Leaving suitcases in the car in San Juan

[AMAC86]

Is it a bad idea to leave suitcases unattended in a rental car (perhaps in plain view) when touring the San Juan area? I'm not sure what sort of town San Juan is.

[sarafinadh]

That's a BAD idea in any town!

 

At least get them in the trunk out of sight.

[Gonzo70]

Never leave anything that appears potentially valuable visible unattended inside any car in any city.

[Giorgi-one]

Would you have fun on your cruise without luggage? I would never leave my suitcases in any car trunk or otherwise. Thieves are looking for tourists. Very easy for a thief to pop a car trunk.

[AMAC86]

Haha, ok well let me ask this then. Is there a way I could drop the bags off at the cruise port early in the morning (like 10AM, HA!) and then continue on to explore San Juan and then come to board the ship later?

[CuriousMind]

Haha, ok well let me ask this then. Is there a way I could drop the bags off at the cruise port early in the morning (like 10AM, HA!) and then continue on to explore San Juan and then come to board the ship later?

 

I think you can check in and get onboarded as early as 11 or 11:30? After that, you should be able to get off the ship and tour San Juan for a little bit.

 

CM

[kitty9]

You'll be able to drop your bags starting between 10 and 10:30.

[AMAC86]

Ah, so maybe it would be better to drop our bags off, board the ship, eat lunch, then tour San Juan for a few hours? Then get back on board the ship by 4 or so?

[M&M Hayden]

If you really want to see parts of San Juan drop your bags off at the port (or store them at the hotel) do your touring and be back to the ship for all aboard. The Pan Am pier isn't close to any "tourist attractions". IMO once you're on the ship it's going to be tough to get off.......would be like swimming against the current.

[AMAC86]

Well, the problem lies in that we were hoping to stay in bed and breakfast in Fajardo overnight and do some bioluminscent bay kayaking the night before, and then do all the San Juan stuff on the day of the cruise. For that, we would need a rental car. But since the ship is leaving from the Pan Am pier and I was hoping to be on the ship by maybe 2 o'clock or so and maybe grab a late lunch (we have late seating dinner). This means in order to have time to do all the San Juan stuff we wanted to do (I estimate it would take 3-4 hours), I'd either have to leave the bags in the trunk or drop them off at the ship around 10AM.

 

I suppose the latter is probably best, although maybe I'll just pay a few extra bucks and make sure the rental car has a trunk where nothing is out in the open.

[ghstudio]

Perhaps my years living in NYC have clouded my senses....but I would not worry if all the bags were in the trunk, out of site. Just leave nothing in the car itself. I don't think I'd park down a dark alley, but no problem parking on a busy street, in a parking lot or garage (as long as you can lock the car and keep the key). I have never had a trunk forced open...rental car or my own car anywhere in the world. I know some find it hard to believe but "criminals" don't just randomly open car trunks just in case there's something there.... If they did, you would see trunk lock problems on all rental cars. Just think about it....

 

On the other hand, if you want to leave your bags, your computer, etc on the back seat, then you can save yourself some potentially large repair/insurance costs by leaving your car door open and perhaps the window as well....so somecan can remove your luggage without damaging your car. Alternatively, put your luggage on the sidewalk next to the car, lock the car and at least your car will probably not be damaged :)

[snaebyllej]

Since I never have anything along that's worth stealing anyway, I figure the best thing is to leave the suitcases open on the back seat so they can see it's not worth breaking in for.

[Redtravel]

Kiss those suitcases goodbye. You may also get your rental care damaged or stolen. San Juan is that bad.

[Gonzo70]

Rent a car with a large enough trunk to keep all your personal belongings in the trunk while the car is unoccupied.

[olemissreb]

7 years ago, we did the opposite of what you are doing. We disembarked and then got a rental car. We stowed all our luggage in the trunk and drove out to Bacardi, toured, then drove to lunch where the valet took the car. Never had a bit of trouble. I'd just make sure you have a car with a big enough trunk and stow the luggage in the trunk. In the tourist areas, you should be fine. I'm sure if there had been a rash of break-ins in San Juan, the rental companies would be raising cane and rentals would be plummeting.

