Things to Do After Debarkation but Before Airport

[jvitatoe26]

Hello!

 

Our United Airlines flight was changed, and we are now departing San Juan at 4:35pm on Sunday June 2nd. As this is my first cruise, Im not entirely sure when we will actually leave the ship and how long it will take to clear immigration, but I'd imagine we have at minimum 6 hours before we would need to head to the airport (assuming we need to be there around 2:30pm - correct me if Im wrong here).

 

While at first I thought this would be great, as we would have more time in San Juan after the cruise, I am wondering if I should switch to an earlier flight, bc I am not sure what we could do since we will have our luggage. Has anyone had a similar experience?? What did you do?? I would welcome any suggestions - we are open to anything!

 

Thanks!

[gogmy]

We are in the same situation. United changed our flights, now we leave at 4:30???? What to do from time we leave ship about 8:00 AM I am assuming. We also would appreciate some help. Is it safe to roam around San Juan by ourselves, or should be hire a tour?

 

Jan, Mariena and Morgan

[roothy123]

Hi. We flew to San Juan on a Friday (March 8th, I think it was) to get on the Celebrity Summit at Pan American Pier (NOT the one in Old San Juan) the next day. We know someone in San Juan, and he offered to pick us up and let us stay at his house, but he couldn't come get us until 5 or 6. That meant we would have 4 or 5 hours to kill in San Juan. We took a cab to the Radisson Hotel in the Condado area (midway between airport and Old San Juan) and left our bags (other than valuables, of course) with the bellhop there. I had called a couple days earlier, explained that I was NOT staying at the hotel and that while my husband may gamble for a short while in their casino, we basically just wanted to park our bags there. They said that was fine. We tipped the bellhop and he gave us tags to show when we returned. Cab fare with 4 bags (which consisted of one large one and 3 carryon/personal-sized items - one of which was held in the cab by me) was around $20 including about a 10 or 12% tip to get from the airport to the Radisson. Then we took a cab to Old San Juan, to the front of the walkway in front of El Morro, for $15 plus a tip. You could also take the public bus that runs down Avenida Ashford, right outside the Radisson, for 75 cents, but my husband opted for the cab.

 

We walked around in El Morro (beautiful views) and then hopped on the free trolley to go to the other fort for more great views. We got on the wrong one coming back and ended up going past where we wanted to get off, but saw some of the sights just sitting on the trolley. Around 5:30 our friend picked us up, took us to the Radisson, and then to his house. Traffic was heavy, but then I hear that's typical for San Juan.

 

You can also store your bags at Barrachina restaurant in Old San Juan (google them for details), or at a bicycle place in Old San Juan. Both of these places are near the Old San Juan pier, which would be wonderful if your ship was docked at the Old San Juan pier, but since those are normally used only for day-trippers on cruises, you'll likely NOT be there. So there will be a cab ride or two involved if you want to go to San Juan. I think I found a web site that lists official taxi rates if you come from/to the airport. If I find it later when I unpack, I'll post a link.

 

As to getting out and to and through the airport in San Juan, yesterday we had a wonderfully pain-free experience - see my post elsewhere for details. However, keep in mind that we left the ship at 7:30 AM on a Saturday...not sure if everyone has such a great experience.

 

If you want to change your flights, you may be able to get United or whoever to do that without charge, according to a post elsewhere on this forum, since changing a flight by 3 hours is pretty drastic.

[jvitatoe26]

We are in the same situation. United changed our flights, now we leave at 4:30???? What to do from time we leave ship about 8:00 AM I am assuming. We also would appreciate some help. Is it safe to roam around San Juan by ourselves, or should be hire a tour?

