Runcrazy

Hi Guys and Gals… It’s very pleasant to see some positives being posted by people who care enough to do so and to keep the balance a little…

“Let your Eyes be your Judgment, and your Pocket be your Guide”

… Basically we all have choices in life and purchasing something, be it a can of beans or a piece of fine jewellry, becomes a choice at the moment of payment. NOBODY is forced to buy anything no matter how ‘pushy’ the salesperson is.

When we walk into an Effy/jewellery store, be it on a ship or elsewhere, and we look at the items being offered to us as we stroll the store, first of all, we view the products and not the price. Now, if we like a ring, or necklace or whatever and decide to go further we will ask the price. So, the decision to buy is based on a combination of those two things, our eyes and our pocket. If BOTH are acceptable to us we make the purchase which then instantly becomes an item of memory, and not a price tag.

Buying a memory on a lovely vacation/cruise for us adds to its value, even if an identical item sits in a store elsewhere at a lesser price! That one is someone else’s memory.

…and further, if the item we purchased broke in some way we would then choose to have it fixed, or not… the initial memory would still remain!

When my wife opens her jewellery box to see what she may wear on a special night out, she is looking into a box of wonderful memories and feelings, not a pile of price tags or unanswered complaints, and yes, some of the pieces may be broken or have bits missing, but to her it’s still a very special box of memories of us and the places we have been together…

Blessings to all, and may your God hold you gently in his hand.

Thank you for this. Just returned from a Disney cruise and my husband purchased a beautiful Tanzanite ring for me onboard the Wonder. I rarely wear jewelery but absolutely like this piece. You are so right about these things reminding us of beautiful times and it's the memories that mean most. This will also be a lovely heirloom someday for our daughter. I read just recently in the news when someone marries just for money they earn every penny of that. Perhaps the same can be said for purchasing jewelery.

Does anyone know if San Juan Embassy Suites and Casino is keeping reservations for late January? Or are they still only Housing post hurricane workers?

Embassy Suites cancelled reservations for our cruise (sail date Jan 28).

Hyatt House San Juan canceled our January 6th reservation a few weeks ago. We booked through Hotels.com and that is where the cancellation email came from. This was after I made several phone calls earlier in November to confirm our reservation.

I just got through first time to Hyatt House (every other time got 1-800 number for Hyatt). They are confirming my reservation for Jan 26-27. Makes me wonder if yours got cancelled if they are actually accepting guests.

Anyone stayed at the Hyatt House San Juan? I booked this on Hotwire before the hurricane for late Jan. The Hyatt corporate line wasn't any help, they just told me what the website said. I sent a couple emails direct to the hotel and got no answer, I also wasn't able to get anyone on the phone. Based on all that I booked an AirBnb that was big enough to accomodate our party of 8. It was actually less expensive than the hotel room my parents had booked (that they are able to cancel), so we are going to keep that. Unfortunately, I don't think I can cancel my reservation, because it's Hotwire, unless they cancel mine. I was hoping I could find a way out of it so I can get my $170 back.

 

So all of this was a long-winded way of asking if anyone has stayed there recently and can confirm they are honoring their pre-hurricane reservations?

I am booked st Hyatt House too (direct since last Feb) for our Jan cruise. Haven’t been able to reach local hotel - just 1-800 who as you say aren’t helpful. I had a rate of $152/night and I cannot find anything at another decent hotel for anything close to that rate.

If the airport is running as efficiently as it was on Sunday afternoon, I think they would be fine showing up only an hour early. The person at the hotel who shared this with me was a FEMA worker who had been staying on the island a few months. Maybe she was referring to a few weeks ago when things were running less smoothly. I would feel pretty confident about making my plane if I showed up at the airport 90 minutes early, so hopefully you are able to do that. The people working the TSA inspection area looked to be mainland Americans this time, as opposed to native Puerto Ricans last year and the inspection area was operating a lot more quickly and efficiently than the day I was there last year and almost missed my flight out of SJU, even though I had arrived at the airport 90 early.

Thanks for the reply- I am sure those on our cruise will be comforted by that. With airlines changing flights - not much control over these matters. Looking forward to our Jan cruise. I flying in night before - hoping my hotel reservation holds. Unfortunately had to book a few as I am not sure what will hold and what won’t.

Just stayed at the Marriott Courtyard, Isla Verde property on Saturday (the 2nd day of them allowing non-FEMA worker civilian guests). They are still doing a decent amount of work on the property with lots of scaffolding and some interior construction, but it was a great stay and the staff were wonderful. The pool was immaculate and my husband and I even enjoyed our swim at the beach in front of the Marriott. We didn't have internet access through the hotel wifi or our verizon service, but that wasn't a big deal for the night. We heard from someone at the pool that the airport is commonly turning away passengers who don't arrive at least 2 hours early. We arrived 2.5 hours early for our Sunday 1:50 PM flight and the security line was the shortest I have ever seen, so we had a lot of time to kill at our gate. I thought the security professionals were a lot more efficient this year than in years past, which is probably why there wasn't a huge line. My United flight to Newark was completely sold out.

