Pre-Cruise Stay San Juan Caribe Hilton

Hello all,

First time cruiser and sailing on Viking Sea West Indies in February 2017. Decided to take the pre cruise days in San Juan and Viking booked us into the Caribe Hilton.

I've read reviews on Trip Advisor, and they are mixed at best which has me a bit worried. The common complaint was that it was not the cleanest and frankly, some of the pictures posted on Trip Advisor were pretty bad.

We don't need a fancy place to stay for just two nights, but a clean bed and a decent shower are a must.

Does anyone have any experience with this hotel? The percentage of negative reviews for this hotel was pretty high all things considered, and yes, I know, some folks are never happy and vent on Trip Advisor, but as I said above, the pictures tell the story.

The time for final payment is rapidly approaching and we'd like to make sure we made the right choice by doing the pre cruise days. We live in the snow belt so getting anywhere by plane is always dicey in February.

I've searched the ports of call on here for San Juan and there are no recent reviews of the Caribe, just general comments about location and restaurants nearby, etc.

Any advice / information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Jack

I can't help much with this particular hotel, but we are doing this cruise in March and are just flying in 1 day ahead and not doing the Viking extension.

The ship is in San Juan overnight and doesn't leave until late on the second day. I didn't feel the need for a another day that you get with the extension.

I have been to San Juan before as a port stop on a cruise. We visited El Convento hotel in Old San Juan and had a drink in their bar. It's a lovely property and I wanted to stay there. Even though it's an expensive hotel, it works out cheaper than the Viking extension for 2 people.

It's close to the pier and only about 15-20 minutes from the airport by taxi.

I find the Viking extensions very helpful and stress free in places I've never been, but in this case we're doing the additional day on our own.

El Convento is a boutique hotel and we prefer those. They have a pool. You get a wine and cheese reception. They have a restaurant and a lovely bar on the premises and they are within walking distance to the forts.

Just a suggestion that there are other options besides the Viking extension that you might want to consider.

Enjoy your cruise! I can't wait for ours!

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Hello Kat,

Thanks for the quick and detailed response, much appreciated.

I will admit that I have been wavering on the pre cruise days; initially when we booked, Viking added them on automatically and I had them removed, only to add them on later because I was playing it safe in case of weather related delays. However, I am rethinking that decision at this late date (payment is due in two weeks) primarily because there is some slack in the schedule since the cruise is docked overnight in San Juan the first night.

I've read good things about the El Convento so I will definitely check that out. While the included transfers are a convenience, we are perfectly capable of taking taxis from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the ship, so that benefit really doesn't count for much.

I'll check in with my Viking rep and discuss what the cost difference will be if we deviate. I suspect it will be substantial. For what it's worth, our rep has been great. He's been very patient with my waffling on this issue, answered the zillion questions I had and is very responsive to my emails. I hope that this is indicative of service on board.

Regards,

Jack

We are staying at the Sheraton Old San Juan, for two night precruise in March. It includes breakfast and you can see the pier from the hotel. Nice location. We booked it on our own.

Will take taxi from the airport.

We are staying at the Sheraton Old San Juan, for two night precruise in March. It includes breakfast and you can see the pier from the hotel. Nice location. We booked it on our own.

Will take taxi from the airport.

And you can walk to the ship with your bags!

And you can walk to the ship with your bags!

Very nice perk!

Hello Kat,

 

Thanks for the quick and detailed response, much appreciated.

 

I will admit that I have been wavering on the pre cruise days; initially when we booked, Viking added them on automatically and I had them removed, only to add them on later because I was playing it safe in case of weather related delays. However, I am rethinking that decision at this late date (payment is due in two weeks) primarily because there is some slack in the schedule since the cruise is docked overnight in San Juan the first night.

 

I've read good things about the El Convento so I will definitely check that out. While the included transfers are a convenience, we are perfectly capable of taking taxis from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the ship, so that benefit really doesn't count for much.

 

I'll check in with my Viking rep and discuss what the cost difference will be if we deviate. I suspect it will be substantial. For what it's worth, our rep has been great. He's been very patient with my waffling on this issue, answered the zillion questions I had and is very responsive to my emails. I hope that this is indicative of service on board.

 

Regards,

Jack

It cost us $100 pp for the deviation fee - to come in ahead of embarkation date and not do the Viking Extension.

We're flying down to San Juan from JFK so we are concerned about weather delays as well.

