San Juan Port

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mel47

Guest
Our ship will embark from San Juan at 10:00pm. Do you know what time we would be able to check-in?

We are going to fly in the day prior and would like to stay at a hotel near the port. Anyone know of an affordable, reputable hotel nearby? I remember there being a line of hotels across from the port but don't remember names and I don't remember if they were nice or not.

Any other tips about cruising out of San Juan are appreciated as well. Thanks!
 
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CruiserSara

Guest
Mel47,
We are staying at the Wyndam Condado Plaza before our cruise in Jan. Never stayed there, but heard great things. It is really hard to find something affordable in San Juan. My suggestion is to bid for a hotel on Price Line. We have a board member who is an expert and she bid for us. She saved us over $150. The website is www.biddinghelp.com
I highly suggest you get help with San Juan area.
Good Luck!
Sara
 
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Nanatravel

Guest
The newest hotel across from the downtown piers is the Wyndham Old San Juan. Also within the city walls are the El Convento Hotel and Hotel Milano, both remodeled boutique type hotels just a short taxi ride from the pier. Boarding will usually start shortly after noon-time even though embarkation time is set for 1 to 2 p.m. As mentioned, hotels are expensive in San Juan. The Isle Verde has the Wyndham El San Juan and the Intercontinental with the ESJ towers in the same block. ESJ is now timeshare and will often rent a room for just a night. The Condado Hilton is also well recommended. As mentioned, check out Priceline, biddingforfun and biddinghelp. Hotwire will also give you icons to help figure out what hotels are selling for without knowing exactly the brand name.
Depending on what cruise line you are sailing, make sure you know where your ships pier might be. Celebrity & RCCL now use the Pan American pier across the bay. It is a taxi ride away from everything.
Bon Voyage
 
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sally77

Guest
When we cruised out of San Juan in Jan 2002, we stayed one night at the Hotel Milano. It was a quaint, clean, old, but updated hotel right in Old San Juan. It was in a safe area within walking distance of shops and restaurants. The pier where some of the cruise ships docked was within walking distance, a couple blocks away. Our ship, the Princess Dawn, docked at the other pier (Pan American), which, as Nanatravel said, is about a 5-10 min taxi ride away. Rates for Hotel Milano were good for San Juan, we paid $135 for a queen bed. If you stay there, get a room at the top floor (4th floor) at the front of the building and you will have a bit of a view of the pier.
 
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