Guest amejiajr8 Posted April 20, 2015 Report Share Posted April 20, 2015 Planning way ahead but looking for any advice for cruising out of San Juan,PR. Plan on flying in two days early to explore the island. We will be on the Jewel of the Seas. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted April 20, 2015 Report Share Posted April 20, 2015 Definitely check the blog and/or listen to the podcast episode that Matt did on Puerto Rico where he discusses where to stay. We opted to stay in Condado so we could have a beach day and then spent the next day at El Moro and in Old San Juan. If I were going to do it again without a child, I'd probably spend my entire time in Old San Juan as you're in the heart of the action, among great dining choices, and the like. Rainforest tours are also popular, but I'd spend the time exploring Old San Juan and save the rainforest for your cruise as you'll have plenty of opportunities depending on your itinerary. markinct 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted April 20, 2015 Report Share Posted April 20, 2015 Definitely stay in Old San Juan - within walking distance of everything ex-beach! Start your exploration the 1st day with San Juan Food Tour - Trip Advisor & web site for info. Great history & culture exposure + great food! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 We stayed in Old San Juan and loved it because no need for taxis to sight see. I think flying in 2 days early is a great plan and you should have plenty of time to see lots of what OSJ has to offer. I loved my cruise out of OSJ on Jewel of the Seas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Have cruised out of SJ a number of times (Adventure, Jewel and Serenade). AWESOME !! You will be glad you are giving yourself a couple of days on the island. Lots to see and do. I have always stayed at/near the [Condado] beach so I have no knowledge of the OSJ hotels. I can say YES to the Marriott and Ritz Carlton and NO to the Condado Beach Plaza Hotel (now the Condado Plaza Hilton). Here's a cool piece of intel... The Ritz Carlton San Juan offers a US government rate EVEN during the Holiday season EVEN Christmas week !!! We saved a BUNDLE staying at the Ritz just prior to a Christmas cruise on the Adventure a couple of years ago. So....if you are a government employee (including military) or a government contractor and qualify for a US government discount, you can stay in San Juan in STYLE for a very reasonable price and I will say, the Ritz San Juan is VERY nice. They have a nice little casino. The Marriott has a wonderful limit Texas Hold 'Em poker game in their casino in the evenings and the InterContinental has, I believe, the only no-limit Texas Hold 'Em game left anywhere in San Juan. IF you are interested in playing poker I would definitely contact the hotels in advance and ask if they still have a poker game although that did not particularly help US as we asked that question before booking the Condado Beach Plaza hotel to which the answer was "yes", just to find that they no longer played poker at that hotel when we arrived. Needless to say, we were NOT happy. San Juan is one of our very favorite cruise ports. I know you will have a blast ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelle Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 love Old San Juan -I agree staying there is what I would do - I loved La Concha (Marriott) on my last stay in SJ markinct 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarney Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 You'll be up quite late (we didn't get back to the hotel until 2:30am), but if you can do it I recommend the bioluminescent bay trip. It's surreal! michelle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 3, 2015 Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 You'll be up quite late (we didn't get back to the hotel until 2:30am), but if you can do it I recommend the bioluminescent bay trip. It's surreal! My wife is dieing to do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest amejiajr8 Posted May 3, 2015 Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 You'll be up quite late (we didn't get back to the hotel until 2:30am), but if you can do it I recommend the bioluminescent bay trip. It's surreal! bcarney any Intel about that bay trip would be helpful. My wife has mentioned she would like to do this but all I have see is a kayak tour. I will have to kids with me (9 &6) at the time and not sure if kayak would be a good idea. Do you know if a boat tour is available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarney Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 bcarney any Intel about that bay trip would be helpful. My wife has mentioned she would like to do this but all I have see is a kayak tour. I will have to kids with me (9 &6) at the time and not sure if kayak would be a good idea. Do you know if a boat tour is available? It's been a while since we did it, and when we did the arrangements were made by the hotel we were at so unfortunately I can't give you the name of the tour operator since I don't know it. When we got to the area we had to take a flat bottomed raft out to the boat, and then we climbed into the boat for the excursion. We definitely didn't take kayaks. It was cool seeing the fish swim in the water leaving glowing trails behind them, and we were allowed to swim in the water and when you splashed in it, it glowed. Definitely worth the late night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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