from pan am pier to Old San Juan

[tidygirl]

I am wondering if it is possible to walk from Royal Caribbean pier to Old San Juan? We have sailed on Carnival and it was very convenient to check in and walk off the ship to town, but I know Royal is on the other side of the bay? I am too cheap to pay for a taxi from the airport to the pier then over to Old San Juan and back to ship I'm afraid that would add up quickly! My husband and I walk 4+ miles regularly, but not sure if there are sidewalks to safely walk it? Is there a Walgreens of CVS on that side?

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Sorry, I would do a taxi. If I remember correctly it is an industrial area and heavy traffic. It was about a 10 minute taxi ride for us and the cost was reasonable. I will probably do it again on our B2B in May on turnaround day.

[seashinesunshine]

I am wondering if it is possible to walk from Royal Caribbean pier to Old San Juan? We have sailed on Carnival and it was very convenient to check in and walk off the ship to town, but I know Royal is on the other side of the bay? I am too cheap to pay for a taxi from the airport to the pier then over to Old San Juan and back to ship I'm afraid that would add up quickly! My husband and I walk 4+ miles regularly, but not sure if there are sidewalks to safely walk it? Is there a Walgreens of CVS on that side?

 

I agree, I would take a taxi. On a map it can look like you can walk and distance wise its not too far, but its not really walk friendly. Here is a link to a video I put on to show where the ship is in comparison to OSJ. When the video first starts you can see the Carnival Victory docked at the OSJ dock.

[OttoCal]

Google Maps shows that it is about 5 km, and they are calling that a 1 hour walk.

 

I'm not sure how long it takes you to walk that distance, and you would need to factor in the hot sun. For me, the time/cost factor would put this one in the taxi ride but to give up 2 hours walking in the sun to save about $30 round trip is totally your decision. But you could always take a taxi one direction too.

 

Plan for an unshaded walk, and I am not entirely sure if there were sidewalks on the bridge by the marina (look on Google maps to see where I mean). If there is no sidewalk there, that would be dangerous- very trafficky. I wouldn't call it a pleasant walk- industrial until you get to the bridge, the marina is pretty cool and I think has a bar, and uninspiring until you get to Old San Juan.

 

You could also take the bus from the Sheraton/Convention center, but it is hard to say when exactly it runs, and less frequent service on Sundays. 75 cents, exact change only.

 

Are you thinking of dropping off luggage at the ship on embarkation day and then walking around to OSJ? Depending on what day you go, do remember that some of the independent shops will be closed on Sunday. And you can find plenty of things to do onboard in the afternoon before your ship sails. It's often quite pleasant that day, because it is often very quiet and relaxing.

[OttoCal]

And no, no Walgreens/CVS over by the Pan Am pier.

[Caribbeancruzin]

Walgreens and CVS have locations in Old San Juan. I agree it is a bit of a hike especially if you're going to have to walk back too. Unless of course you're just going to walk to OSJ and taxi back to the pier. If you have any plans to wander the city in addition to walking there you really might want to reconsider the cost and "splurge".

[51Frazer]

Tidygirl,

We have been in contact with RCCL and we are NOT allowed to leave the ship once we have checked in. They said it's for security reasons...and we've gotten that answer several times from several different people at the cruise line. So do your sightseeing before you go to the Pan Am pier.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Tidygirl,

We have been in contact with RCCL and we are NOT allowed to leave the ship once we have checked in. They said it's for security reasons...and we've gotten that answer several times from several different people at the cruise line. So do your sightseeing before you go to the Pan Am pier.

 

I don't think that's true. We did it and many other people have reported the same thing.

[Caribbeancruzin]

I don't think that's true. We did it and many other people have reported the same thing.

 

 

perhaps there has been a change in policy since you last did it or maybe it depends on the captain.

[tidygirl]

I do know when we went with Carnival we were allowed back off in SJU,but we went out of Port Canaveral on RCI and hadn't taken all our carryons on board and when we wanted back off the ship it was a huge hassle! So not sure how it would be in SJU but wouldn't be surprised if it's the same there.

[Willman]

I would like to know for sure if you can leave the ship after check-in. We plan on seeing OSJ after boarding the Celebrity Summit in March.

[erniesband]

We just did a B2B on Jewel in January no problems with getting back off after checking in.

About walking from the Pan Am Pier to OSJ, it probably could be done but it's a walk that takes you through a not so good area, public housing with a reputation for drug activity, before you get to OSJ, i wouldn't do it.

Edited February 3, 2014 by erniesband

[pizza123]

Once when we were exploring the area, we started walking from the Carnival pier away from the main area (towards the other pier) and were stopped and told not to walk in that direction because it was too dangerous.