Departure from San Juan - Pros and Cons

[DRWhit]

I am looking at the various stops on cruises from San Juan, and they look very nice. But I am pretty new to cruising and am unsure about departing from somewhere besides the mainland.

 

What would be the pros and cons? I did a search and saw some input on travel to/from San Juan. What about the passenger demographic? Do you get more people from Europe and such, or is like most any mainland departure city?

[Chooz2Cruz]

In my experience, I have cruised out of San Juan many times, probably at least 10, it is no different than mainland. I prefer the itineraries of the southern cruises. Depending on where you are from, the flight to San Juan is the only difference. We book our air seperate from the cruiseline, and since it is a longer flight there is always the worry of delays and posssibly missing the ship. If possible, fly in the day before and stay at one of the nice hotels on a beach.

 

Demographics, to me, don't seem any different. A lot of the time, the San Juan departure sailings are priced lower than Florida, also.

[DRWhit]

Yes, I was noticing the price difference, which is nice. The other thing was there seems to be more ports per cruise. I don't mind some sea days, but if you look at the 7 day Eastern Caribbean, you only get three ports, and one is San Juan anyway. You end up with three sea days in a 7 day cruise.

[kitkat9438]

We LOVE cruising out of San Juan. As was mentioned, you get more (and in my opinion better) ports in your 7 day cruise. We usually only have one sea day. The rates are really good and we love San Juan itself. It's really beautiful. If you've never been, you should go just to see it. Old San Juan has some wonderful forts you can see on a "walking tour". When we cruise we always go in a day early and in San Juan we book our hotel using priceline. We like to stay in the Condado beach area, which is on the beach and within walking distance of many wonderful restaurants and a Walgreens to pick up last minute items. I've gotten the Marriott Stellaris and the LaConcha (another Marriott resort) for under $100 through priceline. My favorite ports so far are Barbados, St. Martin and St. Lucia. The beaches in Barbados and St. Martin are so beautiful and St. Lucia reminds us a lot of Hawaii.

 

Here's a couple of pictures for you.

 

San Juan:

 

 

Barbados:

 

 

St. Martin:

 

 

[Chooz2Cruz]

Yes, alot of ports. I actually would prefer more sea days, but Love the ports in the southern caribbean. We are booked on a 10 night southern, and have seven ports! and only 2 sea days, wish there were at least one more.

 

Love Barbados. If doing a 10 day, Aruba is also very nice. I've done St. Maarten so many times, it is getting a little old for me. This time going to Grenada and Curacao which we haven't been to yet. Also, Tortola is very nice. We have only been there once. But that is sometimes on Eastern sailings, too.

[warmwinds]

What's really nice about taking taxis, say, from the airport to your hotel (we always come in a day early), then from the hotel to the port, then from the port back to the airport, is that they are SET RATES and there are dispatchers who write the amount on a piece of paper for you, so there is no fear of being taken the long way, etc.

[sk99]

I love your pictures, especially Barbados - what beach is this, looks so beautiful. Thank you.

[DRWhit]

Thanks for the beautiful pics. The one with the airplane is amazing!

 

The San Juan Beach looks very cosmopolitan. Getting in a day early there looks like a big plus. I stay at Hilton hotels a lot for my work, so I can usually get a free night at one of the Hilton family hotels. It looks like they have some nice properties in San Juan, but I am not sure if they are near the cruise terminal.

 

My wife really wants to go to St. Lucia, especially after she saw the Bachelor or something like that on television.

 

How did you like the Summit? It looks like the Summit or the Millinneum are the main workhorses out of San Juan. We saw the Summit docked at West End when we took our recent cruise to Bermuda. It looked nice from the outside, but we met one couple in town who said they were not impressed with their cruise so far. But we met others that said it was great.

[fleckle]

What would be the pros and cons?

Pros:

Best starting location for great southern Caribbean itinerary.

Eliminates need to cruise down and back up the waters along the Atlantic coast, which can be very rough at times.

 

Cons:

Requires flying for those who could otherwise drive to a mainland embarkation port, thereby adding the cost of airfare for them.

 

(The San Juan embarkation is most advantageous for those who would be flying to an embarkation port anyway.)

 

What about the passenger demographic?

Pretty much the same as any other Caribbean cruise, varying somewhat from one cruise to another. Expect the differences typically encountered in demographics during school breaks and holidays.

 

Announcements are made in English and Spanish. Occasionally another language may be added if they happen to have a heavy concentration of passengers who speak that language, as done on any other cruise.

