San Juan and St. Thomas

[mauijerry]

My wife and I are booked on NA cruise Nov. 29 thru Dec. 13. We have excursions booked for all ports but San Juan and St. Thomas. In San Juan we would like to do a little sightseeing of the coastline and some historical sights. On St. Thomas something possibly water/catamaran related (St. Johns perhaps). We just don't want an hour or so bus ride to and from a pickup/drop off point in between. We usually book HAL tours but would consider other options! Your thoughts are appreciated!! Jerry

[CruiserBruce]

If you want to research doing things on your own, the place to do it is on the Ports boards, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

[mauijerry]

Thanks Bruce. I have done that more than once. I was just hoping that I would get more recent feedback on this part of the forum!

[kazu]

If St. John is of interest to you, one tour to consider is the transfer from St. Thomas to St. John by HAL. I have done it twice and it was only $1 more when I did it than if I tried to do the ferry on my own. It parks right next to the ship and makes it easy to do.

 

You get a narration of some of the things you are seeing on the way and have time on your own in St. John. I am not a HAL excursion fan but this one is a winner with me.

 

San Juan is quite easy to do on your own. There is even a shuttle that will take you to the two forts. If you explore the two forts and some of old town, that will take up most of your day. hope this helps a bit?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Do agree about taking HAL's ferry excursion over to St John's. HAL dock's at Crown Bay and to get to Red Hook on your own and then take a ferry over to St John on your own can be quite a hassle. And you don't want to worry about missing the ship.

San Juan is easy to do on your own as Kazu said.

[Daisyloo]

Hi Jerry, we are on the same cruise as you. We did this exact cruise last year too and loved it.

In San Juan we walked off the ship and got on the HOHO trolley. It's a short walk from the ship. If I remember correctly as we got off the ship we were handed a map of the area and the trolley stops were on there. It's free and does a route all around Old San Juan. We got off at the fort San Cristobal and toured that. The entrance fee for the fort is $5.00 each, and that allows you entrance to the other fort in San Juan, El Moro as well. It was a great way to see San Juan. We plan on doing the same again in December.

[POA1]

If you happen to be retired US Military, you'll get a significant discount on admission to the two forts since they're part of the National Parks system. You'll need your military ID though. DFIL was career Air Force. There's a fair amount of walking, and you climb a lot of stairs to really explore the forts. We didn't have a problem, but you have to remember that these structures were built before elevators and escalators. (Or decent cannons.)

[retdon]

I agree with everyone on the free trolly in San Juan. We did it this past April and really enjoyed it. Here is the link to their web site, take the El Moro trip to see both forts.

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/free-trolley-old-san-juan/

 

You can also see a map of the routes and where the stops are, hop on hop off. Old San Juan is really pretty, safe and a lot to see and eat, yummy....

 

I agree with comments on St. John's, Trunk Bay a National Park with an underwater trail to follow while snorkeling.....

[take us away]

Also agree about the trolley in San Juan - it is great fun and free.

 

If not military, you can use your US national parks pass if you have one. A senior pass. which is a life time pass for $10, is available if over 62 and I think you can purchase one at the PR parks.

 

Here is where it will work in PR per the US National Park Service:

The San Juan National Historic Site (World Heritage Site) is comprised of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Castillo San Cristobal, most of the city walls, the San Juan Gate and Fort San Juan de la Cruz just across the entrance to the bay.

[navybankerteacher]

If you happen to be retired US Military, you'll get a significant discount on admission to the two forts since they're part of the National Parks system. You'll need your military ID though. DFIL was career Air Force. There's a fair amount of walking, and you climb a lot of stairs to really explore the forts. We didn't have a problem, but you have to remember that these structures were built before elevators and escalators. (Or decent cannons.)

 

If you are not retired military, ask about buying a "Senior Pass" in stead of simple admission - for just $5 or $10 more than the basic admission you get the pass - good for free lifetime admission to National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands (for age 62 and older) - we've used ours all over: Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, New York, Wyoming, Montana, California, etc.

[POA1]

If you are not retired military, ask about buying a "Senior Pass" in stead of simple admission - for just $5 or $10 more than the basic admission you get the pass - good for free lifetime admission to National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands (for age 62 and older) - we've used ours all over: Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, New York, Wyoming, Montana, California, etc.

Also a good tip. Thanks!

[mauijerry]

Thanks for all your suggestions!! The trolley in San Juan sounds perfect and the HAL excursion to St. John's could work also! Any other thoughts? Thanks again!!

