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San Juan Hotel prior to boarding Freedom

Jfeasel

By Jfeasel,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Desert Cruizers

Desert Cruizers

Posted
Posted
On 9/29/2019 at 6:42 AM, jptoz said:

If you want to stay in OSJ. I recommend the  Decanter Hotel. Beautiful boutique hotel in the heart of OSJ. Close to everything.(Catedral de San Juan right across the street) Try to get to San juan at least  a day in advance. It's such a cool old city to walk around.

Daughter & I will be doing our first cruise from OSJ and will be staying at the Decanter in March for our B2B, Nice to know you enjoyed your stay. May I ask of nice places to eat as the daughters flight doesn't get in until 5:10 PM. 

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jptoz

jptoz

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47 minutes ago, Desert Cruizers said:

Daughter & I will be doing our first cruise from OSJ and will be staying at the Decanter in March for our B2B, Nice to know you enjoyed your stay. May I ask of nice places to eat as the daughters flight doesn't get in until 5:10 PM. 

The three restaurants we ate at were, Raices for lunch, Punto de vista,which is a cool rooftop Restaurant and bar. And the Barrachina for dinner/  flamenco show, which was a lot of fun.  BTW The flamenco  show you need to reserve a couple of weeks in advance. All of the places were very good, but none fancy by any means.   Good food and fun atmospheres. 

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Ashland

Ashland

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3 minutes ago, jptoz said:

The three restaurants we ate at were, Raices for lunch, Punto de vista,which is a cool rooftop Restaurant and bar. And the Barrachina for dinner/  flamenco show, which was a lot of fun.  BTW The flamenco  show you need to reserve a couple of weeks in advance. All of the places were very good, but none fancy by any means.   Good food and fun atmospheres. 

I'll certainly second Punto de Vista which is on the rooftop of the Milano Hotel.!!

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Guest maddycat

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57 minutes ago, Ashland said:

I'll certainly second Punto de Vista which is on the rooftop of the Milano Hotel.!!

Punto de Vista has BOGO mojitos daily from opening (11:30 ?) until 5 pm.  We always go there for a meal and mojitos when our ship stops in Puerto Rico.  The food is excellent and authentic.  Prices are very reasonable.

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steveru621

steveru621

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Posted
On 9/29/2019 at 11:26 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

Have to respectfully disagree on the Taxi comment. I find taxi service in San Juan very overpriced and have MUCH better experiences with Uber. YMMV

 

The last time we were at the pier UBER had no access to the terminal.  There was at least a 100 yard walk with your luggage.

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steveru621

steveru621

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On 9/29/2019 at 10:56 AM, bilyclub said:

The road into the Pan Am pier is one lane in each direction  with no sidewalk and is sometimes clogged with traffic in both directions.  We've had taxis refuse to take us from the Caribe Hilton to the pier because of traffic. Most hotels in San Juan are under a 1/2 drive to the pier.

panam.jpg

 

We have been charged a surcharge twice because of congestion.

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Desert Cruizers

Desert Cruizers

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1 hour ago, jptoz said:

The three restaurants we ate at were, Raices for lunch, Punto de vista,which is a cool rooftop Restaurant and bar. And the Barrachina for dinner/  flamenco show, which was a lot of fun.  BTW The flamenco  show you need to reserve a couple of weeks in advance. All of the places were very good, but none fancy by any means.   Good food and fun atmospheres. 

Thank you will make a note of those places. We are coming in 2 days early. We plan to do the Rain Forest between our sailings which are March 8th & 15th. Flights home were challenging however. I ended up booking the Day Pass at the Marriott as I couldn't get a flight home before 1 AM on the 23rd. had I left after the cruise United only gave me a 40 minute connection in Newark. AA was ok but not for $1255 R/T for myself. The Barrachina is a 2 min walk from the Decanter, Milano about 6 minutes and Raices 8 minutes. Daughter was concerned about walking at night.

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bilyclub

bilyclub

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Posted (edited)
59 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

 

We have been charged a surcharge twice because of congestion.

 

Yes, so were we, without it they wouldn't take us.  The one poster cruises out of the Pan Am once and thinks he's an expert. 

