Should I go down the day before cruise (San Juan)?

CCress9324 · May 17, 2004

I am trying to decide whether to go down the day before our cruise when we do Southern Caribbean leaving from San Juan. We have a big group (about 60). We usually cruise every year and leave from Miami and have a grand time at the Embassy Suites the night before, but I have not found any really nice hotels in San Juan that would be worth going down the night before. I know that there is an Embassy Suites in San Juan, but it does not sound like it is in a very good location (bad section of town). I am wondering if we should just wait and go down the day of the cruise and spend the extra money on massages, etc. Is getting to San Juan at 1:30 the day of the cruise a safe time to arrive?

SailingDoug · May 17, 2004

Look at the booking where carnaval goes we did a trip ot of San Jaun, and had a nice hotel near the pier, Carnaval was doing pre bording there and made getting on the ship easy. It was a nice hotel. Hope this helps I can get the name of it or you can call carnaval and they should be able to help

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garycarla · May 17, 2004

Firm believer in going to day before, unless the ship does not leave until evening, maybe late evening. It takes very little for a flight to be delayed these days which means the ship leaves without you. Why bother?

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Tera821 · May 17, 2004

Definitely, it's worth it just for the peace of mind!

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oldmedic · May 17, 2004

I agree, we only live 40 minutes from the pier in Galveston, and we always go down the evening (or afternoon) before. helps us get into the "vacation mode". and, one never knows when you car is going to get a flat on the way to the airport!

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pgmrdev · May 17, 2004

[img]http://mywebpages.comcast.net/vintage-images/ockerani.gif[/img] We went down the day before and stayed at the Caribe Hilton. After having to wait in line on a very hot day outside to board, we were glad we did!!!

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JohnnyO · May 17, 2004

Personally, I would go the day before due to the fact of delayed or cancelled flights and I have heard many complaints from those who didn't.

JohnnyO

Mary Ellen · May 17, 2004

neighborI sailed from San Juan once (can't say I'll do that again). Thankfully, we did fly in the day before. At our first port, there was the biggest pile of luggage and group of passengers waiting to board the ship I've ever seen.

We also stayed at the Caribe Hilton. OK hotel, beautiful grounds - nothing else around there. We were driven through some [I]"interesting"[/I] neighborhoods on the way to the ship.

winewanderer · May 17, 2004

I highly recommend going the day before.

A couple of years ago we sailed out of San Juan. What a mightmare the flight situtation was. We were traveling from the west coast. We had to take a red eye. When we arrived in SC our flight was delayed almost 2 hours. Once we finally made it on the plane we sat on the runway for 1 hour. By the time we got on the ship we had been travelling (and awake I might add) for 20 hours.

My husband and I agreed that we'll go the day before when we sail from the east coast or beyond. Did this our past cruise from Ft. Lauderdale, what a difference it made!!!

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May 17, 2004

We have never flown down the night before and have never, in 12 cruises, had a problem. We have always had plenty of time to shuttle to the ship and get checked in - with lots of time to spare, and we are flying out of Minnesota.

weswas · May 17, 2004

WE only sail out of San Juan and have always gone a day early. WE stay at the Condado REsort and love it. It is relaxing with a couple of bars that have eveing music and a nice restaurant. We love te pools and chance to relax before we sail

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Sthomp · May 17, 2004

We prefer to go the day before. You get on the ship rested and ready to start your vacation instead of so tired after a long day of travel.

We stayed at the Caribe Hilton. Really enjoyed it although the food there was very overpriced.

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DreadPirateRobert · May 17, 2004

Last Summer we sailed Destiny out of San Juan. We actually went down 2 days before and I wouldn't recommend that. One day would be nice. We had a great cab driver who pretty much came at our call. Wandering around Old San Juan is pretty cool. There are great restaurants, and the people are friendly.
We stayed at the Hampton in Isla Verde. Same as a Hampton in the states but it was very affordable.
Have Fun!

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wannasail4ever · May 17, 2004

When traveling out of San Juan, I highly recommend flying in the day before! We have stayed at the Condado Plaza (which is actually a resort with a large casino, a beach and Salsa dancing) and also the Wyndam at the pier. That was really convenient and allowed us to wander around San Juan making it an extra port.

But the real reason we do this is that on one of these sailings, my sister's luggage did not arrive with the flight. Luckily, we came in a day before. When did the luggage make it? Right before the ship sailed at 11:00p.m. She's very tall and we never could have replaced her clothes. Needless to say, we were all on pins and needles.

Anyway, there are lots of things to do and see in San Juan. But, one day is enough.

Bon Voyage

Macy

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Little Red · May 17, 2004

We ALWAYS fly in the day before - just in case. Don't want to be left standing at the pier!!!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

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Cruising89143 · May 17, 2004

I have to go with the majority here and say go down the day before. That is a must for me regardless of where I cruise from. To me it is worth getting down there early to rest up and know that I am there.

Gordon

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CCLNCLRCICRUISER · May 17, 2004

Im going down to Puerto Rico 2 days before and staying two days after my cruise. That's still not enough time to do all the things I would like to do.[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

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mrsgoofy98 · May 18, 2004

We always go down the night before a cruise. We lost a lot of time on our very first cruise - our flight was delayed four hours. We will never allow that to happen again.

The last time we left from San Juan, we stayed at the Intercontinental San Juan in Isla Verde. It is very nice and you can walk to either side of the hotel to two nicer hotels.

The Intercontinental has a nice beach and offers some water sports. We didn't take advantage of it, but it looked nice.

I am a travel agent and have had two other clients stay there and they loved it. When I told them my in-laws were celebrating their 50th anniversary, they sent them a fruit basket and bottle of champagne to their room, upgraded the room and for no extra charge.

Hope this helps,
Donna

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Vidimom · May 18, 2004

We flew down 2 days prior to our cruise and stayed at the Marriott Condado. It was a great location with a Casino, several restaurants, bars, etc. We were within walking distance of a number of different restaurants.

We spent the day in between touring Old San Juan. Went to the Bacardi Factory which was GREAT!!

You may want to consider that extra day just to make sure everyone has all of their luggage and makes it to San Juan. This will also give you a day to get into the "CRUISE MODE". With the group that large, I would do it just for pure sanity with that many people!

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scottp · May 18, 2004

We always, always go the day before. No matter where we are sailing from!! Less stress, more relaxed on day of embarkation!!

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MrPete · May 18, 2004

We also stayed at the Wyndam. Was well worth it getting there a day before. Nice hotel, nice rooms, restaurant, bar, and Casino. Nice pool on the roof too, in a penthouse fashion that allows nice views of the harbor.

Even though we sailed the next night, we woke up refreshed, relaxed, with a nice morning at the pool (wanted to watch the ships sail in but they arrive so damn early).

Only mistake we made was that we carried our luggage down to the ship. The pier look a lot closer than it seemed. We ended up sweating like pigs.

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hstrybuf · May 18, 2004

Only once have we flown to port the day of our cruise. Since then, we have found that flying in a day early, especially from San Juan, gives us more time to relax. So far no problems with flights, but if you watched "Airline" on A&E the other night you would see why it could be to your advantage to fly in a day early.

On this particular episode, the airline had overbooked the flight to Ft. Lauderdale by 53 people! Several families were on their way to a Carnival cruise, ship unknown, and had to be put on later flights. Even then, some were put on flights only to be bumped at their first connection and flown back to the point of origin where they would have a better chance of reaching Ft. Lauderdale in time for sailaway.

After reading these boards for several years now, we never take a chance that something out of our control could delay us in reaching the port. Go the day before!

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Should I go down the day before cruise (San Juan)?

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