We arrived in San Juan a day early and checked into the Sheraton near the convention center. The hotel was great and relatively close to the Cruise Ship dock (about a 10 minute ride). We got to the ship around 12PM because we had heard the warnings about Tropical Storm Irene as she was bearing down on Puerto Rico. Embarkation was very easy as we were able to drop off our bags and pick up our Sail and Sign cards in about 45 minutes. We were told that the ship may not be leaving port because of the storm, but were also told to stay close to the ship in case we were to leave earlier than the expected 10PM departure.
I would recommend arriving in San Juan a day early. Old San Juan is a beautiful part of the city. I would recommend it to anyone who can appreciate good food, excellent shopping and old historical buildings and streets. The people are very friendly and many of the sights are very close to the cruise ship dock. DO NOT miss out on getting to see such a wonderful city!
After stocking up on some supplies at the CVS down the block from the ship we headed back to board around 3PM. We had seen most of Old San Juan the night before and wanted to make sure we were on the ship in case they decided to leave early. Heavy rain bands from Irene had already started moving into San Juan at this point. The line to board the ship was a little long, probably took about 30-40 minutes but I think that this was the result of the rain and the threat of the ship leaving early.