First overnight in San Juan

We have been here twice before during cruises on Celebrity and this time we are departing on a cruise from San Juan. Due to a flight change, we are now going to stay overnight and need a hotel recommendation for the night before our cruise.

Bear with me----I have no idea which area to stay in but we are looking for something convenient to the port for the next day departure. Not sure how far the airport is -- is Old San Juan closest to the cruise terminal?

Thank you!

We have been here twice before during cruises on Celebrity and this time we are departing on a cruise from San Juan. Due to a flight change, we are now going to stay overnight and need a hotel recommendation for the night before our cruise.

 

Bear with me----I have no idea which area to stay in but we are looking for something convenient to the port for the next day departure. Not sure how far the airport is -- is Old San Juan closest to the cruise terminal?

 

Thank you!

Depending on Which cruise line you are sailing... Carnival departs from the Old San Juan pier, the others go from the Pan American Pier across the bay. Old San Juan is a great place to stay so is Condado. They are both close to the ports. It is a short taxi ride from either one. Hotels in the Isla Verde area are closer to the airport but a little farther from the cruise port. If it was me I would stay at the Caribe Hilton.. enjoy their property a lot, then catch a cab. I would also go in to Old San Juan and explore the city.... it is a great place.

Depending on Which cruise line you are sailing... Carnival departs from the Old San Juan pier, the others go from the Pan American Pier across the bay. Old San Juan is a great place to stay so is Condado. They are both close to the ports. It is a short taxi ride from either one. Hotels in the Isla Verde area are closer to the airport but a little farther from the cruise port. If it was me I would stay at the Caribe Hilton.. enjoy their property a lot, then catch a cab. I would also go in to Old San Juan and explore the city.... it is a great place.

Thank you Dirkgun!

We are cruising Celebrity. I believe we depart from the Old San Juan pier (when we have been on Celebrity cruises before and San Juan was a port of call---I believe we stopped in the Old San Juan area but I could be wrong).

Will look up the Caribe Hilton.

Thank you Dirkgun!

 

We are cruising Celebrity. I believe we depart from the Old San Juan pier (when we have been on Celebrity cruises before and San Juan was a port of call---I believe we stopped in the Old San Juan area but I could be wrong).

 

Will look up the Caribe Hilton.

We have always had good luck bidding on Price line. Just keep your bids in the areas you are willing to stay in or you can use rebids by adding zones that don't have certain hotel types such as some areas do not have resort or 4 star hotels so if you do some research you can really get a cheaper hotel. We have gotten Caribe Hilton for as low as $85 a night. There are some pics of the hotel in my reviews of the Carnival Victory in 2010 and 2012 of you are interested.

The Sheraton is right across the street from the pier. No frills, but VERY convenient to walk to the ship the next morning. There are also restaurants and a CVS in the area to have a nice dinner out and pick up last minute items before boarding.

If I'm not mistaken Celebrity Cruises sail from the Pan American Pier near the Convention Center in San Juan NOT from Old San Juan. Only Carnival departs from OSJ. Nearest hotels would be the Sheraton Convention Center, Caribe Hilton and Conrad Condado Plaza. All within a 5 minute cab ride from the pier, 10 minute from OSJ itself. If you're looking for something near the airpor (20 cab ride from the pier), Isla Verde might be more suited for you.

We've stayed in Condado on one cruise and the taxi fare was about the same as to old San Juan. From the note in my journal, the fare from the airport to Condado with bags was $19.50 with 5 bags in 2008. The fare from the airport to old San Juan with 5 bags in 2012 was $21.00. You can get the current rates on line.

We are booked on a Celebrity cruise in April and will be staying in Old San Juan. I am expecting the taxi fare to be near the same for us to Pan American Pier at about $15.00 with bags. The taxi time to these locations was under 30 minutes.

In Condado, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. Easy and safe walk to bars, beaches, and shopping. In Old San Juan, we stayed at El Convento. A nice location to discover the old city by foot. This next cruise, we are staying at Villa Herencia (near El Convento).

Our daughter and SIL stayed at the Caribe Hilton for our last cruise. It was pretty nice from the pictures.

My sister stayed at the Hotel Plaza de Armas for our last cruise. She didn't complain about it but I've read bad reviews about this hotel.

