A lovely couple hours in Old San Juan - and some suggestions.

[Ibex]

Okay -- so we just got back from RCCL LOS 2/2-2/9 voyage. Had about 4 hours in Old San Juan [we were among the lucky ones that actually got off the boat before the screw up that kept so many on board, in-line for over an hour]. It was my husband and I and our 4 kids [ages 18 mo, 4, 8 and 15]. We chose not to do any tours and just explore a little. We also had made plans to meet the rest of our group [more family, in-laws] for dinner at La Mallorquina. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2770244-mallorquina_la_san_juan-i Because it was a large group [11 total] we called to make reservations. But be careful! My watch was on ships' time and I forgot local time was different! If my sil hadn't reminded me to call to change the reservation we all would have been an hour late to the restaurant!

 

When we got off the boat we wandered right into Old San Juan. Walked around and appreciated the colorful buildings and street vendors. Saw the fort to the right [we didn't know which one it was at the time] and started to head over. Found ourselves at Fort San Cristobal about 45 mins before closing time. Paid the small entrance fee [$3? per adult I think] and spent almost an hour wandering around. The kids enjoyed exploring the old fort and we all loved the incredible views of the sea and the city.

 

When the fort closed, we wandered back down and across Old San Juan. We walked across one of the main roads [Calle San Francisco] to get to the restaurant. Most of the shops were closing at this time, but our teenage daughter got to explore a few rasta and skate shops and that made her happy. The rest of us just enjoyed taking in the atmosphere.

 

We ended up at La Mallorquina just in time for our reservation and met up with the rest of our family. The restaurant claims to be one of the oldest in the Americas -- in continuous operation on the same site since 1848. It was one of the reasons we picked it. Here is the review I wrote for the yahoo travel site:

" Lovely interior, white tablecloths, huge antique mirrors, good service, authentic cuisine, good Sangria and wonderful mojitos! Moderately expensive [my in-laws picked up the tab -- so I couldn't tell you how much]. The only drawback was that the restaurant kept its two sets of doors open to the busy and noisy street. But we chose to see it as an addition to the local experience rather than a bummer. I wish I could remember the name of the seafood and rice dish my husband and I both ordered [he ordered the squid, I ordered the shrimp] but we both loved it. It begins with an "a" and is an authentic local dish. Wonderfully seasoned -- we both loved it. They also prepared a plate of assorted appetizers for us to try -- the sausage slices and the fried cod balls were delicious! We would eat here again."

After dinner it was an easy downhill walk back to the ship. We had a lovely and relaxing time on shore. The key to this however was: LOW expectations. We knew that with just a couple of hours there was no way we would really "see" San Juan. We decided to relax and enjoy whatever experience of it we could have. So we had no agenda -- nothing we "had" to see or do or buy. Even the dinner we had planned was low-key -- if it hadn't worked out -- we would have gone back to the ship to eat. All in all it was a lovely and relaxing afternoon for us.

[airlink diva]

Okay -- so we just got back from RCCL LOS 2/2-2/9 voyage. Had about 4 hours in Old San Juan [we were among the lucky ones that actually got off the boat before the screw up that kept so many on board, in-line for over an hour]. It was my husband and I and our 4 kids [ages 18 mo, 4, 8 and 15]. We chose not to do any tours and just explore a little. We also had made plans to meet the rest of our group [more family, in-laws] for dinner at La Mallorquina. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2770244-mallorquina_la_san_juan-i Because it was a large group [11 total] we called to make reservations. But be careful! My watch was on ships' time and I forgot local time was different! If my sil hadn't reminded me to call to change the reservation we all would have been an hour late to the restaurant!

 

When we got off the boat we wandered right into Old San Juan. Walked around and appreciated the colorful buildings and street vendors. Saw the fort to the right [we didn't know which one it was at the time] and started to head over. Found ourselves at Fort San Cristobal about 45 mins before closing time. Paid the small entrance fee [$3? per adult I think] and spent almost an hour wandering around. The kids enjoyed exploring the old fort and we all loved the incredible views of the sea and the city.

