Carnival Victory San Juan 1st Day Boarding: Question

[acruisingcouple]

We are sailing on the Victory out of San Juan and have a question-as the ship departs late evening I have heard that many people check in, drop off their luggage, and go back into San Juan for the afternoon/evening.

 

Is there a separate line to re-board the ship afterwards (for those who have checked in and dropped off their luggage already)?

 

We are considering getting off the ship for a bit however dont want to get caught back in a huge line with those boarding/checking in with all their luggage for the first time...

 

Thanks in advance for your reply!

[Annabella29]

Hi,

 

We did it just last month, and it was a breeze getting back on. There's a second line that by-passes the check-in lines and you only go through the scan machines.

[marsh-angler]

We arrived to the pier early and was second in line to check-in on our January cruise and after everything was complete we left the terminal for more sightseeing. This was our third time in San Juan so we knew what we wanted to do. Several hours later we returned, going to the normal security checks we were on the ship with no problems.

[MagSeven1413]

We have dropped our bags with the porters before boarding and then continued exploring OSJ. Of course, we usually stay at the Sheraton across the street and they hold our bags too.

[trvlqueen]

Just a note - it's easy to take another bottle of wine on the second time you re-board. CVS is right across the street. :)

[Isa65]

You should be fine.... After 4 p.m. all the lines are gone and you can just walk through security and get back on board. And there are lots of people just staying on board, exploring etc, so there won't be much traffic from the re-boarders. You're in for a fun cruise - enjoy!

[mara93]

Pretty easy to do.

There's a separate line that avoids the check in desks.

[Kaseybear16]

My husband and I were one of the first on board, we just cruised 12/4-12/11. We got back off the ship around 1:30pm and went across to CVS. We re-boarded around 2:30. We were able to bypass all the lines by showing our sail and sign card. The only line we had to wait it was for the security scanner as you enter the ship. That line was fairly short, 5 minutes waiting at most. This worked out well because the rooms were now ready and our luggage was already in the hallway. It felt really good being able to unpack and rest and still have plenty of time to just go up top and relax until sail away.

[Harbie]

We are on the Victory in January for the first time> Good tips on here for boarding and getting back off to sightsee, sounds like no worries

/ thanks

[peacekeeper54]

Hello all.Love reading all the interesting posts about Carnival. We are scheduled to cruise on January 1st on the Carnival Victory. We haven't sailed since our Honeymoon in 1993 and now, three kids later, we're bring them along. Looking forward to having some fun. Question, is it best to plan all your land excursions prior to getting on board? We were going to book the Jolly Roger in Barbasdos but not sure if this is a good idea? Thoughts from anyone? Thanks and see you on board. Flying out of Toronto on the 1st so I hope we make it on time.

[25years2gether]

Hello all.Love reading all the interesting posts about Carnival. We are scheduled to cruise on January 1st on the Carnival Victory. We haven't sailed since our Honeymoon in 1993 and now, three kids later, we're bring them along. Looking forward to having some fun. Question, is it best to plan all your land excursions prior to getting on board? We were going to book the Jolly Roger in Barbasdos but not sure if this is a good idea? Thoughts from anyone? Thanks and see you on board. Flying out of Toronto on the 1st so I hope we make it on time.

 

Hi George and Adriana: We are on the Victory with you on January 1st!! Just 12 days to go (but who's counting?). Let's hope there is no snow and you make it to the ship on time -- you are very brave flying in on the 1st. I am the type that likes to plan so for some ports I would definitely book excursions prior to getting on the ship. I would book St. Lucia prior. There are so many great tour guides recommended in the Ports of Call - Shore Excursions - Caribbean section. St. Thomas is another island where I would recommend pre-booking. There are some great reputable tour guides that combine shopping/tour/beach or if your kids aren't into shopping, you can do the tour/beach only. It all depends on what you want to do. St. Kitts has taxis waiting when you walk along the pier and they have regulated rates posted (I think $26 for a half-day tour) or somewhere around $10 to take you to the beach. Barbados also had plenty of taxis waiting to take you but I don't know if their rates are regulated. It's nice not having every day pre-booked though -- that way if you decide you just want to relax, you can do whatever. You're on vacation right?? Have fun and perhaps we will meet on the Victory. Diane

[excitedcruzr]

Hello all.Love reading all the interesting posts about Carnival. We are scheduled to cruise on January 1st on the Carnival Victory. We haven't sailed since our Honeymoon in 1993 and now, three kids later, we're bring them along. Looking forward to having some fun. Question, is it best to plan all your land excursions prior to getting on board? We were going to book the Jolly Roger in Barbasdos but not sure if this is a good idea? Thoughts from anyone? Thanks and see you on board. Flying out of Toronto on the 1st so I hope we make it on time.

 

Come and join our roll call :) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1393625

 

I have excursions planned for pretty much every island - kind of regretting it, because we'll be so busy, but at the same time, I think it'll make for lots of fun and lots of memories. Hope to meet you :)

[peacekeeper54]

We're looking forward to doing a few excursions but lots of RELAXING!. It's been a long year so this is going to be a welcome trip. I know we're taking our chances flying out on the 1st. but when we tried to get a hotel booked for a day or two earlier, they were all booked up. It's been a light winter so far, so we hope it continues. We are scheduled to arrive in San Juan at 15:46 hrs. on Sunday, so all we can do now is to keep our fingers crossed. See you on board!