edu/~PR/spma635.jpg

[Ocean Boy]

Thanks. I knew it looked too easy for that to be the airport. It must not be good for the local economy to have the airport too close to the pier or the pier too close to town. :rolleyes:

[mringenoldus]

There is a small plane landing strip across from the dock.

 

It takes about 15-20 minutes to go from Luis Marin (near Isla Verde) to the Pan Am pier. The cab fare for 2 people and 4 bags was about $15. Fares are state regulated.

 

I know a lot of people stay at the Caribe Hilton and seem to like it. We, however, like the smaller boutique-sized hotels like At Winchimes near the beach in Condado. We have also stayed at the Intercontinental in Isla Verde when we were able to get a very good rate.