Freedom in San Juan PR, Southern route?

Just off the Freedom last Jan 8 day Eastern, Fantastic trip. We will be making a reservation today for the Freedom again, going out of San Juan P.R. southern route March 2019. Just looking for info on the Cruise port, Airport, and Hotels. Any info would help, Have a year away, just looking to get the ball rolling.. 10 Cruise trips under our belts number 11 next. First time to cruise out of San Juan P.R. Thanks..

Royal uses the Pan American pier for embarkation/disembarkation in San Juan.

Also check the San Juan forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=131

Just looking for info on the Cruise port, Airport, and Hotels. Any info would help, Have a year away, just looking to get the ball rolling.. 10 Cruise trips under our belts number 11 next. First time to cruise out of San Juan P.R. Thanks..

The hotels is still a fluid situation, so start looking with more interest this fall/winter. We like the Condado area, but many hotels in that area haven't re-opened yet since last season's hurricanes.

We are on the Freedom next Feb and have done several cruises on the Celebrity Summit out of San Juan in the past what sort of information would you like. We have used Hotwire in the past to save money Hotels as the can be a little pricey.

We'll be doing a B2B out of San Juan this September (3rd time). I was expecting to book the Adventure but am happy to be on the Freedom. Love the itineraries. We enjoy staying at the Old Town Sheraton (great location) for a couple of pre-cruise nights. Using a taxi in San Juan is affordable and very easy...priced by zones.

Thanks for info, looking for hotel info, places to eat, ect.. Just booked today on the RCI Freedom out of San Juan, March 2019. Thanks

The hotels is still a fluid situation, so start looking with more interest this fall/winter. We like the Condado area, but many hotels in that area haven't re-opened yet since last season's hurricanes.

Bill, good to know. We are sailing out of San Juan in June 2019 on Freedom and was looking to book The Condado Plaza Hilton but their reservation system isn't open that far yet; they are open through mid May 2019.

we have sailed out of San Juan 4 times we always book hotels thru Hotwire or Priceline to get the best deal we have stayed at InterContinental in Isla Verda twice short ride from the airport but the pool area was right on the beach beautiful pool area lots of places to eat close by our favorite is the Metropol just a short walk service and food incredible. The San Juan Merriot Resort and Stellaris Casino was also very nice with lots of places to eat or least favorite was the Caribe Hilton just didnt seem to have as much around the pool area was nice and service good . Cabs are easy to get and fairly inexpensive. In Old San Juan I would recommend trying a mallorca at either Cafeteria Mallorca or La Bombonera. We love walking around and exploring Old San Juan so much to see and do. I think the hubby would agree it is our favorite port to cruise out of.

The hotels is still a fluid situation, so start looking with more interest this fall/winter. We like the Condado area, but many hotels in that area haven't re-opened yet since last season's hurricanes.

And unfortunately we still have another hurricane season before then.

Good Morning , We just booked a Feb '19 southern route ( they canceled our Feb cuban cruise :( ) and will be check out all suggestions for hotels in San Juan Thank you :D also any suggestions for activities ? I know Hubby will want to dive any chance he gets :D but as a new amputee I'll have to be re-certified this summer , so we'll see . we got an amazing cabin !!! 1814 , deck 12 Panoramic windows .

What are the port departure and arrival times for this Southern Caribbean departing out of San Juan? We are frequent cruisers but haven't sailed RCL in the last ten years. Have not yet booked this cruise as I need to have more info before I know if I can book flights. I was surprise to see NO times on the RCL site. Maybe I just missed the information on the itinerary? This is for the June 23rd departure & June 30th return

What are the port departure and arrival times for this Southern Caribbean departing out of San Juan? We are frequent cruisers but haven't sailed RCL in the last ten years. Have not yet booked this cruise as I need to have more info before I know if I can book flights. I was surprise to see NO times on the RCL site. Maybe I just missed the information on the itinerary? This is for the June 23rd departure & June 30th return

Royal's UK site shows more detail: https://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/itinerary-details/?itin=07D209&ship=FR&sail=20180630&room=Interior

Just off the Freedom last Jan 8 day Eastern, Fantastic trip. We will be making a reservation today for the Freedom again, going out of San Juan P.R. southern route March 2019. Just looking for info on the Cruise port, Airport, and Hotels. Any info would help, Have a year away, just looking to get the ball rolling.. 10 Cruise trips under our belts number 11 next. First time to cruise out of San Juan P.R. Thanks..

I'll be in San Juan Saturday and will post here a little bit.

Good Morning , We just booked a Feb '19 southern route ( they canceled our Feb cuban cruise :( ) and will be check out all suggestions for hotels in San Juan Thank you :D also any suggestions for activities ? I know Hubby will want to dive any chance he gets :D but as a new amputee I'll have to be re-certified this summer , so we'll see . we got an amazing cabin !!! 1814 , deck 12 Panoramic windows .