 

Jan, Mariena and Morgan

 

Im so sorry to hear that its happened to you too! Our return flight was changed a total of 3 times. Our flight to San Juan was changed once - without any communication from United, I found out by accident when I called to complain about the second change. It also gets us to San Juan after 4pm...originally we were going to be there at noon. I know its not much of a difference, but 1) we will now be spending 2.5 hours of that time sitting in an airport and 2) we are much more limited with our first day options to sightsee etc by arriving that late, picking up a rental and getting all the way to Rio Grande to check in. *Sigh*

[jvitatoe26]

[You can also store your bags at Barrachina restaurant in Old San Juan (google them for details), or at a bicycle place in Old San Juan. Both of these places are near the Old San Juan pier, which would be wonderful if your ship was docked at the Old San Juan pier, but since those are normally used only for day-trippers on cruises, you'll likely NOT be there. So there will be a cab ride or two involved if you want to go to San Juan.

 

 

This is actually great to hear as we had originally planned on having dinner or doing a "tour" of several restaurants in Old San Juan on Friday night and due to the schedule change that is likely no longer an option, so I would love to be able to still have lunch at Barrachina! Did you just call them and arrange this, or email? Thanks!

[sempronialou]

It is safe to walk around San Juan. I would recommend walking around Old San Juan and going to the El Morro and Castillo de San Cristobal. There's a trolley that can take you between both or you can easily walk from one to the other. The forts are really cool to explore. There's some really interesting sites within Old San Juan and some good restaurants. That will probably take up some time.

[roothy123]

Yep, I agree - it's safe to walk around by yourself, or take the trolley. It's slow but free and sure! Just get a map so you know which trolley you want - there are several and they make different stops. If you want to go to El Morro, there is one that takes you all the way up to the entrance, which will save some uphill walking in the hot sun. It's called the "fort trolley" or something like that; funded by the govt and has federal license plates! I printed out a map and info before we left, but you can probably find a tourism rep walking around to help you.

 

Here's info I compiled before I left. We ended up using the Radisson (and simply tipped well) but Barrachina's sounds like a good option. Their web site doesn't mention needing to reserve anything in advance, so I would think you could just go there and ask for bag storage. Obviously I'm sure they'd like you to eat there, but I would guess it's not mandatory! Anyway, here are my notes on it:

 

Barrachina's (104 Forteleza) will hold your luggage until 5. http://barrachina.com/indexb.php

 

Paradise Rentals offers baggage storage at Pier 2 (OSJ) for $5 a bag until 5. Another person says: we asked at passenger services on ship and they told us of a place in Old San Juan that had reasonably priced luggage storage, $3 large, $2 medium, $1 small. We took a taxi to Pier 4 (docked at Pan Am). Across street from Pier 4 in an office/retail building was a place that had a sign on window; when we inquired he said he didn't have a set price for luggage and that he worked for tips.

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As for Barrachina's, I did not get there as we screwed up and got on the wrong trolley, but apparently the area around there is really pretty and "the" Forteleza looks beautiful too.

[gogmy]

Thank you, I really appreciate your advise. It makes it much easier having someone who has been there, done that, tell me where to go and what to look for. This will be our last stop of our trip/cruise and with your help I think it will work out fine now. I will be back to let you know how we did. Thanks again.

 

 

 

 

Jan, Mariena, Morgan:D

[roothy123]

Well, we absolutely loved San Juan, so even if all you do is take a few trolleys around their loops, explore the narrow, colorful streets around the most western part of Old San Juan, and perhaps make a short visit to El Morro, I think it will be the time, effort and cab fare involved!

[trish1c]

I love that little extra time in San Juan. As others have said, stow your luggage at Barrachina's then tour the old city at your leisure. We get a big meal before heading to the AP; way better than airline food & a fully belly makes it much easier to go to sleep on the flight home.

[jvitatoe26]

Thank you all for the suggestions! I am definitely going to move our "food tour" to Sunday lunch now that we wont make it to Friday (the week before) dinner! Im guessing most of the restaurants are open since Sunday is a "port day"?

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[cosmo115]

You might also want to consider looking at an excursion from the cruise line that includes airport transfers on disembarkation day.

 

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving all my luggage at a restaurant, but that's just me.

