Serenade/San Juan Questions

[sfcook]

We are booked on Serenade sailing out of San Juan. The ship sails at 8 p.m. and we would like to do the check in, check our baggage onto the ship and board to drop off our carry on. Then we would like to disembark and see a bit more of San Juan/have dinner and reboard before sailing. Can we check-in, board, disembark and re-board before sailing?

 

The alternative would be to ask the hotel to hold our luggage until we are ready to board. If we do that we would have to tote our carry on (netbook, cameras, jewelry, etc.) around San Juan which isn't really a good alternative.

 

Any suggestions/info would be appreciated.

[bplazo]

Yes, you can leave.

[CruzR887]

You can also just drop off your luggage and do the checking in when you return to the ship. That waybyou don't waste time waiting to check in only to leave the ship right away. The lines may be shorter later in thevday.

 

Cheers

[paylady]

Before you leave the ship, do check when they expect guests to be "all aboard". While they leave at 8, they may expect guests to be on board must sooner.

[cruiseguy1016]

The RCI ships normally leave San Juan at 8:30. You may want to double check the time. You will need to be on the ship 90 minutes before your scheduled departure.

 

As others have mentioned, you can check in then get off the ship to do some sightseeing. Check in normally starts around 11:00 - 11:30. You will not be able to get to your cabin until 1:00 to drop off your carry on. If you check in at 11:30 or so, you can get on the ship, have lunch in the Windjammer, grab a cocktail at the pool bar and wait for the cabins to open. After the cabins open you can drop off your luggage and then get back off the ship.

[sfcook]

Thanks for your help and especially the reminders to find out what time we need to be on board!

 

We wish you all happy cruising.

[TravelerThom]

The RCI ships normally leave San Juan at 8:30. You may want to double check the time. You will need to be on the ship 90 minutes before your scheduled departure.

 

As others have mentioned, you can check in then get off the ship to do some sightseeing. Check in normally starts around 11:00 - 11:30. You will not be able to get to your cabin until 1:00 to drop off your carry on. If you check in at 11:30 or so, you can get on the ship, have lunch in the Windjammer, grab a cocktail at the pool bar and wait for the cabins to open. After the cabins open you can drop off your luggage and then get back off the ship.

You have to check in for the cruise not later than 90 minutes prior [Homeland Security Rule]. You generally have to be back on board the ship 30 minutes prior. But as CruiseGuy1016 says double check.

 

Thom

[Mgetta1]

Something i would highly recommend is the Segway tour of Old San Juan. It is located down close to where the ships dock. You would need to make a reservation on line. http://www.segwaytourspr.com/aboutus.html

 

They are so easy to use. They showed us how to use them there at their office and in 10 minutes we were pros. There are lots of hills in the old city area and it is great to have the segway take you up them with no sweat. A great way to see the city in a hurry.

 

By the way, they furnish secure luggage storage.

[cruiseguy1016]

Something i would highly recommend is the Segway tour of Old San Juan. It is located down close to where the ships dock. You would need to make a reservation on line. http://www.segwaytourspr.com/aboutus.html

 

They are so easy to use. They showed us how to use them there at their office and in 10 minutes we were pros. There are lots of hills in the old city area and it is great to have the segway take you up them with no sweat. A great way to see the city in a hurry.

 

By the way, they furnish secure luggage storage.

 

Segway Tours of San Juan is very close to the Old San Juan pier which is where the RCI ships dock when they are in San Juan as a port of call. The ships that use San Juan as their home port are docked at the Pan American Pier which is on the other side of the harbor from the Old San Juan Pier.

 

I will second the vote for Segway Tours of San Juan. We did a tour with them this year and loved it!

[Chris11sweet]

We have @4-4.5 from landing to having to board ship. Never been to San Juan-whats the best use of our time. We r two 30 something couples. Usually prefer beach but do we have enough time for beach & see old San Juan??? Help

[Ocean Boy]

We have @4-4.5 from landing to having to board ship. Never been to San Juan-whats the best use of our time. We r two 30 something couples. Usually prefer beach but do we have enough time for beach & see old San Juan??? Help

 

4.5 hours from landing means another 30-45 minutes at least to get your luggage and out to the taxis. You are now down to almost 3.5 hours. It is another 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic to get to either the ship at the Pan Am pier or into Old San Juan. Now you are down to about 2.5 hours until you have to board the ship. Plan on about 15-20 minutes, depending on traffic to get to the pier from Old San Juan. That will give you about two hours and maybe a bit more to see Old San Juan. That is nowhere near enough time to see or do much of anything including going to a beach. You could barley see one of the forts in that amount of time. I would feel way too rushed and pressed for time.

 

If I were you, and of course I am not, I would go right to the ship from the airport and begin relaxing.

[Sequim88]

One cation - either prior to boarding or after disembarking and prior to flight.... If you go to Old San Juan expect to allow extra taxi time just to get out of the area. Gridlock hardly begins to describe the streets in the evening or on weekends. If you were the only car on the road you could get to airport or cruise pier in 20 minutes but it ends up more like an hour with most of the time just sitting trying to get out of the OSJ area.

 

I am still really surprized there is no water taxi service from the Pan Am pier to the other cruise piers at OSJ. It is not that far across the harbor. Could be a nice little business - someone's missing the boat. :rolleyes:

[Ocean Boy]

I am still really surprized there is no water taxi service from the Pan Am pier to the other cruise piers at OSJ. It is not that far across the harbor. Could be a nice little business - someone's missing the boat. :rolleyes:

 

I mentioned that some time ago. My bet is that the water taxi service does not exisit because the taxi drivers like things just the way that they are.:rolleyes: