Aviator of the Seas

Google "the bar where the Despacito video was filmed".

Tell them that we built these great castles/forts over the centuries to ward off pirates and what not. That should get them excited. El Yunque is also beautiful. I'd recommend a guided excursion since access is limited while the U.S. Forest Service rebuilds and the forest recovers from last year's storms. Great opportunity to learn about the life cycle of rain forests and their relationship to hurricanes. You could probably do El Yunque in the morning and the forts in the afternoon.

Flamingos are rarely seen in Puerto Rico, and never in or around San Juan. I've lived here for over 40 years and never seen one.

Late May.

The only way to truly enjoy mofongo is if it's freshly made, not sitting there waiting to be reheated. The technique to make it requires great care to get it right, and if you're not willing to wait, better look for something else. If you find a place where they have it on display under a light bulb, you don't want to waste your money with that and the people trying to sell you that are scammers. IMHO.

Since Puerto Rico is inside U.S. Customs territory, brand anti-piracy rules or whatever they're called apply. It's easy enough to look up authorized dealers on the manufacturer's website, and you will find several in and around Old San Juan.

Not that they will be any cheaper in San Juan than on the mainland U.S. One thing, if you declare on purchase that the item will be taken off Puerto Rico ("export") you might save on the sales tax.

Thanks for this. If you need help while in San Juan, please let me know.

Excellent. Thank you for coming down. We appreciate it.

Let me chime in here:

Before: Only designated "Tourist Taxis" (license plates 1234TT, for example), were allowed to pickup/be hailed in designated tourist zones (piers, airport, hotels with taxi stands). Limousines and vans, buses, coaches were also allowed pickups in tourist zones on a pre-arranged, pre-paid basis.

Now: As of May 5, 2018, the Public Service Commission, which is in charged of regulating public transportation in Puerto Rico, decided to designate the entire island of Puerto Rico as a tourist zone. At the same time, to allow Uber to operate out of those areas previously reserved for authorized tourist transportation, they now require Uber as a company and its drivers to meet the same requirements/fees/permits as taxis. Additionally, Uber is now forced to allow taxis in its platform if they want to continue operating here.

But: SJU airport is privately operated, and until they come up with a traffic management plan to accommodate Uber, and until Uber agrees to pay the fee that the airport charges for each commercial vehicle that goes into the airport for hired rides, they will not be allowed to pickup at the airport. This could be resolved sooner, rather than later. But no certain date is given.

Do you have a local guide company that you would recommend for a trip to the rain forest?

I can't recommend any as I am a local and the CruiseCritic rules forbid locals from making recommendations (local operators posing as CCers and selling themselves on these boards is a no no). Sorry.

Nobody knows for sure. I know one of the contractors who will be working on the refurbishment, and they won't start until they're done with the Embassy Suites in San Juan. So, the estimate of end of this year is questionable.

I went on a site inspection to the El Yunque National Forest (the Rainforest) yesterday, and this is what we found.

The El Portal visitors center on road 191 at the entrance to the forest was destroyed by the 2017 hurricanes. The U.S. Forest Service headquarters further up the road was heavily damaged. The U.S. Forest Service has temporarily relocated its operations to the hamlet of Palmer, the little village just off highway 3, as you make your way to the park. Since the visitors center needs to be reconstructed, they've also put up a temporary visitors center at Palmer, and they're calling it El Portalito (the little portal). It's on the main street of Palmer, with nearby parking facilities and restaurants. The feds expect to be at this temporary location for about two years, while the permanent facilities up the mountain are rebuilt. Be aware that this facility is also the temporary working space for the forest personnel and volunteers, so it might be a little awkward while they hold meetings there and what not.

The Rainforest itself is open up to La Coca falls on road 191 and to Puente Roto (bridge) over the Mameyes River and the head of Angelito trail a little further on road 988. There's limited parking by La Coca falls, and roadside parking by the entrance to Angelito trail. The Forest Service has personnel posted at both. Road 191 just past La Coca falls is closed due to road reconstruction, but it is expected to reopen up to the Yokahu observation tower by the end of June 2018.

The only open hiking trail right now is Angelito Trail on road 988. It's a 15 minute hike going down, 15 minutes going back up. The foot bridge near the end of the trail, that goes over a tributary stream/creek was washed away, so if you want to go all the way to the end of the trail to the Mameyes river, you would need to climb over some rocks and get your feet wet. It is a beautiful hike even if short, and you get to see the forest restoring itself up close.

Even if there's limited parking, the U.S. Forest Service is not restricting access and in fact, is encouraging people to return to the park. You can expect some crowding on weekends, though.

