Where did you stay in San Juan??

[bumbershoot]

Several great options, but Sheraton Old San Juan would be the best if you are looking to be close to the port. You can see the ships from most rooms which is nice.
If you do decide on this hotel, I do recommend making a reservation asap as it fills up fast.
Enjoy your cruise!

But that Sheraton is in OSJ, and the ships embarking in SJ don’t leave from there. It’s a good place to stay, but they’ll be overlooking the day-stop ships, not their ship.

 

[lorimay]

My husband and I are booked on that cruise next year and have the same question on where to stay. I looked online and found a few boutique hotels in old St. Juan that looked nice but would be interested as well where other people have stayed and what they recommend. Thanks.

Last April my husband and I stayed at The Olive Boutique Hotel the night before our cruise. It was so nice the service wonderful! The eclectic room was great. We had a beautiful private patio with a lagoon view that was huge with a tiny little fountain/hot tub you could go in if you wanted(we didn't give it a try this time)
A rooftop bar overlooking a lagoon that was decorated so nice and there was a small pool up there. You could see The ship the morning of the cruise in port from up there. They asked the night before where we wanted out coffee delivered in the morning and we chose the rooftop and at 8am they came with a tray and we felt like royalty. We will stay there again someday I hope for more than just one night!

theoliveboutiqehotel.com

 

[disneyfan888]

But that Sheraton is in OSJ, and the ships embarking in SJ don’t leave from there. It’s a good place to stay, but they’ll be overlooking the day-stop ships, not their ship.

I am guessing they changed the docking location to the other side of the port then. When we sailed to San Juan (granted this was on the inaugural voyage to PR back in 2012), the boat docked on the OSJ side in front of the Sheraton Hotel. It is my understanding they can use both sides. Not sure how the current situation on the island has affected this.

 

[RebelHawk]

We stayed at the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino which was a beautiful hotel right on a lovely stretch of beach and will plan on staying there again if we sail out of San Juan again. Getting to the cruise terminal wasn't that difficult. The only caveat is you have to cross over the bridge into old San Juan to get to the port. That bridge can get backed up during peak travel hours so we left earlier than you would normally and we hung out at the pier (in the heat) for about half an hour before we were able to embark.

 

[tlprice]

I am guessing they changed the docking location to the other side of the port then. When we sailed to San Juan (granted this was on the inaugural voyage to PR back in 2012), the boat docked on the OSJ side in front of the Sheraton Hotel. It is my understanding they can use both sides. Not sure how the current situation on the island has affected this.

If they are just docking in SJ for the day as a port, they dock in OSJ. If they are beginning or ending a cruise in SJ, they dock at the Pan American pier.

 

[1Winston]

We just did the 7 night southern and stayed at the Marriott stellaris resort. It was nice but crazy expensive.

 

[brandyleeann]

We just did the 7 night southern and stayed at the Marriott stellaris resort. It was nice but crazy expensive.

May I ask what is "crazy expensive"?

 

[ChicosWife]

Did any of these hotels offer shuttles from the airport? How did you all get back to the airport, from the cruise port?

 

[tlprice]

How did you all get back to the airport, from the cruise port?

There are tons of taxis (all vans that I saw) lined up at the port. We just waited in line and they sent us to the next one available. (We shared with some friends we met on the cruise to save money).

 

[ChicosWife]

There are tons of taxis (all vans that I saw) lined up at the port. We just waited in line and they sent us to the next one available. (We shared with some friends we met on the cruise to save money).

How much was it?

 

[L8blumr2]

How much was it?

It was about $22 to go to the airport from the cruise terminal.There is a line of taxis waiting for folks to disembark.

We stayed at the Stellaris Marriott and payed about $350-$400 for one night. Very expensive, but Disney transportation was there. We took a taxi, though, from the hotel to the cruise terminal and it was $21. The Disney gals in the hotel lobby told us it was the more "magical " way to go! We got there pretty quick without hassle. The hotel was nice, but the restaurant wasn't open again for anything other than a breakfast buffet. We did walk across the street for a nice dinner. There was a band in the lobby bar playing salsa music that seemed to draw a lot of locals. The dance floor was full! The hotel upgraded us to a corner ocean front view. At that point, I wish we had a couple more days booked!

 

[cruiser21]

We stayed at the Sheraton. Great location to old San Juan. I'd rather be in walking distance to old San Juan and then take a taxi port.... then Vice versa.

