NCL Ratings and Reviews

Browse destinations at NCL
San Juan or
Choose a destination

Product Reviews

San Juan City Tour & Bacardi Distillery

Board your air-conditioned coach for the approximately 25-minute drive to Bacardi located in Catano. Tour the famous Bacardi Visitor Center which traces the famed rum distillery's history and heritage from the company's founding to the present. Your approximately 90-minute, self-guided audio tour is a multimedia experience that visits seven exhibit rooms, including a state-of-the-art theater. Your tour concludes with a visit to the Hospitality Pavilion for a complimentary cocktail. Bacardi products are available for purchase. As you leave the town of Catano, you'll pass the Condado District, a modern area of high-rise condominiums and luxury resorts. This guided drive will take you to Old San Juan and its 17th century architecture alongside its magnificent historical buildings where you'll have the opportunity to stroll around the grounds of the biggest fortification built by the Spaniards in the New World, on your self-guided visit to Fort San Cristobal. Come see its Main Plaza, 'Garitas' watchtowers and authentic mortal balls. Once you are done your guide will bring you back to your ship. Note: Participants must be at least 21 years of age to sample alcoholic beverages. Bacardi is a popular site; for this reason extended wait time may be experienced. Bring adequate sun protection and wear comfortable walking shoes. Traffic in old and new San Juan can be very congested. Alternate routes are used whenever possible. The stops are unguided allowing participants to browse on their own.
Average:
4 out of 5
4
 out of 
5
(3 Reviews) 3
Open Ratings Snapshot
Rating Snapshot (3 reviews)
5 stars
1
4 stars
1
3 stars
1
2 stars
0
1 star
0
3 of 3(100%)customers would recommend this to a friend.
Customer Reviews for San Juan City Tour & Bacardi Distillery
Review 1 for San Juan City Tour & Bacardi Distillery
Overall: 
5 out of 5
5 out of 5
freespace
Location:Iowa City, IA
Party size:9
I traveled with:Friends
Cruise Date Month:November
Cruise Date Year:2011
Favorite activities:Educational
Date:November 14, 2011
History mixed with fun
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
User submitted photo
My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this tour. The tour guide, Nathaniel, was extremely knowledgeable and proud of his country and it showed. We enjoyed seeing the newer parts of San Juan mixed with the old historic fortress of San Cristobal. The Bacardi tour was not a tour through the actual distillery but they do have a visitors center that explains the history of Bacardi and their basic process of rum making. I was not disappointed by not going to the actual distillery due to the fact that it is dangerous to have many tourists going through there and I was respectful of the fact that there are trade secrets to their distillation process. Two drink tickets are provided for sampling so my boyfriend and I were able to sample 4 types of drinks since we shared. We opted for the optional drop off in old San Juan in order to explore a bit before returning to the ship. We had a wonderful time on this tour and it helped us to decide we would definitely like to return to San Juan as a dedicated vacation destination.
22 of 23 people found this review helpful.
Review 2 for San Juan City Tour & Bacardi Distillery
Overall: 
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
bklyncruzr
Location:Brooklyn, NY
Party size:2
I traveled with:Friends
Cruise Date Month:January
Favorite activities:Relaxing
Favorite port:Philipsburg, St. Maarten
I want to go here next:Europe
Date:June 27, 2012
interesting
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
User submitted photo
We went the weekend of the Festival of 3 Kings so, the Old San Juan Tour portion was cancelled (we got a partial refund) the Bacardi tour was interesting and they give you 2 drinks at the end. Only negitive part was that we were in such a large group it was difficult to hear the tour guide.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Review 3 for San Juan City Tour & Bacardi Distillery
Overall: 
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
DennisS
Location:NC
Party size:1
I traveled with:Family
Cruise Date Month:December
Cruise Date Year:2011
Date:January 5, 2012
A good quick overview
Images for this Review
(click to see full-size image)
User submitted photo
User submitted photo
We took this tour and were impressed with the Bacardi distillery. You get 2 free drinks and a history of the company. They don't show you the actual factory - there's a mock-up you go through, but you can smell samples of all of their different flavors and aged products. You then get a quick speil from a bartender about the correct way to make rum drinks. Then the tour goes to the Fort in Old San Juan - it's HUGE - takes up more than a mile, so bring good walking shoes. You can elect to walk back to the ship - which we did. San Juan is one of the few ports where we weren't bothered by vendors and it was crowded enough on all of the streets that we felt safe. It's a bit like walking through Miami Beach with a San Francisco feel. Overall, if you don't want to go to the distillery, you can get off the ship, get away from the pier area and walk around and see just about the same stuff. Next time we're going to take one of the jungle tours to get out of town and see the countryside.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.