Hi just want to ask about your comment airport routinely turns passengers away. Some on our cruise ship had their flight on JetBlue changed to earlier (by the airline) and may not have 2 hours before flight. Are you saying they could be turned away?

Sorry, that was a typo. We were at the airport at 7:36 am.

Thanks for clarifying.

We did the self-debark on 11/4 and were at the airport by 11:36 a.m. We used the porters at the port terminal, a taxi and the porters at the airport. Using the porters makes everything go faster and smoother. At the airport you need to get your bags checked by the agriculture department and get a sticker on them before you can check them or go through security.

A little concerned about time it took to get to the airport? What time did your ship dock and shat time did you disembark? 11:36am seems late? Are there delays with getting a taxi?

Were your original flights cancelled? I would think k airline is obliged to rebook your flights at no charge. That is what happened to me and Delta rebooked my flights - no charge. And I changed routes to get to San Juan. Instead of Toronto to New York to San Juan going Toronto to Atlanta to San Juan

Were your original flights cancelled? I would think k airline is obliged to rebook your flights at no charge. That is what happened to me and Delta rebooked my flights - no charge. And I changed routes to get to San Juan. Instead of Toronto to New York to San Juan going Toronto to Atlanta to San Juan

Caribe Hilton now closes to end of March 2018

Caribe Hilton now closes to end of March 2018

Who is your airline. I fly Jan 26 and noticed my seats were no longer showing when I checked my reservations nor could I find my route online. Called Delta and they said at the time they were rebooking Ict and Nov flights and I would have been notified later. They were a accommodating and rebooked my flights. You might want to be proactive and call your airline. If your flights are cancelled they should rebook for you.

Who is your airline. I fly Jan 26 and noticed my seats were no longer showing when I checked my reservations nor could I find my route online. Called Delta and they said at the time they were rebooking Ict and Nov flights and I would have been notified later. They were a accommodating and rebooked my flights. You might want to be proactive and call your airline. If your flights are cancelled they should rebook for you.

What flight did they reroute? We are on dt to San Juan Hah 13th returning Jan 28th. We were originally booked with Westjet

Ontario Cruiser

At the time Air Canada and Westjet were pricey so I found great prices on Delta. Originally booked Toronto through JFK to SJU and returning day after cruise. Now i am flying through Atlanta both times and having to overnight in Atlanta both outbound and return flights. Hoping those flights hold.

What flight did they reroute? We are on dt to San Juan Hah 13th returning Jan 28th. We were originally booked with Westjet

Ontario Cruiser

At the time Air Canada and Westjet were pricey so I found great prices on Delta. Originally booked Toronto through JFK to SJU and returning day after cruise. Now i am flying through Atlanta both times and having to overnight in Atlanta both outbound and return flights. Hoping those flights hold.

So sorry you had to cut your vacation short - that really sucks.

We were lucky and managed to figure out our return flight to Toronto after Air Canada pulled their planes out of SJU.

I just received confirmation from our hotel for next Friday night, and they have full power connected to the SJ power authority and not a generator, so there are hotels with AC and we won't be walking pin cushions.

 

I hope you enjoyed as much of your cruise as you could?

Which hotel were you able to book?

So sorry you had to cut your vacation short - that really sucks.

We were lucky and managed to figure out our return flight to Toronto after Air Canada pulled their planes out of SJU.

I just received confirmation from our hotel for next Friday night, and they have full power connected to the SJ power authority and not a generator, so there are hotels with AC and we won't be walking pin cushions.

 

I hope you enjoyed as much of your cruise as you could?

Which hotel were you able to book?

At least you were able to get xtend your holiday in beautiful Barbados. I am Canadian too and have a cruise out of San Juan late January 2018. Have 3 hotels booked not on list of 14 so we’ll hopefully have a place to stay. Did you take travel insurance for your vacation? Some credit cards include trip cancellation. If you have trip cancellation you should be able to claim extra hotel stays meals and any additional airfare although Air Canada if they cancelled your flight we’re obliged to reschedule you a flight home and if not reimburse your airfare originally paid. Fingers crossed our flights hold up - already had them cancelled once and rebooked with a different route. Been following this thread for a hotel that is actually open and honouring reservations. Hoping for more good news stories of what is open.

At least you were able to get xtend your holiday in beautiful Barbados. I am Canadian too and have a cruise out of San Juan late January 2018. Have 3 hotels booked not on list of 14 so we’ll hopefully have a place to stay. Did you take travel insurance for your vacation? Some credit cards include trip cancellation. If you have trip cancellation you should be able to claim extra hotel stays meals and any additional airfare although Air Canada if they cancelled your flight we’re obliged to reschedule you a flight home and if not reimburse your airfare originally paid. Fingers crossed our flights hold up - already had them cancelled once and rebooked with a different route. Been following this thread for a hotel that is actually open and honouring reservations. Hoping for more good news stories of what is open.