Advice please

Hello. I am booked on the Liberty out of Puerto Rico in August. I found a great deal on airfare from LAX to PR but I arrive at 5:30am on the day of embarkation. Has anyone done this before? I am not sure if I should try to get a room for a few hours while I wait to board ship or what I can do while I wait. Any suggestions?

If you don't have much luggage you can just tour the old city while waiting to board.

If you're supposed to land at 5:30, likely by the time you got your luggage and got checked into a hotel, it would probably beclose to 7:00am....if you were planning on boarding the ship in the morning, it really doesn't give you much time to sleep/rest. Plus, you'll probably be so wound up at that point ! (I would be:D) Maybe there is a hotel though who would be kind enough to store your bags for a few hours? I would check in advance though as I doubt this is their normal policy....

I would take my time getting to baggage claim...get my stuff, then find somewhere to have a nice, long breakfast! Then, head to the ship! Boarding will begin around 11am.

Porters don't start collecting luggage until roughly an hour before the terminal opens to incoming guests.

If it were me, I'd likely see if I can give the luggage porter at the Sheraton some $ to watch my stuff for a while (I've stayed there twice and I'm sure the tall one that is always there would recognize me). Would it work for somebody that hasn't, probably.

There are some places in San Juan that serve a decent breakfast, just don't ask me what they are, haha (because I don't remember) :rolleyes:. I CAN tell you the breakfast buffet at the Sheraton is just okay at best and expensive

The tour trolleys were going as early as 7am last time I was there. Old San Juan is not a bad place to have a good walk around, exploring things though. Lots within walking distance.

You might find an excursion to do...and maybe there would be room for them to store your luggage while on the excursion? I've read about excursions that will store luggage for those departing, and at the end will take them to the airport, so maybe they would do the reverse? You might be able to tour the rainforest since you don't have to be on board until the evening.

You could even look into renting a car just for the day. Charlies/Ace rentals are cheap and they will pick you up at the airport and you can drop off the car near the cruise port and they will shuttle you in. Not sure how many in your party, but we have rented from them once before for around $25 a day for a mid size car (and we have them booked again for Sept). I had read that it was really scary driving in Puerto Rico, but we found it to be just fine...be cautious of course, but it really wasn't that bad. You could then drive to the rainforest yourself (which you can just drive around and see if you want) or spend a few hours at the beach in Luquillo, which is about 45 min east of San Juan. Just be careful about having your luggage in view and make sure you keep your car locked.

I would not recommend driving around Old San Juan. If you want to explore that area, it's best on foot. You could rent a car in the morning, go explore the rainforest for a couple hours and still be back by noon or 1, check in to the ship, have lunch, and drop off your luggage (and when we did this cruise we were able to drop our carry on bags off in our room around 1pm) then you can leave the ship and wander around Old San Juan and see the forts etc and still have plenty of time for that.

Otherwise, you might contact some of the hotels in the area and see if you can get a day pass (or a day rate for a room)...and they typically will store luggage at the front desk for guests, so I imagine they would for a day pass guests as well. You'd have to pay for a couple taxi's if you do that, but if you rented a car you'd likely have to pay for parking at any beach hotel (probably around $15 for parking)

The Sheraton is across the street from the port. Leave luggage there. It's not worth getting a room. Walk around Old Town until you can check in. Enjoy!

Sheraton Old San Juan:

http://www.sheratonoldsanjuan.com/local-area/cruise-port-information.html

You could check your luggage there and then explore. There are restaurants, casino, a swimming pool, and sightseeing. You should be able to enjoy a couple of hours until embarkation.

We flew in early in the day for our cruise last year. We rented a car and did ziplines. It was amazing. We got discount tickets through group panda, or something like that. Like groupon, but for Puerto Rico. Just be aware that the traffic around the port gets really busy in the evening because of night life around the area. http://www.toroverdepr.com/en/

Discount site. http://www.groopanda.com//

It is like Groupon so the offers change often .

Thank you everyone for the great ideas! I appreciate it. I will let you all know how it goes 😀

Hello. I am booked on the Liberty out of Puerto Rico in August. I found a great deal on airfare from LAX to PR but I arrive at 5:30am on the day of embarkation. Has anyone done this before? I am not sure if I should try to get a room for a few hours while I wait to board ship or what I can do while I wait. Any suggestions?

Just a clarification- are you on the Liberty or sailing out of San Juan?

The Liberty does not sail from San Juan.

Want to make sure you are booking the right flight.

If it's San Juan, I'd suggest going to Barrachina to drop your luggage for a while, but they don't open until 11am. Bummer.

If you don't mind driving, you can rent a car and drive around.... still, that's pretty early.

"Just a clarification- are you on the Liberty or sailing out of San Juan?

The Liberty does not sail from San Juan."

The OP is talking about the Carnival Liberty, not Liberty of the Seas.

Yes, Carnival Liberty sails out of San Juan.

Or I will have to change my flights too. :eek::D

Actually according to Barachina's website they offer luggage stor age from 9-5

"Just a clarification- are you on the Liberty or sailing out of San Juan?

 

The Liberty does not sail from San Juan."

 

The OP is talking about the Carnival Liberty, not Liberty of the Seas.

 

Yes, Carnival Liberty sails out of San Juan.

Or I will have to change my flights too. :eek::D

The two ships really mess with me sometimes.

While I'm a Royal person, the Carnival Liberty does make it a lot easier to be a tourist. May be a little bit of a work to walk, but it is a walk.

However, other than the Barachina, I don't know of another place to store luggage in Old San Juan. Perhaps call some of the hotels to see if you can store there for a small fee at 7am.