State of San Juan PR

[Goofyfanatic]

My wife just checked the website for the Rain Forest and it says that it is closed until further notice. How did these people go?

 

 

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[reno3]

Originally posted by indie

I was there in early December. Tons of tours available right at the end of the dock from locals. Did an old and new San Juan tour for $15pp for nearly 3 hours, got dropped of in a beautiful square about 2 or 3 blocks from the ship and ate at Cafe Puerto Rico, bought a frozen sherbert from a street cart and walked back. Everything seemed to be open in Old San Juan and couldn't really even notice a hurricane had hit unless you looked for tree damage in some of the parks or roofs of the homes on the water between the Forts.

 

Buildings we're decorated for Christmas.

Do you remember the tour operator and would you recommend them?

 

 

I would like to know this also. Where did the tour take you? We are thinking of doing the walking tour but I don't think the trolleys are running yet.

[indie]

Do you remember the tour operator and would you recommend them?

 

I would absolutely recommend him and I would tour with him again next time I visit. He gave narration the whole time, had a great sense of humor, made sure we got out and took pictures of us at all of the beautiful locations, pointed out celebrity youth homes, and was very patient at each stop and interacted with everyone.

 

All of the tour operators have t-shirts that say Happy Tours but they have different individual tour company brands and pricing. He was an older gentleman and I cannot remember his real name but his nickname was "Kunta Kinte" and he went by Kunta Kinte Tours. I had his business card and phone number but cannot find it.

 

I tried to post some pictures just of the tour guide now but the image host appears to be blocked. I will come back and post some pictures if I can.

 

The tour took us to around the old city and we saw many of the statutes, historical buildings and celebrity homes like the childhood homes of Ricky Martin, Julio Cesar Chavez, and I cant remember who else. We drove through the new city as he pointed out different buildings and places. We made stops at a few scenic spots and he took us to different vantage points of the forts. We stopped at Paseo De Los Presidente with all of the president statutes, went a park like area with some other statutes and a very nice view of the waves and rocks, we got some snacks and drinks at a store next to this stop, we went into the Capital Building which was all decorated for Christmas and we even had a tour of all of the beautiful art on the ceiling of the capital and a lot of historical information about Puerto Rico. . We were there for about 20-30 minutes. We also stopped at a small beach area right next to a bridge with a view of one of the forts. We saw the governor's mansion. Then we went to see both forts and the cemetery between. We only drove by San Cristobal and we stopped at El Morro. We had the option to stay and tour El Morro but would have needed to walk back or catch a cab as the trolleys were not running yet, but we chose to be dropped off in a square right across from Cafe Puerto Rico and walk back the two blocks to the ship. It was a great way to spend a few hours.

Edited December 31, 2017 by indie

[indie]

I uploaded a quick video clip with him in it on youtube. The little dog bark noise is him goofing around.

 

[RMH]

We will be in San Juan on Jan 11th with our family. Do you think Old San Juan is safe during the day. We will be in port from 7-2. My adults kids wanted to do the ATV excursion but I am going to try to convince them to just tour Old San Juan instead. The ATV excursions are 45-60 minute drive.

 

Nothing wrong with touring Old San Juan, but I would not hesitate to venture outside of San Juan to do the ATV tour. On 24 Dec, we did a 40 minute drive to Luquillo Beach, close to the rainforest, and there were no safety issues. It was eye-opening for sure, but a great experience. I imagine on an ATV you could get a much better appreciation for what happened than you can from a car on the freeway.

[agor75]

We are from Sterling Height MI. Where do you live in Michigan? I like when we have more time in port. We are only in San Juan from 7-2 on Freedom. What ship were you on that was there until 9 PM? Thanks

 

 

Also from Sterling Heights, mi! Will be in San Juan on 2/14/2018, never been and trying to get ideas of what to do!

[bugtyler]

From Clinton Twp, MI did San Juan pre-hurricane we walked around Old San Juan and looked for the small hole in the wall restaurants and had a sampling of food everywhere we went and a drink. Had a very full belly and a little buzz by the time we got back to ship. Food was Wonderful!!! Lots of walking...

