November 4th sailing on Summit

[purple small flower]

We have booked Casablanca hotel in San Juan for Nov 2nd and Nov 3rd, and sail on Celebrity Summit on the 4th, the hotel said they are opened but they didn't tell me about the condition of the hotel. Is there anyone booked there and know the condition of the hotel? Can we still tour the Old Town? Is it safe to walk around? Please advise!

[Bo1953]

:)

 

bon voyage

[kirkandtheresa]

We have booked Casablanca hotel in San Juan for Nov 2nd and Nov 3rd, and sail on Celebrity Summit on the 4th, the hotel said they are opened but they didn't tell me about the condition of the hotel. Is there anyone booked there and know the condition of the hotel? Can we still tour the Old Town? Is it safe to walk around? Please advise!

 

 

We'll be on the Summit on the 4th also. I've heard that our hotel is up and running but have not gotten info on Old Town. I'll be watching what shows up here.

[purple small flower]

We all will be watching and share the information.:):)

[Mrs. Nic]

We are departing the following week(11/11) and I called the hotel directly to find out what the situation was. (Embassy Suites San Juan Hotel and Casino). We were advised that they had water and electricity, but not air conditioning. I am so happy that they told us that, as a/c is a deal-breaking thing for us. We cancelled that and changed our air to day of. Not our favorite way to go, but we feel confident that a two pm landing and the Celebrity shuttle will get us to the port in plenty of time.

[alb456]

I have never used the shuttle how exactly does it work? Do you wait at the airport for very long waiting for other passengers?

[Sammy Sailor]

We have booked Casablanca hotel in San Juan for Nov 2nd and Nov 3rd, and sail on Celebrity Summit on the 4th, the hotel said they are opened but they didn't tell me about the condition of the hotel. Is there anyone booked there and know the condition of the hotel? Can we still tour the Old Town? Is it safe to walk around? Please advise!

 

Here's a recent review from a Royal Caribbean thread - they stayed at the Casablanca

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2553861

[E-500]

Just read a report in detail today on P.R.and San Juan. The island is in bad shape even 5 weeks after the hurricane. The colonial buildings in Old San Juan did not suffer terrible damage, but many are shuttered and the shops and restaurants that are open are running truncated hours and limited menus. Probably safe during the day, less so after dark.

 

Water and communications are in much better shape than the power grid, but still marginal.

 

The head of tourism said that they are a long way from ready for the high season which starts Dec. 1st. Thinks that tourists will not enjoy their stay until deep into the 1st quarter of '18.

 

Airport and cruise terminals appear close to being fully operational.

[Mrs. Nic]

I have never used the shuttle how exactly does it work? Do you wait at the airport for very long waiting for other passengers?

 

We have never not stayed over the night before, so this is new to us. The Celebrity rep said that the shuttles run every fifteen minutes from the airport to the port. We feel like they will try hard to get us there for a timely departure. We land at 2:00 and should be ok. Of course, if things seem out of hand the taxi is a good backup for us.

[alb456]

We arrive at 2:20 our original flight that was cancelled arrived at 12:30. We enjoy relaxing on the ship before it leaves. Maybe you can answer another question. How does dining work the 1st night? I know that they have muster drill.

[ClaudiaB]

My sister and her husband are on your sailing and have cancelled their hotel pre- and post-cruise, and are just flying in on the day of, and flying out as soon as they get off the ship. They were able to change their airlines free. Not what they had wanted to do, but they were not able to be assured that the hotel was really ready for them, nor was the little bit of touring they wanted to do. It's ok, they're patient, they'll be back again I'm sure. They're spending the night at the airport hotel and have a dawn flight so should be just fine. We pray for the people on those terribly damaged islands to be able to recover quickly so that those of us who love to visit them will be able to, soon - bringing our dollars with us.

 

Some interesting substitutions on all these Caribbean cruises. Even our early March Reflection cruise shows that the St. Maarten overnight is changed. Quite sure it's all going to change again more than once before then.

 

I hope it goes well for you, that your flights are on time, that your hotel is able to take people, and that your cruise is fabulous.

[Northern Aurora]

I am posting from the Summit. We are on the re-positioning cruise from Bayone to San Juan (the last leg of a B2B2B). Since we have been on so long I've had a number of conversations with crew about the situation, and have also called our San Juan hotel to confirm that they are open and functional (they are).

 

I will post an account on this thread in 72 hours once we have spent a day in San Juan. But it is my understanding that the airport does have power but not air conditioning. Also, we have been told that the cruise terminal also has power, but no air conditioning. We have been told that Celebrity is trying to obtain some portable air conditioning units to provide some relief from the heat.

 

Also, since there has been some panic from other passengers regarding the situation in San Juan, as a gesture of good will, Celebrity is offering complimentary shuttle transportation to the airport on the day of disembarkation.

 

Other than the uncertainty about San Juan we have had a very enjoyable time on the Summit.

[Gemdar]

We'll be on the Summit on the 4th also. I've heard that our hotel is up and running but have not gotten info on Old Town. I'll be watching what shows up here.

 

We hope you did well with your hotel. We came in on November 1 after our hotel was confirmed through Expedia and the hotel. When we arrived the hotel was intact closed. We spent about 7 hours on the phone with Expedia and ended up in a hostel that cost us an additional 1400 US... We are getting to leave this place and can't wait to set sail.

[MEcruzr]

We hope you did well with your hotel. We came in on November 1 after our hotel was confirmed through Expedia and the hotel. When we arrived the hotel was intact closed. We spent about 7 hours on the phone with Expedia and ended up in a hostel that cost us an additional 1400 US... We are getting to leave this place and can't wait to set sail.

 

What hotel were you booked at???

 

Wishing you a great cruise!

[Gemdar]

Originally Sheraton Old San Juan then rebooked and confirmed the night before with San Jan Intercontinental. We ended up in a place that before the storm charged 50 US night, now almost 500.

 

On the ship now and loving it.

[Jade13]

We hope you did well with your hotel. We came in on November 1 after our hotel was confirmed through Expedia and the hotel. When we arrived the hotel was intact closed. We spent about 7 hours on the phone with Expedia and ended up in a hostel that cost us an additional 1400 US... We are getting to leave this place and can't wait to set sail.

 

 

 

Oh my!

 

 

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