Pan Am pier: easiest way to catch an Uber?

[fstuff1]

My ship will be docked at pan Am pier at 6am.

Under app says $9 to airport.

There's a huge taxi line.

 

I was thinking of just walking to the main road. (Solo, 1 carry on luggage)

 

What's the easiest way to get an Uber from the pan am pier? 

 

 

[bonsai3s]

fstuff1,

We are docking tomorrow at the Pan American Pier.  During our B2B meeting, we asked this same question...and received two answers. The first gentleman stated that Uber can drop off passengers at the Pan American Pier but cannot pick up passengers due to port security.  The second gentleman from the shore excursions department stated that he's used Uber from the Pan American Pier many times and the easiest way is to watch the Uber car as they enter the parking lot.  (Note: We will attempt to use Uber from the Pan American pier and let you know.)

[Stinger-pr]

You can use Uber from any of San Juan ports. In Old San Juan they cannot pick up right in front of the terminal since that area is taxi-only but they have a designated pickup point that will be pointed out to you once you confirm your ride. If I'm not mistaken, it works basically the same way at the Pan Am pier.

[pink845]

If I recall, we actually took the city bus from Pan American Pier to downtown San Juan, but this was several years back. Minimal cost.  And took a cab back as the buses really slow down for a couple of hours over the lunch hour (siesta I believe) early albeit.  

[Stinger-pr]

3 hours ago, pink845 said:

If I recall, we actually took the city bus from Pan American Pier to downtown San Juan, but this was several years back. Minimal cost.  And took a cab back as the buses really slow down for a couple of hours over the lunch hour (siesta I believe) early albeit.  

Siestas are in another continent, due-East...

The city bus system in San Juan is horrible at any hour of the day. The reason they slow down at certain times of day is because of slow traffic at those times (early morning, lunch, late afternoon). If anyone is willing to try it, they might get away with a carry-on. But be aware that luggage is not permitted on buses and that the driver has final say on that. Besides, you will be getting off from what, hopefully, was a relaxing vacation. Why start stressing as soon as you set foot on Terra Firma.

[pink845]

I just assumed there was no bus service between 12 and 3 pm because it was so hot and bus drivers took a siesta because we could not find any buses operating from downtown (Sheraton hotel /Old Town area to the Pan Am pier during those hours.   So we had no alternative but to find other modes of transport back to the ship (which at the time was Caribbean Princess which was stuck in San Juan because of engine issues for a total of four days.  Not much fun, however, we did get a full refund and a 50 percent towards another cruise.  

[jean87510]

As stated there is an uber spot for the pan am pier. Do not take the bus. A taxi is also fine. You can get a taxi quickly and easily. You just spent over $1000 for a cruise. Spend a little on a taxi.

[wrk2cruise]

When you exit the customs area turn right and walk around the building to the area where arriving passengers are dropped off, there is a parking lot just inside the gate.  That's where we met our Uber driver.

[bonsai3s]

On 11/12/2019 at 11:51 AM, wrk2cruise said:

When you exit the customs area turn right and walk around the building to the area where arriving passengers are dropped off, there is a parking lot just inside the gate.  That's where we met our Uber driver.

 

Correct.  We can also confirm this.  We met our Uber driver across the street, in the parking lot, from the Pan American cruise terminal.

[bcjs]

On 11/20/2019 at 12:43 PM, bonsai3s said:

 

Correct.  We can also confirm this.  We met our Uber driver across the street, in the parking lot, from the Pan American cruise terminal.

Could you tell me if it is advantageous to take Uber from Pan Am Pier to airport? What is the difference in cost between Uber and a cab from the pier?

[bonsai3s]

45 minutes ago, bcjs said:

Could you tell me if it is advantageous to take Uber from Pan Am Pier to airport? What is the difference in cost between Uber and a cab from the pier?

 

IMHO, using Uber rather than taxi in San Juan was advantageous.  We are in our 60's and are fairly new to Uber.  But after our recent experience...we will never use a taxi again, if possible.

* Drivers usually show up to pick us up within minutes.

* We could easily identify the vehicle and the name of the driver is provided.

* All the drivers we met in San Juan were very professional, friendly, and courteous...even when they spoke very little English.

* What we love the most: At the end of each Uber ride, there's no exchange of money...all payments were done through the phone/Uber app...even the tips.

 

We were lucky because when we arrived in San Juan (Luis Munoz Intl.), there was now a designated Uber pick-up location at each terminal. (We were outside Terminal B.)  There was also an airport employee assisting passengers at the Uber designated location. So we can also confirm that you can now use Uber FROM the airport.

 

Cost of Uber rides can vary...and from the airport to our hotel, the cost difference was minimal...but we wanted to see/confirm if it was possible.

 

Cost of our Uber rides:

Airport to hotel...$9.

Hotel to Pan American pier...$6.

Pan American pier to Casa Bacardi and back....$11 and $12.

Pan American pier to Old San Juan and back....$5 and $5.

Pan American pier to the airport...$9.

 

The cost of taxis in San Juan are usually per "zone" and fixed.  But there will be taxi drivers that will still use the meter.  This can be costly because you can get stuck in traffic.  The cost of Uber doesn't change even if you get stuck in traffic...you don't have to worry about that meter ticking away.

 

Disclosure:  We decided to use Uber at the end of our cruise from the Pan American pier back to the airport.  We anticipated everything but one thing...we didn't know there would be 2 ships docked the day of our disembarkation.  After walking off the ship, we breezed through customs/immigration, walked past the long line/queue for taxis, and walked across the street in the parking lot.  We used the Uber app and it said 15 minutes for arrival of our Uber driver.  We thought that was a bit longer than usual.  That's when we turned around and discovered there were 2 ships docked.  The traffic and congestion at the Pan American pier was bad.

 

The good news...even with the unusually long wait for the Uber driver, we still made it to the airport in plenty of time for our 11:30am flight.  Note: Go through the Agricultural Inspection FIRST before checking in to your airline.

Happy Sailing!

[hal2008]

If you are off the ship early both taxi and uber are easy.

Later on its get chaotic.

Taxi line is slow and long.

 

Uber drivers in PR cancel on you when they find out the destination and it is not of their liking.

Also, UberXL can suddenly become unavailable and UberX may nbot be able to handle luggage if it turns out to be a small car.

 

We paid 50 USD to go 1.5 mile from Pam AM pier to carib Hilton for a  private van as we could not secure uberXL  and two drivers cancelled on us after arriving. (one had very small kia car any way).

 

Taxi wil charge for lugggae. Uber will not.

 

Also, Uber price fluctuate a lot in PR. (even every 30 seconds)