Cruising out of San Juan

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

Thanks to all that replied. I'm in the planning stages now for our 2015 cruise (yep, 2015 - I like to plan ahead) and I'm 99% sure we're finally going to do a San Juan cruise, something I've wanted to do for years. We've got air miles to spare right now and so free air is making this so much more do-able. The only thing that is going to take some work is finding a hotel. I think the Villa Herencia might be our first choice. I know exactly where this is and staying right in the heart of OSJ in an older style hotel and not a "normal" hotel really appeals to me. Anyone ever stay there? Here's their web site: http://www.villaherencia.com/

We stayed at Villa Herencia two years ago and absolutely loved it! Try to get the room right off the lobby if you like feeling like you're in another time and place! (You can hear people talking in the lobby, though, so not as private as some other rooms.) Some of the rooms are very tiny, so just look at all the photos before you book, and even call and talk to them.

[sippican]

Thanks to all that replied. I'm in the planning stages now for our 2015 cruise (yep, 2015 - I like to plan ahead) and I'm 99% sure we're finally going to do a San Juan cruise, something I've wanted to do for years. We've got air miles to spare right now and so free air is making this so much more do-able. The only thing that is going to take some work is finding a hotel. I think the Villa Herencia might be our first choice. I know exactly where this is and staying right in the heart of OSJ in an older style hotel and not a "normal" hotel really appeals to me. Anyone ever stay there? Here's their web site: http://www.villaherencia.com/

 

We did stay at Villa Herencia and were disappointed. I know we are in the minority by far according the reviews posted on the Tripadvisor site. I guess it really depends on your room. Ours was quite dirty, not due to age, but just plain grime; there were broken tiles in the shower floor and a moldy, mildew smell. We stayed at El Convento for two night post-cruise. Contrary to popular belief it did not cost a fortune. We paid only a fraction more than Villa Herencia due to a package special found on their website, but it was worth double. Wherever you decide to stay, be sure to make a visit to the lovely courtyard area of El Convento for a meal, drinks or tapas.

[UNV-IT!!!]

We're arriving the day before so we have lots of time but we're flying to St. Maarten at 10:30 the a.m. of disembarkation but we will have only carry on by that point. Didn't want to waste a day so we decided to take the first flight out.:)

 

I fly in a day early and left a day after the cruise returned. I don't like feeling rushed.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We will be staying at Tres Palmas Inn, a B&B with good reviews on TA. We are getting there two days pre-cruise and hoping for a nice relaxing day on the beach, before heading to OSJ for some late afternoon shopping at a nice dinner.

[OleMissMom]

We are going to give Villa Herencia a try. On our last two visits we stayed at Marriott Stellaris. It was a great place but we found we spent more time in OSJ so we decided to just stay in that area this time.

[lah66]

We have two main reasons we love to cruise out of San Juan:

1) the minute we step off the plane we are nice and warm! We travel during Michigan winters and need to thaw out! If we cruised from FL, it often takes a day of cruising to finally hit mid 80's weather!

2)OSJ is so much fun! The forts, restaurants, architecture and people are AMAZING!And if you have time, ElYunque is gorgeous!

 

We have not noticed a ton of locals on the ships out of OSJ. We do watch for when they have school breaks and steer clear of those times. We have found the Puerto Ricans to be very kind, though they tend to be loud and love to party!

 

We stayed at an apartment, Caleta 64 which is right across the street from ElConvento. Location was perfect. Perfect if you are traveling with more than two people and more than just one day. It was cheaper than a hotel and had a kitchen, laundry facilities etc. Definitely felt like we were locals!

[Let'sGo!]

I just booked our pre-cruise night at El Convento. Yes, it is pricey, but we just love that location and old world charm. The complimentary evening wine and cheese is just part of our routine.

 

They typically have a 2-night minimum, but I just emailed the hotel and they waived it for us.

 

This will be our third time sailing out of SJ and our third time staying at El Convento. I guess we just can't think of somewhere else we would ever stay!

 

Ann

[angles]

We are cruising out of San Juan in November on Carnival. Can anyone tell me how early we can get on the ship and how early we can drop off our bags? The ship leaves port at 10 pm so I would like to drop our bags and go sightseeing.

[voyager89]

Hello,

 

I had a few questions that I hope you can answer for me,

 

We are going on the Adventure on January 12, this is our second cruise and first out of San Juan. So if I understood correctly, ships making stops will dock by Old San Juan, and ships departing will be at the Panamerican pier?

 

I want to book a hotel in Old San Juan so I can be at a walking distance from the pier and see the ships as they come everyday, I will be at San Juan from January the 8 (at 10:00M ugh) til out cruise on the 12 and then 2 more nights after the cruise. But geez all hotels are pretty pricey, for a pre cruise night I dont mind paying about 110-150 dolars, but for 6 nights all together, I could almost even book another cruise! and If I will have to pay more than 100 dollars a night I expect something -decent-

I was thinking the Doubletree if I can afford it, do you know how far/close it is from everything?