[NoWhiners]

I'm not sure if this is what you are interested in, but last March we did a private tour in San Juan called Old San Juan Food Tour (may also be called Flavors of San Juan). We booked it thru the big box store we use for our cruise reservations (rhymes with bosco) but it was offered by Shore Excursions Group LLC and I know others booked it who weren't on a cruise. It was great--we started off with a breakfast sandwich and coffee stop, followed by ice cream and other small snacks along the way (I only remember the breakfast/coffee stop, ice cream, chocolate store, a restaurant where we tried some local snacks and a final stop where we had the best pina colada ever). It was great. While it was a "food" tour, we walked all over old San Juan and saw all the major sights. At the end of this tour, our guide (Carmen) gave people specific directions to go see what they wanted and escorted the rest of us back close to the port. We met by a major bank very close to the port that was easy to walk to.

 

I'm sure if you google Flavors of San Juan or even Shore Excursions group, you could fine their site. We had a great time and think this was one of the best tours we have ever taken. Our guide knew a lot of PR history and was really nice. The food was just an extra benefit, since she really gave us an overview of San Juan that was really complete.

 

Good luck

ML

[bonvoyagebites]

San Juan is a great place. I would love to go back.

 

Our blog has a brand new video of a sailing trip we booked where we sailed from St Thomas to St John on a 6-passenger sailboat, and snorkeled in St. John. (part of the video is from a later day where we were in St Kitts)... We had a great time on that sailboat, and they can be found easily if that is something that interests you.

 

San Juan is a great place, and the free trolley was an awesome way to get around. Look on the blog for a quick photo tour of San Juan also

 

http://bonvoyagebites.com/2015/07/carnival-victory-daysail-and-snorkeling-in-st-thomas-st-john-and-st-kitts/

 

Enjoy your trip! We had a blast at both of those ports. San Juan, we just wandered about and went to the fortress. That is where our cruise departed from, so we spent a few extra days there and would love to go back!

[Typhoon1]

St. Thomas is our least favorite stop. It is so commercialized, we have resorted to staying onboard.

 

We've been to both many times, at least San Juan affords you the ability to cross the street, wander around Old Towne, shop, and take in some of the history of the city.

[mauijerry]

Thanks for all for the additional suggestions!

[sofietucker]

You're going at the *perfect time* in the Carib! Great weather, fewer tourists, post hurricanes.

 

At El Moro in SJ, be sure to check out the cemetery below the cliff (east? if facing the fortress, it's to your right). Very scenic, waves crashing against the seawall... The graves are mostly raised crypts as in New Orleans cemeteries. Above this is the neighborhood called La Perla, a dangerous slum--not to be confused with the restaurant Perla in the LaConcha resort!--so probly don't want to actually visit the cemetery.

 

La Fortaleza, and the solid silver altar at the end of the street next to Parque de las Palomas. La Casa Blanca, the cathedral.

 

And you'll be there as the Christmas season starts, with traditional holiday menus in the restaurants. Puerto Rican food is unlike other Hispanic cuisines--spicy, complex, but not hot.

 

For St Thomas--If you're from Maui, sea life per se isn't likely a novelty. But Trunk Bay on St John's has a nice snorkel trail... Pretty much recovered from storm damage the last time we were there (a hazard in hurricane country). Unfortunately, you do have to commit to a combo bus/ferry ride to get there from Red Hook (either OYO or via HAL, takes time) unless you can find a catamaran straight out of downtown near where you dock.

 

Or take a cat to the Buck Island marine preserve & snorkel over a wreck--with turtles, eagle rays, etc. Much faster/easier to get there than St John. We like One Love charters, fun & eco conscious.

 

Or spend a day at Sapphire Beach--snorkel among the rocks at the end. Just allow PLENTY of time to get back to the dock before departure--don't forget about rush hour!! It is a city...

[DaveOKC]

In St. Thomas I agree with others about just taking the HAL tour (about 100 yards from the ship) to St. Johns.

 

As to the San Juan free trolley/bus, it sometimes is best to walk a bit further to your left when exiting the ship, to catch the trolley at the stop before the closest one to the cruise ships. There are signs or you can just ask someone (many people about). The trolley gets crowded quickly on cruise ship days.

 

Also, take the trolley to both forts and then walk back (mostly downhill), Interesting things to see plus the walk is easy (unless its in the heat of the day).

[bonvoyagebites]

DaveOKC, great point about going to another trolley stop to ensure a spot on the trolley. I had forgotten about that one, but did something similar when there.