 

The two excursions I'm considering for my cruise that sails on Sunday are:

 

El Yunque Rain Forest Hike with Airport Drop-Off - 4.5 hours - $44/person

 

Overview: Instead of sitting at the airport waiting for your flight home, take advantage of this unique opportunity to hike through the famous El Yunque National Forest. El Yunque encompasses 28,000 acres and reaches an elevation of 3,526 feet, so it is pleasantly cool. - Highlights: Hike through El Yunque National Forest along the Caimitillo Trail with stops at the Yohaku observation tower and Coca Waterfall. - Notes: This tour is only available to guests with flights departing from San Juan at 4 pm or later. For those guests on consecutive cruises, this tour will return to the vessel.

 

 

Old and New San Juan City Tour with Airport Drop-Off - 3 hours - $34/person

 

Overview: Enjoy a scenic city tour of old and new San Juan before your flight. This tour includes a visit to the largest fort ever built by the Spanish. - Highlights: Narrated bus tour of old and new San Juan with a visit Fort San Cristobal. The tour ends at the airport. - Notes: This tour is available to guests with domestic flights departing after 2:30 pm and guests with international flights departing after 3:30 pm. For guests sailing on consecutive cruises, this tour will return to the ship.

 

Have fun!

[roothy123]

You might also want to consider looking at an excursion from the cruise line that includes airport transfers on disembarkation day.

 

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving all my luggage at a restaurant, but that's just me.

 

The two excursions I'm considering for my cruise that sails on Sunday are:

 

El Yunque Rain Forest Hike with Airport Drop-Off - 4.5 hours - $44/person

 

Overview: Instead of sitting at the airport waiting for your flight home, take advantage of this unique opportunity to hike through the famous El Yunque National Forest. El Yunque encompasses 28,000 acres and reaches an elevation of 3,526 feet, so it is pleasantly cool. - Highlights: Hike through El Yunque National Forest along the Caimitillo Trail with stops at the Yohaku observation tower and Coca Waterfall. - Notes: This tour is only available to guests with flights departing from San Juan at 4 pm or later. For those guests on consecutive cruises, this tour will return to the vessel.

 

 

Old and New San Juan City Tour with Airport Drop-Off - 3 hours - $34/person

 

Overview: Enjoy a scenic city tour of old and new San Juan before your flight. This tour includes a visit to the largest fort ever built by the Spanish. - Highlights: Narrated bus tour of old and new San Juan with a visit Fort San Cristobal. The tour ends at the airport. - Notes: This tour is available to guests with domestic flights departing after 2:30 pm and guests with international flights departing after 3:30 pm. For guests sailing on consecutive cruises, this tour will return to the ship.

 

Have fun!

 

We took out a few things from our luggage before giving it to the bellhop at the Radisson. Yes, I suppose you never know if someone is going to tamper with your stuff, but I would think that would be a rare situation.

 

Just my two cents, in case you are waffling between these two tours: El Yunque is certainly something that Puerto Ricans are proud of, but quite honestly, I found it a little disappointing. Of course, we did not hike at all, just drove around and visited a waterfall by the road side (not really going strong, but pretty), an observation tower, and an overlook or two, so you may see more if you hike. Yes, it's pretty, but you will see a lot of "pretty" in the Caribbean, so you may not find El Yunque to be all that different from what you've already seen by the end of the cruise. As to the San Juan tour, I am not sure what size "bus" they use in Old San Juan, and I would probably want to know if you would be taken around past the major sites in Old San Juan. The streets are narrow, and Old San Juan is best walked, not driven - although the free trolleys DO manage to make it around many places (with effort!) It's a shame they take you to Fort Cristobal rather than El Morro, but that's probably because it's pretty congested way down at El Morro. You will at least see El Morro from Cristobal, which is good! The views along there are great.

 

If you're going to go on one of these excursions (and certainly they are easier and less stressful than doing touring on your own pre-airport), I vote for the San Juan excursion!

[Madden05]

We did the Rainforest Tour through Royal Carribean in January. It was awesome! It was so nice not to worry about your luggage. The tour is a very good tour! Our flight didn't leave until 6pm and it worked out perfectly!