Regardless which area you might stay, you can plan on under 30 minutes from the hotel to the pier. I'd check at the hotel when you check in on recommended times to the pier.

Happy cruising.

We have always had good luck bidding on Price line. Just keep your bids in the areas you are willing to stay in or you can use rebids by adding zones that don't have certain hotel types such as some areas do not have resort or 4 star hotels so if you do some research you can really get a cheaper hotel. We have gotten Caribe Hilton for as low as $85 a night. There are some pics of the hotel in my reviews of the Carnival Victory in 2010 and 2012 of you are interested.

Have actually never used Priceline before---always worried I am going to get the hotel they can't get rid of!!! $85 a night for a decent hotel is a fabulous price---we are going end of January so I'm not sure if we would be able to snag something that cheap but I'll definitely look at it.

Thanks!

The Sheraton is right across the street from the pier. No frills, but VERY convenient to walk to the ship the next morning. There are also restaurants and a CVS in the area to have a nice dinner out and pick up last minute items before boarding.

Thanks for the recommendation MsTee. I know exactly where the CVS is that you're talking about but after being in San Juan twice now during cruises, you would think I would have noticed the Sheraton! I like the idea of being able to walk to the ship.

If I'm not mistaken Celebrity Cruises sail from the Pan American Pier near the Convention Center in San Juan NOT from Old San Juan. Only Carnival departs from OSJ. Nearest hotels would be the Sheraton Convention Center, Caribe Hilton and Conrad Condado Plaza. All within a 5 minute cab ride from the pier, 10 minute from OSJ itself. If you're looking for something near the airpor (20 cab ride from the pier), Isla Verde might be more suited for you.

Thanks for the info Stinger.

So would you happen to know if Celebrity sails from a different pier than what they usually dock at? A previous poster mentioned a CVS but I think that might be the one in Old San Juan--near where the cruises we have been on have stopped for the day. Just to make things confusing.....there is probably another CVS near the Pan American Pier!

It would definitely be helpful to know if the embarkation pier is different for Celebrity than the one that the ship stops at during a cruise. Any help out there?

Thanks!

We've stayed in Condado on one cruise and the taxi fare was about the same as to old San Juan. From the note in my journal, the fare from the airport to Condado with bags was $19.50 with 5 bags in 2008. The fare from the airport to old San Juan with 5 bags in 2012 was $21.00. You can get the current rates on line.

 

We are booked on a Celebrity cruise in April and will be staying in Old San Juan. I am expecting the taxi fare to be near the same for us to Pan American Pier at about $15.00 with bags. The taxi time to these locations was under 30 minutes.

 

In Condado, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. Easy and safe walk to bars, beaches, and shopping. In Old San Juan, we stayed at El Convento. A nice location to discover the old city by foot. This next cruise, we are staying at Villa Herencia (near El Convento).

 

Our daughter and SIL stayed at the Caribe Hilton for our last cruise. It was pretty nice from the pictures.

 

My sister stayed at the Hotel Plaza de Armas for our last cruise. She didn't complain about it but I've read bad reviews about this hotel.

 

Regardless which area you might stay, you can plan on under 30 minutes from the hotel to the pier. I'd check at the hotel when you check in on recommended times to the pier.

 

Happy cruising.

Thank you for the great tips CorbinCatFan.

The Sheraton is right across the street from the pier. No frills, but VERY convenient to walk to the ship the next morning. There are also restaurants and a CVS in the area to have a nice dinner out and pick up last minute items before boarding.

is this the Sheraton Old San Juan,I too am looking for a hotel convenient to the pier

Thanks

Thanks for the info Stinger.

 

So would you happen to know if Celebrity sails from a different pier than what they usually dock at? A previous poster mentioned a CVS but I think that might be the one in Old San Juan--near where the cruises we have been on have stopped for the day. Just to make things confusing.....there is probably another CVS near the Pan American Pier!

 

It would definitely be helpful to know if the embarkation pier is different for Celebrity than the one that the ship stops at during a cruise. Any help out there?

 

Thanks!

