Arriving in PR at 5 pm? Whats up with that?

[shelby]

Exactly how is a cruise ship supposed to arrive at San Juan from Florida by 9 or 10 am? In order to arrive at San Juan by 0900 with one sea day in between the ports is if the ship averages 23 knots. Ain't gonna happen.

And you can't disagree with facts.

Why then go the very first day? There are 3 scheduled days at sea and only their island and one other port. Couldn't they go to one of the other first and then PR on the way back?

Someone also said if their marketing studies show. Their marketing studies show no dip in their pocket if they dock half a day. Why lose your customers for a full day when you can lose them for only 1/2 a day.

[Dave]

Why then go the very first day? There are 3 scheduled days at sea and only their island and one other port. Couldn't they go to one of the other first and then PR on the way back?

It would help if you were specific about the cruise. I cannot find any cruise which only goes to San Juan and a private island.

[Dave]

Someone also said if their marketing studies show. Their marketing studies show no dip in their pocket if they dock half a day. Why lose your customers for a full day when you can lose them for only 1/2 a day.

Jazz hands. Anything with jazz hands.

[mps69]

Personally speaking I'd rather be in a port in the afternoon/evening for a change.
We've arrived at ports in the past at 7am and left by 1pm. For me it was a waste of time, you have to get up at an ungodly hour to have breakfast, which isn't great when your on holiday, just get off the ship (yeah I know you don't have to get off, but to go all that way and not get off is silly). Only to find the port isn't awake yet and to add insult to injury you have to leave when things start hotting up.
On our last cruise we didn't arrive into the first port until 2pm, the amount of people the moaned was unreal, more or less saying the ship should have gone faster to get there quicker. You just got to shake your head and laugh sometimes.

[shelby]

You have some valid points- but with small children alot of people don't want their kids in a strange place at night, you can't take them to Senor Frogs, and they are exhausted and crabby by 4pm anyway. I'm not sure what the solution is.
I guess just scratch that one from the trip. I may take someones suggestion and see if I can find one that fits my scheduale that leaves from PR.


Dave- Its not just PR and Labadee there are 2 I think- One that goes to Jamacia and another that goes to St something- Thomas maybe? Nove 22/23
I was jsut thinking someone said something about getting to PR from Florida. I wonder if they ever thought about reversing iteneries every once in a while

[ricks]

For my wife and I, the PR stop did not do the island justice. We arrived in port just before sundown. We took a ship excursion tour in a van. We raced to the (I think it was) capitol building to take some pictures as the sun set and then we just drove around San Juan looking at house after house with fenced in yards with barbed wire on top and every window and door with bars on them. From that van it gave us the impression that this is not a good place to visit. The van dropped us at Old San Juan for shopping and the driver told us not to venture far for safety reasons. If it weren't for others that have told us PR is a great place, I would never want to visit there. Unless you were the gambling type and going to the Old San Juan hotel there wasn't much to do from the cruise schedule. It would benefit PR if they had ships there more during daylight hours to showcase their beautiful island. I wonder how people would veiw many other islands if all they had was a couple of hours after sunset to visit.

[Casanova frankenstein]

Originally posted by matkanmich:
I'm just saying the cruise lines are the ones bringing in the tourists. San Juan needs to be more accommodating. If they want my money they will accommodate me, or I will go other places.

Well just to clarify, is not that we don't want them here...
The AOS, freddom and, for all I know, every ship on RCCL has, cannot dock on the Carnival Destiny dock, they are too big!!!
So they have to dock in our "international port" as you know been an island, make things difficult.
We have to import almost everything so it is a busy " international port" all day, importing food, medicines, ect. so its difficult to just make space for a cruise ship when we need other things too.
we will like to do it, but in reality, is difficult to decide between our needs and the cruise lines...

[Dave]

I wonder why the cruises have always focused on San Juan when Puerto Rico has other large ports such as Ponce, which would allow people to see a different part of the island?

[penny3333]

I love PR, but I'm confused. Why would you book a cruise before checking out the itinerary? If you wanted time in PR, why didn't you book a cruise originating out of there? I'm sorry, just wondering why you would book something you didn't want.

[shelby]

I didn't book yet. I'm trying to decide which to do.