San Juan - how many people in a taxi?

[milford_cruiser]

Hi gang! I want to thank everyone for some really great information for those of us who are new to RCI. I'm a 3-time Disney cruiser, with a trip on Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan booked for next February.

 

Right now with flight arrangements starting to open up for next year, we've been discussing taxi vs. RCI transfers in San Juan. The overall opinion here seems to be taxis, and there is some great information posted with fares. BUT, there's one thing that I haven't been able to find:

 

How many people can fit in one San Juan taxi? (or are they mini-buses?)

 

We will be traveling with 4 adults & 2 children (ages 10 & 12), and wanted to know if we'll be able to fit 6 people, 6 suitcases, and 6 carry-ons in a single car or if we'll end up taking two.

[superjerryw]

The taxis are usually regular cars. Looks like you'll need two. In any case, a taxi is much faster and much less hassle than the transfer buses.

[Javadelcamp]

Hi there Milford!

 

Oooh, San Juan is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you haven't visited before I hope that you'll have a day or two to explore.

 

If you're staying in a hotel the night before, ask the desk to arrange for a mini van taxi. There is also an option for a "mini-bus" taxi (bigger than a Windstar, but smaller than a school bus :-). You will definitely be able to make all of the people and luggage work!

 

If you're coming from the airport, you will find mini van taxies there as well. But if you're coming directly from the airport you might want to arrange with RCCL for transfers because then there will be no doubt. In fact, we often arrange for transfers from airport to pier, but not in reverse because then we get an idea of the transportation situation and associated costs without being committed. Plus, our experience has always been that you can book return transfers on the ship if necessary.

 

As a sidenote, my family speaks Spanish (Mom's family is from PR!) so we have never made this request, but a good percentage of the population in PR speak English (being a U.S. Territory). Do not be afraid to request an English-speaking taxi driver if you'd be more comfortable. This is not unusual in PR, and folks won't take offense.

 

Have a GREAT time! We haven't been on the Adventure yet, but have been on the Mariner and will be on Explorer in a few weeks. The Voyager class is simply awesome! And enjoy San Juan! It is a beautiful, tropical place full of interesting sites and friendly folks!

[Sue L]

We were able to get a van taxi at the airport with no problem. We had 12 in our group and used two. With all the luggage it was a little tight but it is not that long a ride so no big deal. If you use the transfer be warned that they wait for the bus to fill up before they leave. You could be waiting there for some time as they wait for other plane arrivals. The taxis were fixed rate and if I remember correctly it was around 25$ or so for the taxi to our hotel. There is a fee for the luggage, (1$ per bag, I think) so it was very reasonable.

 

When you exit the baggage area there is a little kiosk, you go to the window, tell them where you are going and they give you a ticket. You move over to the taxi line and go!!! Very easy!!!

[andyjo0930]

Our first cruise out of San Juan there were six of us and we had no problem getting a van together. When you get your luggage, just follow the flow of traffic outside and there are people out there with the taxis and they are very helpful and get you a taxi fast. It is very easy and in no time at all you will be at the ship.

[danp]

We take a van/cab all the time.The price to the port is $20 with the first two bags included then it was $.50 for each additional bag.Befor you leave the airport the starter will give you a ticket with the exact price on it.

With the transfer from RCCL you have to almost wait till the bus is full and by the time that happens you can be on the ship.

We traveled last November with 9/6 adults-3 children 11 8 7 so we only used two van/cabs.

[milford_cruiser]

Oooh, San Juan is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you haven't visited before I hope that you'll have a day or two to explore.

 

That's the plan. We're planning on getting in on Saturday afternoon for a Sunday evening departure. Of course, that's mostly to avoid the possibility of a New Hampshire snowfall in February, but we're going to take the opportunity to explore Old San Juan.

 

If you're staying in a hotel the night before, ask the desk to arrange for a mini van taxi. There is also an option for a "mini-bus" taxi (bigger than a Windstar, but smaller than a school bus :-). You will definitely be able to make all of the people and luggage work!

 

If you're coming from the airport, you will find mini van taxies there as well.

 

Perfect! We'll be able to squeeze into a minivan from airport to hotel, then depending on how that works, we'll ask the hotel to arrange for a larger "mini-bus" if necessary.

 

Too bad the Adventure leaves from the Pan American pier or we could stay at the Sheraton in Old San Juan and walk on board!

[Bison]

This past December we got 8 adults in a taxi (van) from our hotel to pier. We must have had at least 12 bags plus carry on's. If we did this going from the ship we wouldn't have fit (too much food !)

[Schplinky]

We are only two people but it seemed whenever we got in a taxi, it was a van. You should be fine.

[lbendick]

We are also going to Adventure of the Seas 2/3 sailing, Have you researched much about hotels yet?

[milford_cruiser]

We are also going to Adventure of the Seas 2/3 sailing, Have you researched much about hotels yet?

 

We're on the 2/24 sailing.

 

We're looking very hard at the Sheraton in Old San Juan. It looks like the best choice for us - walking distance for a tour of OSJ, but more "resort-like". I see on here and the San Juan ports forum that people get some amazing rates booking through Priceline and Hotwire, but I will probably book it directly to be sure I get what we want.

 

Do a search on "Sheraton" in the San Juan forum and you'll get lots of great reviews (and a few bad ones) from CruiseCritics.