[pippi74]

Hi,

We are strongly considering going to Barrachina's and taking advantage of their bag drop. We have a flight leaving PR at 5:30 on a Saturday. Our cruise ship will likely have us off the ship at about 8am. We've been to OSJ before- it's a beautiful place to walk around, but it tends to get very hot and sticky very quickly. We're wondering if anyone knows of a hotel in the area that offers day passes? Ideally a place that would have shower facilities, a pool, beach access (nice, but not necessary), someplace we could swim and relax on a lounge chair before heading to the air port.

 

Thanks!

[mlfallis]

We did the Rainforest Tour through Royal Carribean in January. It was awesome! It was so nice not to worry about your luggage. The tour is a very good tour! Our flight didn't leave until 6pm and it worked out perfectly!

 

We are looking at doing this one next year, do you mind if I ask some questions?

 

How rough is the terrain? Is it suitable for children? How long are you 'hiking'?

 

Our group is 3 people in their early 30s, one in their 60s, and 3 kids - 6 yrs and younger. I would love to take them into the rainforest.

[Snorkel Dawg]

Thanks for the Barrachina restaurant tip everyone. This will work out great for as we too have a late flight out...

[CaribbeanBound]

There's lots of good options. I agree on the forts.

 

 

Here's a great excursion if you are flying out of San Juan and have some time to kill before your flight. When exiting the terminal building for transportation you will see two orange booths. The one on the left is for "Taxis". The one on the right is for "Sightseeing Tours". For $25 per person, we gave our bags to the sightseeing tour guide. He loaded the bags into the back of his air conditioned van, and we jumped in, took a seat and waited for the large van to fill. Once full (about 16 or 18 passengers), our driver Hector left the port and headed for Old San Juan. He gave us information about the city, stopped for pictures, allowed us 15 minutes to tour the Capital, 40 minutes to explore Fort San Cristobal, a quick stop at Casa Don Q's (2 blocks from the OSJ docks and across the street from Tijuana's Bar and Grill) for a quick pitch on Don Q rum and free rum drinks. (My wife enjoyed a Pina Colada). Hector then dropped us off downtown to shop for 45 minutes. We grabbed a quick trinket and walked a block to the Parrot Club for lunch. Very interesting place. My wife just loves the decor. Our waiter was friendly, very courteous, and efficient. While not inexpensive, the food is outstanding and well worth the visit if you enjoy nice flavors. At 12:40pm we boarded the van and he dropped a few folks (who had evening flights) off at Lupis to enjoy lunch while the rest of us went to the airport. He then went back and picked up the Lupis group to continued their tour. Recommended! This was a great way to spend some free time in San Juan and get to the airport.

 

More Secrets of the Caribbean: www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

[Snorkel Dawg]

There's lots of good options. I agree on the forts.

 

 

Here's a great excursion if you are flying out of San Juan and have some time to kill before your flight. When exiting the terminal building for transportation you will see two orange booths. The one on the left is for "Taxis". The one on the right is for "Sightseeing Tours". For $25 per person, we gave our bags to the sightseeing tour guide. He loaded the bags into the back of his air conditioned van, and we jumped in, took a seat and waited for the large van to fill. Once full (about 16 or 18 passengers), our driver Hector left the port and headed for Old San Juan. He gave us information about the city, stopped for pictures, allowed us 15 minutes to tour the Capital, 40 minutes to explore Fort San Cristobal, a quick stop at Casa Don Q's (2 blocks from the OSJ docks and across the street from Tijuana's Bar and Grill) for a quick pitch on Don Q rum and free rum drinks. (My wife enjoyed a Pina Colada). Hector then dropped us off downtown to shop for 45 minutes. We grabbed a quick trinket and walked a block to the Parrot Club for lunch. Very interesting place. My wife just loves the decor. Our waiter was friendly, very courteous, and efficient. While not inexpensive, the food is outstanding and well worth the visit if you enjoy nice flavors. At 12:40pm we boarded the van and he dropped a few folks (who had evening flights) off at Lupis to enjoy lunch while the rest of us went to the airport. He then went back and picked up the Lupis group to continued their tour. Recommended! This was a great way to spend some free time in San Juan and get to the airport.

 

More Secrets of the Caribbean: www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

 

 

That's a good option! Thanks for sharing

[LookingForward2]

There's lots of good options. I agree on the forts.

