San Juan Question?

[GranysT]

Which pier does the Conquest dock, in San Juan?

[Stick93]

Not sure what pier but the ships usually dock in old San Juan  . 

[Organized Chaos]

Last year aboard the Glory, which is the same class ship as Conquest, we docked at pier 4.

 

[Squadleader]

I had never thought about it, but I think it would make economic sense for cruises originating and terminating in San Juan to use the out of the way Pan American Piers on the other side of the harbor, next to the air strip, while ships stopping for the day to use the piers downtown to dump all their passengers directly into Old San Juan, in order to make it as easy as possible to grab as many dollars as possible, from the transient traffic. 

 

Anyone happen to know if that theory holds up in the real world?

 

Aside from the expense and trouble of getting to San Juan (though San Juan cruises are usually a little cheaper though to defer the air fare cost), I've always felt San Juan was the very best port for cruising. Most seven day cruises out of San Juan are going to only have one sea day with six days in ports. Unlike some people, I feel port days are far superior to sea days because you can go to the beach and have a great time, or stay on the ship and have it practically to yourself, especially the pool area.

 

We prefer the Eastern Caribbean because it's cooler and less humid than the Western Caribbean, and San Juan is right on top of all the Eastern Caribbean ports, making those six out seven day port day cruises possible. While St. Thomas and St. Marin are around a 100 miles from San Juan, Miami is 1,100 miles west of San Juan, which is why an East Coast departure has so many sea days. 

 

I'm very pleased to see the cruise lines changing the dynamics of that equation by opening so many cruise dedicated ports in the Bahamas area which can be as close as 100 miles from Miami. All the private islands that have appeared and the new construction at Amber Cove and Grand Turk are game changers because they are so close to Miami.

 

I've probably gotten jaded after so many cruises and hitting my sixties, but I only cruise now to grab warm weather, warm water and beautiful beaches, and I really enjoy only having to unpack once to enjoy so many different places the ship goes. That feature sets cruises apart from any other form of travel. At this point, I couldn't care less about all the crazy tours and attractions people are putting on islands to make them more interesting, to me it's all about the beauty and gorgeous weather of the Caribbean. It's an incredible blessing to have ships going to one of the most beautiful places on earth, all within an easy drive of almost everyone living on the East Coast of the US.

Edited September 1, 2019 by Squadleader

[K&RCurt]

1 hour ago, Squadleader said:

I had never thought about it, but I think it would make economic sense for cruises originating and terminating in San Juan to use the out of the way Pan American Piers on the other side of the harbor, next to the air strip, while ships stopping for the day to use the piers downtown to dump all their passengers directly into Old San Juan, in order to make it as easy as possible to grab as many dollars as possible, from the transient traffic. 

 

Anyone happen to know if that theory holds up in the real world?

 

 

 

I am not sure if Carnival cruises originating in San Juan use the Pan Am Pier, but I do know that RC and Celebrity cruises that originate in San Juan do.   I think it likely that Carnival does as well, but have no personal experience with that.  The piers in OSJ do not appear to me to have the facilities to handle luggage and the waiting areas for original Embarkation and Debarkation.

[1025cruise]

I believe for the most part, ships stopping in San Juan for a port stop use Old San Juan, while ships using San Juan for embarking/disembarking use Pan Am.

[Pyrate13]

1 hour ago, K&RCurt said:

 

I am not sure if Carnival cruises originating in San Juan use the Pan Am Pier, but I do know that RC and Celebrity cruises that originate in San Juan do.   I think it likely that Carnival does as well, but have no personal experience with that.  The piers in OSJ do not appear to me to have the facilities to handle luggage and the waiting areas for original Embarkation and Debarkation.

We've done a couple of trips out of San Juan on Carnival and both originated on pier 4 in Old San Juan. Yes, they do have the facilities for handling luggage and waiting areas.

[luv2trvlnow]

Unless things have changed, Carnival goes out of Old San Juan and RC and Celebrity go out the Pan Am Pier.  At least that how it was for my cruises out of San Juan on Carnival and Celebrity.

[Stick93]

16 minutes ago, luv2trvlnow said:

Unless things have changed, Carnival goes out of Old San Juan and RC and Celebrity go out the Pan Am Pier.  At least that how it was for my cruises out of San Juan on Carnival and Celebrity.

Colorectal I have done the Carnival Fascination and it docks on pier 4. I have also don’t Royal Freedoms of the seas and it docks on the Pan American pier. 

[coevan]

2 hours ago, Stick93 said:

Colorectal I have done the Carnival Fascination

 

 

Shaded Lady another autocorrect? 

[Stick93]

7 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

Shaded Lady another autocorrect? 

 

My greatest post yet!

 

What can I say - auto correct is a modern marvel.  

[GranysT]

Thanks for all the answers, and especially for the map of all the piers.  😎

[jsglow]

It's always Pier 4 for Carnival unless there's a conflict I suppose.  I've been there numerous times both originating and stopping on a cruise from Florida.

 

By the way, Pier 2 is used by the Ferry which is a wonderful way to cross the bay to the other side where you can pick up a short Uber ride to Bacardi.  Waaaay better then Ubering all the way there from Old San Juan. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by jsglow

[K&RCurt]

On 9/1/2019 at 1:06 PM, Pyrate13 said:

We've done a couple of trips out of San Juan on Carnival and both originated on pier 4 in Old San Juan. Yes, they do have the facilities for handling luggage and waiting areas.

Thanks for the clarification!

[Pyrate13]

You're very welcome.