San Juan Embarkation

[Swells1]

I plan on posting a review after disembarkation, but I thought I’d pop in with an update. 
 

We’re in the terminal now. We arrived at 11:45. We checked luggage and got DBE wristbands right away. They told us we could enter the building at 12:30. 
 

There were no announcements at all and no real organization. Rockstars came in first and DBE and SOR kinda followed. No designation at all. We were in queue at 12:43. In the building at 12:51. 
 

My partner has picked up a weak signal and is booking shows now. 

 

 

[scubagal44]

Thanks for letting us know!  We're sailing from San Juan in 3 weeks, so I was hoping someone would share some experience there before then.  😄 Have a great cruise!

[herdfans4]

2 hours ago, Swells1 said:

I plan on posting a review after disembarkation, but I thought I’d pop in with an update. 
 

We’re in the terminal now. We arrived at 11:45. We checked luggage and got DBE wristbands right away. They told us we could enter the building at 12:30. 
 

There were no announcements at all and no real organization. Rockstars came in first and DBE and SOR kinda followed. No designation at all. We were in queue at 12:43. In the building at 12:51. 
 

My partner has picked up a weak signal and is booking shows now. 

 

 

so you were allowed to board with/ahead of rock stars with only DBE or SOR

[hotsauce126]

Interested to hear more about the embarkation process in San Juan. I'm going on VL in a few weeks but I've only departed from Florida ports

[Swells1]

On 1/13/2024 at 3:32 PM, herdfans4 said:

so you were allowed to board with/ahead of rock stars with only DBE or SOR

I promise I answered before. I guess my WiFi was wonky. 
 

Rockstars went first. Then it was a free-for-all. 

[Swells1]

Richard Branson is here. 

[tbmrt]

Also interested.

[sprout76]

Thank you for posting about your experience.  We're sailing next week as MRS and I booked transport to/from ship through Virgin.  They told me 2:00 was the earliest you could get on the ship so I scheduled hotel pick- up for 1:30.  I may ask for an earlier pick up time based on your info.  

 

 

[goodvino808]

We are on the same cruise and was assigned 3:45 which seems late to us!

[sprout76]

1 hour ago, goodvino808 said:

We are on the same cruise and was assigned 3:45 which seems late to us!

I know that they don't operate like all other cruise lines I'm used to, but it is weird, I agree.  I also understand that they are new to sailing out of San Juan so a lot of information isn't out yet.  

 

Enjoy the cruise!  I grew up in Southeastern Wisconsin and have family near Lake Forest

[goodvino808]

 Thanks!  You as well 🙂

 

[Swells1]

Back at work. Ugh. 

 

Okay, so I did mention the highlights of my SanJuan embarkation, but I have time to go into a little more details now. 

 

When we arrived, there were people everywhere. There was really no organization at all. We found a line with people carrying their luggage and assumed that's where we needed to be. Eureka! We were right. We had our bags tagged and loaded. Then, we walked over to a table and got our DBE bands and were told we'd be able to board at 12:30. 

 

There were no announcements at all. Someone at the terminal eventually yelled for Rockstars, and the crowd kind of passed it back. Once it seemed they'd all gotten inside, the same guy yelled for SOR and DBE. Once again, the only people who heard him were the people standing right next to him and sort of passed it back. 

 

We heard "DBE" and proceeded forward. There were so many people around us with no wristbands at all, and I felt bad for the people who paid for SOR and definitely didn't get the priority embarkation. 

 

So, we went into the terminal and I'm assuming we were directed to go to far end of the terminal. I'm saying I assume, because I didn't actually hear anyone telling us to do this. However, everyone in front of me did so and perfectly filled every seat before going to the next row of seats. People don't ordinarily do this unless they've been told to do so. We were one of the first inside the terminal and sat there a good bit while the rest of seats filled. 

 

Then, in an instant, everyone jumped up and started walking in the wrong direction. We were being called in backwards. Meaning everyone who had entered the terminal first were now at the back of the line. It was chaos. I almost got trampled a few times. People were furious. I REALLY felt bad for those with SOR at this point! 

 

Once we were in sight of the desk agents, the line went fast.

 

We were entering our cabin at 2:21pm.

[jon81uk]

23 hours ago, goodvino808 said:

We are on the same cruise and was assigned 3:45 which seems late to us!

Boarding doesn’t start until 2pm (unless you are in a suite) so on busier cruises runs right through to 4pm.

 

But it’s likely they will be running early and if you show up at 3pm you may get to board sooner than the slot you picked.

[sfspider]

Can anyone who is just on board sailing out of San Juan share what time the sail away party was? With such a late departure, I was wondering when the pool party with drinks was so I could book dinner around it. Thanks.

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, sfspider said:

Can anyone who is just on board sailing out of San Juan share what time the sail away party was? With such a late departure, I was wondering when the pool party with drinks was so I could book dinner around it. Thanks.

It’s 6pm

[Ixtoras]

On 1/22/2024 at 8:12 AM, Swells1 said:

Then, we walked over to a table and got our DBE bands and were told we'd be able to board at 12:30. 

Thanks for sharing your experience. We're going to be on the Feb 10 sailing and was curious how the embarkation was set up.

 

@Swells1 What time did you have listed in the app for your Terminal Arrival Time?