The way I look at it is 2 night extension with Viking is $629pp and includes transfers and breakfast. So that's $1258 for both of us or $629 for just the 1 night - which you can't do.

One night at El Convento for a city view room is $470 with the taxes and tariffs (which were $110! - crazy) this includes a wine & cheese reception and free wifi. Add in say $25 for the cab fare from the airport and another $20 or so to the port - which is withing walking distance, but I'm not dragging luggage over cobblestone streets :o The hotel has a nice continental breakfast which I can't imagine is more than $20pp - so I'm adding in another $40 - which comes to $560. The air deviation is $100 pp - so that's $760 - but you can't do a one night extension in San Juan with Viking. Has to be 2 @ $1258. That means plus 2 dinners unless you eat at McDonalds :eek:

If they were offering an extension at another island - say St Thomas (it's close!) I definitely consider that, but we are already going to be in San Juan on embarkation day and the day after. I didn't want to add 2 days onto that. I love small boutique hotels, but there are a lot of hotels in that area of San Juan to choose from if you decide to go it on your own.

Thanks all for the information.

After spending a day of researching (the curse/blessing of the internet,depending on how you look at it), we have decided to go it on our own and forgo the Viking pre cruise days. Our current plan is to fly down a day early, just to be safe. Hotel yet to be decided, but there are plenty of options.

Being a complete novice to this stuff and trying to cram as much info into my head as possible, I completely overlooked the fact that we already had at least one plus days in San Juan to see what we needed to see. Three plus days seemed overkill to us, but then that's just our preference.

We chose this cruise because:

1. By February, we are sick of freezing in the snow and need some sun and warmth.

2. Beaches and snorkeling are two of our favorite pastimes; this itinerary seems to offer plenty of chances to do just that.

3. Viking seemed to be the right mix of inclusive stuff and (in)formality at the right price point.

4. I know I'm going to get my butt kicked for this but I'll say it anyway-- no kids and absent parents who don't know the meaning of the word discipline.

Thanks you again to all the folks that posted with information and support. We are really looking forward to this adventure and meeting new friends.

Happy crushing all.

Regards,

Jack

Thanks all for the information.

 

 

 

After spending a day of researching (the curse/blessing of the internet,depending on how you look at it), we have decided to go it on our own and forgo the Viking pre cruise days. Our current plan is to fly down a day early, just to be safe. Hotel yet to be decided, but there are plenty of options.

 

 

 

Being a complete novice to this stuff and trying to cram as much info into my head as possible, I completely overlooked the fact that we already had at least one plus days in San Juan to see what we needed to see. Three plus days seemed overkill to us, but then that's just our preference.

 

 

 

We chose this cruise because:

 

1. By February, we are sick of freezing in the snow and need some sun and warmth.

 

2. Beaches and snorkeling are two of our favorite pastimes; this itinerary seems to offer plenty of chances to do just that.

 

3. Viking seemed to be the right mix of inclusive stuff and (in)formality at the right price point.

 

4. I know I'm going to get my butt kicked for this but I'll say it anyway-- no kids and absent parents who don't know the meaning of the word discipline.

 

 

 

Thanks you again to all the folks that posted with information and support. We are really looking forward to this adventure and meeting new friends.

 

 

 

Happy crushing all.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

Jack

The no kids with absentee parents is a selling point for us also [emoji41]

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Sheraton old San Juan is across the street from the terminal. And it's in old San Juan. We are also going the day before the February cruise because of weather. Safe travels

Hello all,

A final note / update for this thread.

I did talk with my Viking rep and sorted out the deviation. It turned out to be a wash as far as extra costs goes. The deviation cost $100 per person. However, since we purchased trip insurance and that cost is based on the total cost of the trip, once the pre excursion was taken off, the trip insurance came down $100 per person.

We booked into the El Convento for the night before the cruise. The room is pricey, but the tax is worse, adding a full third of the room cost to the total so be warned. However, still cheaper than the two day pre cruise excursion.

One other comment, and why I started this thread to begin with. I talked to my rep about the Caribe Hilton and asked if he had any feedback. He said he had heard no complaints and I don't really think he was BS-ing me. So maybe I overreacted, but in the long run I ended up feeling at ease with the new itinerary and amount of time we will spend in San Juan.

Final payment made, hotel booked and paid for, now the real fun of waiting begins.

Thanks to all who posted and provided information.

Safe travels and happy cruising to you all.

Jack