What are my options when arriving in San Juan too early?

[MinnesotaCruizer81]

My group waited until the last minute to book our flight and ended up getting a flight that arrives at 4:00am in San Juan the day the ship leaves port. Has anyone ever done this? What are my options? Is anything open and how early can I drop my bags off? Would it be worth it to just book a cheap hotel room just to have a place to go? Sailing in a couple weeks here. Thanks in advance.

[jsglow]

Wow, that IS early.  And if I'm recalling correctly, the ship leaves at 9 or 10p.  I think I'd try to get a room.  Don't know if they do day rentals down there but you can check.  The ship won't even arrive for a few hours to disembark.  Things like the forts open at perhaps 9 or 10a.  Boarding is at a 'normal' afternoon time so you could sleep then onboard but I'm not sure what you could possibly do from 5 to 9a.

Edited January 4, 2019 by jsglow

[coevan]

1 hour ago, MinnesotaCruizer81 said:

My group waited until the last minute to book our flight and ended up getting a flight that arrives at 4:00am in San Juan the day the ship leaves port. Has anyone ever done this? What are my options? Is anything open and how early can I drop my bags off? Would it be worth it to just book a cheap hotel room just to have a place to go? Sailing in a couple weeks here. Thanks in advance.

 

 

Are you sure? Most airports are not open at that hour. What airline lands at 4 am?

[FlaMommy75]

Your best bet would be a hotel by the airport to sleep for a few hours. However, if that is not a viable option, we were able to walk right on the Fascination at about 11am when we cruised this past Thanksgiving. We stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan across the street so were able to see the terminal from our hotel room and once we noticed the crowds thinned out we headed over with no problems. Easiest Embarkation and Debarkation of 16 cruises.

There is a nice Starbucks right in front of the terminal that is large with lots of seats and good WiFi and there will be lots of breakfast cafes open in Old San Juan you could eat and walk around once the sun comes up.

also, there is a restaurant in Old San Juan, Barrachini, that will hold your luggage. I just checked and it looks like it opens at 7am. I read about it on the San Juan message board.

Hope this helps 🙂

 

Edited January 4, 2019 by FlaMommy75

[jsglow]

20 minutes ago, FlaMommy75 said:

Your best bet would be a hotel by the airport to sleep for a few hours. However, if that is not a viable option, we were able to walk right on the Fascination at about 11am when we cruised this past Thanksgiving. We stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan across the street so were able to see the terminal from our hotel room and once we noticed the crowds thinned out we headed over with no problems. Easiest Embarkation and Debarkation of 16 cruises.

There is a nice Starbucks right in front of the terminal that is large with lots of seats and good WiFi and there will be lots of breakfast cafes open in Old San Juan you could eat and walk around once the sun comes up.

also, there is a restaurant in Old San Juan, Barrachini, that will hold your luggage. I just checked and it looks like it opens at 7am. I read about it on the San Juan message board.

Hope this helps 🙂

 

That 7a luggage hold might prove helpful.  Not in any way to be critical of the OP but planning ahead about San Juan is a good idea.  Yes, it's just like going to any other American city, but there are somewhat limited flight options.  Last winter when it was still in the early recovery phase after Maria, we flew to MCO on Friday night, stayed over, and then took the early a.m. down to San Juan as hotels at that time were still in very short supply and very expensive on the island. 

 

Edited January 4, 2019 by jsglow

[Joebucks]

I'd grab a hotel, take a power nap, then enjoy the city until 6 pm or so.

[LuckyStar]

2 hours ago, MinnesotaCruizer81 said:

My group waited until the last minute to book our flight and ended up getting a flight that arrives at 4:00am in San Juan the day the ship leaves port. Has anyone ever done this? What are my options? Is anything open and how early can I drop my bags off? Would it be worth it to just book a cheap hotel room just to have a place to go? Sailing in a couple weeks here. Thanks in advance.

 

It might be cheaper to buy a pass and go to the First Class lounge at the airport.  You can probably have coffee, breakfast and some time to maybe nap before you can get moving.  I am not sure what time you board but there are local sites in San Juan that would make for a fun day.  

[Hillbillygram]

On 1/4/2019 at 7:22 AM, MinnesotaCruizer81 said:

My group waited until the last minute to book our flight and ended up getting a flight that arrives at 4:00am in San Juan the day the ship leaves port. Has anyone ever done this? What are my options? Is anything open and how early can I drop my bags off? Would it be worth it to just book a cheap hotel room just to have a place to go? Sailing in a couple weeks here. Thanks in advance.