 

 

I dont want to be paying 20 dlls for each cab ride to be honest. We are kind of in a budget... We live in Mexico City so it is not cheap for us to go pretty much everywhere and we are actually having a really long vacation this time, on December the 31st we fly to Cancun to spend NYE in Playa del Carmen, we stay there 8 nights and we fly to SJU, 4 nights, then the cruise, 2 more nights at SJU, fly back to Cancun, we might saty a few more days there and then come back to Mexico City, so we will be out for 3 weeks, which means we are trying to cut expenses as much as we can.

 

A safe hostel could even work for us, and maybe Im asking for too much but if we had a kitchen and a Walgreens or Walmart close, that would be wonderful. Not only it is our first cruise out of SJ but our first time there so I really dont know much, any advise will be really appreciated, thanks!

[sippican]

Hello,

 

I had a few questions that I hope you can answer for me,

 

We are going on the Adventure on January 12, this is our second cruise and first out of San Juan. So if I understood correctly, ships making stops will dock by Old San Juan, and ships departing will be at the Panamerican pier?

 

I want to book a hotel in Old San Juan so I can be at a walking distance from the pier and see the ships as they come everyday, I will be at San Juan from January the 8 (at 10:00M ugh) til out cruise on the 12 and then 2 more nights after the cruise. But geez all hotels are pretty pricey, for a pre cruise night I dont mind paying about 110-150 dolars, but for 6 nights all together, I could almost even book another cruise! and If I will have to pay more than 100 dollars a night I expect something -decent-

I was thinking the Doubletree if I can afford it, do you know how far/close it is from everything?

 

 

I dont want to be paying 20 dlls for each cab ride to be honest. We are kind of in a budget... We live in Mexico City so it is not cheap for us to go pretty much everywhere and we are actually having a really long vacation this time, on December the 31st we fly to Cancun to spend NYE in Playa del Carmen, we stay there 8 nights and we fly to SJU, 4 nights, then the cruise, 2 more nights at SJU, fly back to Cancun, we might saty a few more days there and then come back to Mexico City, so we will be out for 3 weeks, which means we are trying to cut expenses as much as we can.

 

A safe hostel could even work for us, and maybe Im asking for too much but if we had a kitchen and a Walgreens or Walmart close, that would be wonderful. Not only it is our first cruise out of SJ but our first time there so I really dont know much, any advise will be really appreciated, thanks!

 

Nice choice of location! Old San Juan is amazing. We stayed at Villa Herencia and El Convento last year. Next year we will stay at Caleta 64

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147320-d1050675-Reviews-Caleta_64_Apartment-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html

They are small apartments with kitchens, and there is a grocery store within easy walking distance.

You could also check out rentals on the vrbo (vacation rentals by owner) website. Many owners will rent out their apartments or condos on a nightly basis.(Although I'm not sure you'll find much in the $100 range, but the savings on food will be significant - dining is expensive there.)

 

As far as the docking in Old San Juan, Carnival does use that pier for embarkation and disembarkation. They other lines use OSJ for day stops.

[lah66]

Caleta 64 is incredible. I wrote a review here after our April stay. Talk about perfect location! Betsy, the owner, is amazing and will make you feel like family. It was wonderful having a kitchen and a washer and dryer! We were travelling with our DD so it was more economical than hotels in the area.

There is a Hostel San Francisco that we looked into but it was already filled up. I think that was less than $50 a night. It looked very homey.

 

Hope that helps, Lauri

[LeopardGirl2]

The ships will have a lot more locals. I just sailed on jewel out of San Juan and it was 85% locals.

 

Did you notice? Would you sale out of PR again?

[sippican]

Did you notice? Would you sale out of PR again?

 

We didn't notice, Curious, why would we care?

We love San Juan, it's better than some of the destination ports IMHO.

Edited July 30, 2013 by sippican

[sippican]

Caleta 64 is incredible. I wrote a review here after our April stay. Talk about perfect location! Betsy, the owner, is amazing and will make you feel like family. It was wonderful having a kitchen and a washer and dryer! We were travelling with our DD so it was more economical than hotels in the area.

 

Good o hear that you enjoyed Caleya 64. We just love that area and having the small kitchen will be an added bonus!

[voyager89]

Nice choice of location! Old San Juan is amazing. We stayed at Villa Herencia and El Convento last year. Next year we will stay at Caleta 64

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147320-d1050675-Reviews-Caleta_64_Apartment-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html

They are small apartments with kitchens, and there is a grocery store within easy walking distance.

You could also check out rentals on the vrbo (vacation rentals by owner) website. Many owners will rent out their apartments or condos on a nightly basis.(Although I'm not sure you'll find much in the $100 range, but the savings on food will be significant - dining is expensive there.)

 

As far as the docking in Old San Juan, Carnival does use that pier for embarkation and disembarkation. They other lines use OSJ for day stops.

 

 

Thank you so much! I will defintely put Calte 64 in my options, just googled it and it looks pretty nice. really dont want to be cooking during vacation haha but i would rather spend money I can save in expensive dining in the ports instead.