[Shooraq]

The benefit of leaving from San Juan is being able to visit more ports. I always think better to have the opportunity of seeing 4-5 islands, and if you want, make one a sea day if you need to. Southern Caribbean routes are so much better than Eastern or Western in my opinion. And Sun juan itself is great for its rainforest and forts, great restaurants and beaches too!

[bigreckster]

We've been sailing out of SJ to the southern Carib. every Jan...more ports, weather in Jan. has been great and we fly in at least one day early to be totally relaxed when we board the ship (Embassy Suites is convenient and the pool area is spectacular!). Miami or Ft. Lauderdale are no picnic when flying in to board a cruise ship and you are so much closer to the ports of Barbados, Aruba, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, etc. that really are terrific. We are going on the Summit again in Jan....despite some negative comments you find on this board, the ship is in fine shape and the crew is always great...food was fine and we love our sky suite with the oversized balcony! As others have said, San Juan also is a nice destination to explore and you will not be disappointed! Enjoy!:)

[kitkat9438]

I love your pictures, especially Barbados - what beach is this, looks so beautiful. Thank you.

 

This beach is Accra. It's not too far from the cruise terminal and absolutely beautiful. You have a lot of vendors for food here as well. One of the best rated beaches is actually Crane but it's further away. My cruise friends wouldn't go that far from where we docked, so I settled and was very happy here.

[Mercruiser]

. . . I stay at Hilton hotels a lot for my work, so I can usually get a free night at one of the Hilton family hotels. It looks like they have some nice properties in San Juan, but I am not sure if they are near the cruise terminal. . .

 

The Caribe Hilton is less than two miles from the Pan American Pier used by Celebrity. No matter which hotel you stay in, you will need to take a taxi to the pier ($19 plus $1 per piece of luggage). It's too far removed from the hotels to walk with luggage.

 

Here is a link to Google Maps showing the hotel and the pier.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=San+Geromino+Grounds,+San+Juan+901,+Puerto+Rico+(Caribe+Hilton+Hotel)&daddr=Unnamed+Rd,+San+Juan+00907,+Puerto+Rico+(Pan+American+Pier)&hl=en&geocode=FXC7GQEdgZ0P_CHpIqJFaTC9vQ%3BFVCqGQEdLGkP_CGA89pYW9uULw&mra=ls&doflg=ptm&sll=18.461068,-66.092441&sspn=0.011968,0.016479&ie=UTF8&z=16

[kitkat9438]

Thanks for the beautiful pics. The one with the airplane is amazing!

 

The San Juan Beach looks very cosmopolitan. Getting in a day early there looks like a big plus. I stay at Hilton hotels a lot for my work, so I can usually get a free night at one of the Hilton family hotels. It looks like they have some nice properties in San Juan, but I am not sure if they are near the cruise terminal.

 

My wife really wants to go to St. Lucia, especially after she saw the Bachelor or something like that on television.

 

How did you like the Summit? It looks like the Summit or the Millinneum are the main workhorses out of San Juan. We saw the Summit docked at West End when we took our recent cruise to Bermuda. It looked nice from the outside, but we met one couple in town who said they were not impressed with their cruise so far. But we met others that said it was great.

 

Another great pro is the weather. Your weather in San Juan is in the 80's (sometimes hotter) year round so you don't have to worry about cruising from a port where it's cold. We have Galveston we can cruise from so we could drive, but it's cold in the winter and you only get 3 ports, and those are western. It's worth it to us to fly to our embarkation port.

 

The airplane picture was taken on Maho beach. There's a runway right next to the beach and you can get some great photos. We took a tour with Bernard on this island and it's a great deal. He knows exactly when the planes land to get the best pictures and he provides rum punch (yummy), sodas and water. It's actually cheaper than taking taxis around.

 

On St. Lucia, we toured with Cosol and it was one of our favorite excursions. You stop a lot of interesting places and sample a lot of island foods. At the end of the tour we snorkeled in between the Piton mountains and it's really pretty.

 

We loved the Summit and it's what made us fall in love with Celebrity. The food and service were outstanding. When you walk down the hallway, they will stop what they are doing and greet you. Our waiter really bent over backwards to make sure we were happy with our food orders. One of my friends likes to order extra entrees and appetizers for the table to try. After the first night our drinks were always at the table waiting on us and our waiter would bring out some of the foods we had previously requested without us having to ask for them. The Summit is not a brand new ship, but she is in great shape. It never felt crowded and we never had a problem finding a seat in the buffet area or in the theatre. Normandie is one of the best specialty restaurants and has wonderful lobster and filet. Of course you can't go wrong with the chocolate souffle. :D Summit also has the thalassotherapy pool which is an adults only area which is covered.

