Leaving out of San Juan?

[Cruzin-K]

Love, Love, Love!!!!!! Sailing from San Juan! We have done it 4 times before (soon to be 5). The reasons are many!

• Airfare is really not too bad for us! Sometimes it is more to fly to FLL or MIA.
  
• Cruise fare is almost always less than out of FL.
  
• When you fly to SJ, you know that it will be warm all year round. Sometimes FL isn't so warm in the dead of winter. Example: last winter!
  
• There is something so exotic but familiar about SJ. It is another country, but feels like you might just be in Miami. Everything is still pretty familiar and most people speak English.
  
• We like to get to SJ the day before our cruise and start our vacation early!
  
• The PORTS! They are soooo much better than those available out of FL! I love a port-intensive cruise, and you get this out of SJ.
  
• The people: Cruisers that take the trouble to go to SJ for a cruise tend to be really fun people! Just my opinion!
  

Have I convinced you yet? Go, try it!

 

Ditto! :D I can't really add much more than this. I love the Southern Caribbean. I've sailed from there twice. The airport is easy to get in and out of, sure there may be lines on Sunday but if you know what you're doing you can be almost first off the ship and get there early. Last time I used Priceline and stayed at the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino for $115 per night for two nights pre-cruise. It was great. There are threads on these boards with Priceline tips and tricks for getting the best hotels at the lowest rate - doing my research paid off. I think my flight to there from Texas was a little over $300.

[24butterfly]

We have to fly to cruise also---we live in LA.......red-eye flights.....Or else we lose a day in tavel from west to east........

[melbur]

Love, Love, Love!!!!!! Sailing from San Juan! We have done it 4 times before (soon to be 5). The reasons are many!

• Airfare is really not too bad for us! Sometimes it is more to fly to FLL or MIA.
  
• Cruise fare is almost always less than out of FL.
  
• When you fly to SJ, you know that it will be warm all year round. Sometimes FL isn't so warm in the dead of winter. Example: last winter!
  
• There is something so exotic but familiar about SJ. It is another country, but feels like you might just be in Miami. Everything is still pretty familiar and most people speak English.
  
• We like to get to SJ the day before our cruise and start our vacation early!
  
• The PORTS! They are soooo much better than those available out of FL! I love a port-intensive cruise, and you get this out of SJ.
  
• The people: Cruisers that take the trouble to go to SJ for a cruise tend to be really fun people! Just my opinion!
  

Have I convinced you yet? Go, try it!

 

I absolutely have to agree with above, we used to sail out of MIA/FLL all the time, but the last # of years, we have chosen to do our winter trip out of San Juan. LOVE IT. And being in Toronto, you have to fly to cruise no matter where you go, so we choose San Juan. Airfares for us run about the same as MIA/FLL, and your final destination is always warm!!

[Ocean Boy]

Love, Love, Love!!!!!! Sailing from San Juan! We have done it 4 times before (soon to be 5). The reasons are many!

• Airfare is really not too bad for us! Sometimes it is more to fly to FLL or MIA.
  
• Cruise fare is almost always less than out of FL.
  
• When you fly to SJ, you know that it will be warm all year round. Sometimes FL isn't so warm in the dead of winter. Example: last winter!
  
• There is something so exotic but familiar about SJ. It is another country, but feels like you might just be in Miami. Everything is still pretty familiar and most people speak English.
  
• We like to get to SJ the day before our cruise and start our vacation early!
  
• The PORTS! They are soooo much better than those available out of FL! I love a port-intensive cruise, and you get this out of SJ.
  
• The people: Cruisers that take the trouble to go to SJ for a cruise tend to be really fun people! Just my opinion!
  

Have I convinced you yet? Go, try it!

I also love sailing from San Juan. We have done it four times and I am not finished yet!

[Ashland]

I also love sailing from San Juan. We have done it four times and I am not finished yet!

Thinking about sailing out of San Juan in Mar '11. instead...Which ports/ship (leaning towards AOS loyal to RCI) but which itinerary would be best..We are already booked on the Liberty but have done the eastern twice. Tell me why should I make the change :confused:

[Puffinater]

Thinking about sailing out of San Juan in Mar '11. instead...Which ports/ship (leaning towards AOS loyal to RCI) but which itinerary would be best..We are already booked on the Liberty but have done the eastern twice. Tell me why should I make the change :confused:

 

If it is possible for you to do a B2B you could do both itineraries. That is our plan for the Adventure next March.

[Ocean Boy]

Thinking about sailing out of San Juan in Mar '11. instead...Which ports/ship (leaning towards AOS loyal to RCI) but which itinerary would be best..We are already booked on the Liberty but have done the eastern twice. Tell me why should I make the change :confused:

 

Ashland,

 

We sailed Serenade once and did Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. They were all great ports. I know that the itineraries are a little different now. We sailed Adventure three times (so you know my ship preference) and did Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Again all of the ports are great. St. Croix was not on any itineraries when we sailed but we did stop there for a few hours on Serenade for a refueling stop. I would not be excited about going back there. Unfortunately, with Adventure, you cannot get St. Thomas and St. Maarten in the same week any longer. That is a bit of a bummer.

 

The Barbados route is very port intensive and you only get one sea day. With the Aruba route you get two sea days which I tend to prefer. The southern Caribbean islands are beautiful and tend to be less crowded as there are not as many ships going to the deep southern islands. I also tend to dislike private stops like Labadee and Cocoa Cay and they are not included on the southern routes. San Juan is awesome on its own so the departure port becomes like part of the cruise. As Puffinator said, you could do a back to back and experience it all or you could do one itinerary this year and the alternate route for your following cruise.

 

Who knows, this could possibly give you a chance to experience Aruba and see if it changes your mind about the country!