 

I am so torn about cruising out of San Juan now. I have read here in CC wonderfull reviews, and I really really want to Puerto Rico. I cant even change my mind anymore since I got my fligt tickets haha but there is also on the other side, people saying that the ship is old (Adventure) that the food is bad and it is full of locals (as if it was a bad thing) for some people it is, I have even read discriminating comments towards them. I am Mexican and I now that when most people hears the word Mexico, hate comes to their minds and thinks of it as if it was the worst disease you could ever get so I feel for people saying that Puero Ricans are "not the best people you would like to cruise with". I really dont care who I cruise with, I am there with my partner because we just LOVED cruising. If we had the chance we would do it 5 times a year. and we were just off of our first cruise in april and we thought we wouldnt cruise again until Quantum haha. It is again, expensive for us, but it is well worth it.

 

Bottom line, why would people think it is bad to sail with locals? and is the Adventure really shoing its age? I know its old, and I thik we will do feel the differnece between the Oasis and this ship, but I dont think it is as bad as some people describes it.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Go ahead on your vacation and enjoy it. I have sailed out of San Juan before. I loved it. OSJ is remarkable. There is a lot to do in San Juan besides OSJ, too. For 4 days you might want to rent a car. While I would take a cab into OSJ if you are not staying there due to parking issues and the narrow streets there are other places you can visit with a car. El Yunque Rain Forest is lovely and is worth a visit, IMHO. Also, beaches (none in OSJ) and Coronado, Isle Verde, and much more. Go to TA and check out all to do in San Juan.

 

We are staying at the Tres Palmas Inn, a B&B in a residential area between Isle Verde and Coronado, right on the beach. It is in your price range. I haven't been there yet, but the reviews are very good and some units have kitchenettes.

 

All RCI ships are well maintained. I haven't been on the Adventurer, but I have been on older ships in the RCI fleet and have not been disappointed in any off them. Food is subjective and I always find something I like to eat. If you like the itinerary then go for it!

 

I do not cruise during school vacation time. Otherwise, cultural differences in the people I cruise with are not a major concern for me. If you cruise out of any area there will be a lot of locals. It is the nature of the beast. I have cruised out of San Juan before and have enjoyed the total experience.

 

May I suggest that with your schedule you stay away from OSJ in a place like Tres Palmas, or even away from San Juan itself, maybe near the rain forest with a VRBO rental and a rental car for your 4 days pre-cruise and then stay in OSJ for the two days post cruise for the total Puerto Rico experience? I'm actaually a little jealous and wish we had the time to do the same. We did something similar in Hawaii. We stayed on the North Shore of Oahu away from the crowds for 4 days pre-cruise and then stayed in Waikiki for 2 days post. It was the best vacation of our lifetime! I actually preferred the North Shore to the hustle and bustle of Waikiki, but both were fun.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Sunny AZ Girl

[rharvey999]

It has been many years (10) since we cruised out of SJ. Can anyone update us on the taxi prices from the airport to the Condado area and from the ship to the airport on that sad day when they kick us off once again

[bsdmhutch]

We are cruising out of San Juan in November on Carnival. Can anyone tell me how early we can get on the ship and how early we can drop off our bags? The ship leaves port at 10 pm so I would like to drop our bags and go sightseeing.

 

Seems Carnival people are rare on this particular thread. We are going in September. From what I've read you can begin to drop off your bags early (10:30am-ish?) and go sightseeing. Are you flying in the day before? We went ahead and purchased the FTTF so we can board and drop our carry-ons off in the cabin and then get back off the ship if we want. I see you are Platinum, so you shouldn't have any problem getting on and dropping your stuff off if you don't want to carry it all around. I'll try to remember to check back in and report on what time we did everything.

Edited July 30, 2013 by bsdmhutch

[angles]

Seems Carnival people are rare on this particular thread. We are going in September. From what I've read you can begin to drop off your bags early (10:30am-ish?) and go sightseeing. Are you flying in the day before? We went ahead and purchased the FTTF so we can board and drop our carry-ons off in the cabin and then get back off the ship if we want. I see you are Platinum, so you shouldn't have any problem getting on and dropping your stuff off if you don't want to carry it all around. I'll try to remember to check back in and report on what time we did everything.

 

Thanks, I also wonder if anyone can answer a question about the port area. We are flying in day early and are trying to arrange a Friday night pre-cruise get together.

 

Anyone know of a nice bar/restaurant near the water with outside seating that they can suggest?

[bouhunter]

It has been many years (10) since we cruised out of SJ. Can anyone update us on the taxi prices from the airport to the Condado area and from the ship to the airport on that sad day when they kick us off once again

 

Both will be around 20.00 plus 1.00/bag.

[Oaktree]

Cafe Puerto Rico. Great place, 1 block from waterfront. We got caught there in a rainstorm, manager called a taxi friend to get us back to Condado!

[san4u2]

How early can you drop off bags and get on the ship? We will be heading out in early Dec.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

How early can you drop off bags and get on the ship? We will be heading out in early Dec.

 

Boarding times usually begin around 11 - 11:30.

[san4u2]

Thanks we weren't sure with such a late sail away!

[cvskult]

Does anyone know the cost in cabs from old san Juan to pan am pier? Thinking about staying at the Courtyard in isla Verde I have free points so if any one knows cab price from their to airport and there to pan am pier and old san Juan

 

Thanks!