 

Here's the Summit:

 

 

 

[Oceangoer2]

In my experience, I have cruised out of San Juan many times, probably at least 10, it is no different than mainland. I prefer the itineraries of the southern cruises. Depending on where you are from, the flight to San Juan is the only difference. We book our air seperate from the cruiseline, and since it is a longer flight there is always the worry of delays and posssibly missing the ship. If possible, fly in the day before and stay at one of the nice hotels on a beach.

 

Demographics, to me, don't seem any different. A lot of the time, the San Juan departure sailings are priced lower than Florida, also.

Can you recommend a hotel? We're flying the day before the cruise departure. Getting confused with all the hotels I'm researching. Prices are high so we don't want to make a mistake. Looking at 4 star and even they have some pretty serious negative comments from past customers.

[kitkat9438]

Can you recommend a hotel? We're flying the day before the cruise departure. Getting confused with all the hotels I'm researching. Prices are high so we don't want to make a mistake. Looking at 4 star and even they have some pretty serious negative comments from past customers.

 

We use priceline. As has been mentioned, you have to take a cab from anywhere you stay in San Juan because there's nothing really within walking distance. They are set rates though and not per person so that's good. We like to stay in the Condado beach area, just because it's on the beach and you are within walking distance of a lot of great restaurants. The Marriott Stellaris is a resort and really beautiful. LaConcha, another Marriott resort, is 4 star, but had larger rooms and balconies. I loved both of them. I got both of them for around $95 each the last couple of years by bidding. Marriott, I bid "resorts" and San Juan. There are a few resorts you could get, including the Intercontinental in Isla Verde, Caribe Hilton (another great hotel), etc. I think I read that it's going for a little over $100 now, but that's still a good price for that hotel. LaConcha I got by bidding 4 stars in the same area. You have to do some research over on the San Juan boards and see what hotels are being won at the time you are bidding. Other's will post what they have won the bids for so you have a guideline on what to bid and a pretty good idea of what you will get. No guarantees though, but you know you will get a nice hotel for the price.

[Oceangoer2]

We use priceline. As has been mentioned, you have to take a cab from anywhere you stay in San Juan because there's nothing really within walking distance. They are set rates though and not per person so that's good. We like to stay in the Condado beach area, just because it's on the beach and you are within walking distance of a lot of great restaurants. The Marriott Stellaris is a resort and really beautiful. LaConcha, another Marriott resort, is 4 star, but had larger rooms and balconies. I loved both of them. I got both of them for around $95 each the last couple of years by bidding. Marriott, I bid "resorts" and San Juan. There are a few resorts you could get, including the Intercontinental in Isla Verde, Caribe Hilton (another great hotel), etc. I think I read that it's going for a little over $100 now, but that's still a good price for that hotel. LaConcha I got by bidding 4 stars in the same area. You have to do some research over on the San Juan boards and see what hotels are being won at the time you are bidding. Other's will post what they have won the bids for so you have a guideline on what to bid and a pretty good idea of what you will get. No guarantees though, but you know you will get a nice hotel for the price.

Thanks for your advice. I've just left the Pricline site and got down to bidding in the process, but nowhere did it indicate I could bid on a specific property. Went through the instruction page as well. Do you have a hint how I could ask for the Marriott Stellaris?

[elena7seas]

Thanks for your advice. I've just left the Pricline site and got down to bidding in the process, but nowhere did it indicate I could bid on a specific property. Went through the instruction page as well. Do you have a hint how I could ask for the Marriott Stellaris?

 

We also get our rooms on San Juan via Priceline.

 

We have paid between $85 and $95 for a four star or resort room. We always start with the Resort category. Please be aware that there is a separate "resort tax" that is not covered by what you pay to Priceline.

 

San Juan is a great place to use Priceline, as there is no hotel in the Resort category that I wouldn't stay in. There are good tips for bidding on the San Juan boards, or you can look at www.betterbidding.com or www.biddingfortravel.com. It all seemed very complicated at first, but once I bit the bullet and got down to trying, it is actually very easy. It's just important to know what hotels you might get in any particular category, and decide if you would be okay in any of them.

