San Juan (Victory) disembarking advice needed

Hi there-

I've been combing these boards for this but have come up empty.

Here's our situation: My sister and I will be traveling with our 77-year-old dad who has limited mobility. He can walk about 1/4 at a time but after that, he's pooped. We're cruising on Carnival Victory in 2 weeks (yippee!) and we're looking for something to do on the day of debarkation. The ship gets into port around 7:00am and our flight isn't until 5:30pm.

Can anyone suggest an appropriate tour that might drop us off at the airport at the end? Then there's the whole luggage situation! :confused:

Any other suggestions welcome! Thanks so much for your help!

When you exit the ship there are tons of tour operators offereing sightseeing excursion, where they take your luggage and bring you to the airport. After the sightseeing they park the buses in the center so he can go back to the bus if he gets tired. Alos right in the center of town is a square with benches and lots to look at. He could sit in the square and just enjoy the sights as well.

Attached is the picture of the center. You cant see the benches, but they are all around the square.

When you exit the ship there are tons of tour operators offereing sightseeing excursion, where they take your luggage and bring you to the airport. After the sightseeing they park the buses in the center so he can go back to the bus if he gets tired. Alos right in the center of town is a square with benches and lots to look at. He could sit in the square and just enjoy the sights as well.

 

Attached is the picture of the center. You cant see the benches, but they are all around the square.

We had the same situation some time back when we sailed with my mobility-limited mother in law. As Smoothdancer described, we hooked up with a driver at the pier. For a very reasonable charge, he gave us a nice tour around town followed by lunch at a local restaurant (not included in the charge to the driver), and a drop off at the airport. As for luggage, we had a porter carry it to the van, and a porter at the airport to handle the bags there. Worked out very well for us.

Thanks very much for the advice. My mind is at ease now!

Have fun! we go in August! Can't wait!

I just sailed on the Victory a few weeks back. One thing that worked out great for us was the luggage express program. Each person must pay $20 extra to use the program. BUT...they take your bags directly from the pier to the airport---you don't see them again til you get back to your city!!! It was really a good choice for us...our flight didn't leave until 3:00pm. We were off the ship by 8:30am!

As soon as you exit the ship, there will be plenty of tour operators trying to sell you tours like the others mentioned.

There is also a free trolley that drives around OSJ. It starts at 9am on Sundays. The first stop is across the street from the pier. It isn't toooo far. Might be about at your dad's limit....but it takes you on a few different routes. The green one--Forts/Castillos will take you kinda on the outdside of the city and will drive you to Fort San Cristobal and el Morro. There is a stop at the top of Fort San Cristobal--I think it was 19 or 20. You could walk around on the main level of the Fort. Admisson was $3. The trolley also goes up to el Morro. The stop there however, was quite a distance from the entrance.

The other route we took was the red one--I think it said city hall/city something. It does the interior of OSJ...It goes right through the Plaza de Armas---the city center that the other poster mentioned. It also takes you down the street that La Bombonera is on (stop #7 i believe). They have fabulous breakfasts there. Rachael Ray went there for her TV show $40 a day. I wish we hadn't eaten on the ship and had just gone straight there!!! It was yummy!

You are going to love the Victory cruise!! It is my favorite so far!!! If you have any other questions, let me know!!:D

Also Barrachina's resturaunt on Fortaleza Street has a luggage hold if you dont want to stay with the same operator all day either. I think if you wait as long as possible to get off ship and then have a cab take you to Barrachina's (GREAT FOOD) Home of the BEST PINA COLADA, then have him take you to the trolley stop I believe its the white line but double check that takes the whole trip downtown, the forts and shopping areas.

Then I would just get back off with enough time to eat at Barrachina's and you definitely dont want to get to airport to late on Sunday that is a crazy day although it should be better later on. MAKE SURE YOU TAKE YOUR LUGGAGE RIGHT TO THE USDA SCANNER BEFORE YOU GO ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR AIRLINE COUNTER . I wouldnt get there any later then 2 or 3pm though.

We were on the Victory in February ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT Loved OSJ also we stayed there two days before and one after.