San Juan Puerto Rico

1602 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

Azamara Club Cruises (37 Cruises)

Cruise Aza Azamara Club Cruises Quest ship

Azamara Quest

1112 Passengers
30277 tons
Visit the ship's page

Carnival Cruise Line (108 Cruises)

Carnival Vista

3934 Passengers
133500 tons
Visit the ship's page

Celebrity Cruises (47 Cruises)

Cruise CEL Celebrity Ship Constellation

Celebrity Constellation

2184 Passengers
90940 tons
Visit the ship's page

Crystal Cruises (44 Cruises)

Crystal Serenity

Crystal Serenity

1395 Passengers
68870 tons
Visit the ship's page
Crystal Symphony

Crystal Symphony

1172 Passengers
51044 tons
Visit the ship's page

Disney Cruise Line (15 Cruises)

Emerald Waterways (59 Cruises)

Emerald Kaia.

Emerald Kaia

Visit the ship's page

Explora Journeys (104 Cruises)

Explora I ship.

Explora I

63900 tons
Visit the ship's page
EXPLORA III.

Explora III

Visit the ship's page

Holland America Line (79 Cruises)

Cruise HAL Holland America Line ms Rotterdam ship

ms Rotterdam

2668 Passengers
99935 tons
Visit the ship's page

MSC Cruises (175 Cruises)

MSC World America

Visit the ship's page

Norwegian Cruise Line (99 Cruises)

Cruise NCL Norwegian Cruise Line Prima Ship

Norwegian Prima

3099 Passengers
142500 tons
Visit the ship's page

Oceania Cruises (44 Cruises)

Princess Cruises (240 Cruises)

Cruise PCL Princess Crown Ship

Crown Princess

3080 Passengers
113561 tons
Visit the ship's page
Cruise PCL Princess Emerald ship

Emerald Princess

3080 Passengers
113561 tons
Visit the ship's page
Cruise PCL Princess Regal Ship

Regal Princess

3560 Passengers
142299 tons
Visit the ship's page
Cruise PCL Sky Princess ship

Sky Princess

3660 Passengers
144650 tons
Visit the ship's page
Sun Princess.

Sun Princess

2000 Passengers
77441 tons
Visit the ship's page

Regent Seven Seas Cruises (22 Cruises)

Royal Caribbean Cruises (179 Cruises)

royal caribbean cruises grandeur of the seas

Grandeur of the Seas

2440 Passengers
73817 tons
Visit the ship's page
royal caribbean rhapsody of the seas cruise ship

Rhapsody of the Seas

2040 Passengers
78491 tons
Visit the ship's page
royal caribbean vision of the seas cruise ship

Vision of the Seas

2048 Passengers
78340 tons
Visit the ship's page

Seabourn Cruise Line (18 Cruises)

SeaDream Yacht Club (76 Cruises)

Seadream I

Seadream I

207 Passengers
4333 tons
Visit the ship's page
Seadream II

Seadream II

207 Passengers
4333 tons
Visit the ship's page

Silversea Cruises (45 Cruises)

Viking Ocean Cruises (34 Cruises)

viking sea.

Viking Sea

48000 tons
Visit the ship's page

Virgin Voyages (71 Cruises)

Cruise Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady ship

Scarlet Lady

2770 Passengers
110000 tons
Visit the ship's page
Cruise Virgin VoyagesValiant Lady ship

Valiant Lady

2770 Passengers
110000 tons
Visit the ship's page

Windstar Cruises (69 Cruises)

Star Legend.

Star Legend

502 Passengers
12995 tons
Visit the ship's page
Star Pride.

Star Pride

502 Passengers
12995 tons
Visit the ship's page

Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico | Cruise Port Guide

Five centuries watch you walk down the gangway. Founded in 1521, San Juan is the oldest city under the American flag, and its historic district begins literally across from the docks: colonial façades painted powder blue, corn yellow and coral pink, wrought-iron balconies, and those famous bluish cobblestones, the adoquines, cast from slag brought from Spain as ballast in the galleons. Few Caribbean port calls offer such a density of history within walking distance, with no taxi or excursion needed.

First steps in the old city

Ships dock at the very foot of Old San Juan. The Paseo de la Princesa promenade, flat and shaded, sets out from the docks and follows the ramparts to the San Juan Gate, the city's former official entrance where governors and bishops came ashore. Fountains, old-fashioned streetlamps, sugar cane juice vendors: it's the ideal warm-up before climbing into the streets. Allow a whole day to see the entire district, even though it fits into a rectangle seven streets by four.

