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San Juan...not there until 3:00 p.m on Liberty!

Tisha49

By Tisha49,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Tisha49

Tisha49

Posted
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I read that many of the shops close in Old San Juan at 4:00 or so. Bummer, I was really looking forward to sightseeing, going to the shops, etc.

 

Since Liberty doesn't even stop there until 3:00, we miss the morning and early evening.

 

For those of you with this itenarary, how is it late afternoon, early evening? Did you just get a taxi? We only a few hours as the ship leaves at 10:00.

 

Tisha

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ChristieNJ

ChristieNJ

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Hi Tisha!

 

We too will be getting there next month on our Explorer cruise at 3pm.

 

What we would normally probably do is take a segway tour, and then have some dinner and drinks, and head back to the ship. BUT, I have a family member travelling with us that is not physically able to do that.

 

So....if it's nice weather, we will go to a local beach (Escambron) for 2 hours, have dinner, then head back to the ship.

 

If it's bad weather, we'll just take the Bacardi Rum Tour, even though I have done that already, but the rest of my family hasn't. That's our plan...for now! lol

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honeywell

honeywell

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Hi Tisha!

 

We too will be getting there next month on our Explorer cruise at 3pm.

 

What we would normally probably do is take a segway tour, and then have some dinner and drinks, and head back to the ship. BUT, I have a family member travelling with us that is not physically able to do that.

 

So....if it's nice weather, we will go to a local beach (Escambron) for 2 hours, have dinner, then head back to the ship.

 

If it's bad weather, we'll just take the Bacardi Rum Tour, even though I have done that already, but the rest of my family hasn't. That's our plan...for now! lol

 

I thought the Bacardi tour closed pretty early too...would you have enough time from 4:00 or so?

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ChristieNJ

ChristieNJ

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I thought the Bacardi tour closed pretty early too...would you have enough time from 4:00 or so?

 

If I remember correctly, I believe the last tour starts at 4:30, even though the factory itself closes at 6pm. But if you get into port at 3:00 and even get off the ship at 3:30 you should have time to get there.

 

Thanks for bringing that up, I had forgotten about it! :)

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bluegirlum

bluegirlum

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We were on Liberty in December and got there at 3 also. When you come into San Juan, make sure you are on the port side of the ship, as the view coming in is amazing. You see the fort and the view is amazing. A lot of shops were still open, as there were 4 other ships coming in at that time; I don't know what you're looking for specifically, but no one seemed to have a problem getting to the Coach store and the others they wanted just by walking there. I would check the San Juan forum because this issue comes up a lot.

 

Have fun!

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bradtoon

bradtoon

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I was on that itinerary last summer, getting there at 3:00 pm. In my opinion, pulling into that port is amazing. Passing the huge fortress is stunning, I believe its called "El Morro"? dont miss it! We just wandered around the town, its fun! We were there the year before and headed back to our favorite restaurant to get their amazing calimari. But other then that, it was a casual day.

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SecretSK

SecretSK

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We just sailed on Liberty last week. When we went out onto our balcony on the port side as we arrived, I was really stunned by the beauty of the view of the fort as we sailed by. Beautiful! :cool:

 

We didn't do any of the excursions, but just walked around old San Juan. Our first stop was the fort that is closest to the cruise port - Fort San Cristobal. It was a very easy walk, and we got great pictures of the ship from the top of the fort and it was really neat to explore. After that, we walked through the streets and did some shopping. I didn't notice that the shops were closing early.

 

The other big fort is the one you see as you sail in. We'll have to tour that next time we're there.

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ChristieNJ

ChristieNJ

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Bradtoon and Bluegirl,

 

Thanks for the info! Is it walking distance to the town or do we have to take a taxi? Port side coming in...got it (is that the right side or left side)? :o

Tisha, port is left. :)

 

Yes once you get off the pier you are right in town and can walk all around.

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bluegirlum

bluegirlum

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I remember port = left b/c they have the same number of letters. :)

 

We were lucky to have a port side balcony on Liberty. Wow. I was just amazed by the view and we got great pictures.

 

We literally just followed the herds getting off the ship and walked around town. There are a couple of streets that are known as the shopping streets, but I thought it was a nice place to just walk around. We found a great little bar right in the little strip mall complex next to the pier and just sat and people watched for a while, and then were able to get back for our second seating dinner.

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vickiw0318

vickiw0318

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We wandered in and out of the shops in Old San Juan last May for a couple of hours. I know too that we waited a bit for the lines to die down before we got off the Liberty. We did get back on the ship for early dinner, but we didn't get on much before that. Anyway, the shops waited for the fresh group of tourists then.

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Grandiva

Grandiva

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Was in SJ last spring on the Mariner. Pulling in was great. it was the first time I had the opportunity to witness the arrival to a port.

 

We probably did not get off the ship until 3:30/4:00. We walked around in and out of the shops. We were not rushed by stores preparing to close. The stores depend on tourist dollars and are aware that the ships don't arrive until 3:00. They are open and ready for you. We were probably back on the ship by about 7:00. Don't miss sail off from SJ either. Although it was night it was still nice.

 

You will have pleanty of time do shop and even dine in SJ.

 

Happy Crusin' To Ya!

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cruisingbooboo

cruisingbooboo

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Christie, I am on your cruise too, I looked at the Barcardi website and I thought it said the last tour was at 3:45, are we in San Juan on Sun or Mon? Maybe I am thinking it is Sun but it is really on Mon.:confused:

How far is the Escabron ( sp ???) beach you were talking about, may be fun to go to watch the sunset.... Have you been there before? If so can you give some details?

Thanks :)

 

 

If I remember correctly, I believe the last tour starts at 4:30, even though the factory itself closes at 6pm. But if you get into port at 3:00 and even get off the ship at 3:30 you should have time to get there.

 

Thanks for bringing that up, I had forgotten about it! :)

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