Has anybody been on a cruise out of San Juan?

Question

We are looking at a Carnival Cruise that leaves out of San Juan in April of 2009. We have enough air miles to get 2 free tickets so the flight there and back is not a big deal.

The cruise goes to a port everyday- which we like. I was just wondering if there was anything else that I needed to know about going on a cruise out of San Juan. Is it harder to get through customs and stuff or about the same? I've been on 2 cruises out of Port Canaveral.

The cruise goes to St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Dominica, Barbados, St. Thomas, and Antigua - Are these all good ports- I want to know all about them! We are looking at shore excursions for several of the ports (zip lines, horseback, snorkeling, etc...) If you know of any good ones let me know!

It is on the Carnival Victory. This is a new cruise iteniary for this ship so I couldn't find much about it on cruise critic

THANKS

Answer 1

I have sailed out of San Juan twice.  The first thing you should know is that San Juan is considered a part of the US so you don't really have to do the customs and Immigration stuff if you are a US citizen.  They will do the regular airport security stuff when you get ready to fly back and the main thing that they check is for any plants or agricultural items.

The San Juan airport is small, not many baggage claim belts and the Carnival folks will meet you there if you book your cruise with transfers.  Both times that we cruised out of there we took a taxi from the airport to the pier (@$25-$30 plus tip) and then we had a late afternoon return flight, about 5:00 PM, so we booked a city tour with an airport drop off. That gave us a chance to see San Juan, the fort and the old city.  The first time there we also had a late flight that left around 6:00PM and we also took a tour that went to the rain forest.  That's a nice tour and it a good ways from San Juan so you need a lot of time to go there and back.  The end of the tour was a drop off at the airport.

Sometimes the best flights are booked (you can only book 11 months or so in advance) so a late evening flight is good.  I have also done that same itinerary but on a Norwegian ship.  I didn't do tours in St Lucia or St Kitt but on Barbados we did a tour of Malibu Rum factory with some beach time after that. It was pretty good.  Both times that I went to Antigua I ended up doing a tour of the island; both times just found a tour on shore instead of the ship and it was about half price.

What you can do to find tours that are available is go online to the web sites for the other cruise lines and look at for a similar itinerary that does some or most of the same islands and look at the tours that they offer, just to see what's possible.  Then go to the web site for each island and see if you can find tours on your own.  Also,  below are some web sites for most of the island you will visit which have information about tours and activities.

Answer 2

Have never sailed out of San Juan, but if you've been reading about that port of departure on CruiseCritic, then you've read about some of the difficulties people have had with the airport and the port.  The port is evidently very poorly organized and inefficient and I've read lots of postings about going early [figuring you can board early and enjoy the ship], only to find that you wait in line for hours until they actually open the ship for boarding in mid-afternoon.

Some people on CruiseCritic have also complained about the practice of selling staterooms at bargain-basement prices to local citizens in order to fill up the ship, resulting in some "culture clashes" at times.

Won't go into detail, because you can find that at CC or directly on websites or by doing a search, but in Dominica there's a great zipline/canopy tour at WackyRollers [they have a website].  We booked this independently, but they won't do this if Carnival has an excursion, or if they have a deal with Carnival not to offer independent trips.  

In St. Thomas, if you feel comfortable going the independent route, look up the Linde Point Trail in St. John, which leads to Salomon Bay and Honeymoon Bay beaches.  There is more info at the National Park Service site or by doing a search on CC.  It's a hike to nearly deserted beaches [with no facilities at all], then a walk to Caneel Bay to catch a cab back to the ferry.  It's complicated and you really have to watch the time to make it back to your ship on time if you're leaving port "early", but it's very much worth it.

Answer 3

We have never sailed out of PR. Last year in the San Diego airport, someone told us that the pier in San Juan is slow and unorganized. I wouldn't worry about it. If you are there, they won't leave without you. We have never been to any of the ports you mentioned, however, we'll be visiting St. Thomas later this month. We're going out of FLL on the Caribbean Princess. Our first cruise with Princess. So far, we've been on the Carnival Elation, Conquest, & the Spirit. You'll have a blast. Be sure to try the chocolate melting cake!!!

Bon Voyage!!!

Answer 4

San Juan is part of the US so customs is no big deal.

Your ports are awesome, the Victory is a Great ship. Wish I was going with you..

You are invited to join the hottest cruise group on yahoo

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cruiseaddi...

Answer 5

I have cruised out of San Juan and have another cruise from there this year. You shouldn't have a problem. Its the same as going to any other US airport. I would suggest you get there a day or two early and check out old San Juan. Its very beautiful and has a lot of historical sites. St. Lucia is also beautiful, I have been there multiple times. There I would suggest either the zip line or horseback riding. They also have a very beautiful waterfall, that is easy to get to. Dominica also has a very beautiful waterfall, however it is a very narrow and arduous climb to reach it. St. Thomas has great shopping and also gorgeous beaches. That may be a good place for water activities. Barbados has good shopping also and the Malibu rum factory is interesting. Also in Barbados if you go out around town, make sure you are wearing clothes and not a bathing suit and cover up. They are very modest and will frown upon you if not dressed properly. St. Kitts and Antigua I haven't visited yet so I can't comment.

Answer 6

I sailed out of SJ in Nov/Dec of 2007, on the Crown Princess and loved it! We got in a day early, got to see the SJ beaches, and had no problem. We did St. Kitts, and my recommendation is not to do St. kitts, take a catamaryn over to Nevis-it is BEAUTIFUL with 5 star hotels and total luxury.  Our itenerary was a little different than this, but St. thomas has some great beaches for snorkeling and diving. Just go to cruisecritic and do a search on the individual ports of call and you should find plenty of ideas.

Answer 7

In San Juan, customs isn't a big deal.  They check your passport, and maybe ask you a question or 2.  Also when leaving through customs after the cruise, you have to fill out a little questionnaire thing and hand it to the customs agent you are dealing with along with your passport (info with your name, address, etc). If you are looking to purchase bottles of alcohol, best you buy it at the shop on the boat, or at one of the ports.  Do not buy it on the airport.  They only allow you to purchase certain things if you are traveling back to the US Mainland.

St. Kitts I did the tour around the island.  Although it isn't as much developed as other islands, I enjoyed myself.

It's much cheaper if you book the tour when you get to the port.  There are people who are offering tours who are authorized to do so.  They will have their id on them, and on the dashboard of the car.  If you book it through the cruiseline, it is much more money.

Answer 8

I have sailed 2 times out of San Juan and had no problem with customs what so ever... I have also visited all the ports that you mention with the exception of St kitts.... Dominica and St Lucia are very lush island they are good for out doorsey type of things like hiking etc... Barbados was just beautiful we took an island tour then ended up at Malibu beach its located where the make Malibu coconut rum... in st thomas we visited megans bay and the snorkling was good there the beach is absolutley beautiful but I plan to visit trunks bay in st johns next time and in antigua we went to pineapple beach resort and paid 50.00 for a day pass and everything was included all food drinks alcholic(top shelf) and non use of all the resort amenities it was awesome...

Answer 9

I have!  But that was 10 years ago when I was 5.  I don't think it's much different though.  Probably less of a hassle to at the ports of call because you didn't just come from the U.S. (well, kind of, it's a territory).  Ah, it'll probably be about the same...  I'm going on the Crown Princess out of San Juan this March, so if I remember I will e-mail you when I get back and let you know!

I also just want to let you know that this is the current itinerary for some of the weeks on the Carnival Destiny (specifically check March 9th).  So go check that out on Cruise Critic :)))

Hope I helped a little bit!