 

 

Here's a great excursion if you are flying out of San Juan and have some time to kill before your flight. When exiting the terminal building for transportation you will see two orange booths. The one on the left is for "Taxis". The one on the right is for "Sightseeing Tours". For $25 per person, we gave our bags to the sightseeing tour guide. He loaded the bags into the back of his air conditioned van, and we jumped in, took a seat and waited for the large van to fill. Once full (about 16 or 18 passengers), our driver Hector left the port and headed for Old San Juan. He gave us information about the city, stopped for pictures, allowed us 15 minutes to tour the Capital, 40 minutes to explore Fort San Cristobal, a quick stop at Casa Don Q's (2 blocks from the OSJ docks and across the street from Tijuana's Bar and Grill) for a quick pitch on Don Q rum and free rum drinks. (My wife enjoyed a Pina Colada). Hector then dropped us off downtown to shop for 45 minutes. We grabbed a quick trinket and walked a block to the Parrot Club for lunch. Very interesting place. My wife just loves the decor. Our waiter was friendly, very courteous, and efficient. While not inexpensive, the food is outstanding and well worth the visit if you enjoy nice flavors. At 12:40pm we boarded the van and he dropped a few folks (who had evening flights) off at Lupis to enjoy lunch while the rest of us went to the airport. He then went back and picked up the Lupis group to continued their tour. Recommended! This was a great way to spend some free time in San Juan and get to the airport.

 

I was just going to post almost the exact same thing! this was a GREAT opportunity to use this time and get dropped off at the airport in plenty of time. Our guide was excellent as well and we got a great overview of OSJ.

I cannot suggest this option more highly....

[Garn]

We did the same thing- even ate at Lupis, which was WONDERFUL. Fantastic option.

[jvitatoe26]

There's lots of good options. I agree on the forts.

 

 

Here's a great excursion if you are flying out of San Juan and have some time to kill before your flight. When exiting the terminal building for transportation you will see two orange booths. The one on the left is for "Taxis". The one on the right is for "Sightseeing Tours". For $25 per person, we gave our bags to the sightseeing tour guide. He loaded the bags into the back of his air conditioned van, and we jumped in, took a seat and waited for the large van to fill. Once full (about 16 or 18 passengers), our driver Hector left the port and headed for Old San Juan. He gave us information about the city, stopped for pictures, allowed us 15 minutes to tour the Capital, 40 minutes to explore Fort San Cristobal, a quick stop at Casa Don Q's (2 blocks from the OSJ docks and across the street from Tijuana's Bar and Grill) for a quick pitch on Don Q rum and free rum drinks. (My wife enjoyed a Pina Colada). Hector then dropped us off downtown to shop for 45 minutes. We grabbed a quick trinket and walked a block to the Parrot Club for lunch. Very interesting place. My wife just loves the decor. Our waiter was friendly, very courteous, and efficient. While not inexpensive, the food is outstanding and well worth the visit if you enjoy nice flavors. At 12:40pm we boarded the van and he dropped a few folks (who had evening flights) off at Lupis to enjoy lunch while the rest of us went to the airport. He then went back and picked up the Lupis group to continued their tour. Recommended! This was a great way to spend some free time in San Juan and get to the airport.

 

More Secrets of the Caribbean: www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

 

This sounds great actually! Do you happen to know if we would be able to grab a quick lunch at Barrachina if we do this? I'm not sure of the proximity but I've heard (read) so much about this place I kinda wanna try it lol

[jvitatoe26]

Does anyone know where I can find info on the Sightseeing Tours at the cruise pier online? I'd like to go ahead and book this. Thanks!!!!

[Snorkel Dawg]

We recently returned from a sailing out of OSJ . The guy charging for luggage at barcchanas charged us $10 to store our 3 bags until we headed tothe airport. I felt they were safe and secure. A great pre or post cruise options

[Jasonskid]

Thank you everyone, these are great options.

 

We leave on the Jewel of the Seas September 28th and come back on the 5th and our flight does not leave till 4:55

 

I was really starting to worry about having to carry our luggage around all day.

 

Thanks again!

Jason