What to do in Puerto Rico?? Please help

[Starz723]

I know Im on the wrong board..but ports of call is no help.

 

Im leaving on July 18 on the Legend..Our first stop is Puerto Rico. Im interested to hear about what most people do. The rainforest sounds interesting. The bioluminescence kayak sounds fun..but, Im not sold on either one. Is it possible to go to a beach?

 

Please let me hear your experiences at this port. Maybe I should just walk around a bit and come back onboard? Please help. All answers appreciated. This is my very first cruise.

 

St. Thomas I have the Winifred booked to go snorkeling and Tortola Im going to take the trip to Virgin Gorda to the Baths.

 

Help me with P.R.

 

Thanks

[beardawgie]

I lived in Puerto Rico for 3 years. Skip the beaches, the nicest beaches are down near Fajardo and not very close to San Juan. I'd visit the Rain Forest, it's an outstanding day trip. Skip the bioluminescent kayak trip. The Bacardi Rum Factory Tour is also very cool, two free rum drinks. Decent prices on bottles of non-exported Bacardi products. The walking tour of Old San Juan is pretty fun two, don't miss El Morro. Just my two cents.

Cheers,

Barry

[Starz723]

Thank you so much for your answer.

 

Anyone else been to PR..Im sure you have..What did you do there?

[palmtre2]

Beardawgie - why do you say to skip the Bio kayak tour??? We'll be on the Triumph next Easter with kids and were looking for something to do. Since we're only in port from 5pm to midnite - this looked like a good excursion. What else is there to do with children at nite??? :confused:

[serene56]

When we were in San Juan we arrived at 5pm. too late to do anything since the city virtually closes at 4 or so. The stores stayed open since ships were in port. What we did was walked off the ship and turned left. There was a visitors center a block or two away. Across the street was a nice place that was giving away free rum slushies to advertise their variety of rum. They were very tasty. We then kept walking to the left until we came to the end of that street. then turned right. There was this giant fortress like wall with these huge doors that led into the shoppping center. Was nice to walk those little qauint streets and see all the little stores. (Lots of stray cats though)

[dickinson]

How long will you be in Puerto Rico? Some ships are there for the day while others arrive late in afternoon? One cruise we were there for the day . We just walked around old San Juan and walked up to the fort, El Morro. Our last cruise we arrived late afternoon. We just got off the ship and walked around a little bit. After 45 min we got back on the ship. If we were there for the day we would have done the rainforest trip. There are beaches you can go to if you are there for the day. Read the Puerto Rico board to find out which ones people like. I remember going to Puerto Rico during spring break from College (just a few short years ago :D :D :D ). I don't remember what beach we were on but it was quite nice. I think the hotel The El San Juan was right next door. Have fun!

[Dee88]

I was on the Legend last year in Oct. and what I did was took a cab from the ship to the stores. Shopped around alittle and then walked back down.

While we walking down we noticed a horse and buggy ride. Got on that and had the most wonderful tour of Old San Juan. Our guide was fantastic and very knowledgable. Wasn't that much either, I pretty sure it was less then $60 for 4 people.

Since I had my kids with me, we didn't do any of the night life in San Juan.

We went back to the ship.

[*christina*]

We stayed on the ship. We had our kids with us and arrived late afternoon. From what we heard, it didn't sound like we missed much. The 2 other couples that we had dinner with that evening told us they had walked around for about an hour and then came back to ship. There is a casino just a block or 2 from where the ships dock if you're into that. We did hear that the horseback excursion was very good. But if you're interrested in it, book it the first day on the ship. It sold out really fast. There's really not much to do at this port, especially if you arrive at 4 or 5pm, and even more so if you have kids with you.

[skitch57]

Been to Puerto Rico three times. I would recommend the rain forest or the tour of the fort. Skip any beach excursions. Not the best there.

[beardawgie]

Beardawgie - why do you say to skip the Bio kayak tour??? We'll be on the Triumph next Easter with kids and were looking for something to do. Since we're only in port from 5pm to midnite - this looked like a good excursion. What else is there to do with children at nite??? :confused:

 

If you're there 5pm to midnight, it mightl be a good excursion. Myself, just not a fan of the trip, maybe my experience wasn't the greatest. I've heard both good and bad, depending on the vendor that is conducting the tour. Let me know how it goes.

Cheers,

Beardawgie

[momofmeg]

We loved the rain forrest. Old San Juan is close by from where a lot of the ships dock and that is nice to go to also. We cruised out of San Juan and spent 2 nights on the beach. the beach was beautiful. Though no more beautiful then other beaches in the caribbean. Probally though if you want to do that you would do better to take a taxi-or if you can find out about the buses-take a bus. I know you can take a bus from the airport to the beach and they charge like 25 cents-(at least that is what they charged 4 years ago.)

 

We rented a car since we stayed there a couple of days which wasn't so great. Had a hard time finding our hotel because of road construction some of the roads were closed .Parking is hard to find and expensive but our hotel did give us very good directions to find the rain forrest. Being that Puerto Rico is US territory they had great roads in the rain forrest. Nothing like that small sad road they have in Dominca going to the rain forrest. Reminded me of the smoky mountains in NC except the foliage was tropical. In the rain forrest we saw some humming birds that were like twice the size of the ruby red throat. They were really neat to see.

[Starz723]

Im totally leaning towards the rainforest trip. I am a volunteer park ranger at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge..so this is right up my alley.

 

The legend arrives at 3pm..so I guess Ill utilize whatever daylight is left, which Im assuming will be to at least 8pm.

 

My other alternative would be to tour around Old San Juan and visit El Morro. Ill be with my DS 12 and my SO!

 

Question about the rainforest: Where you able to swim there? I saw a picture of a waterfall and a lagoon? Has anyone done this.

 

Thank you so much for your answers..Im 17 days away from my very first cruise...I cant wait!!!

[hstrybuf]

We've been to Puerto Rico a couple of times, once to board the Destiny and once as a stop on the Enchantment of the Seas. We did as some of the others suggested. Walked up to the tourist info booth then continued along La Princessa up to El Morro. Very interesting! The large doors mentioned above are I believe the last of the original gates into the Old City. The architecture is reminiscent of New Orleans. There is plenty of shopping, cobblestone streets, the Cathedral, The Butterfly People, interesting hotels and a number of good restaurants. My favorite, The Parrot Club, didn't open until 6 p.m. but was worth the wait. We also took the buggy tour of the Old City on Three Kings Day in January. Very interesting to see all the children and their families lined up for blocks to receive gifts. Depending on how much time you have in port, I would recommend exploring Old San Juan.