[Birdnutty]

Regarding El Yunque.. I had a phone convo with a woman whodoes birding tours in PR. Naturally, asa birder, she spends a great deal of time in natural areas looking for signs ofreturning or existing wildlife. Shesaid, as a previous poster said, that things were turning green again, but notthe plants that had been there. Shecalled them weeds. But it must be somuch better to look at anything green rather than the decimation that existsunderneath. Although the forest isrecovering, the roads in El Yunque are not doing well. There is one that is somewhat passable, butit has potholes that could swallow a car, and due to the lack of well-rootedground cover, landslides are still occurring. The others are totally impassable and are likely to stay that way forsome time. The government has more pressing priorities and limitedresources, So sad. We were there just 2 years ago and the placewas amazing. But Hilde said that thepeople are resilient and she spoke hopefully of the recovery that has alreadyhappened and is yet to come. She stillhas no electricity, but can occasionally find internet somewhere. She is happythat she has batteries for flashlights. I admire her spirit. Some of the conversational points I may have misseddue to a irregular connection and my lack of being able to understand some ofwhat she said. But I think I got themain points correct.

We’ll be going there soon, and wish we knew what else wecould bring besides our tourist money to help out in any small way. Looking for suggestions, if anybody has othercontacts there. I plan on asking Hildenext time I speak with her, but I’m not sure when that will be. Jugs of water? Batteries? There must be something we can do.

[NJ&Ozzie]

Regarding El Yunque.. I had a phone convo with a woman whodoes birding tours in PR. Naturally, asa birder, she spends a great deal of time in natural areas looking for signs ofreturning or existing wildlife. Shesaid, as a previous poster said, that things were turning green again, but notthe plants that had been there. Shecalled them weeds. But it must be somuch better to look at anything green rather than the decimation that existsunderneath. Although the forest isrecovering, the roads in El Yunque are not doing well. There is one that is somewhat passable, butit has potholes that could swallow a car, and due to the lack of well-rootedground cover, landslides are still occurring. The others are totally impassable and are likely to stay that way forsome time. The government has more pressing priorities and limitedresources, So sad. We were there just 2 years ago and the placewas amazing. But Hilde said that thepeople are resilient and she spoke hopefully of the recovery that has alreadyhappened and is yet to come. She stillhas no electricity, but can occasionally find internet somewhere. She is happythat she has batteries for flashlights. I admire her spirit. Some of the conversational points I may have misseddue to a irregular connection and my lack of being able to understand some ofwhat she said. But I think I got themain points correct.

We’ll be going there soon, and wish we knew what else wecould bring besides our tourist money to help out in any small way. Looking for suggestions, if anybody has othercontacts there. I plan on asking Hildenext time I speak with her, but I’m not sure when that will be. Jugs of water? Batteries? There must be something we can do.

 

 

We are in San Juan now. Staying in Isla Verde area for the Winter. There are very few tourists - a lot of hotels are still not accepting reservations. We have lots of FEMA workers at our hotel/condo. Some areas of San Juan still without power. Drove to Costco yesterday - a lot of traffic lights are not working but there were some cops at a couple major intersections to direct traffic.

 

Were at resort this aft called Vivo (Isla Verde). They have a deal with cruise ship lines to offer a day pass. Saw RC/Carnival/Holland people there today. Not sure what people are paying but they get a buffet lunch as part of the day pass.

NJ

[Retraitee]

We just had a shore excursion cancelled for San Juan. No biggie but...

Has anyone on this board been to San Juan or PR since the hurricanes? I know the 'local' infrastructure is still struggling to get it back together...(sad) but from a 'cruise industry', what is the state of facilities at dock and surrounding areas?

We were in SanJuan January 7th and 8th 2018,post cruise. Many stores and restaurants were open in old SanJuan and in the Condado area. You can see some of the damages but the town is ok to visit.No electricity problems while we were there.Most places accept credit cards.

[pabeachie]

We will be on the Carnival glory at the end of April, stopping in San Juan. Are there beaches near the port? if not, What is your suggestion for a beach day?