San Juan "taxi strike"

Got off the Golden this morning (red tags, 2nd to disembark), only to find that the taxi drivers in the city decided to strike minutes before we got to them. As the crowd grew and became angrier by the minute, we felt it was best to get away before a real problem started so we walked two blocks away from the port area and found a cab who wasn't yet aware of this strike and he took us to the airport. We heard that Princess delayed disembarkation because of this situation, so I'm sure many missed their flights. The public buses would not allow us on with luggage, so we were very lucky to get to the airport on time. Any one else affected?

Got off the Golden this morning (red tags, 2nd to disembark), only to find that the taxi drivers in the city decided to strike minutes before we got to them. As the crowd grew and became angrier by the minute, we felt it was best to get away before a real problem started so we walked two blocks away from the port area and found a cab who wasn't yet aware of this strike and he took us to the airport. We heard that Princess delayed disembarkation because of this situation, so I'm sure many missed their flights. The public buses would not allow us on with luggage, so we were very lucky to get to the airport on time. Any one else affected?

kendon,

Thanks for the heads up as DW & I will be heading on the Golden next week for New York. Here's an article that I hope will mean it's all over.

Puerto Rico taxi strike

Taxi drivers in San Juan carried out a one-day strike over fares between the San Juan airport and 15 cities beyond San Juan. The drivers were demanding a $5 to $25 increase. During the strike, 300 tourist car drivers refused to pick up passengers at the airport, causing traffic congestion and disrupting tourist travel.

The strike ended in a compromise settlement with the Federation of Taxi and Tourist Companies. Fares will increase by $10 during a 60-day test period in the municipalities of Aguas Buenas, Gurabo, Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Barranquitas, Cataño, Canóvanas, Cidra, Caguas Luquillo, Mayagüez, Rincón, Yauco and Isabela.

Taxi drivers insist that the previous fares, in existence since 1998, did not fully compensate the actual cost of driving passengers out of town.

We waited from 10AM until 11AM in line. When the stike ended, we were one of the first on the transfer bus and still made it in plenty of time for our 1PM flight. I must admit there were some anxious moments wondering what was going to happen.

We were scheduled for 11 disembark and got off at 11:45, only to stand with the masses waiting for our bus. So glad we opted to get a guy to push our baggage for us. Got to the airport at about 1:30.

A little after 10, a message from the purser's desk indicated that there was a taxi strike and that Princess would sell transfers to the airport for those who needed them. I went to the desk right away and then a Princess person came up to the desk saying that the taxi drivers said that they would not let buses leave the terminal area, so not to sell any tickets to anyone who was not in line at that time.

I would think very few people actually missed flights. The folks who had the biggest problem that I knew about were those who were staying in hotels in San Juan and couldn't get transportation. The young man who had our luggage cart told us that he had left the job briefly to take a family to a hotel about three miles away and was paid $50 for his effort. He also said that he was near the street when the two riot police vans arrived and that the taxi drivers backed down immediately! I had visions of the strike lasting all day as sympathetic police officers looked on!

The strike was over the fact that in PR, taxi drivers purchase a license to taxi for $40,000 and they wanted the right to declare the license as property that can be passed on when they die. They do not have this right now. I wonder if they will get what they want. It seems only fair to me.

Anyway, the strike did cause a lot of tension, but passengers that I saw kept their cool as well as Princess staff.

One reason why I always pay for transportation to and from the airport to dock when I book my cruise:)

We spent an amazing day walking all over Old San Juan, and sometime around 3 we tried to get an Uber ride, only to discover that the bridges coming in to OSJ were blocked by hundreds of taxis. They were on strike and we were stuck. So we ended up walking 4 miles to our hotel. Thank God I wasn't wearing flip flops! Could've been worse- 2 brides at our hotel were in tears because they couldn't get to their wedding venues in OSJ. I'd say the taxi drivers didn't make many friends yesterday. ..

We spent an amazing day walking all over Old San Juan, and sometime around 3 we tried to get an Uber ride, only to discover that the bridges coming in to OSJ were blocked by hundreds of taxis. They were on strike and we were stuck. So we ended up walking 4 miles to our hotel. Thank God I wasn't wearing flip flops! Could've been worse- 2 brides at our hotel were in tears because they couldn't get to their wedding venues in OSJ. I'd say the taxi drivers didn't make many friends yesterday. ..

Hi and welcome to Cruise Critic.

Not sure if you are aware but this thread is 10 years old.

San Juan has taxi strikes all the time. ;)

Princess doesn't even have cruises that start/end in San Juan anymore.

Didn' t know the strike lasted ten years. But I guess since this is a current posting it must be so. After all it is on the internet.

Evil evil necropost.... I saw the thread and had a moment of "Princess sails out of San Juan again???!!!!"... then went to the site and didn't see it listed as an embarkation port.