Why stop in San Juan? - Just curious.

[PennStateFan123]

Anytime. ;)

 

 

[emoji463]

 

 

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[Guest maddycat]

We've been there many times and still look forward to stopping in Puerto Rico. It's one of our favorite ports. We usually take the free trolly for a ride from the pier area to the fort. Some times we just walk around. We always go to lunch or dinner at our favorite restaurant, Punto De Vista for an authentic Puerto Rican meal. They also make great mojitos. We especially like the coconut mojitos.

 

Our only complaint is that RCI doesn't stop in Puerto Rico for a regular day (9am - 5pm). On our last cruise we were docked from 7am - 2 pm. In April we'll be stopping from 3pm - 10pm. Those hours really limit your options.

[CanadaRob]

Our recent Quantum sailing passed up on San Juan because of the storm slowing the ship down to a crawl. At the time I didn't really care to go into San Juan except for some rum drinks but with some help from my cruise critic friend I will re-consider San Juan for a myriad of reasons next time

[Wilda]

I don't think that either Oasis or Allure have been to San Juan yet.

 

OB, you're fast:D. In the time I went back to correct it (Liberty & Indy is what I should have said) you already read and responded.

[ehfl]

San Juan has more to do than most ports. It's a great stop.

[cruisinfanatic]

Yes in fact there is a requirement causing ships to stop in San Juan it is a international maritime law created in 1791 stating that any cruise ships traveling within 150 nautical miles must stop in Puerto Rico I believe it was to help combat piracy in the area

No such law.

Where do people get this stuff?

Edited February 18, 2015 by SeaUs

[PennStateFan123]

That interweb thing. I think if it's on the interweb it has to be true [emoji379]

 

 

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[BamaGuy44]

It was a simple question dude....lighten up. Sorry it was 'Silly' to you. It seems like a valid question considering the 'Silly' or 'Stupid' (or whatever the other words that seem to be flying around here) hours that the ships port here. 7-2, 4-10 etc.

 

That's not typical from my experience and it generally sucks for many people. Look, it's just my opinion and I am allowed to have one. (Are opinions allowed here?) Sorry if there are people that take offense to the fact that I don't care much for the OSJ stop. My bad.

 

In all fairness, I have always enjoyed the time(s) (for instance, 2 weeks ago) when I have stayed on the beach in Condado. We had a nice dinner and our stay at the Marriott was great. It seemed much safer that when I stayed there ~10 yrs ago.

 

Regardless, now that Kayaking is not a guarantee at this point (full at the moment), I will more that likely to cancel this cruise for a different route. Having only 2 truly effective stops (St Kitts & Martin) for a 7 night cruise doesn't cut it with me.

 

Sure, of course you're allowed to have an opinion. I assume you were inviting comments on it since you posted it on a message board, so I gave my opinion in return. You didn't say anything about the short hours being the reason you thought it was wasted, just that you don't care for SJ (which you repeated again in this post)

 

By the way I didn't take offense to you not liking SJ. Different strokes. I don't care for a couple of the Caribbean ports myself. It just wouldn't occur to me that since I don't like St Thomas, probably nobody else does either, so they must only stop there because they're required to by some regulation. :confused: Yes to me that's silly. Sorry, but I'm allowed to have an opinion, right? ;)

[PennStateFan123]

Sure, of course you're allowed to have an opinion. I assume you were inviting comments on it since you posted it on a message board, so I gave my opinion in return. You didn't say anything about the short hours being the reason you thought it was wasted, just that you don't care for SJ (which you repeated again in this post)

 

 

 

By the way I didn't take offense to you not liking SJ. Different strokes. I don't care for a couple of the Caribbean ports myself. It just wouldn't occur to me that since I don't like St Thomas, probably nobody else does either, so they must only stop there because they're required to by some regulation. :confused: Yes to me that's silly. Sorry, but I'm allowed to have an opinion, right? ;)