We sailed on the Fascination out of San Juan this past September. We flew down 3 days early due to a travel alert due to Hurricane Florence. We stayed at the Sheraton the night before sailing. Our room had a balcony overlooking the cruise terminal. I was sitting out on the balcony when the ship pulled in to port at 6:30 AM. We checked out of the hotel at around 10 AM and walked across and checked in by 11 AM. We had FTTF so we were able to go directly to our cabin and drop off our carry ons. We then went back off the ship to go to CVS to pick up sodas and wine to take back on the ship. At the airport, transportation leaving the airport is limited to the taxis at the taxi stands as you leave the airport terminal--Uber & Lyft aren't allowed to pick up at the airport but you can use them to take you to the airport for your return flight home. As someone said, Barrachina's allows luggage drop offs until time to board the ship. The Sheraton also has a luggage drop off service for a fee. The advantage of using the Sheraton over Barrachina's is the distance to the cruise terminal from each--Barrachina's is several blocks away while the Sheraton is just across the street. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Hillbillygram
Misspelled word.

[Hillbillygram]

On 1/4/2019 at 7:47 AM, jsglow said:

Wow, that IS early.  And if I'm recalling correctly, the ship leaves at 9 or 10p.  I think I'd try to get a room.  Don't know if they do day rentals down there but you can check.  The ship won't even arrive for a few hours to disembark.  Things like the forts open at perhaps 9 or 10a.  Boarding is at a 'normal' afternoon time so you could sleep then onboard but I'm not sure what you could possibly do from 5 to 9a.

We sailed out of San Juan in September. I was able to watch the ship pull into port from our hotel room balcony at 6:30 AM. They started disembarking at 8 AM; we walked across at 10 AM and we were checked in and were dropping our carry-on in our cabin at 11:00 AM. We did have FTTF, so I'm sure that made a difference.

[OceansOfTravels]

I think you could prolong getting your luggage, be as slow as possible, and then just take a taxi like most would into OSJ. Get dropped off at a restaurant or bar near the ship, and just hang out there. Drink some coffee, get some breakfast, you'll be tired. Hold out until 10:30-11 when the ship begins its first rounds of boarding, and then go ahead and board the ship. If you pack a bathing suit in your backpack, you'll be able to hang by the pool and eat some lunch until rooms open between 1-1:30PM, and then you'll have your room to likely take the needed power nap. I don't think you need to splurge on a hotel like many others are suggesting, I know about this 4AM flight and chances are, you wouldn't have taken it if money wasn't a factor somewhere in the equation.

 

Or, you could always taxi to Barrachina, have them hold your luggage, which they do for free (but expect a tip), and walk around OSJ until 11:30-12 or whenever, before grabbing your bags and heading to the Fascination to board. That way, you can tour OSJ a bit, not have to worry about your bags, and then when you board, especially if you board closer to 1-1:30, you can have your room and your bed to yourself and relax. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by OceansOfTravels
Always making typos :(

[Hillbillygram]

4 minutes ago, OceansOfTravels said:

I think you could prolong getting your luggage, be as slow as possible, and then just take a taxi like most would into OSJ. Get dropped off at a restaurant or bar near the ship, and just hang out there. Drink some coffee, get some breakfast, you'll be tired. Hold out until 10:30-11 when the ship begins its first rounds of boarding, and then go ahead and board the ship. If you pack a bathing suit in your backpack, you'll be able to hang by the pool and eat some lunch until rooms open between 1-1:30PM, and then you'll have your room to likely take the needed power nap. I don't think you need to splurge on a hotel like many others are suggesting, I know about this 4AM flight and chances are, you wouldn't have taken it if money wasn't a factor somewhere in the equation.

 

Or, you could always taxi to Barrachina, have them hold your luggage, which they do for free (but expect a tip), and walk around OSJ until 11:30-12 or whenever, before grabbing your bags and heading to the Fascination to board. Taht way, you can tour OSJ a bit, not have to worry about your bags, and then when you board, especially if you board closer to 1-1:30, you can have your room and your bed to yourself and relax. 

I think this is a great plan. 

[ABCGreys]

2 hours ago, OceansOfTravels said:

I think you could prolong getting your luggage, be as slow as possible, and then just take a taxi like most would into OSJ. Get dropped off at a restaurant or bar near the ship, and just hang out there. Drink some coffee, get some breakfast, you'll be tired. Hold out until 10:30-11 when the ship begins its first rounds of boarding, and then go ahead and board the ship. If you pack a bathing suit in your backpack, you'll be able to hang by the pool and eat some lunch until rooms open between 1-1:30PM, and then you'll have your room to likely take the needed power nap. I don't think you need to splurge on a hotel like many others are suggesting, I know about this 4AM flight and chances are, you wouldn't have taken it if money wasn't a factor somewhere in the equation.

 

 

This sounds like a perfect plan!