 

When the fort closed, we wandered back down and across Old San Juan. We walked across one of the main roads [Calle San Francisco] to get to the restaurant. Most of the shops were closing at this time, but our teenage daughter got to explore a few rasta and skate shops and that made her happy. The rest of us just enjoyed taking in the atmosphere.

 

 

We ended up at La Mallorquina just in time for our reservation and met up with the rest of our family. The restaurant claims to be one of the oldest in the Americas -- in continuous operation on the same site since 1848. It was one of the reasons we picked it. Here is the review I wrote for the yahoo travel site:

" Lovely interior, white tablecloths, huge antique mirrors, good service, authentic cuisine, good Sangria and wonderful mojitos! Moderately expensive [my in-laws picked up the tab -- so I couldn't tell you how much]. The only drawback was that the restaurant kept its two sets of doors open to the busy and noisy street. But we chose to see it as an addition to the local experience rather than a bummer. I wish I could remember the name of the seafood and rice dish my husband and I both ordered [he ordered the squid, I ordered the shrimp] but we both loved it. It begins with an "a" and is an authentic local dish. Wonderfully seasoned -- we both loved it. They also prepared a plate of assorted appetizers for us to try -- the sausage slices and the fried cod balls were delicious! We would eat here again."

After dinner it was an easy downhill walk back to the ship. We had a lovely and relaxing time on shore. The key to this however was: LOW expectations. We knew that with just a couple of hours there was no way we would really "see" San Juan. We decided to relax and enjoy whatever experience of it we could have. So we had no agenda -- nothing we "had" to see or do or buy. Even the dinner we had planned was low-key -- if it hadn't worked out -- we would have gone back to the ship to eat. All in all it was a lovely and relaxing afternoon for us.

Good review! I'm going to keep this resturant in note!!

[amapola]

Thanks for the nice review!

The dish you mention could have been asopao -- was it kind of a soupy rice? You can get it with chicken or seafood. It's frequently served with tostones (fried plantain).

[Ibex]

Thanks for the nice review!

The dish you mention could have been asopao -- was it kind of a soupy rice? You can get it with chicken or seafood. It's frequently served with tostones (fried plantain).

 

Yes! Asopao! Thank you!

[amapola]

You're welcome :) . Glad you enjoyed your visit! :)

[SFLfam]

What did you do with your bags as you walked around old San Juan?

[Ibex]

What did you do with your bags as you walked around old San Juan?

 

Not sure which bags you mean. This was the first stop of a 7 day cruise, so all our belongings were in the cabin of the ship. We did carry a "day pack" back pack -- and had the baby in a stroller too.

[holmrun]

We were on the same sailing and got stuck about 12-15 people back from the door when they shut the line down while the other ship docked for an hour... THAT was brutal... We ended up doing the Old San Juan and Bacardi Tour that ended up being cut down to just the Bacardi Tour since it was so late which really wasn't worth it. The next time we will certainly research a bit more and venture out on our own instead as it seems most that enjoyed San Juan as a stop were out on their own.

 

Thanks for the restaurant review - we will definitely check it out the next time.

 

As a side note, did you consider the seas to be rough the first few days? This was our first cruise so we weren't sure what to expect but we did notice it was a big difference between prior to st Maarten and after.

[Ibex]

As a side note, did you consider the seas to be rough the first few days? This was our first cruise so we weren't sure what to expect but we did notice it was a big difference between prior to st Maarten and after.

 

Yes! I definitely noticed the difference! I did think things were rougher in the beginning!

[alwalaska]

Thanks for the review.

 

Around what time did you get onto the island?

 

What time did the fort close to new visitors? If you were already there, did they let you stay longer?

 

What time was it when you were walking down to your dinner reservations when the stores were closing?

 

Thanks again. We are supposed to get in at 3pm, so I am trying to decide what is reasonable to try and do.

[MMDown Under]

Appreciated your review, Ibex, which I will keep for our visit in December.

 

I agree the secret is to be adaptable, go with the flow and just enjoy the moment (not easy when your instinct is to try to see as much as possible in a limited amount of time). Islanders usually have it down pat!