San Juan pre cruise advice

[Bob Ross]

Hi

 

We are thinking of taking the Viking pre cruise hotel extension prior to doing the West Indies Explorer cruise. Has anyone done this extension and what was good/ bad about it. Particularly interested in standard of hotel used.

Also what would be good to do with on full day there? Ideally some culture in morning and beach in afternoon - is this easy?

Thanks for any advice

[garycarla]

You might find something in the review section on which hotel.

 

We always arrive at least one day before a cruise. And we always book our own hotel. More choices at less cost. Sometimes at half the cost. You do have to arrange your own transfer. BUT, even if included, doing your own transfer is often preferable, unless you like waiting for others, dealing with the cattle call,etc.

[Jtm1979]

We decided to arrive a day early and booked a hotel based on reviews we found online. You might start with Trip Advisor for both hotels and activities.

If you search Google Maps, San Juan PR, and zoom in on Old San Juan, attractions will show. Click on each to get a description. We've been to San Juan before and still haven't found the time to see all in the Old San Juan area. We have our Google Map and list ready.......and do try the local foods instead of all well known restaurants. We're excited to visit "Grandma" in a little pub/eatery we found 2 years ago. Old and unnoticeable place just up from the Old San Juan docks. Her recipes were wonderful....red beans with sweet potato was my favorite!

 

Feb 15, 2017 Viking Star - Caribbean

Sep 14, 2015 Viking Star – Med Odyssey

2014 Celebrity Silhouette

2012/2013 Celebrity Equinox

2007/2009 Celebrity Constellation

2006 Celebrity Infinity

2004 Carnival

1988 RC Sovereign of the Seas

1987 NCL M/S Skyward

[Mitina]

Where is Grandma located? In San Juan as I type!

[Jtm1979]

Mitina, we have spent over 2 hrs on Google Street, he on the Ipad and me on the Laptop, trying to find the Pub. I believe it is located on Calle Recinto Sur, just up from CVS (we had stopped there first). The sidewalk was wide and the restaurant next to it had outside tables/chairs/umbrella or awning and tall front windows. The Pub double doors weren't very noticeable. Inside, the bar was in the back area and the kitchen door with a section removed, and replaced with a piece of wood for food service, was back left. That's how we will recognize it. I feel bad for mentioning what I may not find, myself!, now. It's an old but welcoming place. Enjoy old San Juan...it is a wonderful area full of history.

[roothy123]

Mitina, we have spent over 2 hrs on Google Street, he on the Ipad and me on the Laptop, trying to find the Pub. I believe it is located on Calle Recinto Sur, just up from CVS (we had stopped there first). The sidewalk was wide and the restaurant next to it had outside tables/chairs/umbrella or awning and tall front windows. The Pub double doors weren't very noticeable. Inside, the bar was in the back area and the kitchen door with a section removed, and replaced with a piece of wood for food service, was back left. That's how we will recognize it. I feel bad for mentioning what I may not find, myself!, now. It's an old but welcoming place. Enjoy old San Juan...it is a wonderful area full of history.

 

Do you use Google Earth? At least on there, you can ask for Calle Recinto Sur and then look for fork and knife icons and/or something that might be CVS. I'd take a peek but don't have time now.

 

As for what to do in San Juan, I love photography, so I had a great time taking the little tram/train or whatever it is around the historic area. We went to the Fort, of course, and around in the colorful buildings. We didn't go to the beach. Our friend took us to El Junque (rain forest) but quite honestly, I found it a bit underwhelming.

[roothy123]

I took a quick look on Google Earth and found a CVS on Paseo Gilberto Concepcion, near the water and 2 blocks away from Calle Recinto Sur. In that area of Calle Recinto I found the following: Lupi's (Mexican), The Cervantes, Raices (pretty well known place), and possibly a store or restaurant called Cuatro Sombras. (Anyone know what sombras are?!) Closer to the CVS are Tijuanas and Senor Frogs. There's also Punta Vista, but I think that's a rooftop restaurant, so probably not what you're looking for. On Calle Forteleza, not far from Recinto, is Tantra, Marmelade and a couple other restaurants. If any of these sound anywhere close to what you remember, you can drag the orange man in the right hand corner and get a street view. I didn't do that for any of the places I mentioned, but who knows, maybe you'll see something that looks familiar. There are lots of restaurants around there.