 

 

Fabulous points . Just be careful, you might get a snarky response for daring to have an opinion or for a post that he doesn't like.....just sayin[emoji378]

 

 

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[BamaGuy44]

Fabulous points . Just be careful, you might get a snarky response for daring to have an opinion or for a post that he doesn't like.....just sayin[emoji378]

 

 

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Nah it's all good I'm not mad or anything. I'm just trying to figure out why these farmers keep growing so many green beans. I find them disgusting, so I assume they are required by law to grow them or something? I can't think of any other reason. :confused:

[PennStateFan123]

Nah it's all good I'm not mad or anything. I'm just trying to figure out why these farmers keep growing so many green beans. I find them disgusting, so I assume they are required by law to grow them or something? I can't think of any other reason. :confused:

 

 

Yeah I know. Well I don't know about you guys down there, but some people up here drink both coke AND Pepsi. I mean come on, what kind of jackweed does that?

 

 

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[American Bear]

We'd agree with many here, Old San Juan is beautiful, the free shuttle is great, the food is very good as our the drinks, and the people are very friendly, so we always feel safe!:D

[joepeka]

Old San Juan is beautiful. The historical fort at harbor entrance is a real treat. It's a lot cleaner, safer, and less pushy than other ports. If it was my first trip ever to San Juan I wouldn't want to go kayaking, that would be missing out on the unique things in San Juan.

 

Yes to this. We did the Segway tour of old San Juan and El Morro Fort and it was great. We had never done Segways before so it was a real treat and the history of that part of San Juan is fascinating. I liked it so much I seriously looked into a vacation condo there but the finances didn't agree. :(

Edited February 19, 2015 by joepeka

[Russ Lomas]

We visited San Juan last year for the first time and spent a couple of days there prior to a week long cruise on the Summit. We loved our time in San Juan. A beautiful city, historical forts, great food, friendly people, parties in the streets, and so much more to do - we would have loved to visit the rainforest but all vehicles in San Juan were entirely sold out for the 3 days we were there and there were no tour operators with availability when we tried to book 3 weeks in advance.

 

We would be happy to go back to San Juan and visit again. The only think I notice that is not to our liking is the very limited time in port on many of the cruises that only visit San Juan for the day. I would love to do an overnight on the ship in San Juan to take advantage of the great night life in San Juan and visit the Bio Luminescent Bay and the rainforest in a single visit. If the Freedom is moved to San Juan, this will likely be the next cruise we book since we enjoy that class of ship and loved the port of San Juan.

[mollyeilis]

I sure wish they would have given us at least 1 more port but oh well...

 

I'm sure there were other cruises that might have had ports you like better. Or you could just stay on the ship?

 

I read somewhere that it has something to do with having to pay more money to Puerto Rico in port fees for the length of time docked and that it costs more than other islands.

 

January 2014 we were in San Juan from 10am-6pm.

 

Lovely day. Chose that cruise specifically for the ports, including that lovely day in SJ. The other ports were CocoCay and St Maarten. The rest of the days were spent gloriously at sea. Ahhhh.

 

I would love to take the Eastern that has 5 ports, but then I'd want to get off the ship at each one, and the idea of that exhausts DH but he agrees that if you're there you have to go into the port (Nassau is our exception) but he wouldn't WANT to... So we go around in circles and haven't yet booked that Eastern. But no one's making us book that Eastern; it's our choice to book or not book it. :)

 

 

 

Nonsense

 

Agreed. Last year the SJ stops were few and far between, on Freedom at least. Most were some other saint, referred to as St not San. St Thomas? John? Not sure. SJ was the outlier, but the other ports and sea days were exactly the same, so I'm sure those were going close to SJ.

[Folk Singer]

Agreed 100%. I've even done several land vacations there (love the Caribe Hilton).

 

Great place to visist.

