San Juan, only 6 hours. 5pm to midnight

[Karen Carney]

My daughter,granddaughter and I are sailing on the Victory and have a few questions. Is it safe for 3 women to be wandering about in San Juan at night? Is there any night life within walking distance? Would it be smarter to stay on board ship and just party there?

Only my 21 year old granddaughter has not beeen to San Juan or even on a cruise before and we want to introduce her to cruising properly.

Thanks for any advice or comments you might have.

[Gingee]

Hi,

 

I have also wondered that myself. We are going to San Juan and will arrive around 3 p.m. If I do anything at night, I may book it with the cruise line.

I lived in Puerto Rico many years ago and I would like to take a taxi to see if I can find my old home (if it isn't demolished). We are wondering about safety also.

[luvwater]

In San Juan, the nightlife is at Senor Frogs which is within walking distance of the ship. I had such a good time there. Just stay together and close to the main strip and you will be fine. What we did.... was take a $10.00/per person tour, a little shopping and off to Senor Frogs.

[MrPete]

I don't gamble, but the big thing was to rent a cab and go over to the casinos and shows.

 

 

That late, I might do a quick tour of EL Morro and get back on board. The shops close early.

[amu]

Hello,

I was in San Juan on Monday the 11th from about 4:30-7. I was a little nervous being there. I should not have worried. My husband and I kind of followed the crowd when we got off the ship.

There are some beggers, but they were not going to harass us.

Senor Frog's is VERY close to the ship (you don't need a cab). We walked to Cristo street and hit the outlet stores (again, you don't need a cab-just ask a store owner how to get there, it was not far).

[nwindiana]

just curious what date you are going to be in San Juan. We are on Victory 11/28 cruise and I have three daughters going with us that are 23, 22 & 20. Just in case you grand daughter is like my daughters (up all night) perhaps she would like meet up.

[Gingee]

What is El Morro?

[jerrymac]

El Morro is a fort, but it closes at 5 PM!

 

Definitely worth seeing if it was open.

[kcslim]

On my first cruise on the Triumph last year, we did the same stop in San Juan. I had gone solo on the cruise, and was not sure if I would get off the ship from what I had heard. I ended up going with a couple I met on the ship. I was glad I had someone else to walk with. IMHO.. I thought it was a waste for a stop, and ended back up on board the ship by 9. If I were to do that again, I would take advantage of the spa specials they have during port stops. But, it is definitely everyone's own opinion.

 

If you do go, just stay together on a lit strip. Most things (touristy) are closed except for the shops, which were typical junk shops. I did not do any night life. The people that I saw that had booked the bus ride tour, got stuck in traffic, and we moved much more quickly walking.

 

It was okay.. but if you plan to do spa events, it might be a good time to get a good special onboard.

 

Karen

[Karen Carney]

nivindiana, We are sailing on 3-6-05. Sorry we won't be on the same one. Becky would have loved the company her own age.

Thank you everyone for the info. I am going to assume that Senor Frogs is a bar of some kind. Can anyone tell me more about it?

 

Karen

[basketballmom]

Why is it that most cruise ships don't stop at SJ until 3 or 4 in the afternoon? I would prefer to see SJ by daylight.

[coevan]

This stop is kind of a waste as far as we were concerned. The casino is only a few blocks from the port. El Morro is closed. The shops in old town stay open later on cruise days, so what, might as well stay on the ship. Never quite understood the 6pm-midnight stop, maybe they are refueling.

[Mary Ellen1]

I totally agree with coevan, and it's the main reason that drove me to explore other cruise lines. After having experienced it once, I feel like it's a rip-off of a port stop. Carnival's standard Eastern Caribbean itinerary is San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Thomas -- but San Juan doesn't really count (in my opinion), so you only get 2 ports.

 

On my Destiny cruise, we pulled into beautiful San Juan harbor around 5 pm. It was so pretty, with El Morro sitting high on a hill overlooking the harbor. I really wanted to go for a walk and explore it. But it was after 6 pm, by the time we got off the ship, and it was getting dark. After we got a few blocks away from the pier area, we got the distinct feeling that walking around in San Juan after dark was not a smart, or safe, idea. So we headed back to the pier area, poked around in some of the shops, and were back on the ship by 7:30 or 8:00 pm.

 

Most of the night-time tours offered seemed to be casino tours and/or shopping tours -- not our cup of tea. And not something that seemed to be worth paying excursion prices for. If you wanted to go there, you could take a cab for less money. This was several years ago, so perhaps they offer a wider range of activities, but there's not an awful lot that's worth seeing in the dark!

 

Just my $.02.

Mary Ellen