SJ Embarkation - What to do before/after cruise

[Lumee23]

Hi everyone! My husband and I are departing on a Celebrity cruise out of San Juan in March and I am struggling to nail down a plan on what to do. This is our first time sailing with Celebrity and out of San Juan.

 

We will be arriving the day prior around lunchtime; however, it is an early flight so we want to keep any activity low key. As of right now we were thinking of just walking around San Juan, taking in the surroundings and finding some good food before heading to our hotel for an early night. Our cruise doesn't depart until 8:30pm, which I can't find it now but I believe I saw somewhere that embarkation starts around 5pm? I also read somewhere that they generally let people on earlier than that but I would rather not sit at the port waiting if they don't.

 

I really wanted to do a stop at El Yunque and was thinking we would have enough time to do this day of embarkation. Has anybody done that before and did it work out okay time wise? The other thing is this would be a Saturday. Most of the tours I am looking at indicate the hike is longer and more strenuous on Saturdays due to a different departure point. We are in our late 30's but not in the best of shape so I am worried it might be too much for us. Anybody have any experience with the tougher hike?

 

After our cruise we have a late flight that departs after 4pm. We were thinking of doing the Celebrity excursion Old San Juan tour with airport drop-off. Hubby does not want to do the rainforest option and then get on a flight. 

 

Would love to hear about anyones experiences/reviews and/or alternative suggestions based on our timetables. Thanks so much!