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Jayems · 01-22-2010, 10:59 PM

We had our honeymoon cruise that left from San Juan. We went to most of the places, in that order, on your second leg.

First thing when you get to San Juan is you line up for a cab. Your rate is non-negotiable with the driver. There is some sort of tourism board that prevents them from overcharging. We took a cab straight to Old San Juan, about 20 minutes by cab from the airport, and it was like $25 USD. There's someone there who mediates between you and the cabbie depending on your destination.

We stayed at the Sheraton, it was nice. There's a burger joint downstairs (outside) and a casino there too, if that's your bag.

Now, I see that you have the same departure time as us. They'll tell you that you can't check in until 5pm or whatever, but that's not true. We lined up around noon I think. The hotel held our bags in their holding room until noon. Anyways, we did get in but there was a security delay, so we ended up sitting around doing nothing for hours inside. They told us we could leave and come back, but we didn't. So, I'd recommended planning on doing something in Old San Juan that day. Go check out the coastal forts etc.

I assume you're on a Carnival trip because of your itinerary. If you are, we had a fun time. There was a casino. They had poker, but it was one of those electronic tables with no dealer. Kind of odd.

As for trips, we did the underwater scooter in St. Thomas. I'd HIGHLY recommend doing that. Lots of fun. Think it was called Bosse Underwater Adventure or something. You can pre-book online and avoid rushing when you get on the cruise and miss the long lines to register. You can also book on your TV in your cabin, iirc.

We did a jungle adventure course in Domnica, it was okay. When we got back near the port, we kind of went off the main drag and were quickly approached by a smelly, homeless dude missing half an arm. He was trying to be our tour guide and leading us further away from the common areas. I quickly realized what was up and moved along, but he kept following. I honestly thought he was going to try and rob us or was getting us to where his buddies were laying in wait. I gave him a few bucks and he went away. Not 10 minutes later, even after sparking up a conversation with us, telling us he used to pick apples in Ontario in summers, he came to our table where we were having a beer and begged for money.

We did something that was advertized as a a mud bath in St. Lucia. Worst day of the trip, by far. First of all, it was like a 3hr bus ride just to get there. Also, you stop at these points of interest and are swarmed by people hawking necklaces. They're very, very pushy. You just have to say no and keep walking. They'll try and get you to hold them.. don't. Just ignore them, but be polite. They're all workiing together with your driver, so they'll stop wherever their buddies are so you can buy crap. Anyway, after the marathon bus ride, we get to this 'mud bath'. it's basically a big crater with black, bubbling water from a volcano or something. Stinks like sulphur. You take some pics there, then go down to the 'mud bath'. It's basically water hot enough to cook lobster in that's black. It's incredibly unconfortable, but we manged to get our bodies used to it enough to sit for 3 or 4 mins. There was some crazy dude rubbing mud over himself too.. good times.

We scuba dived in St. Kitts. It was okay, did a small shipwreck. Didn't last long enough. It was a discover scuba thing. So we had like 30 mins chatting about stuff, 45 mins in the pool, then waited around FOREVER for their boat to come, and I was scuba'ing for no more than 15 mins before they guy told me to go back up to the surface cause I was out of air. I was royally pissed. (And no, it was not because I was breathing hard. My tank wasn't full apparently, and they refused to give me another one and re-join the group, including my wife. . But, it was such a bad experience not getting to stay underwater for long that I didn't tip much, or at all. Which is incredibly uncommon for me, considering I know they live on tips, etc. But, you get brutal service, you can't reward them. I hope they smartened up for the next bunch.

Barbados, we did a party ship pirate boat thing. Was okay, i guess. they had a snorkel portion, but there was 200 people in the water in a small place. I was constantly being kicked in the face.

Antigua we did a kayak and snorkel adventure. Very, very good.

I'd say that 95% of the people vacationing on the cruise were all from Puerto Rico. They are an incredibly fun group who know how to have a good time. However, their knack for congregating at and blocking doorways is infuriating.

Anyway, I had a great trip. Weather was fantastic and other than a few incidents, it was a great time. If you have any specific questions, I've been on 3 Carribean cruises and seen most countries. Ask away.

