San Juan Port

[IrishEye]

It has been very quiet regarding the details of sailing out of San Juan post Maria, can anyone give us some tips ? What time did the port open, about what time have they started boarding, how crowded is terminal, any trouble getting into or out of port, any other general information we should know ?

We are sailing out in a week and arrive into SJU late the night before, some friends arriving the day of cruise. We plan to go from airport to hotel, it will be nearly midnight, sleep a bit, have breakfast and head for port a bit aster in the morning.

 

[kmix78]

We were on the Disney wonder from Galveston to San Juan last week. There were no issues at all with the poor, completely easy to get in and out of. We used Uber, and taxis to get around and we were there for about a day and a half post cruise. Loved every minute

 

[Cmbar]

It has been very quiet regarding the details of sailing out of San Juan post Maria, can anyone give us some tips ? What time did the port open, about what time have they started boarding, how crowded is terminal, any trouble getting into or out of port, any other general information we should know ?

We are sailing out in a week and arrive into SJU late the night before, some friends arriving the day of cruise. We plan to go from airport to hotel, it will be nearly midnight, sleep a bit, have breakfast and head for port a bit aster in the morning.

Hi there. We left on the first cruise out the San Juan port since Maria on Dec 1st and the port was excellent! Taxis were working great from hotel to port and once at the port and through security we had the usual check in procedure and then you move to another part of the port to a larger holding area where they had a ton of chairs set up. We were in boarding group three but I guess the cruise was not full because as soon as we picked seats in the large area a CM came and said we are simply going to start asking everyone to start boarding and not call numbers. They did do the family of the day for first boarding.

1. Some things to remember is that there is a sign that said "SHIP THIS WAY" or something like that. When you check in you will see a small sampling of chairs initially and that is where I thought we would all be holding (as we were previously when we traveled from San Juan). But you do actually need to go through that opening to another section that has a large area with way more chairs for boarding.
2. Because we were boarding on deck 1 or 2 (can't remember) there was not any of the fan fare we usually get when leaving Port Canaveral where the gangway crosses over to the Atrium and they announce your name as you walk in. Wasn't a big deal for us as this was our 9th cruise with DCL but we had newbies with us so I was disappointed for them.
3. The Picture taking is right before you cross the gangway, so its easy to make sure you get that!
4. WE were in the first PAT of 11am and still had to wait. They didn't open the security doors until exactly that time so we waited outside in a line. You will get out of your taxi and they will lead you to a line to drop off your luggage so be prepared to have everything you want with you and not going to your room accessible quickly when you get out of the taxi.
5. Remember you can go to Cabanas or to Cariocas for lunch. Cariocas is not a buffet as it had been when it was Parrot Cay. Its a sit down meal with a menu. We loved it and liked the relaxed feel of sitting down and eating quietly.

Since it has been over a month since we departed I'm sure things are working even better! Have an awesome trip!!

 

[bumbershoot]

We left on the first cruise out the San Juan port since Maria on Dec 1st

The first Disney cruise.

But for the general port area Royal has been cruising out of panamerican post-hurricane since 10/7. Taxis were present even then. Air travel has gotten easier. More places are open. The duty free shop after checkin has been open since then. Etc.

 

[mmouse37]

Good info. We board the Wonder 1/28. We are also going with newbies and I wanted them to experience the name announcement. Oh well good thing I didn’t tell them about it!! At least I know what to expect

MJ

 

[IrishEye]

Thanks everyone. May get to sleep in a bit later if port does not open until near 11.

 

[tlprice]

We just got off the Wonder yesterday. We flew in a day early and stayed in Old San Juan. Everything was great. We saw very little damage from the hurricane and everything seemed to be business as usual. Everyone was very friendly and I think glad that the tourists are coming back in. Our PAT was 12:00, but I forgot to look at my paper and thought it was 12:30. We took an Uber to the port and got there at 12:30 after spending the morning exploring both forts in Old San Juan. There was a long line outside that we had to wait in to get into the building. It took about an hour (maybe a little more) from arrival to getting on the ship. We walked right on once we got through all of the lines. It was hot outside in the line, so be prepared, just in case. We met a nice family in line and talked with them which made the time go faster. Like a PP said, we boarded on Deck 1 so no announcement. My daughter was disappointed. The San Juan airport was very busy yesterday to come home. Looks good for Puerto Rico.