[Stinger-pr]

Yes in fact there is a requirement causing ships to stop in San Juan it is a international maritime law created in 1791 stating that any cruise ships traveling within 150 nautical miles must stop in Puerto Rico I believe it was to help combat piracy in the area

OMG... really? Is there anywhere in the world where a law from 1791 is still alive today? Besides, like another poster said, Allure, Oasis don't stop in SJ and Norweigan's Getaway and Breakaway have soo many stops in SJ as well (sarcasm).

 

For the 7 night (Independence of the Seas) cruise we have booked, the only ports are San Juan, St Kitts & St Martin. :confused: San Juan always feels like a somewhat wasted stop to me and I have always wondered why they stop there. Does Puerto Rico require that the ships stop there or something similar?

You DO realize that when you book a 7 night cruise with so few port stops it's because you're booking a "the ships's the destination" type of cruise, right? At least this is what this big-a** ships are meat to be.

 

Also, the time that ships spend in port have nothing to do with port fees. ANY port would benefits from ships staying longer. The more time people spend on land is money spent by passengers and that equals to revenues for the merchants and the government. Usually, time in port is scheduled by the cruise company according to their itinerary. Most ships that call on San Juan, do so on their return leg FROM the eastern part of the Caribbean. So, that means the to get to Haiti or even back to the US with anywhere from a day to two days at sea they MUST stick to the timeframe for the trip. This is why ships don't wait on people at ports and skip ports if they see that they're taking too long to dock or if they get behind schedule for other reasons like weather.

 

We didn't quite think it over when we booked this itinerary for our kids 1st cruise. I think that we will do the bio kayak tour but with that said, it's quite a bit of work to do with 3 kids. (I hope they like it) I sure wish they would have given us at least 1 more port but oh well...

There are not that many things to do in SJ with kids of that age during the time your ship is in port, I'll give you that much. But there's always something. And you have to remember, other than Disney, cruise lines don't necessarily design itineraries and times with kids in mind.

 

In the end, I guess San Juan is a more logical stop than sailing out of ANY port in FL and stopping at Key West (can't you DRIVE there???)

[lisagro]

So what do you guys suggest someone do/see for a stop with a ship (Independence) that is there from 7 to 2? My mom can't walk too far, and we don't want to get up before dawn.

Edited February 19, 2015 by lisagro

[Froufie]

Another fan of San Juan - have been there many times - and enjoyed every visit (e.g. forts, capitol building, free trolley, shopping, el yunque, bacardi rum factory, old san juan etc). I can't imagine not wanting to stop there?

 

My next cruise originates in San Juan and I very excited to be spending a few pre-cruise days there to enjoy the island! :)

[zqvol]

Hello,

San Juan is OK...but there must be some requirement/necessity that I am not aware of. (is there a requirement?)

 

I have been to San Juan quite a few times (Just back a couple of weeks ago). We are taking our 3 kids (ages 8,9 & 11) on their 1st cruise in May.

 

For the 7 night (Independence of the Seas) cruise we have booked, the only ports are San Juan, St Kitts & St Martin. :confused: San Juan always feels like a somewhat wasted stop to me and I have always wondered why they stop there. Does Puerto Rico require that the ships stop there or something similar?

 

We didn't quite think it over when we booked this itinerary for our kids 1st cruise. I think that we will do the bio kayak tour but with that said, it's quite a bit of work to do with 3 kids. (I hope they like it) I sure wish they would have given us at least 1 more port but oh well...

 

Even a generic stop like St Thomas would be far more fun compared to San Juan. (just my opinion)

 

 

San Juan is a generic stop just like St. Thomas and St. Martin. Nothing really special or neat about any of them, though San Juan does offer a lot more variety than the other two.

