Departure from San Juan - Pros and Cons

[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?

 

Here's a lively and somewhat heated thread that discusses some posters experiences with cruising from San Juan.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1073758

[montrealerinnyc]

The Pan American Pier is not conveniently located to any of the tourist/hotel zones. It's due south of the beaches. Some lines use the piers at the foot of Old San Juan (e.g. NCL) and these are absolutely walkable. But for =X=, since you will have to cab (it's not actually far, maybe 10-15 minutes), you may as well pick your choice of Old San Juan, Condado (heart of town, lots of activity), or Isla Verde (near airport, nicest beach).

 

The El Convento is absolutely worth it if you are willing to splurge. It is atmospheric, beautiful, and historic. I stayed there and loved the interior courtyard, and the location on the plaza by the cathedral. It's one of the most European-feeling places in the New World. It's perfect for exploring OSJ, and still a short cab ride to the pier. But be aware that there is no easy beach access and that the pool is a small plunge pool on the rooftop, so it's not suitable for a "beach" holiday. But as previous poster said, you're going to get a lot of that on the cruise, so why not make your San Juan stay unique?

[montrealerinnyc]

A propos demographics, =X= does sometimes offer special resident rates in Puerto Rico, and so many sailings will have a larger than usual contingent of locals. This contributes to a more heavily Latin atmosphere on the ship, which can be a lot of fun, as Sanjuaneros love to party! The vibe will be very different than on a sailing from Galveston, which draws heavily from the Midwest...in fact there were pax who spoke almost no English when we sailed =X= from San Juan. Just observation, not a judgment...

[bigwalt0176]

Posted before but we have done San Juan and FLL twice each.

 

FLL Pros : Generally cheaper air fare.

Less connections as more airlines will fly into FLL.

Can fly down on same day if so inclined

 

San Juan Pros: Closer to your ultimate destination so more port days (and less sea days) that Fll. This pro will depend on your preferences.

Nice beaches if you plan to go down a day or so ahead of time.

[kitkat9438]

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???

 

The prices are the same. I usually buy all of my sunblock, etc. there as well as pick up some water to take onboard. FYI you can bring water and soda onboard along with two bottles of wine per cabin. Walgreens is about a block away from the Marriott.

[kitkat9438]

Here is a great website for visitors to San Juan.

 

http://www.visit-the-coqui.com/2007/08/top-5-reasons-to-start-a-caribbean-cruise-in-san-juan-puerto-rico/

 

This map will show you the piers and hotels from an aieral view.

 

http://www.langland.org/cruises/sanjuan.asp

[DRWhit]

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

I'd like to go next week (Ha!), but realistically it will probably be summer 2011. Maybe a little earlier in March.

[KBD1516]

Can fly down on same day if so inclined

 

Most cruise ships leave very very late from SJ (check your departure time) so it is easy to fly in on the same day if you aren't coming from too far away. We live in central Florida so we just get a morning flight in and go right to the ship by cab. The first time we did that, we were very surpised to find that the ship was ready for us to board by noon and we had a nice afternoon before we even left the dock at 8 PM that night.

 

We have stayed to SJ many times and we like it very much. ( we also like the southern caribbean ports) . We always buy the insurance anyway which would cover us for problems with the common carrier (the airplane). For us Jet Blue and Air Tran both have non-stop flights out of Orlando timed just right for cruise passengers.

 

Depending on where you live you could stop over in Orlando and then fly to SJ pretty easily on the day of your cruise.

[Lois R]

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?

 

Hi, I love sailing from San Juan:)

 

You cannot ask for a specific hotel when using Priceline...it is zones

and stars. Check the San Juan forum for more detailed information:)

Priceline is an awesome way to save money though:D but if you

want a specific property it is not the site to use because there is

always that chance you will not get the particular place.

[bigwalt0176]

"Can fly down on same day if so inclined"

 

From where ? Florida as your handle would imply? Most cruisers do not live in Florida.

[Mercruiser]

"Can fly down on same day if so inclined"

 

From where ? Florida as your handle would imply? Most cruisers do not live in Florida.

 

In addition to Florida airports, there are nonstop flights to SJU from many US cities, plus seasonal flights from Montreal and Toronto. See map below.

 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Mu%C3%B1oz_Mar%C3%ADn_International_Airport

 

[Eeyore1928]

Thank you so much for the sunblock help! You saved me a lot of time and $$$. Carry ons for us!

[iancal]

We are doing it in Dec. For us FLL is an all day trip involving a change of planes. San Juan will add 1 more stop and about 2 hours to the total journey. But, we booked a great cruise at a spectacular price and we have always wanted to see the island.