Yes these days Celebrity uses the PanAm pier across the bay by the convention center for cruises that start and stop in San Juan. Ships that stop in San Juan for a day still use the Pier #4 in Old San Juan. The Last Celebrity cruise we sailed on (2009) used the PanAm pier and I don't think there was anything over at the pier... more of an industrial area. Just have your taxi driver take you to a store if you want. Our first ever cruise was out of San Juan back in 1993 (maybe that is one of the reasons I love it so much??) and it was embarking in Old San Juan... but that was the only pier then. :eek::D

is this the Sheraton Old San Juan,I too am looking for a hotel convenient to the pier

 

Thanks

Yes that is the Sheraton Old San Juan. If you are sailing on anything but Carnival it will still take a taxi ride to get to the pier..... but still a nice hotel. The Caribe Hilton is a little closer but not really much different in taxi ride. For the PanAm pier there are really no hotels in convenient walking distance.

is this the Sheraton Old San Juan,I too am looking for a hotel convenient to the pier

 

Thanks

Yes, this is the Sheraton Old San Juan.

We have always had good luck bidding on Price line. Just keep your bids in the areas you are willing to stay in or you can use rebids by adding zones that don't have certain hotel types such as some areas do not have resort or 4 star hotels so if you do some research you can really get a cheaper hotel. We have gotten Caribe Hilton for as low as $85 a night. There are some pics of the hotel in my reviews of the Carnival Victory in 2010 and 2012 of you are interested.

I have never used Priceline, but it seems like a great deal and I want to try it for our upcoming April cruise. Is it similar to Hotwire, you don't know which hotel you got until after you pay? Or how does it work?

I have never used Priceline, but it seems like a great deal and I want to try it for our upcoming April cruise. Is it similar to Hotwire, you don't know which hotel you got until after you pay? Or how does it work?

Kind of ... they do have some things they call hot deals or something that you just purchase and then find out what property it is. Or you can bid on hotels within a certain area (zone) and a certain star value.... 1-4 stars plus resort. There is also a web site called better bidding dot com that can help with strategy. We have gotten Caribe Hilton for $85 when the rack rate was like $ 260 a night. It all depends on what time of year and how they are selling. The best plan is to get reservations you can live with that are also able to be cancelled.. then start bidding. It is kind of a fun process and if you do some research there are ways to narrow it down to what hotels are possible.

Closest hotel to the Pan Am pier is the Sheraton Convention center. While not as convenient as the one in Old San Juan for Carnival cruisers, it's still walkable from the hotel. It's about a mile away, maybe a 20 minute walk depending on your pace and luggage weight.

Kind of ... they do have some things my call hot deals or something that you just purchase and then find out what property it is. Or you can bid on hotels within a certain area (zone) and a certain star value.... 1-4 stars plus resort. There is also a web site called better bidding dot com that can help with strategy. We have gotten Caribe Hilton for $85 when the rack rate was like $ 260 a night. It all depends on what time of year and how they are selling. The best plan is to get reservations you can live with that are also able to be cancelled.. then start bidding. It is kind of a fun process and if you do some research there are ways to narrow it down to what hotels are possible.

Thanks for your advice!

I went to betterbidding.com and got some good tips. I started bidding on Priceline, but I can't seem to win (been trying since the day of your post). How long does it normally take before you win?

:D

Thanks for your advice!

 

I went to betterbidding.com and got some good tips. I started bidding on Priceline, but I can't seem to win (been trying since the day of your post). How long does it normally take before you win?

It all depends on if they like your bid... If you are a ways out there will be less likelihood of them giving a great rate. The closer you get ((4-6 wks) is a good range.... I always start at just under half of what they are advertised for on other online sites... then go up by a few dollars each bid up to a max that I am willing to pay and if no one picks it up then I start over in a couple of days. You can win if you raise your bid almost to the normal price.... but what is fun about that right?? :eek::cool::D

:D

 

It all depends on if they like your bid... If you are a ways out there will be less likelihood of them giving a great rate. The closer you get ((4-6 wks) is a good range.... I always start at just under half of what they are advertised for on other online sites... then go up by a few dollars each bid up to a max that I am willing to pay and if no one picks it up then I start over in a couple of days. You can win if you raise your bid almost to the normal price.... but what is fun about that right?? :eek::cool::D

Thanks for all your advice :D

I will keep trying!;)