Edited by bilyclub
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alfaeric

alfaeric

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5 minutes ago, bilyclub said:

 

Yes, so where we, without it they wouldn't take us.  The one poster cruises out of the Pan Am once and thinks he's an expert. 

So for you who have gotten the surcharge- what time were you trying to get to the port?

 

We've taken 13 cruises out of the Pan Am pier, and don't recall getting a surcharge.  BUT- we try to get there at around 12:30-1pm, when it's not so crowded....  The only problem we had was when we were dropped in front of the Celebrity terminal- which we didn't notice until after trying to get in.  That only happened once.

 

We do get a couple of extra bag charges.

 

Probably 1/3 of those we stayed in Old San Juan, the other 2/3, we started at the airport (where we were dropping a rental car off).

 

Have never tried Uber, or even looked into it....

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jptoz

jptoz

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1 hour ago, Desert Cruizers said:

Thank you will make a note of those places. We are coming in 2 days early. We plan to do the Rain Forest between our sailings which are March 8th & 15th. Flights home were challenging however. I ended up booking the Day Pass at the Marriott as I couldn't get a flight home before 1 AM on the 23rd. had I left after the cruise United only gave me a 40 minute connection in Newark. AA was ok but not for $1255 R/T for myself. The Barrachina is a 2 min walk from the Decanter, Milano about 6 minutes and Raices 8 minutes. Daughter was concerned about walking at night.

Make sure you give yourself a day to walk around the old San juan,. Go to the forts, stop in the cathedral.Walk along the paseo del morro. The views are just incredible. OSW is a city you walk. and I never felt unsafe  walking at night. 

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Desert Cruizers

Desert Cruizers

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Thank you. We arrive Friday evening so will have all of Saturday to walk OSJ. Not sure what we will do on boarding day depends on what is open. I actually come in at 2:30 PM but daughter arrives at 5:10 so will wait for her then get taxi to Hotel, get some dinner and relax rest of evening. We are both excited about our first visit and cruises from SJ. 

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robc1972

robc1972

Posted
Posted

The Sheraton in Old San Juan is a great hotel, right downtown and easy walk to any of the sites.

If you want to relax on the beach before the cruise then the Marriott Courtyard on Isla Verde Beach is a great place to stay as well.

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starrcards

starrcards

Posted
Posted
On 9/28/2019 at 9:56 PM, Bluemymind said:

we like to stay at Hyatt House for the following reasons. Its the closest hotel to the port and there is a Longhorn steak house and Olive Garden behind the hotel that you can walk to for dinner. There is also a Hyatt Place hotel across the street, both hotels are fairly new. If you get a bay front room you'll be able to see your ship in the morning from your room. You could walk to the port but its at least a half mile if not further, its just easier to take a cab with luggage. 

Would agree about the Hyatt House.  But would recommend Casita Miramar for dinner (walkable or Uber).  On cruise embarkation day the walk from Hyatt House to the Pan American pier is very dangerous (lots and lots of traffic).  Uber to the pier for 5 from Hyatt House was less than $10.

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Denise Ann

Denise Ann

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15 hours ago, beachgirl32931 said:

Another vote for Best Western Condado.  As stated there is Walgreens, CVS, quick walk up to the beach and close to casinos.  

 

Two restaurants we liked were Buenos Ayres and Orozcos.  Right near the hotel.  Was not a fan of the restaurant in the hotel.  

We also stay here and frequent these restaurants . Very good food.

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steveru621

steveru621

Posted
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On 9/30/2019 at 5:54 PM, alfaeric said:

So for you who have gotten the surcharge- what time were you trying to get to the port?

 

We've taken 13 cruises out of the Pan Am pier, and don't recall getting a surcharge.  BUT- we try to get there at around 12:30-1pm, when it's not so crowded....  The only problem we had was when we were dropped in front of the Celebrity terminal- which we didn't notice until after trying to get in.  That only happened once.

 

We do get a couple of extra bag charges.

 

Probably 1/3 of those we stayed in Old San Juan, the other 2/3, we started at the airport (where we were dropping a rental car off).

 

Have never tried Uber, or even looked into it....

That's true 1PM would be better to avoid congestion.

 

I just hate hanging around a hotel after 11AM checkout.

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