Rome Cruise Port

The Port of San Juan is one of the busiest ports in the Caribbean and Latin America.

The Port of San Juan (Spanish: Puerto de San Juan) is a seaport facility located in the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The "Port of San Juan" is the general name used to call various passenger and cargo facilities located in lands around the San Juan Bay (Bahía de San Juan). The port is composed of a total of sixteen piers, of which eight are used for passenger ships and eight for cargo ships. The port's facilities, in addition to, Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport and the Cataño Ferry "Lancha de Cataño" services, are property of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.

The bay and its docks are located along San Antonio Canal, a narrow navigable section of San Juan Bay lying south of Old San Juan and San Juan island, and north and west of the Puerto Rico Convention Center District and Isla Grande Airport. The municipalities of Cataño, Guaynabo and San Juan compose the south side of the bay and port.

Cargo facilities[edit]

A cargo ship unloading in Puerto Nuevo.

The Port of San Juan's cargo facilities are located on the southern portion of San Juan Bay. Of the approximately eight cargo terminals, five are located in the Puerto Nuevo district of San Juan and the other three are located in the neighboring municipality of Guaynabo. The cargo facilities allow for more than 500, 000 square feet (46, 000 m²) of space for loading and unloading cargo.

The location of the port's cargo facilities give it immediate access to Puerto Rico's vast expressway system and several major local routes, this allows for the fast and efficient transportation of goods throughout the Metropolitan Area and the rest of the island.

Passenger facilities[edit]

The Port of San Juan's passenger facilities are located along San Antonio Canal. Of the 15 piers in the channel, four accommodate cruise ships while others serve cargo vessels and the La lancha de Cataño (Cataño Ferry).

Ferry service[edit]

The Cataño ferry provides multiple daily round-trips from San Juan to Cataño. During the late 1980s, ferry service covered the San Juan area and the trip lasted approximately one hour. The service departed and arrived at the Old San Juan docks, but its popularity was short lived and thus this service was stopped during the early 1990s.

Cruise service[edit]

While most cargo ships dock on the south side of the bay, cruise ships arrive at one of the four cruise piers located along San Antonio Canal. This arrangement allows tourists to walk to major attractions such as Old San Juan and the Puerto Rico Convention Center District. The short distance between the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport and the cruise ship docks is 7 miles and makes the area a prime location for cruise companies. Cruise ship companies, such as Carnival Cruises and Royal Caribbean prefer this setting, and have made the San Juan one of their ports of call. Some of the most recognized ships to have docked at the Port of San Juan during the late 1970s and early 1980s, were the Carla C, and Cunard's Countess and Princess ships.