HeatherP Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 Cruising for the 1st time. What is there to do within walking distance from the ports in these locations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 San Juan - Old San Juan and historic Spanish forts. St Maarten - Front Street and back street, this is all shopping, there is a beach down in the front of front street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLA Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 These are both very easily walkable ports, San Juan proabably slightly more so than SXM. St. Maarten (Dutch side)/St. Martin (French Side) - the Dutch capital of St. Maarten (Phillipsburg) is nearby. It's a 10-15 minute walk from the port or an inexpensive water taxi trip to the downtown/boardwalk beachfront area with a large number of bars, restaurants, and shops available. There will also be taxis available if you'd like a quick tour or to go elsewhere on the island. San Juan - the ship docks in the Old San Juan area, so as soon as you walk off you have a ton of possibilities. Do a little research ahead of time to see if there are any landmarks or shops you'd like to swing by, and I know there are tons of people here would be happy to give restaurant recommendations (myself included!). Two of the most popular attractions here - each within around a 10 minute walking distance - are the two forts, El Morro and Castillo San Cristobal. Both are considered US National Parks and have an entry fee that I believe is a bit lower than $10 a person, making it a pretty affordable day off the ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 4 hours ago, KLA said: These are both very easily walkable ports, San Juan proabably slightly more so than SXM. St. Maarten (Dutch side)/St. Martin (French Side) - the Dutch capital of St. Maarten (Phillipsburg) is nearby. It's a 10-15 minute walk from the port or an inexpensive water taxi trip to the downtown/boardwalk beachfront area with a large number of bars, restaurants, and shops available. There will also be taxis available if you'd like a quick tour or to go elsewhere on the island. San Juan - the ship docks in the Old San Juan area, so as soon as you walk off you have a ton of possibilities. Do a little research ahead of time to see if there are any landmarks or shops you'd like to swing by, and I know there are tons of people here would be happy to give restaurant recommendations (myself included!). Two of the most popular attractions here - each within around a 10 minute walking distance - are the two forts, El Morro and Castillo San Cristobal. Both are considered US National Parks and have an entry fee that I believe is a bit lower than $10 a person, making it a pretty affordable day off the ship. On our Jan sailing on the Allure, we were there on Jan 17 and they were having the San Sebastian street festival and the fee for the fort was waived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLA Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, Jolly Ogre said: On our Jan sailing on the Allure, we were there on Jan 17 and they were having the San Sebastian street festival and the fee for the fort was waived. Oh how neat! What a fun thing to find on a port stop! Jolly Ogre 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 2 hours ago, Jolly Ogre said: On our Jan sailing on the Allure, we were there on Jan 17 and they were having the San Sebastian street festival and the fee for the fort was waived. I was on the same sailing with @Jolly Ogre old town was packed because of the festival, they had streets shut down to car traffic. I asked one of the shop owners and she explained it was going to be a 4 day party. Jolly Ogre 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 35 minutes ago, tiny260 said: I was on the same sailing with @Jolly Ogre old town was packed because of the festival, they had streets shut down to car traffic. I asked one of the shop owners and she explained it was going to be a 4 day party. To bad that was our shortest port call we had to be back on board by 1:00PM...would have been nice to been there later on in the evening like 8:00 PM. tiny260 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 On 2/19/2019 at 3:10 PM, Jolly Ogre said: To bad that was our shortest port call we had to be back on board by 1:00PM...would have been nice to been there later on in the evening like 8:00 PM. Yeah, we are on next month and I really hate the 7am to 2pm time! So much to do here that I wish we had longer! We don't really have time to do the forts and shop and sit down to eat so the food will probably wait till we are back on the ship! Bummer! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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