Puerto Rico Hotels

[goldfish1111]

Hi. I was wondering if any Summit Cruisers have overnighted in Puerto Rico either pre or post cruise and where you stayed and what your experience was like. We are on the Summit Dec 12 and were supposed to stay at the Embassy Suites which is now going to be closed. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[easyboy]

There was an earlier post in another board where the poster just arrived today in San Juan and will check-in at Comfort Inn. This is after they were canceled out at Embassy Suites, La Concha, AC Hotel and Coral by the Sea

 

 

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[hcat]

From yahoo:

 

Marriott CEO: Some hotels in Puerto Rico could be closed for a year or two

 

 

Nicole Sinclair

Yahoo FinanceOctober 26, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Scroll down

 

 

 

 

The devastation and destruction caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria continues to hang over hard-hit areas of the country, particularly Puerto Rico. Marriott (MAR) CEO Arne Sorenson said the storms took their toll on the company’s business and that rebuilding efforts could take some time.

[taikoshiba]

Hi. I was wondering if any Summit Cruisers have overnighted in Puerto Rico either pre or post cruise and where you stayed and what your experience was like. We are on the Summit Dec 12 and were supposed to stay at the Embassy Suites which is now going to be closed. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

We are also on the Summit December 12th and are scheduled to fly to San Juan on December 10th. Will be following this thread for any information as to hotels taking reservations.

[Mynki]

We booked directly through Celebrity who advised they had a limited inventory of hotels which were open and fine to stay at. So if you've booked your cruise through them it might be worth trying to also book your hotel and even transfers through them.

 

We have been advised that there are no issues at all with transfers from the airport to hotels or cruise port. And independent checks also confirm this. We're on the same sailing. :)

[dateacher]

Didn't feel like worrying for my Jan. 6 cruise so I switched my plans to fly to FLL the day before and take the first flight the morning of into SJU. I figure there is less of a chance of bad weather out of FLL than BWI.

[goldfish1111]

Hi. Tried to book directly with Celebrity for the hotel/transfer package but they are not taking any new reservations because they are trying to accommodate the people they already have since the hotels Celebrity was using is currently closed. I'm also afraid of booking a hotel that isn't supposed to open until December.

[Northern Aurora]

We left the Summit this morning and am posting this from the El Convento (in Old San Juan). The hotel has electricity (we can hear the generators) and water. Their two restaurants are functioning. Also has AC and fast internet. And the elevator is operating.

[pattyham]

I can only say I am happy I did not plan on staying pre or post cruise and was never so happy to board my plane to depart San Juan following our cruise as I was yesterday. Traffic lights dangling and not working from cruise port to the interstate to the airport, no one directing traffic. Many had their hotels cancel at the 11 hour and no chance to fly home. Standing water and quite a few mosquitos, even at the airport. People bumped from overbooked flights being sent to AirBNB's. I can't say if this will all be in order for your upcoming cruises but I personally wouldn't take a chance for quite some time.

[GottaKnowWhen]

We are also on the Summit December 12th and are scheduled to fly to San Juan on December 10th. Will be following this thread for any information as to hotels taking reservations.

 

 

 

Check the roll call, there has been some good information shared there. I’ll be arriving on the 11th, leaving on the 24th, have confirmed rooms for both nights.

 

Stan

 

 

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[Mynki]

I can only say I am happy I did not plan on staying pre or post cruise and was never so happy to board my plane to depart San Juan following our cruise as I was yesterday. Traffic lights dangling and not working from cruise port to the interstate to the airport, no one directing traffic. Many had their hotels cancel at the 11 hour and no chance to fly home. Standing water and quite a few mosquitos, even at the airport. People bumped from overbooked flights being sent to AirBNB's. I can't say if this will all be in order for your upcoming cruises but I personally wouldn't take a chance for quite some time.

 

Thank god we get free laundry on our upcoming back to back. I'll be able to pack less clothes so I have space for a tent in my luggage! :D

 

Besides the rough trip from the ship to airport, how was the actual cruise itself?

[Northern Aurora]

An update to my prior post (#8) on this thread: We had originally booked three nights at the El Convento and will fly out tomorrow as planned. Since we checked in on October 28th we have had the opportunity to walk around Old San Juan.

 

The El Convento has power, water (including hot water), fast internet and restaurants. But they are generating all of their power using their own generators. Large generators (the size of a small travel trailer) have been brought in but it appears to us that much of OSJ is without power. Whole blocks are dark.

 

We are observing local residents obtaining ice from the El Convento. It is a very fluid situation as some restaurants and small shops have tried to re-open. Given the power situation and its uncertainty it appears that some businesses which had tried to open are now giving up and closing. Other small shops are trying to be open despite no power (just natural day light during the day).

 

We seem to be the only tourists at the El Convento, and we will be eternally grateful to them for honoring our reservation. The hotel is full of Coast Guard personnel, contractors and some local families whose homes have been destroyed. The overwhelming topic of discussion has been the power grid.

 

We have yet to see a mosquito, but OSJ is relatively high in elevation. There are no street lights. There are still a number of trees laying against building and tree debris blocking some streets. Taxis are in abundance and there was a line of taxis probably a half-mile length at the cruise terminal when we arrived on the Summit. The El Conveto desk clerk told us this morning to expect a hour in transit to the airport given the lack of traffic lights.

 

And if anyone is wondering -- we have spoken to several of the El Convento staff. While they realize they were hit with a major hurricane they are not impressed with the Federal government response.

[Ereggae]

There is a Sheraton Old San Juan that I accidentally came across. It was right across from where we docked downtown close to Walmart. I believe because this was the President's Cruise they requested to dock there as we are normally on the other side not close to downtown.

[Jennpenn24]

Your post is very helpful thank you! I will be traveling to SJ in 2 weeks to board the Summit.

 

An update to my prior post (#8) on this thread: We had originally booked three nights at the El Convento and will fly out tomorrow as planned. Since we checked in on October 28th we have had the opportunity to walk around Old San Juan.

 

The El Convento has power, water (including hot water), fast internet and restaurants. But they are generating all of their power using their own generators. Large generators (the size of a small travel trailer) have been brought in but it appears to us that much of OSJ is without power. Whole blocks are dark.

 

We are observing local residents obtaining ice from the El Convento. It is a very fluid situation as some restaurants and small shops have tried to re-open. Given the power situation and its uncertainty it appears that some businesses which had tried to open are now giving up and closing. Other small shops are trying to be open despite no power (just natural day light during the day).

 

We seem to be the only tourists at the El Convento, and we will be eternally grateful to them for honoring our reservation. The hotel is full of Coast Guard personnel, contractors and some local families whose homes have been destroyed. The overwhelming topic of discussion has been the power grid.

 

We have yet to see a mosquito, but OSJ is relatively high in elevation. There are no street lights. There are still a number of trees laying against building and tree debris blocking some streets. Taxis are in abundance and there was a line of taxis probably a half-mile length at the cruise terminal when we arrived on the Summit. The El Conveto desk clerk told us this morning to expect a hour in transit to the airport given the lack of traffic lights.

 

And if anyone is wondering -- we have spoken to several of the El Convento staff. While they realize they were hit with a major hurricane they are not impressed with the Federal government response.

[Northern Aurora]

There is a Sheraton Old San Juan that I accidentally came across. ........

 

 

Anyone planning to book a San Juan hotel room in the near future may find the posts on the thread titled "If you have actually STAYED ..... " an interesting read. It is located on the Carribean Cruise Critic forum. One poster is reporting that the Sheraton Old San Juan has suddenly canceled a reservation.