 

You can't bid specifically for the Marriott Stellaris. It is my favourite hotel in San Juan. It has only come up once for us on Priceline. We have also stayed in the Intercontinental several times, and the Condado Hilton. All were fine. There is a nice beach at the Intercontinental, and a great pool. The restaurant down by the beach is very good for casual munchies. The other restaurants are quite expensive, but there are lots of restaurant possibilities in the area.

[zuggie]

San Juan is our favorite departure port. We think the best islands are in the Southern Caribbean. They're not as crowded and the weather is always great.

 

And we've always used Priceline for a pre-cruise hotel, and have never been disappointed. The last couple of years we've gotten the 3*Marriott Courtyard Miramar (very close to the Pan American Pier and within walking distance of some of the big resort hotels) for in the $40. range.

 

Our very first Celebrity cruise was out of San Juan on Celebrity's first ship - an older vessel called the Meridian.

Anyone else been on the Meridian? When Celebrity started growing and acquiring new ships, they sold off the Meridian to an Asian cruis line, and a year or so later it caught fire and sunk! Everyone got off in lifeboats and all were rescued.

[Lsimon]

Pros: The cruises from San Juan spend more time, given a specific cruise length, in the great southern Caribbean islands.

Also, San Juan is a great place to overnight or spend a couple of days. We've done this several times and enjoy it a lot. OTOH, since we've done San Juan several times on our last cruise we did a pre-cruise in St. Thomas, which is 50 miles away. The extra airfare cost was very low and we had a great couple of days in St. Thomas before going to San Juan for our cruise.

 

Cons: The flights are more expensive and longer. Coming in at least a day ahead of time is very advisable (although this is true for almost every cruise port).

 

Some of the itineraries from San Juan can be pretty port intensive - this cab be both a pro and a con! We almost have to force ourselves to do nothing in one or two ports just so we cab be sure to have a couple relaxing days to rest up during the cruise! (Isn't life tough?)

 

Can you recommend a hotel?...

 

One major consideration for San Juan hotels is that you have basically three choices: Old San Juan (the old city center), a beachfront resort, a less expensive hotel not in Old San Juan nor the beachfront.

 

Personally if this is your first trip to San Juan I'd highly recommend staying in Old San Juan and preferably for a couple nights so you have a full day to tour. San Juan is a nice place to tour and walk around. There are lots of great restaurants there too. A lot of people want to stay in the beach front resorts and while they are very nice you will be visiting some of the best beaches in the world on your cruise but you will not have an opportunity to tour place like Old San Juan. Old San Juan is more reminiscent of an old Spanish City (wait....it is an old Spanish City!) than what you'll find elsewhere in the Caribbean Islands. Many buildings, including the 2 forts there, are hundreds of years old.

[kitkat9438]

Elena is correct. You cannot bid for a specific hotel. I just read the winning bids thread on the San Juan board and it will tell me what most cruisers are winning on their bids. The Marriott Stellaris is a pretty safe bet and seems to win more bids than most. I go to name your own bid on priceline; select zone 8 (San Juan) and then choose resort only. Now I just read that most are winning this hotel for around $106 so you might want to start here. Of course it depends on the time of year you are looking at. When we cruise in December we can usually get a hotel for around $100. The Marriott didn't charge us a resort fee when we stayed, but I don't know if that's because we are Marriott members. When I got the LaConcha, I selected 4 stars. It's the only 4 star in the San Juan area on Priceline.

[Eeyore1928]

Question...we are booked on the 4/16 sailing of the Summit. I do not want to check any bags flying to SJU....is the Walgreens there priced about the same as here for sunblock...hairspray etc???

[buggins0402]

How far is old San Juan from the Pan-American dock? I was thinking of biting the bullet on the price for El Convento for the atmosphere and it's Trip Advisor ratings. Given the preceding conversation it appears the old San Juan Hilton must be near another cruise ship dock - therefore, it's location isn't a plus for Celebrity cruises-correct?

[Ship's Wake]

What would be the pros and cons? I did a search and saw some input on travel to/from San Juan. What about the passenger demographic? Do you get more people from Europe and such, or is like most any mainland departure city?

 

The demographics vary based on the time of year you are going. What month are you considering cruising from San Juan?

[zuggie]

Old San Juan is very close to the Pan American dock. Maybe a 20 minute taxi ride, at most.

 

There are two cruise ship docks in San Juan. One is in Old San Juan where cruise ships visiting just for a day will dock.

 

The other is the Pan American Dock, which is out of Old Town, and is where Celebrity and other cruise lines dock when doing turn-arounds.