 

If you have any particular questions ask away.

[karena1]

San Juan is by far our favorite port to sail from. Absolutely love the Southern Caribbean. We are doing our 3 time on Serenade for a B2B next year. Got the Plaza de Armas hotel right on the plaza in OSJ for $100 per night on Expedia. Love Old San Juan, the history, architecture, hubby loves the forts.

 

We have always had wonderful experiences sailing from there. Flights are not that bad either. My sister/BIL are going with us and right now she is looking at flights out of Chicago for under $400 per person. Airport is not any worse than alot of them here in the states. We never have problems flying in/out of San Juan.

[Ocean Boy]

San Juan is by far our favorite port to sail from. Absolutely love the Southern Caribbean. We are doing our 3 time on Serenade for a B2B next year. Got the Plaza de Armas hotel right on the plaza in OSJ for $100 per night on Expedia. Love Old San Juan, the history, architecture, hubby loves the forts.

 

We have always had wonderful experiences sailing from there. Flights are not that bad either. My sister/BIL are going with us and right now she is looking at flights out of Chicago for under $400 per person. Airport is not any worse than alot of them here in the states. We never have problems flying in/out of San Juan.

 

So do I! I never get tired of going to those two forts. I been to them all four times that we have been in San Juan.

[karena1]

If it is possible for you to do a B2B you could do both itineraries. That is our plan for the Adventure next March.

 

that is exactly what we are doing next April on Serenade. Both itins with only one sea day each week. Love the long port days.

[ecmcm]

If it is possible for you to do a B2B you could do both itineraries. That is our plan for the Adventure next March.

 

And our plan for February! Why choose between itineraries if you can do both. :D We'd done the three Caribbean routes and the Southern is our favourite. We've done the same route three times on AOS and am glad that there is a second route this time with several islands we haven't been to yet. I also dislike the private stops as I'd prefer ports with more interesting things to experience. I love sailing out of San Juan because I love to spend time in the Old City plus you are guaranteed to have more sun and heat being further south.

[cruiserbryce]

we are leaving from SJ in Oct...the itinerary has a few more ports that the usual Caribbean cruises and the cruise is also less expensive...airfare was a bit costly but overall looking forward to going somewhere new

[romnan]

I am a little late in offering my two cents,but I sailed two years ago before the airlines went crazy with all the surcharges.So I would pack as light as you can. here are many Malls that you can buy things that normally would pack I love SJ for many reasons.

 

Historically with El Morro and San Cristobal the views are out of this world. Not to be missed is a walk around the wall.Just ask anyone at the hotel you choose they will help you with walking tours,no need in paying for something you can do for free. I do advised coming in at last a day before your cruise if not two. The restaurants are many and varied,and worth exploring.:)

 

As far as Hotels are concerned I stick to Marriott. I am a bit of a food explorer and eat things that most would turn their nose up to. I like doing street foods as much as I like a sit down meal

[blubionda]

For anyone with experience staying at Hotel Milano - any recommendations or "bewares" regarding rooms Front, Rear, Mid?

[oldguysandgalls]

We stayed at Hotel Milano on Calle Forteleza in downtown old San Juan several times before and after our cruises. Good rooms, excellent prices, great downtown location, walking distance to the pier, sightseeing, dining and night life, etc. Do ask for a room at the back of the building, less street noise. Overall a great little hotel for a great price. We will definitely stay there again, it's our favorite. ( try to have a coffee or breakfast at the rooftop patio)

 

For anyone with experience staying at Hotel Milano - any recommendations or "bewares" regarding rooms Front, Rear, Mid?

[Ocean Boy]

We stayed at Hotel Milano on Calle Forteleza in downtown old San Juan several times before and after our cruises. Good rooms, excellent prices, great downtown location, walking distance to the pier, sightseeing, dining and night life, etc. Do ask for a room at the back of the building, less street noise. Overall a great little hotel for a great price. We will definitely stay there again, it's our favorite. ( try to have a coffee or breakfast at the rooftop patio)

 

You are saying that something on Calle Fortaleza is within walking distance to the pier? You do know that RCI ships depart from the Pan American pier when the cruise originates in San Juan, right?

[Sequim88]

As noted in sailing box below we'll be donig Southern on Serenade next Feb. We considered other routes and departure ports but really wanted the stops out of SJ. Besides, I've always wanted to go visit the Arecibo Observatory so we'll go down a couple nights ahead because, as noted, Puerto Rico is a destination in its own right. Also swing over to the nearby Rio Cumay caves. Booked flight on US Air via Charlotte for $475 and MIA fares were in low $400's so not a lot of difference really.

 

Next will be hotel and having heard that in February they fill up fast we are scrambling to lock something in soon. Hotel Milano and a couple others we had looked at have no availability on 2/11. Considering the Holiday Inn Express at the moment. Old San Juan hotels and beach locations were too expensive - especially after adding on taxes and resort fees, etc... Critical factor for us is needing 3-4 rooms for our group of eight. The rest are one night only and some hotels require two night minimum.

[oldguysandgalls]

Excellent point Ocean Boy, sorry about that, you are right and that is a very, very long walk indeed. The last time we were in San Juan was in Nov.2009, and the RCL Grandeur of the Seas docked right at the Old San Juan Port/Piers. We walked to the Pier from Hotel Milano, but thanks for the update, very much appreciated.

 

You are saying that something on Calle Fortaleza is within walking distance to the pier? You do know that RCI ships depart from the Pan American pier when the cruise originates in San Juan, right?

[Kevin's girl]

San Juan is by far one of our favorite ports. We stay at the El Convento both before and after our cruise. We have also found SJ to be more friendly than Miami.