[AMAC86]

Drove after going to the Bacardi factory? Sounds like a recipe for disaster! :D

[kitty9]

Remember, you must be on board the ship 90 minutes before sailing, regardless of what time you first check in. If you're later than that, you can be denied boarding.

[olemissreb]

Drove after going to the Bacardi factory? Sounds like a recipe for disaster! :D

 

Yeah, but we didn't use all our freebie tickets so I guess we were ok! :o:D

[Denny01]

You seem to be asking if doing something you shouldn't do in any town, if its OK in San Juan. Leaving your luggage is plain site in your car is not a good idea anywhere.

 

We were in Staunton VA, a picturesque small town in the Shannandah Valley and left most of our luggage in our van while staying in a B&B. Got up the next morning and all were gone, and had a broken lock. The police said theives love to get luggage, dump the stuff out of them, and then use them to look like tourist as they scan for open cars to steal electronics out of them and stick the stuff in the luggage.

 

Drop them off at the pier and enjoy the town. We love San Juan and find it a great place to wander on our own, but its like any city, it has its petty criminals. You walk down some alley with a $50 bill on your forehead, you might run into problems.

 

Den

[fleckle]

Is it a bad idea to leave suitcases unattended in a rental car (perhaps in plain view) when touring the San Juan area? I'm not sure what sort of town San Juan is.

Another possibility to consider would be to check your suitcases at the Barrachina Restaurant in San Juan while you go off touring.

 

It has been recommended on the San Juan board by people who used their luggage checking service. If you want to inquire about it over there, here is a link

 

San Juan, PR

[AMAC86]

Remember, you must be on board the ship 90 minutes before sailing, regardless of what time you first check in. If you're later than that, you can be denied boarding.

Thanks for the tip. Our sailing is at 8:30PM, so I think if I get there at 4PM I'll have plenty of time to spare.

[jacksback]

I would never leave anything in the truck. In St. Maarten they are so good they open your car doors and trunks and you don't even know they have done it. They take everything hats, beach stuff anything they can get. They will even take the spare tire. Bad idea in my mind.

[DivasDare]

Kiss those suitcases goodbye. You may also get your rental care damaged or stolen. San Juan is that bad.

 

I wouldn't even want to take a rental car into downtown SJ. Good luck with that.

[fleckle]

Kiss those suitcases goodbye. You may also get your rental care damaged or stolen. San Juan is that bad.

 

You seem to be asking if doing something you shouldn't do in any town, if its OK in San Juan. Leaving your luggage is plain site in your car is not a good idea anywhere.

 

We were in Staunton VA, a picturesque small town in the Shannandah Valley and left most of our luggage in our van while staying in a B&B. Got up the next morning and all were gone, and had a broken lock........

 

I would never leave anything in the truck. In St. Maarten they are so good they open your car doors and trunks and you don't even know they have done it. They take everything hats, beach stuff anything they can get. They will even take the spare tire. Bad idea in my mind.

Reading all these replies now makes the Barrachina Restaurant luggage checking option look even more attractive. I think we can forget about the rental car next time too and just ride the free trolley around San Juan.

 

It would not be worth traveling all the way out to the Pan Am pier just to check luggage because that would waste too much time, requiring doubling back and forth again. It would make better use of the time to finish all the San Juan sightseeing first before heading out for the ship.

[ghstudio]

If you are going to worry about this that much...don't rent a car because they may take the tires, smash the glass and so on. "they" may hit your car from behind and when you stop, they will rob, rape and kill you or sell you into slavery.

 

Get a grip folks!!!!

 

And if you're worried about luggage in your car, make sure you never walk near the curb because someone can grab your camera/backpack/bag from a motor scooter; if you feel anyone brush against you, immediately stop and check everything to make sure you weren't pickpocketed....don't leave anything in your hotel room because someone will take it, etc.

 

Take normal safeguards. I would much rather park and walk around downtown San Juan than some places in the 48 states. There are some terrible parts of London, Barcelona and some folks would make you think that you won't live to leave the docks if you get off the ship in Jamaica.

 

How are you going to enjoy your vacation if you worry about everything....just be prudent and try to enjoy your vacation.