First Cruise

[married2005]

Hi All,

Our first cruise takes place July 24 on Carnival Victory for 7 days - San Juan, St. Thomas & St. Maarten. We love to shop and the beaches but in San Juan we get in at 5.depart at midnight. Any ideas???

 

[gramshup]

San Juan is a neat city to see. Once off the ship there are all sorts of tour guides that will give you a tour of new and Old San Juan for about $15.00. We also went to El Morro and to a beach for a short photo option. We'll be there in April and plan to do the same thing since we'll have new to San Juan people with us. Old San Juan is a must see I think. Lots of shops and really impressive architecture to see. When there the last time , we got in at 4:30 P.M. and had time for the tour and shopping in Old San Juan. \We walked back to the ship , it's not a long walk at all. There are also casinos in some of the hotels if you are into gambling.

 

[Jeana]

San Juan - Old San Juan for sure!
St. Thomas - Anything you do here will be wonderful! Beautiful scenery. Also, a side trip to St. John is worth doing! Fabulous. Unspoiled. Not commercialized. Every vista is picture post card
St. Martin - place to shop (even though the ship will tell you St. Thomas. We had better bargains in St. martin)

 

[Ted_D]

I do not agree. If I understand correctly, your flight into San Juan (if on time) arrives at 5:00 PM. By
the time you retrieve your luggage and get to the ship check-in it will easily be 6:00 PM. Then, check-in
and clearing security will take a few more minutes. By the time you arrive in your stateroom, it is
going to be 6:30 PM. Depending on the day of the week, some of the sights and shopping will begin
to close. And, it is your first cruise. I would bet you'll want to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the ship. You may want to freshen up and/or change prior to dinner. You may want to make spa or
beuaty shop appointments. You may want to sign up for shore excursions on some of the islands you'll
visit. And for sure, you'll want to unpack, attend the life boat drill, meet your room steward, and verify
your dinner seating preferrence was granted.

So, it isn't clear at all to me that you really have time for much San Juan site seeing on this trip. If you're
really set on doing it and it isn't too late to change your travel plans, consider going to S.J. a day
early. Then you'll have plenty of timew to really see some of the sights and still give yourself plenty of
time to acclimate to the ship.

My wife and I have cruised a number of times, and we are inevitably tired on the first day. We have
to get up too early, fight through airports, struggle with luggage and airport security, etc, etc, etc.
I can't imagine taking on the tourist stuff on day one as well.

Regardless, enjoy your cruise.

Ted

 

[Erinm]

I think you mean that your ship arrives at 5 and departs at midnight right?

I was going to sign up for an excursion, but decided to do it on my own instead. When we walked out of the ship, there were lots of tour guides waiting to take us for very good prices. It cost me $10 + tip for a tour of the city. That was so worth it, San Juan is a very cool city, lots of history!

 

[married2005]

To clarify......we are boarding the ship in Miami and San Juan will be our first stop where we will arrive at 5 pm. I really like the idea of not booking anything in San Juan but will we be able to find a place to eat or any shops open without assistance?

H&R

 

[Ted_D]

I'm sorry that i misunderstood you. By all means take an excursion of Old San Juan. Don't count on getting much, if any, shopping done, though since nearly all of the stores close by 7:00 PM. Besides, you are doing both St Maarten and St Thomas which are two of the best shopping stops in the Caribbean.

You're going to have a great time on your cruise!

Ted