El Morro/Fort San Cristobal - 3 to 9 PM

[pwu]

We will be in San Juan only from 3 to 9 PM... what should we do? El Morro or Fort San Cristobal? First time in Old San Juan.... don't think we will have time do to both...

Can we walk from the port to El Morro? We are 8 of us (4 kids and 4 adults).

[bouhunter]

Everything in Old San Juan is walkable. Check the fort websites (they're part of the US National Park system), I think they close at 5 or 6:00. They both great forts, El Morro is probably the best choice if only seeing one. Enjoy:)

[errjordan]

Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you may not be able to tour the forts at all. San Juan is on Atlantic time, one hour ahead of Eastern (ship's time). When they say the ship arrives at 3:00, there are two things to consider. First, that is when the ship docks, not when you can get off. You may not be able to disembark until 3:15-3:30. Second, if it's 3:30 ship's time, it's 4:30 in San Juan and the forts close at 5:00.

 

ETA. The time difference is only when on Standard time. Puerto Rico doesn't change for Daylight Savings time, so EDT is the same as AST. If you are going during daylight savings time, get off the ship quickly and go directly to one of the forts; you might be able to squeak in a visit.

Edited November 18, 2014 by errjordan

[TheresaK]

Ship time is the same as port time

[pdc2013]

I thought the forts close at 6:00PM? Very important to find out what is the local time when you dock. It can and most probably will be different.

[monicajay]

Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you may not be able to tour the forts at all. San Juan is on Atlantic time, one hour ahead of Eastern (ship's time). When they say the ship arrives at 3:00, there are two things to consider. First, that is when the ship docks, not when you can get off. You may not be able to disembark until 3:15-3:30. Second, if it's 3:30 ship's time, it's 4:30 in San Juan and the forts close at 5:00.

 

ETA. The time difference is only when on Standard time. Puerto Rico doesn't change for Daylight Savings time, so EDT is the same as AST. If you are going during daylight savings time, get off the ship quickly and go directly to one of the forts; you might be able to squeak in a visit.

 

Some ships stay on the port of origin time (ship time) and some don't and you change your clocks daily so you are always on local time. It is very important to find out which you are doing so you always know what time it is. Also, we have often been able to get off the ship at the time indicated as 'docking'. Just our experience.

 

I thought the forts close at 6:00PM? Very important to find out what is the local time when you dock. It can and most probably will be different.

 

Closing is clearly 6:00 pm as per the website: http://www.nps.gov/saju/index.htm

[pdc2013]

From what i remember being told is that they close at 5PM on weekends. I got there late in the afternoon and 1 too was worried that i would not have enough time, but had plenty of time to visit inside the fort and walk to El Morro. Which was a great walk with the sun going down.

For the extra few dollars i should have done it with a guide. Just my opinion, i feel i would have gotten more information than just some of the reading on plaques that is available.

[wesp]

Castillo San Cristobal is open late until 8 pm on Tuesdays for special evening tours. The fort is a short uphill walk from the pier in Old San Juan.

 

NPS website - click on Guided Activities in middle of the page.

 

http://www.nps.gov/saju/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm

[RoobyDoo]

In most cases, ship time will be adjusted to the local time. However, as many have reported here on other threads, there are exceptions; the policy is determined by each specific ship.

 

My experience was on the Norwegian Gem on a January cruise from NYC (it was EST when we left), and the first port stop was San Juan (stated arrival at 3pm on Day 4, and departure at 9pm). The daily newsletter for Day 2 informed that the ship's clocks would be advanced one hour at 2:00am the next morning (Day 3). That is, ship time was changed on Day 3 from 2:00am EST to 3:00am AST (San Juan local time).

 

Regarding the ship's stated "arrival time" of 3pm: This is the best estimate of when you will be able to start getting off the ship. It does not refer to the time when the ship is actually docking. With the 9pm departure time, we had to be back on the ship by 8:30pm.

 

Definitely enough time to visit one of the two forts; not sure if you can comfortably see both within the 3pm-6pm time frame that the forts are open for you (on weekdays). Depends on how much you like to explore. I only visited San Cristobal for about an hour; could easily have spent more time there but that's just me.