Safety in Old SanJuan

Hi all,

We are cruising out of San Juan on Dec 2, and are arriving on Dec 1 and staying overnight at Fortalezza Suites (we hope) in downtown Old San Juan. We have heard rumors that there is a lot of rifraf and lowlife from other parts of the island prowling the streets here, and we're concerned about our safety. Anybody got any thoughts, or first hand news on this?:confused:

We are actually in Old San Juan now, and I am posting from the Hotel El Convento. We have been dining in the hotel at night as there are not many restaurants located near by which are open. But we certainly have not observed any one on the streets which would make us concerned for our personnel safety. And taxis are readily available.

We are actually in Old San Juan now, and I am posting from the Hotel El Convento. We have been dining in the hotel at night as there are not many restaurants located near by which are open. But we certainly have not observed any one on the streets which would make us concerned for our personnel safety. And taxis are readily available.

We'll be docked in OSJ in March and are planning to check out El Convento and the Sheraton OSJ for a pre-cruise stay in 2019. Can you offer any comparison of the two?

We'll be docked in OSJ in March and are planning to check out El Convento and the Sheraton OSJ for a pre-cruise stay in 2019. Can you offer any comparison of the two?

El Convento is an old, historic building (a former nun's convent turned into an upscale boutique hotel). The Sheraton Old San Juan is a newer building purposely built as a hotel. The Sheraton is waterfront, right across the street from some of the cruise terminals. El Convento is tucked away along one of the streets in Old San Juan, so less convenient to the port but a bit better for sightseeing since some of the attractions are a shorter walk.

As far as "riff raff and low lives" from other parts of the island, usually the people in Old San Juan are tourists and residents. You have little to be concerned about it you stay in the tourist areas. There are some parts of Old San Juan, like close to the La Perla neighborhood that are not the safest, but with a bit of common sense and research you can avoid those areas.

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We are actually in Old San Juan now, and I am posting from the Hotel El Convento. We have been dining in the hotel at night as there are not many restaurants located near by which are open. But we certainly have not observed any one on the streets which would make us concerned for our personnel safety. And taxis are readily available.

We have reservations for El Convento in March before our Viking cruise and that’s what we plan to do as well. I figure that if their restaurant is open, we will just eat there.

My sister and I did a tour of the hotel a while back on a cruise stop. She was a TA at the time and wanted to see it for clients and I thought the hotel was lovely. I’ve been looking forward to it.

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Hi all,

We are cruising out of San Juan on Dec 2, and are arriving on Dec 1 and staying overnight at Fortalezza Suites (we hope) in downtown Old San Juan. We have heard rumors that there is a lot of rifraf and lowlife from other parts of the island prowling the streets here, and we're concerned about our safety. Anybody got any thoughts, or first hand news on this?:confused:

Riff raff and lowlifes wandering the streets of Old San Juan. Oh no! Why don't they just return to their roofless, powerless, waterless homes.

:rolleyes:

Maybe it's easier to rob people.

Hi all,

 

We are cruising out of San Juan on Dec 2, and are arriving on Dec 1 and staying overnight at Fortalezza Suites (we hope) in downtown Old San Juan. We have heard rumors that there is a lot of rifraf and lowlife from other parts of the island prowling the streets here, and we're concerned about our safety. Anybody got any thoughts, or first hand news on this?:confused:

Never believe rumors only verifiable facts.

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Never believe rumors only verifiable facts.

 

 

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[emoji106]

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Never believe rumors only verifiable facts.

And...when referencing rumors on a message board, cite sources.

The only “riff-raff” I’ve seen in OSJ was the San Juan Scammer and he’s harmless!

The only “riff-raff” I’ve seen in OSJ was the San Juan Scammer and he’s harmless!

Oh I hope we bump into him again. Wonder if he's still using the same (son in the hospital) story he told us a few years ago.

We walked from El Convento to Triana restaurant last Friday night and maybe 12 riff-raff were out and we were 6 of them. During the day the streets were pretty quiet but we found a number of small hole in the wall places open for eats. We had breakfast at Caficultura but due to the lack of power the menu was very limited. Still enjoyed mallorca egg, ham and cheese sandwiches though.

