Help please! Shore excursions booked up!

[dixiejen]

Hi everyone… We will be on the Sky Princess in January going to Princess Cays, San Juan, Grand Turk and Amber Cove. Most of the shore excursions we thought we might like are now booked up. Dang it! (We did book Monkey Land in Amber Cove!🤪) Sooooo… We will stay on the ship for Princess Cays, but would like to see a little of each port. Any suggestions for must-sees, restaurants and shopping to which we can SAFELY walk or take a quick taxi ride in San Juan and Grand Turk? Thanks so much for any guidance you might offer!! 

 

 

[Potstech]

Both San Juan and Grand Turk are both fairly safe to walk around in.  Stayin the main areas and shops and you should be fine.

[fpsphil]

Wait till you are onboard... usually they add extra buses to the sold out ones

[kodidog]

11 minutes ago, fpsphil said:

Wait till you are onboard... usually they add extra buses to the sold out ones

Wow....hope that does happen.  We are having the same issue.

[MissiCruzs]

Each port will have a booth offering excursions. San Juan very walkable. You could spend half the day in the fort exploring. Amber cove has a big cruise port with lots of shops, a great swimming pool and zipline... no need to leave. It's a long way to get to anything from the port. The nice beaches are almost an hour away. Grand Turk is not very big. Walk thru the port toward the right to get to the taxis and you can negotiate for an island tour. 

[Coral]

There are private tour companies also. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Coral

[skynight]

Grand Turk is a beach. As you walk off the dock there is a beach to the left. In front of you is a pier side mall with stores and a Margaritaville bar/restaurant/pool. I have been there maybe 4 or 5 times. Each time I turned left on the beach and walked the 1/4 mile or so down to Jack's Shack. There you can get a drink, some food, swim. If you walk through the mall area there are locals that can take you on various island tours and activities.

San Juan. The ship docks at the cruise terminal in Old San Juan. Here are a few options:

Visit San Felipe del Morrow National Historic Site. It is located all the way at the top of the hill at the entrance to the harbor. Take a taxi to the fort. After your visit walk downhill through Old San Juan back to the ship.

Take a nice scenic walk along the harbor entrance on the Paseo del Morro. Part way along the Paseo you will find the historic city entrance. You can turn right up this entrance, enter the old city and walk back downhill to the ship. In either case bring along a map of Old San Juan. You can get lost.

If you have enough time you could arrange a private tour, maybe with some fellow passengers from your roll call, to El Yunque National Rain Forest. It is around a 1 hour drive from the pier. Once there you walk a fairly rugged trail through the forest down to a swimming hole area. When I was there we did have downpours. Umbrella was needed. I think the NPS has them available. 

[eagletwo]

We are currently on the Sky Princess. Yesterday in San Juan, we did a Segway tour of Old San Juan. You will see a lot in two hours and it is a lot of fun. You can book directly on the website. Jose is the owner and guide. We learned a great deal about the history of San Juan. The office is a 10 minute walk from Pier 4. 

[1025cruise]

You should check out the ports of call boards for your ports for excursion recommendations.

[tobyt]

We love Grand Turk, perfect beach day! You stay right at the shops/beach or walk in either direction for more beach beauty. I personally love to go grab some of the giant conch shells, walk right from the pier as opposed to left for Jacks.

We have spent lovely days walking in San Juan, shops, food and drinks and over to the forts, never felt concerned for safety.

Tours being booked would not worry me, lots of options, relax and enjoy!

[lx200gps]

10 hours ago, fpsphil said:

Wait till you are onboard... usually they add extra buses to the sold out ones

Quite agree.  On our recent California Coastal on the Discovery, I had identified a tour in San Francisco we wanted to book, but it had been shown as Sold Out on the Princess website for along time. One of our first stops on Embarkation Day was to visit the Shore Excursions desk, where we had no problem booking that very trip.  I fully expect that a certain percentage of shore excursions, like specialty restaurant reservation slots, are held back from on-line booking so as to be available for on board booking.

[CeleBrat]

Why would you stay onboard at Princess Cays?  It's a beautiful private island.  At the very least you should get off, stroll around, and enjoy the "free" lunch on the island.

 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, CeleBrat said:

Why would you stay onboard at Princess Cays?  It's a beautiful private island.  At the very least you should get off, stroll around, and enjoy the "free" lunch on the island.

 

I agree .. I love the days on the private islands.  
This port is one where you will want to take beach shoes for getting in the water.  The bottom is quite rocky but you’ll see lots of sea life and you can even snorkel there.  There are a few local little shops there, plenty of music, games, food and drink.  The food isn’t anything spectacular but it is not bad.  Grab a nice spot in the shade and you’re good to go.  Some people book a calm shell .. way too hot in there, IMO.  Some book a cabana with a bunch of people .. now, I can definitely recommend that.  

 

[Kerry's Girls]

I joined the waitlist for a tour that was sold out before sailing.  I heard that they sometimes add space if enough are on the waitlist and we did end up clearing and getting our first choice tour.

[Incognito1]

The fort is pretty interesting.  We missed out on the cruiseline's tour of it, so went on our own.  When we got there, we asked a tour guide if we could just join his group,.  He said that contractually we could not, but there was nothing to stop us from standing within earshot.  We did, and tipped him appropriately.  Unless you're mobility impaired, there's really no big reason to pay the ship's price for that tour, anyway.

[lx200gps]

4 hours ago, CeleBrat said:

Why would you stay onboard at Princess Cays?  It's a beautiful private island.  At the very least you should get off, stroll around, and enjoy the "free" lunch on the island.

 

Some of us have been there a dozen or more times. Been there, done that, we would rather spend the day in the Sanctuary than put up with the crowds, tender lineups etc, as there is nothing on PC that interests us any more.