 

 

 

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I've not heard of any good diving in San Juan, but what ports are you visiting? I loved diving in Bonaire, and will dive in Grenada this time. May I ask what limb was amputated? I am imagining what the recertification process might be like. Certainly its a challenge with 4 limbs.

You may want to look at the first few posts of my Jewel Southern Caribbean review. It includes our pre-cruise stay in San Juan (restaurants, hotel, sightseeing). Don't dismiss the public bus (bring quarters).

We are doing a Christmas cruise on the Freedom out of San Juan this December and are staying at the Hyatt House near the Convention Center.

What are the port departure and arrival times for this Southern Caribbean departing out of San Juan? We are frequent cruisers but haven't sailed RCL in the last ten years. Have not yet booked this cruise as I need to have more info before I know if I can book flights. I was surprise to see NO times on the RCL site. Maybe I just missed the information on the itinerary? This is for the June 23rd departure & June 30th return

We have sailed several times out of San Juan. The departure time has always been 8:30 PM. I don't know what the schedule is going to be for Freedom but I imagine it will be the same. The ship is usually back in port at 6:00 or 6:30. We have never gotten off early but I think disembarkation usually starts around 7:00 or 7:30. If you are one of the first off the ship, you can be at the airport by 8:00 or 8:30. The airport can be very crowded and hectic. Arriving early, you'll beat most of the crowd. If everything goes perfectly, you could make a flight that departs at 9:30. I personally would not book a flight that departs before 11:00.

Just off the Freedom last Jan 8 day Eastern, Fantastic trip. We will be making a reservation today for the Freedom again, going out of San Juan P.R. southern route March 2019. Just looking for info on the Cruise port, Airport, and Hotels. Any info would help, Have a year away, just looking to get the ball rolling.. 10 Cruise trips under our belts number 11 next. First time to cruise out of San Juan P.R. Thanks..

We're doing B2B cruise on the Freedom 3 March and 10 March 2019. I booked our hotel (Hampton Inn) the other day. Now I'm starting to price out airfare. We like sailing out of San Juan because the cruises have more ports and less sea days.

We will be sailing on Freedom out of San Juan this May. Booked into the Sheraton Old San Juan without a problem. We wanted to be in OSJ for self walking tour the night before and morning of. Will try to post a short review on our return.

I am sorry if I am being repetitive but for those that asked here are a few answers:

Departure time is still 8:30 pm

Itinerary and port times: St. Maarten (8-5), St. Kitts (8-5), Antigua (8-5), St. Lucia (9-6), Barbados (8-5), Sea Day, San Juan arrival 6:00 am.

Other than St. Maarten which is a favorite the rest is all new so we are looking forward to new adventures. Hope I was of some help. I will post more when we return.

I've not heard of any good diving in San Juan, but what ports are you visiting? I loved diving in Bonaire, and will dive in Grenada this time. May I ask what limb was amputated? I am imagining what the recertification process might be like. Certainly its a challenge with 4 limbs.

we are not planing on diving in San Juan , but we will in Aruba , Bonaire & Curacao :D I am a right below the knee amputee and my only concern with diving in getting back on board the boat , hopping up ladder on one leg is not very graceful :') recertification isn't really for me , we have been diving for years , all over New England and the Caribbean , and I am perfectly comfortable in the water , I'm hoping to alleviate any concerns with local captains by reassuring them that I can handle my self in the water ( it's on land that I have issues :'):'):') )

Thanks for info..

Just off the Freedom last Jan 8 day Eastern, Fantastic trip. We will be making a reservation today for the Freedom again, going out of San Juan P.R. southern route March 2019. Just looking for info on the Cruise port, Airport, and Hotels. Any info would help, Have a year away, just looking to get the ball rolling.. 10 Cruise trips under our belts number 11 next. First time to cruise out of San Juan P.R. Thanks..

We cruised in August out of San Juan on the Adventure and are booked 3/10/19 on the Freedom. We stayed at the Hyatt House in August and have the Hyatt Place booked for next year. Both are very close to the port. Not much right around the hotels but a great burger place and store within a 10min walk. Cab ride was about $26 plus $1 per bag from airport to hotel and $10 plus $1 bag from hotel to port.

We sailed out of San Juan in May of 2017. We stayed at the Sheraton in Old San Juan the night before the cruise. It was an older hotel but well taken care of and a nice location if you like the Old Town. You can walk pretty much everywhere. You are going to have to get a taxi to get to the port wherever you stay. When we got back we stayed 4 days at the Renaissance LaConcha. This was a great hotel. Very nice hotel, pool, beach, restaurants, casino. The restaurants were a little expensive but there are plenty of places to eat around there. We found a taco truck called Kabanas that was the absolute best tacos, nachos, and hamburger we have ever eaten at. My daughter griped about us going and we got there and we had to sit outside and it was raining. She liked it so well we walked in the rain to it the next day. They have moved and they are indoors now and they are right in front of the LaConcha. We are doing the Southern Caribbean cruise again this year on May 26. We are staying at the LaConcha for 3 days before we cruise this time. We loved everything about the hotel and the area.