01-22-2010, 10:59 PM	#14
Jayems Franchise Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Calgary Exp:	We had our honeymoon cruise that left from San Juan. We went to most of the places, in that order, on your second leg. First thing when you get to San Juan is you line up for a cab. Your rate is non-negotiable with the driver. There is some sort of tourism board that prevents them from overcharging. We took a cab straight to Old San Juan, about 20 minutes by cab from the airport, and it was like $25 USD. There's someone there who mediates between you and the cabbie depending on your destination. We stayed at the Sheraton, it was nice. There's a burger joint downstairs (outside) and a casino there too, if that's your bag. Now, I see that you have the same departure time as us. They'll tell you that you can't check in until 5pm or whatever, but that's not true. We lined up around noon I think. The hotel held our bags in their holding room until noon. Anyways, we did get in but there was a security delay, so we ended up sitting around doing nothing for hours inside. They told us we could leave and come back, but we didn't. So, I'd recommended planning on doing something in Old San Juan that day. Go check out the coastal forts etc. I assume you're on a Carnival trip because of your itinerary. If you are, we had a fun time. There was a casino. They had poker, but it was one of those electronic tables with no dealer. Kind of odd. As for trips, we did the underwater scooter in St. Thomas. I'd HIGHLY recommend doing that. Lots of fun. Think it was called Bosse Underwater Adventure or something. You can pre-book online and avoid rushing when you get on the cruise and miss the long lines to register. You can also book on your TV in your cabin, iirc. We did a jungle adventure course in Domnica, it was okay. When we got back near the port, we kind of went off the main drag and were quickly approached by a smelly, homeless dude missing half an arm. He was trying to be our tour guide and leading us further away from the common areas. I quickly realized what was up and moved along, but he kept following. I honestly thought he was going to try and rob us or was getting us to where his buddies were laying in wait. I gave him a few bucks and he went away. Not 10 minutes later, even after sparking up a conversation with us, telling us he used to pick apples in Ontario in summers, he came to our table where we were having a beer and begged for money. We did something that was advertized as a a mud bath in St. Lucia. Worst day of the trip, by far. First of all, it was like a 3hr bus ride just to get there. Also, you stop at these points of interest and are swarmed by people hawking necklaces. They're very, very pushy. You just have to say no and keep walking. They'll try and get you to hold them.. don't. Just ignore them, but be polite. They're all workiing together with your driver, so they'll stop wherever their buddies are so you can buy crap. Anyway, after the marathon bus ride, we get to this 'mud bath'. it's basically a big crater with black, bubbling water from a volcano or something. Stinks like sulphur. You take some pics there, then go down to the 'mud bath'. It's basically water hot enough to cook lobster in that's black. It's incredibly unconfortable, but we manged to get our bodies used to it enough to sit for 3 or 4 mins. There was some crazy dude rubbing mud over himself too.. good times. We scuba dived in St. Kitts. It was okay, did a small shipwreck. Didn't last long enough. It was a discover scuba thing. So we had like 30 mins chatting about stuff, 45 mins in the pool, then waited around FOREVER for their boat to come, and I was scuba'ing for no more than 15 mins before they guy told me to go back up to the surface cause I was out of air. I was royally pissed. (And no, it was not because I was breathing hard. My tank wasn't full apparently, and they refused to give me another one and re-join the group, including my wife. . But, it was such a bad experience not getting to stay underwater for long that I didn't tip much, or at all. Which is incredibly uncommon for me, considering I know they live on tips, etc. But, you get brutal service, you can't reward them. I hope they smartened up for the next bunch. Barbados, we did a party ship pirate boat thing. Was okay, i guess. they had a snorkel portion, but there was 200 people in the water in a small place. I was constantly being kicked in the face. Antigua we did a kayak and snorkel adventure. Very, very good. I'd say that 95% of the people vacationing on the cruise were all from Puerto Rico. They are an incredibly fun group who know how to have a good time. However, their knack for congregating at and blocking doorways is infuriating. Anyway, I had a great trip. Weather was fantastic and other than a few incidents, it was a great time. If you have any specific questions, I've been on 3 Carribean cruises and seen most countries. Ask away. Last edited by Jayems; 01-22-2010 at 11:15 PM.