[Spike2000]

Wow...I can't believe this thread is still going. :confused: My kids wanted to do water activities, snorkeling etc. I have always liked (and perhaps preferred) the Eastern/Southern routes but I never enjoyed the typical time period in San Juan. I should have more clearly said that....I am sorry for any harm that thread may have caused. :D

 

Yes, I was aware of the itinerary before I booked. I planned on taking the kids kayaking while we were in San Juan because my wife thought it would be a big deal to the kids.(age 12,9,8) That excursion was unfortunately full when I tried to book it. I posted this dumb question only because I was wondering why the San Juan stops have such stupid...sorry, my bad, scratch that....I was wondering why the time block in San Juan appears to somewhat odd comparatively to other stops that I have had experience with.

 

I have since cancelled this cruise in favor of the Western route (Carnival Glory) that better fit my wants for my kids' first cruise. (purely for itinerary reasons) Like the Eastern/Southern ports, I am also very familiar with these stops as well.

 

I will certainly better phrase my questions in the future due to the aggression of a few individuals here. :eek:

[pghsteelerfan]

Wow...I can't believe this thread is still going. :confused: My kids wanted to do water activities, snorkeling etc. I have always liked (and perhaps preferred) the Eastern/Southern routes but I never enjoyed the typical time period in San Juan. I should have more clearly said that....I am sorry for any harm that thread may have caused. :D

 

Yes, I was aware of the itinerary before I booked. I planned on taking the kids kayaking while we were in San Juan because my wife thought it would be a big deal to the kids.(age 12,9,8) That excursion was unfortunately full when I tried to book it. I posted this dumb question only because I was wondering why the San Juan stops have such stupid...sorry, my bad, scratch that....I was wondering why the time block in San Juan appears to somewhat odd comparatively to other stops that I have had experience with.

 

I have since cancelled this cruise in favor of the Western route (Carnival Glory) that better fit my wants for my kids' first cruise. (purely for itinerary reasons) Like the Eastern/Southern ports, I am also very familiar with these stops as well.

 

I will certainly better phrase my questions in the future due to the aggression of a few individuals here. :eek:

 

I'm not going to jump down your throat, so to speak. I just came across this one thread and can't believe I missed it before. My only issue with San Juan is that there is so much to do and so little time. But I guess it would be boring for kids. We did cruise out of San Juan in 2013 and flew in a day early and stayed at a hotel on Isla Verde Beach (near the airport). I had never been to the beach in San Juan and that's what we did that whole afternoon. Went to the fort and through Old San Juan the next day. We did the zip line tour when on an Eastern Caribbean cruise on Glory in 2010 and really enjoyed that. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing what others have said...might get some more ideas. We're actually hoping for an opportunity to vacation there for a week sometime.

Edited February 20, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[Spike2000]

I'm not going to jump down your throat, so to speak. I just came across this one thread and can't believe I missed it before. My only issue with San Juan is that there is so much to do and so little time. But I guess it would be boring for kids. We did cruise out of San Juan in 2013 and flew in a day early and stayed at a hotel on Isla Verde Beach (near the airport). I had never been to the beach in San Juan and that's what we did that whole afternoon. Went to the fort and through Old San Juan the next day. We did the zip line tour when on an Eastern Caribbean cruise on Glory in 2010 and really enjoyed that. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing what others have said...might get some more ideas. We're actually hoping for an opportunity to vacation there for a week sometime.

 

You said it and I agree, "there is so much to do and so little time." ...Hard to do much with young kids from 4-10pm in OSJ if you cannot do the Bio-Luminescence Bay Tour. We had a great time on both occasions when we stayed in San Juan at the Marriott.

[metairiegal]

We love stopping in San Juan. We are looking into an Independence cruise that stops there but it is only in port from 4:00PM until 11:00 PM. Would that be worth it? Forts wouldn't be open - what about shops?

[sippican]

Love OSJ - have stayed there three times, port of call once, would go back in a heartbeat.

Here's an evening option -

http://www.spoonfoodtours.com/tour/sip-and-savor-drinking-tour/

Edited April 12, 2015 by sippican