Puerto Rico By Boat

Unfortunately, no public boats make the trip between Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. However, there is a private ferry between Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. For more information see Mayagüez.

Cruise Ships

Every year hundreds of cruise ships drop off travelers in the San Juan bay to spend the day wandering the streets of Old San Juan. Cruises generally depart from a major port (such as New York, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale) and spend four to seven days traveling throughout the Caribbean. Some cruise ships depart from European ports to head to the Caribbean, but these are much more expensive. Nights, and some days, are spent onboard the ship, while most days are spent at various destination islands. All of the major online travel agents (www.expedia.com, www.orbitz.com, and www.travelocity.com) offer highly discounted cruise prices (four-night cruises $400-900, seven-night cruises $500-1200). The individual cruise ship sites list regular fares with the occasional super-special thrown in. Typically a cruise price includes accommodations, onboard meals and entertainment, and port taxes. However, travelers have to pay for their own transportation to the port of departure, meals and entertainment in the port city, casinos, gratuities, and alcoholic beverages. Price also varies with the type of accommodation: a suite or a cabin with a window is much more expensive than an interior cabin.

Carnival (www.carnival.com) and Royal Caribbean (www.rccl.com) use San Juan as a home port year-round. Princess (www.princess.com) uses San Juan as a home port only during the high season. The other major cruise lines that stop in San Juan include: Celebrity (www.celebrity.com), Costa Cruises (www.costacruise.com), Cunard (www.cunard.com), Holland America (www.hollandamerica.com), Norwegian Cruise Line (www.ncl.com), P&O Cruises (www.pocruises.com), Radisson Seven Seas Cruises (www.rssc.com), Seabourn (www.seabourn.com), Silversea (www.silversea.com), and Windstar Cruises (www.windstarcruises.com). The following websites also sell discounted cruises: www.bestpricecruises.com, www.1-800-cruises.com, www.cruisehotfares.com, www.beatanycruiseprice.com, www.caribbean-on-line.com, and www.acruise2go.com.