Sailing on Carnival from San Juan

[Igerster]

Hello everyone. My wife and I are looking at the booking the repositioning cruise on The Valor in March. It leaves out of San Juan and ends in Port Canaveral. I have a couple questions I'm hoping that you all can help me with.

1. The cruise does not leave until 10 pm. What time does boarding start?

2. With the cruise leaving that late, what is a good way to spend the day?

3. Can we drop off our luggage at the port early in the morning? I'm assuming that the hotel we stay at will have a check out time of 11 or 12. If that is the case I would hate to have to pack our luggage around with us all day long.

4. My wife's passport expired last year and we did not send off for her new one yet. Since the cruise leaves next month we will not be able to get it in time. I know her birth certificate would be fine for a normal cruise, but will it be enough for a cruise out of San Juan and that is repositioning?

Thanks for all the insight. If anyone has any other words of wisdom or advice for this type of cruise, I would love to hear it.

 

Thanks again.

[cucruizin]

I believe you can board the ship as early as noon. You can check in, put the luggage in your cabin and get on & off ship during the day as much as you like. The last time there, we got a taxi right at the port and toured the island. There are a lot of nice shops and several restaurants within walking distance of the port. Check the port & excursion reviews on CC as well, for more specific reviews.

 

happy cruising!!

[Igerster]

Thanks for the info.

[mcwebber]

4. My wife's passport expired last year and we did not send off for her new one yet. Since the cruise leaves next month we will not be able to get it in time. I know her birth certificate would be fine for a normal cruise, but will it be enough for a cruise out of San Juan and that is repositioning?

 

Yes. According to Carnival: "Cruises that begin and end in the same U.S port – AND – Cruises that begin and end in a different U.S port

ALL guests are required to carry proof of citizenship AND proof of identification."

 

From Carnival:

Proof of Citizenship: A birth certificate or any of the WHTI-Compliant Documents listed below are acceptable.

Proof of Identification (I.D): A non-expired government-issued photo I.D is required of all guests 16 years of age and older.

 

Birth Certificate Information

The following are acceptable:

· An original birth certificate issued by a Government Agency (State/County/City) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics

· A copy of a birth certificate issued by a Government Agency (State/County/City) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics)

· A clear, legible, quality Xerox copy of a birth certificate that was originally issued by a Government Agency (State/County/City) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics). The Xerox copy does not need to be notarized or certified.

· Birth Certificate Card

· A Consular report of Birth Abroad

· Internationally Adopted Children (under the age of 18): If the adoptive parent was not issued a birth certificate, we will accept as proof of citizenship, a Certificate of Citizenship by the U.S and adoption paperwork. A Certificate of Citizenship is issued by the U.S once the adoption is finalized.

In Regards to Birth Certificates: Guests may obtain a copy of a birth certificate by contacting: The Department of Health and Vital Statistics at: http://www.vitalchek.com. If the guest has laminated their birth certificate, it is acceptable.

 

AND

 

Photo Identification

A non-expired Government-Issued Photo I.D is required of all guests 16 years of age and older. The following are acceptable:

· Driver’s License

· Driver’s Permit

· School/Student I.D (acceptable for guests 16/17/18 years of age)

· Government-Issued identification card (city/state/federal)

[decemberpsyche]

This is just a correction on the boarding time. I am doing a San Juan cruise in April and was specifically told that boarding does not begin until 2pm, but you can drop and store your luggage at the pier.

[Jae_Sun]

You can board at 12. Entertainment on the shop will be available all day. You could tour old San Jaun, there is a old Fort very near the port you could visit. Once on the boat you can get back off as long as you're back on before 9 or something like that. In regards to the passport where are you from? I'm in Canada and my silly girlfriend applied for hers three weeks before and she paid like 20 extra and she had it in less than a week.

[Igerster]

Thanks everyone for all the info. Sorry I guess I should have said we are in KY.

[maritaysa]

Puerto Rico is a US territory, so your wife is fine unless you have to fly back from one of the other ports.

[girlscruise2011]

I've sailed from San Juan twice and have been on the ship at the latest by 12:30pm (depends when they open the ship for boarding). I had FTTF so I went right to my room, dropped my carryons, went had lunch and a DOD and headed back out to explore Old San Juan.

 

I love sailing out of San Juan for that reason. Its like getting an extra port day. Just remember, you need to be back on the ship for 8-8:30pm. Muster is about 9:30pm and sailing out of San Juan at night is beautiful. Make sure you're out on the open decks to see the Fort lite up at night. It is a nice thing to see.

 

I did the Splendor repo from San Juan to Miami and even though I have a passport, people were told Birth Certificates were fine to use.

[Jey01]

We were on the Valor in jan. We flew in the night before and stayed in old San Juan at the hotel Milano. We checked out around 9am and they held our bags for us. Plenty of things to see within walking distance within OSJ. We got our luggage after lunch and walked to the pier around 2pm. It was VERY hot. Think sunscreen and bottles of water! You can also ride the free trolly system. We got on the trolly and rode to the top of el morro fort and then walked down. There's a smart phone app called "city walks" you can map out your own waking your