 

Our app says to arrive at 3:00 pm, but we have DBE as well....  Wondering if we should plan to get there earlier.

[tbmrt]

5 hours ago, Ixtoras said:

Thanks for sharing your experience. We're going to be on the Feb 10 sailing and was curious how the embarkation was set up.

 

@Swells1 What time did you have listed in the app for your Terminal Arrival Time?

 

Our app says to arrive at 3:00 pm, but we have DBE as well....  Wondering if we should plan to get there earlier.

We have SOR and wonder what time we could enter the terminal in San Juan.  Not sailing til 2/24 so hoping the kinks described in one of the posts above are worked out.  Tx

[Swells1]

10 hours ago, Ixtoras said:

Thanks for sharing your experience. We're going to be on the Feb 10 sailing and was curious how the embarkation was set up.

 

@Swells1 What time did you have listed in the app for your Terminal Arrival Time?

 

Our app says to arrive at 3:00 pm, but we have DBE as well....  Wondering if we should plan to get there earlier.

We had 1:45pm as our arrival time. No one there cared about enforcing those check-in times, and there were no queues. 

[Swells1]

5 hours ago, tbmrt said:

We have SOR and wonder what time we could enter the terminal in San Juan.  Not sailing til 2/24 so hoping the kinks described in one of the posts above are worked out.  Tx

 

Crossing my fingers and sending good vibes.

[MisterBill99]

On 1/13/2024 at 12:07 PM, Swells1 said:

I plan on posting a review after disembarkation, but I thought I’d pop in with an update. 
 

We’re in the terminal now. We arrived at 11:45. We checked luggage and got DBE wristbands right away. They told us we could enter the building at 12:30. 
 

There were no announcements at all and no real organization. Rockstars came in first and DBE and SOR kinda followed. No designation at all. We were in queue at 12:43. In the building at 12:51. 

 

What time was your scheduled arrival time? I also have DBE, but my time is 2:15. I was led to believe that the earliest time they gave out was 2pm.

 

How was disembarkation? Does VV offer a shuttle to the airport through Shore Things, so I can use Sailor Loot to pay for it? I don't see it listed in the app, but that is usually booked once on board. Obviously, it will be more expensive than a taxi or Uber, but I've got $800 to spend and depending on the price, it could be a good use of extra money. Thanks.

[cantgetin]

On 1/14/2024 at 8:34 AM, hotsauce126 said:

Interested to hear more about the embarkation process in San Juan. I'm going on VL in a few weeks but I've only departed from Florida ports

Barcelona, at 2 different terminals, was as much like Miami as they could make it. No beautiful terminal, but very similar layout.

[Swells1]

8 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

What time was your scheduled arrival time? I also have DBE, but my time is 2:15. I was led to believe that the earliest time they gave out was 2pm.

 

How was disembarkation? Does VV offer a shuttle to the airport through Shore Things, so I can use Sailor Loot to pay for it? I don't see it listed in the app, but that is usually booked once on board. Obviously, it will be more expensive than a taxi or Uber, but I've got $800 to spend and depending on the price, it could be a good use of extra money. Thanks.

We were scheduled to arrive at 1:45, but no one checked that.

 

I didn't see anything when I checked. To my knowledge, there are no shuttles. 

 

The downside to a cruise line that doesn't nickel and dime you to death is having a hard time spending all that sailor loot. 

[MisterBill99]

14 hours ago, Swells1 said:

We were scheduled to arrive at 1:45, but no one checked that.

 

I didn't see anything when I checked. To my knowledge, there are no shuttles. 

 

The downside to a cruise line that doesn't nickel and dime you to death is having a hard time spending all that sailor loot. 

 

Thanks. So, it sounds like I should get there well in advance of my 2:15 time to avoid a long line when I get there. Will have to see what experiences people had last week and this week.

 

The SL/OBC would be much easier to spend if they let us pay for Shore Things using it like they do on Celebrity and Royal (and maybe others). Yeah, there are no tips or specialty restaurants to spend it on. Not sure what other nickel & diming you are referring to that VV does not have. I figure my wife will get a massage, and I'll do the behind-the-scenes tour to spend a bunch of it, and I have one excursion picked out that is still available. 

[Gretchendz]

Boarded in San Juan on the 20th. Logistics a bit harder due to the San Sebastian Festival.  Cabs could get closer than Ubers. Because we were concerned about traffic, we cabbed from our hotel on Condado Beach around 11 a.m.

 

It was San Juan's second Virgin sailing and they have a lot of logistics to improve. But many of the staff were being trained and everyone was as pleasant as possible.

 

First there was line for tagging bags, Then an area outside the terminal for check-in, getting your bracelet. etc.

We wre DBE so we and a few RSs waiting outside the terminal (you could find a bit of shade) for quite awhile.

 

Communications poor to non-existent but keep asking.

 

Finally RS and DBE and SOR were let into terminal to big seating area.  Since we could get weak signals among the four of us, we got our reservations completed.

 

In our cabin, bags already delivered, before 2 p.m.

 

[Beachy_keen]

I have a 3pm board time which seems so late.  
Does the signal to try to get reservations for shows etc only work once inside their terminal?   And you cannot get into the terminal until your embarkation time?