 

[ChicosWife]

I booked the Hyatt Place in San Juan, with a bay view. We are surprising our kids, so when we wake up the morning of the cruise and look out and see the Wonder docked, we are going to tell them the big surprise!!!!!!

 

[jrabbit]

I am guessing they changed the docking location to the other side of the port then. When we sailed to San Juan (granted this was on the inaugural voyage to PR back in 2012), the boat docked on the OSJ side in front of the Sheraton Hotel. It is my understanding they can use both sides. Not sure how the current situation on the island has affected this.

There are not any "cruise port facilities" at the OSJ port (by the Sheraton) ...

The building here is the ferry terminal that goes across the harbor (then a taxi ride to Bacardi)



Again the "day stop" dock in OSJ (foreground) does not have any "facilities" for luggage, and ship supplies. In the distance (where the White Ship is) is the Pan American Port where cruises Embark and Disembark from.


And in the Morning of your cruise, there is the Wonder over at the Pan American Port. This was taken from the roof of the Sheraton Old San Juan ("casino" might be in it's name somewhere)


and Finally, here's a map of the harbor area

 

[AquaDame]

How much was it?

The price is fixed from the airport - there is an attendant with a notepad that writes what it will cost on a paper for you to give the driver (and signs that tell you approximately how much that you can look at while you are in the taxi line). We paid $24 to get to our hotel in OSJ and $14 from the port back to the hotel - you cannot use Uber unless you walk away from the port and call them from the street (a lot of people did this but we did not). We DID take Uber to the port from our hotel in OSJ - that was $8.

One snag that was huge for us - the taxis would only take cash. Sure its USD, but we used most of ours on the trip and had to make a detour to an ATM for an extra $2.

 

[ChicosWife]

The price is fixed from the airport - there is an attendant with a notepad that writes what it will cost on a paper for you to give the driver (and signs that tell you approximately how much that you can look at while you are in the taxi line). We paid $24 to get to our hotel in OSJ and $14 from the port back to the hotel - you cannot use Uber unless you walk away from the port and call them from the street (a lot of people did this but we did not). We DID take Uber to the port from our hotel in OSJ - that was $8.

One snag that was huge for us - the taxis would only take cash. Sure its USD, but we used most of ours on the trip and had to make a detour to an ATM for an extra $2.

Thanks for the info. That will be very helpful!

 

[ChicosWife]

there is the Wonder over at the Pan American Port

Yes, per DCL's website, the ship's port is the Pan American port, on the Isla Grande side.

 

[waggles02673]

May I ask what is "crazy expensive"?

We just stayed at the Marriott for 2 nights before our January 21st 7 night cruise. We had a a corner Ocean Front room and all in for the 2 nights was $1100. The hotel fees and tax are pretty steep. We ended up using DCL transfer to the port for $20/per person and left the hotel around 11:45. When we got to the port we were glad we had taken DCL transportation because they take your bags from your hotel to the boat so you don't have to wait in the huge line to drop your bags with the porters. We just walked right by that line straight through security, to the platinum check in line and straight onto the ship. We are doing the 4 night 2019 Repo cruise as the second leg of a B2B and will be staying 1 night at Hyatt Place all in $232

 

[brandyleeann]

Thank you so much. This is incredibly helpful! Looks like I better check out the Hyatt! Can you still get Disney transfers there?

We just stayed at the Marriott for 2 nights before our January 21st 7 night cruise. We had a a corner Ocean Front room and all in for the 2 nights was $1100. The hotel fees and tax are pretty steep. We ended up using DCL transfer to the port for $20/per person and left the hotel around 11:45. When we got to the port we were glad we had taken DCL transportation because they take your bags from your hotel to the boat so you don't have to wait in the huge line to drop your bags with the porters. We just walked right by that line straight through security, to the platinum check in line and straight onto the ship. We are doing the 4 night 2019 Repo cruise as the second leg of a B2B and will be staying 1 night at Hyatt Place all in $232

 

[waggles02673]

Thank you so much. This is incredibly helpful! Looks like I better check out the Hyatt! Can you still get Disney transfers there?

No to the transfers from Hyatt. DCL was booking people at the Marriott so that was the only hotel that had transfers. Hyatt place and Hyatt house are right across the street from the port and a cab or uber are not expensive at all. If we were staying for more than one night before the cruise we would probably pony up the money and stay on the beach again. You can book most hotels now so you could reserve one now and continue to check prices, this is what we do. Most people in our past cruise group stayed at the Marriott, Best Western, Hyatt House or Hyatt Place. There was still a lot of damage down there and many hotels were not open because of damage.