El Morro, sentinel of the Atlantic

At the very end of the promontory, about a twenty-minute walk from the docks, Castillo San Felipe del Morro stacks six levels of batteries above the waves. The Spanish built and reinforced it for more than two centuries to lock down the entrance to the bay, and it repelled Drake himself. You walk its ramps, its sentry boxes — garitas that have become the emblem of Puerto Rico — and its casemates where the wind rushes in. In front of the fort, a huge green esplanade serves as a playground for kites; Puerto Rican families picnic there on Sundays, and the sight is well worth a monument.

San Cristóbal and the ramparts

At the other end of the old city, Castillo San Cristóbal, the largest Spanish military structure in the New World, defended the city on the land side. Its tunnels, cisterns and guard posts can be visited with the same ticket as El Morro, and its terraces overlook both the ocean and the colourful rooftops. Between the two forts, the entire city remains encircled by massive walls, which you can follow along the seaside path or look down on from the upper streets.

Lanes, squares and umbrellas

Between the fortifications, the district is very much alive. Calle del Cristo lines up galleries, artisans' shops and the tiny Capilla del Cristo, next to a park where tame pigeons land on visitors' shoulders. La Fortaleza, the governors' official residence since the 1540s and the oldest executive mansion still in use in the hemisphere, closes off the view down a street often decorated with hanging umbrellas or flags. On Plaza de Armas, regulars play dominoes in the shade; cats, longtime residents of the district, doze on the low walls. Getting lost is a pleasure, and the best use of your time.

The Puerto Rican table

You can't leave without tasting mofongo, fried plantain mashed with garlic and topped with shrimp or pork, served in family-run fondas as well as in the elegant restaurants of Calle Fortaleza. The piña colada, incidentally, claims to have been born right here, with two establishments disputing its invention since the 1950s; field research is part of your port call homework. Coffee from the island's mountains, strong and aromatic, rounds out the meal as it should.

Farewell to the ramparts

Many itineraries leave San Juan in the evening. The ship then glides along the illuminated walls, passes beneath the cannons of El Morro and reaches the Atlantic through the channel the Spanish guarded for three hundred years. From the ramparts, figures sometimes wave to the departing ships, an old local custom. You take away the image of a city that has survived corsairs, hurricanes and centuries without losing any of its colours, and a fairly specific desire to come back and begin a trip here, rather than end one.

Frequently Asked Questions

At the very foot of Old San Juan. The historic quarter literally begins across from the piers: it is one of the few Caribbean calls where you need neither taxi nor excursion to start exploring.
Yes, entirely. The Paseo de la Princesa promenade, flat and shaded, leaves the piers and follows the walls to the San Juan gate. The quarter fits in a rectangle seven streets by four, but allow a full day to exhaust it.
The San Felipe del Morro fort, about twenty minutes' walk from the piers, stacks six levels of batteries above the waves. The Spanish built and reinforced it over more than two centuries to lock the entrance to the bay, and it turned back Drake himself.
El Morro guards the bay entrance at the tip of the headland; San Cristóbal, at the other end of the old town, defended the city from the landward side. It is the largest Spanish military work in the New World, with tunnels, cisterns and guard posts. One ticket covers both.
They are adoquines, cast from slag brought from Spain as ballast in the galleons. Together with the powder-blue, corn-yellow and coral-pink facades and the wrought-iron balconies, they form the city's most recognizable image.
It was founded in 1521, making it the oldest city under the American flag. La Fortaleza, the governors' official residence since the 1540s, is the oldest executive mansion still in use in the hemisphere.
Calle del Cristo with its galleries, the tiny Cristo chapel and its park of tame pigeons, the Plaza de Armas where regulars play dominoes in the shade, and the streets hung with umbrellas or flags. Getting lost is the best use of your time here.
Mofongo, mashed fried plantain pounded with garlic and topped with shrimp or pork, served in family fondas as readily as on Calle Fortaleza. The piña colada claims to have been born right here, with two establishments disputing the invention since the 1950s.
The US dollar, since Puerto Rico is a United States territory, and Spanish. English is widely understood in Old San Juan. Cards are taken everywhere.
Many itineraries sail in the evening: the ship glides along the lit ramparts, passes beneath the guns of El Morro and reaches the Atlantic through the channel the Spanish held for three hundred years. From the walls, figures sometimes wave at departing ships, an old local custom.