San Juan Port Adventures severely limited for 1/15/22 cruise

[RAD]

Today was the day that Platinum CC could book port adventures. DCL is showing only options, two scuba, one bike tour and one zip line. The planning section on the DCL site shows they normally have 31 options. Spa options not much better, only 9 things allowed to be booked where just the spa options listed about 24. Hopefully they'll open up more options but disappointed at the limited options considering how much DCL cruises cost.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

You should consider just walking around San Juan. We've been there twice with our kids and loved it. We walked around the forts, got kites and flew them in front of Castillo San Felipe Del Morro. There's restaurants and shopping and the architecture is really fun to look at. You can feed the pigeons at Parque de las Palomas, see the iconic umbrella street, and eat at Chocobar Cortez or at Barrachina, the supposed birthplace of the Pina Colada.

 

[cvjw]

Same when our original port adventures opened up for the 8 night on the fantasy next month. Only 4 excursions for San Juan. Then the itinerary changed and the fantasy is going western instead of eastern now.

 

[Chemist]

As others said, San Juan is a great port to explore on your own. Its completely walkable with lots of neat things to see.

 

[lorimay]

They had a nice tram tour that will show you so many sights. We did it in 2017, it was a great way to get around.
Then we walked around Old Town and grabbed a great lunch .
San Juan is a great city.

 

[tvguy]

Just not enough ships with enough passengers currently sailing to make it worthwhile for tour operators to resume operations. And I suspect there are other considerations that are keeping them closed.

 

[RAD]

Maybe the CDC saying they're level 4 is part of the reason, https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/puerto-rico. I e-mail DCL asking if they would be adding things, their response was

"At this time we do not have any information about whether more excursions or spa treatments will be able to be added. We are working with the vendors in both areas and will upload more options as they are able to be added. Continue to monitor the website for any future updates."

 

[littlethelen]

I absolutely agree with DietCokeMommy’s suggestions to wander around Old San Juan. We spent a few extra days there prior to a cruise a few years ago, after seeing once and needing to go back. It is our favorite port in the Caribbean. Love the Forts, the Old streets, and the Chocobar was a must for our family! Barrichinas was a great dinner spot, but it was a full sit down meal for us. Or, you can stop for amazing cocktails. Best Pina Coladas I’ve ever had. There is an amazing cemetery by the water that looks like the one in Coco, except on the ocean. Amazing resting place. Ahhhhh… Mickey, take me back!
Now I want salsa and guacamole!

 

[AquaDame]

Agree with what others have said. You're also able to use rideshare apps - we've been several times and have always done this. There is a lot to do around Old San Juan if you're able to walk up the steepish hill there. I'd love to waste away another day having mallorca at Cafe Mallorca and a way too expensive mocha at Caficultura and wandering around, checking out the two forts. And then also having mofongo.... ok maybe I like puerto rican food very well too.

 

[Luvmypetz]

If you feel it’s something you can do, we did a private Segway tour. The office is in walking distance from the ship. It goes to forts and various other interest points. Not sure if Covid has affected them but I’m sure a Google search would help

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We took a taxi to the beach for a few hours, then a taxi back and wandered around the Old San Juan area shopping and sight seeing. Was a GREAT day

 

[OKW Lover]

Agree with the PP's comments about exploring Old San Juan (OSJ) on your own. We've done this often. If you are "older" or a bit out of shape I'd suggest taking a taxi/uber up the hill to El Morro to start. Spend some time walking around the old fort. From there you can walk downhill through OSJ back towards the ship. Its really not hard and you won't get lost if you just keep heading downhill.

 

[Keyser]

So I ran into something similar for my cruise in December: the excursions listed for Cozumel were very limited. Just yesterday (about 1.5 weeks after the Gold booking opened), it looks like they added a couple more excursions (though still not the one I wanted, and maybe I just mis-remembered the earlier ones....). Someone else mentioned that something similar had happened for their November cruise - more excursions being added as the date approached. So, if you wait a bit, you might find that more show up?

Of course, our December cruise still shows as stopping at Grand Cayman (which I understand won't happen), so they are way behind in updating their information for cruises. I'm not sure that updating the excursion lists is very high on DCL's priority list.

 

[Cruzin’Sisters]

Just wondering what hotels you would recommend for San Juan and how many days to stay pre and post cruise?

Not planning any time soon. Just saw the thread!
TYIA

 

[allaboutthemouse]

Just wondering what hotels you would recommend for San Juan and how many days to stay pre and post cruise?

Not planning any time soon. Just saw the thread!
TYIA

If you’re interested in Old San Juan, we stayed at the Decanter Hotel right in the middle of Old San Juan in February 2020 for a pre-cruise stay on the Wonder and loved it! Really enjoyed the balcony at night and walked to all the sites we wanted to see. It is quiet during the day, but comes alive at night. So you might want to think about that if nighttime talking/party sounds bother you. We could hear them via the balcony, but it did not bother us.

 

[disneylove69]

Today was the day that Platinum CC could book port adventures. DCL is showing only options, two scuba, one bike tour and one zip line. The planning section on the DCL site shows they normally have 31 options. Spa options not much better, only 9 things allowed to be booked where just the spa options listed about 24. Hopefully they'll open up more options but disappointed at the limited options considering how much DCL cruises cost.

PR is limiting a lot and said they dont want visitors. Dont be sulrised if that port is cancelled.

 

[Colo17]

Our August Symphony of the Seas cruise changed from St Kitts to San Juan a couple of weeks before sailing. Very few options, none appealing. We were the first ship to dock in that port and escorted in by fire boats and lots of horns. There were a dozen or so vendors on the pier when we were there with few customers. Shops along the street were obviously not open. Fort, being a national park, required masks. It wasn't worth getting off for us, and it appeared lots of others thought the same way. We actually prefer to fly into San Juan and cruise from there. As a port stop we generally explore town and one of the forts and don't do excursions (many of the excursions are 45 minutes away by van so you spend a lot of time riding).