cruising out of san juan

[prizm8]

We have cruised a number of times from Florida but are now considering one leaving San Juan. This allows us to get further south in the Caribbean. Is the passenger makeup different than a cruise leaving the States??? Thanks.

[trish1c]

I didn't notice a different make up . . . perhaps maybe more people from more states. Our Roll Call for this voyage seems to have a lot of Texans but we've got people from FL, ME, IND, CO, CT etc.

We tend to cruise out of NY so there tend to be a lot of cruisers from NY, NJ, CT & PA.

[silentbob007]

In my experience there may be more international passengers and more Spanish speaking passengers from San Juan itself.

[lcmslady]

My last 4 cruises have been out of San Juan on Celebrity - the last 2 were a B2B last month.

 

I noticed a big difference between the 1st 2 and the ones last month.

 

On the 1st 2 sailings, it seemed like a lot of Spanish speaking (Puerto Ricans??) were on the ship. I was told that the cruise line will offer last minute deals in PR in order to fill the ship.

 

Not at all that way last month - I would say the ship wasn't even full either week - the dining room was never full, not near as many Spanish speaking folks, and I even know of people whose cabins were changed because of noise issues.

[On Sail]

We've taken 5 cruises out of Puerto Rico so far, and the make up of the passengers can vary quite a bit depending on the time of year and how well the ship is selling. If a last minute local deal is out there you will have a larger Spanish crowd. I personally haven't had any issues or problems arise because of this, but some friends of ours cruised when there was a HUGE family group onboard. They said that this group tried to take over the pool area and a whole section of the theatre. To me, you can get pushy groups on any cruise. It sometimes happens, but I never let it bother me. Cruises are open to anyone and everyone who can afford to go.....So go with the flow.

[nytonowhere]

when i cruised june 09 i didnt notice anything, but i also wouldnt have cared if i did. 18 days til im on the Victory again! :)

[michmike]

one thing to consider is that cruises out of san juan are typically going to be more port intensive than those leaving from ft lauderdale. Depending on your age and level of activity that might be an issue. We enjoy the forced relaxation that sea days offer. You won't have as many of those on a cruise out of San Juan.

 

That's not to say you have to go ashore in every port, but the temptation to do so will be there. Our very first cruise 10 yrs ago was out of San Juan and we had 5 ports in 7 days and came home feeling like we still needed a vacation.

 

As with all topics kicked around here on CC, your mileage may vary

[Prphan2]

When we sailed I fully expected to see a huge contingent of Puerto Ricans, however we found the NE states were largely represented! Everywhere we turned we were hearing accents from Boston, NY and Philly. We loved sailing our of SJ so much that we're doing it next year.:D

[CcCcCcCindy]

Cruises out of San Juan tend to leave out in the evening instead of the afternoon. This allows for touring time in San Juan. You will frequently see rotating itineraries (usually 2), so that there may be several back to back cruisers on board. Because of the B2B opportunity, you may see some people from farther away (Europeans). The mix of people varies by time of year, but this is true on most cruises. For instance, if you take a cruise around spring break time, you will see more kids, as well as certain cities represented more heavily (the week of spring break is not the same for all school districts). Cruises starting in San Juan tend to be warmer, since you start south and go further south. This makes them nice options for Jan, Feb and Mar cruising, when leaving out of FL often means cooler temperatures the first day or so. As mentioned by previous posters, there may be a greater number of Puerto Ricans if deals exist. As far as the average age of cruisers and families versus couples, this is determined more by cruise line in the Caribbean.

[spny84]

We have cruised out of San Juan 3 times out of 5 cruises, all different lines. The make-up of the passenger base varies and it really depends on where the cruise line offers the deals. Sometimes it's to particular states like NY or California, sometimes it's San Juan. The culture of local Puerto Ricans is a little different than Continental USA and sometimes this is fun because the music/shows on the ship may be a little different be we like latin music. And there are rude people from all over the world on every cruise, just try to avoid them. The best thing about San Juan Cruises is it's always warm. We got caught up in the cold spell Jan 2010 and we were in Cozumel, Belize and had extremely crappy weather. On all 3 Southern Caribbean Cruises in the last 6 years the weather has been beautiful.

[romnan]

I have cruised out of San Juan and the only "Difference: that I can see or find is because the ship is based where it is that you get a smattering more of people from the island.:)

 

That is only because it is homeport and they get a discount on the fare,much like we do for living in Florida. Of course the other difference is that Spanish is spoken much more freely:)