[OBX Cruisers]

Still looking for options pre-cruise in San Juan? We really enjoyed our Old San Juan Food Tour with Flavors of San Juan. We actually took this tour our first morning on the "Star". A small group - about 12 - met our guide just a few blocks from the dock. Started with a really interesting introduction to Puerto Rican rum at Princesa and included a yummy Pina Colada. (The best of the trip.) 11 a.m. may be a little early for that, but it does have fruit juice.:) Continued with delicious small bites of very traditional Puerto Rican foods. Combination of walking through the heart of old San Juan and relaxing in small, "off the beaten path" restaurants. Was delighted we were able to go in the cathedral for a few moments and major sights were pointed out but didn't get to the forts, etc. We were back on the ship by 2 p.m. and could have taken Viking's included walking tour at 2:30 p.m.. Decided though we were too full and tired at that point. We always look for a food tour when we visit a new city and this one didn't disappoint!

[Vineyard View]

I really like the sound of the food tour that you took in San Juan. Was this a private tour that you arranged OBX or was it part of Viking?

Also interested in feedback from you on the islands we will be visiting on our Amazon trip end of this year -

Know you will be with mutual friends in about a month - wish we could have joined you all!!

[OBX Cruisers]

It was a private tour. You can find it through TripAdvisor or just Google. Pricey, but well worth it. Just wish we also had time to get to fort, but a reason to return to San Juan.

Please remind me again the islands which you are particularly interested in and I'll try to put something up soon under a new thread. (Still under Viking Oceans.)

[Vineyard View]

Thanks much. I will check into them.

 

We are just leaving town in the morning - the islands/ports we visit are:

Bridgetown, Trinidad (don't think you went there on this trip), Castries (St Lucia), Antiqua, St Thomas/St John (will be looking for an escape the crowds or stay on board that day).

 

Thanks again! Glad you had a great trip!

[friendlyfifer]

Hi

 

We are thinking of taking the Viking pre cruise hotel extension prior to doing the West Indies Explorer cruise. Has anyone done this extension and what was good/ bad about it. Particularly interested in standard of hotel used.

Also what would be good to do with on full day there? Ideally some culture in morning and beach in afternoon - is this easy?

Thanks for any advice

 

Bob, I would have been interested in the responses to your questions. However no one seems to address your questions. They all go off on their own tangent.

[roothy123]

Bob, I would have been interested in the responses to your questions. However no one seems to address your questions. They all go off on their own tangent.

 

Well, isn't this the first year Viking has offered West Indies cruises? If so, I guess not enough people who took the extension have seen this to give you info on the hotels. However, I would think Viking could at least give you basic info on the hotels they use, as a starter. I imagine in San Juan there are some hotels up to Viking's standard, which we found to be high in China and Hungary (in our opinion, anyway).

 

As for what to do in San Juan, I would say it's pretty easy to tour around the old part of the city, using the little tram they have, plus walking. I just enjoyed the colorful city, nice scenery, etc. We are real DIYrs, so can't recommend organized tours. When we visited SJ a couple years ago on a non-Viking cruise, we stayed in SJ on our own and DIY'd around, seeing the fort, old town, and visiting a nearby beach (but not spending time there). There are many beach areas, so depending upon where your hotel might be, I'm guessing it's easy to do a beach afternoon. If not, there are taxis readily available in many places. On another visit there, we went to the rain forest, although it was a bit disappointing. Someone we knew in SJ took us there, so I don't know how easy it is to get there on your own, but I'm sure a taxi would take you there.

[cruzzzinma]

I really like the sound of the food tour that you took in San Juan. Was this a private tour that you arranged OBX or was it part of Viking?

Also interested in feedback from you on the islands we will be visiting on our Amazon trip end of this year -

Know you will be with mutual friends in about a month - wish we could have joined you all!!

 

We took the Old San Juan Food Tour with Flavors of San Juan this morning (booked through Viator). It was excellent!

[Fpacifico]

I also decided to fly in a day earlier. It's $200 additional. Taxi to the Sheraton in old San Juan is about $23. We are scheduled for the February 2018 cruise to South America and our ship is almost completely booked, thats why I booked the hotel. Fortunately I was able to get the lowest priced room. I chose this hotel because it is across from the ship terminal so we won't have to walk far and there are lots of places to eat in this area. And it's close to everything.