Oh I hope we bump into him again. Wonder if he's still using the same (son in the hospital) story he told us a few years ago.

We didn't see him, maybe he went to the states to get help there for his son. :) Way more tourists there.

We are actually in Old San Juan now, and I am posting from the Hotel El Convento. We have been dining in the hotel at night as there are not many restaurants located near by which are open. But we certainly have not observed any one on the streets which would make us concerned for our personnel safety. And taxis are readily available.

Hello, We are going to stay at SJ Suites on 11/25/17 for ncl dawn following day. Do you know if they have power?

Please and Thank You Billy

Hi all,

We are cruising out of San Juan on Dec 2, and are arriving on Dec 1 and staying overnight at Fortalezza Suites (we hope) in downtown Old San Juan. We have heard rumors that there is a lot of rifraf and lowlife from other parts of the island prowling the streets here, and we're concerned about our safety. Anybody got any thoughts, or first hand news on this?:confused:

Just wondering, how was Fortaleza Suites? Did they have full power or still on generators?

We didn't see him, maybe he went to the states to get help there for his son. :) Way more tourists there.

-KRISTI

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Just wondering, how was Fortaleza Suites? Did they have full power or still on generators?

We didn't stay there, with reports of no power we switched to Casa del Caribe, which was preaty beat up, lots of construction going on, they were very gracious and hospitable, moved us to a place called Wind Chimes, which was very nice. It looks like Cas del Caribe, El Canario, WindChimes and the Acacia Boutique are owend by the same guy, or somehow inter connected.

Any recent updates on safety in OSJ? Is it still recovering or as back to normal as can be after Maria?

San Juan looked like it's still recovering. Lots of places boarded up, but a lot of restaurants and stores open with no evidence of damage. Some downed power lines but seems like everythtng was fairly funtional. Where we stayed was OK during the day, I would be leary of venturing out at night. WindChimes is sort of in the Condado area, Taft and McLeary streeets, all of the hotels here are locked up tight behind barred doors, even during the day. Need to ring a bell and get recognized before you can get in, so interpret that as you want. Downtown Old San Juan looked pretty much normal.

Just booked Casablanca hotel in June. Super excited!

Any recent updates on safety in OSJ? Is it still recovering or as back to normal as can be after Maria?

We stayed at Hotel Casablanca in OSJ precruise from 12/06 to 12/10. The majority of shops and restaurants were open but there were a lot that were still closed. Most of the streets have power but there were still some on the fringes of the city that were out. Workers were visibly out every day trying to get things back to order.

The most different thing we noticed from past visits was the lack of tourists at night. Most restaurants that were open only had 2 or 3 parties dining. You did not have to wait for a table. We ate at Punta de Vista, Cafe Puerto Rico and Greengos for dinner. Enjoyed Cafe Malloroca and Cafe Manolin for breakfast. Also had breakfast at Caficultura but felt it was overpriced.

All in all we felt perfectly safe there. Everyone we spoke with was positive and update. Looking forward to things getting back to normal!

-Kristi

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We stayed at Hotel Casablanca in OSJ precruise from 12/06 to 12/10. The majority of shops and restaurants were open but there were a lot that were still closed. Most of the streets have power but there were still some on the fringes of the city that were out. Workers were visibly out every day trying to get things back to order.

 

The most different thing we noticed from past visits was the lack of tourists at night. Most restaurants that were open only had 2 or 3 parties dining. You did not have to wait for a table. We ate at Punta de Vista' date=' Cafe Puerto Rico and Greengos for dinner. Enjoyed Cafe Malloroca and Cafe Manolin for breakfast. Also had breakfast at Caficultura but felt it was overpriced.

 

All in all we felt perfectly safe there. Everyone we spoke with was positive and update. Looking forward to things getting back to normal!

 

-Kristi

 

 

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That is the hotel I booked. How did you enjoy it? I’ve heard they have the elevator working now?

Thanks for any info!

That is the hotel I booked. How did you enjoy it? I’ve heard they have the elevator working now?

 

Thanks for any info!

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