For those of you who have been to El Yunque before, and for those of us who live here and visit often, it can be a little heartbreaking to see what you will see, but it is also impressive how the forest is reconstituting itself and how hard have the U.S. Forest Service and volunteers worked to reopen the park. It has gotten back a lot of its beauty, and as a plus, with the defoliation, a lot of wide, magnificent views have opened up. Something to behold is what is now called the "Tears of Irma and Maria". Across the valley from La Coca falls, on the next mountain over, you can see two huge gashes on the side of it. Winds, rain and landslides from Hurricanes Irma and María brought down trees and soil all the way to the bedrock. The gashes are several hundred feet long. They were first seen by Forest personnel as they were clearing the roads after Hurricane Maria, and they wept at the destruction. So, they named the new "attraction" the Tears of Irma and Maria.

At any rate, it is now safe and worth your while to visit the Rainforest. You may rent a car or hire a guided tour. DO NOT USE UBER to go to the rainforest, and there are two good reasons for it. One, they have left many people stranded up there as there's spotty cell service and no way to use the app to call for a ride back down. Two, they have dropped passengers at El Portalito, and there's no way to walk to or access the forest itself if not on a motor vehicle. if Uber says they can take you there, they are scamming you.

If you want to visit El Portalito, put down "Coqui International" on your map app. That's the name of the building where the U.S. Forest Service temporary facilities are located.

That is all. Any questions, shoot.

Something I learned when I booked our upcoming cruise is that one of my credit cards includes this coverage when I use it to book travel. That may be worth checking if she used a credit card.

 

 

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Yes, 1 of 3 lives in Florida so she's covered some.

Family is family, whether by birth or by choice. Sometimes the bonds to the family we choose can be stronger and deeper. I’m glad your wife’s sister is doing well and hope for a full recovery.

Thank you.

Just in case it slipped your mind in the upheaval---

If your sister-in-law has travel insurance for this trip, the expenses, including the repatriation expense, will be covered (at least in part) by that policy.

The problem in this case is that the cruise was sold by a mainland U.S. travel agent, but since she is a resident of Puerto Rico, she didn't qualify for coverage on their travel insurance. Even if Puerto Rico is a territory of the U.S., because of some quirky law (not sure if federal or local) residents must buy most insurance products on the island, not from a mainland agent.

A note of my use of the term "my wife's sister" instead of "my sister in law", for those of you who are wondering. This is something that is lost in translation. My primary language is Spanish, and in that language I would have used "my wife's comadre", for which there is no useful translation into English. "Comadre" is sort of the family you choose, not the family that is born to you. In this the female form, it is the person you choose to be your child's godmother for a Catholic baptism. Lacking a better translation, they call each other sisters. Like I call my "compadres" my brothers. So, not strictly "in-laws", but similar.

Ijust thought I said that.

Thank you. Thank you all.

I was on this cruise when this event occurred. I am so happy to learn that the lady is hospitalized. My best wishes for a complete recovery. When this occurs we always wonder about the outcome.

 

As Aviator stated, HAL handled things beautifully and as passengers we were kept informed with the explanation, but without revealing any personal information.

Thank you. Without going into any details, she would not have survived the two sea days after Costa Rica. She would not have survived the three hour drive to San Jose either. It's really something that HAL got her an air ambulance within Costa Rica, without anybody asking for cash up front. We will deal with that later, but during the disembarkation, the question was never raised. They just needed to get her to a good hospital immediately. And as I posted on another board, Costa Rica is not the worst place in the world to have a medical emergency. It's just not inexpensive at all, contrary to popular belief.

As a follow up, she regained consciousness last night, and now is able to hold a conversation an assist with her diagnosis. Once her numbers stabilize, we'll fly her home.

Thanks to all.

What kind of problems are you having getting her out of Costa Rica? Is she not able to travel?

Not cleared to fly commercial by the doctors just yet. An air ambulance to Florida costs over $20,000.00.

It really is wonderful to see how they step in when things go wrong health-wise. We had a similar situation and were pleased with the follow-up (including phone calls to the hospital room in Panama City from a "social worker" from HAL) to keep abreast of things and to offer assistance. These weren't just platitudes; we were given this person's cell phone number and were told to call 24/7 if there was anything we needed help with. We did call to get assistance with flights back and she was able to arrange them through HAL's air dept. You may want to check this as well.

 

Hopefully your sister-in-law will be well enough to return to her home soon.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

That has been our experience exactly. Thank you all for your kind words.

I've never cruised with Holland America, but my wife just did and I thought to write a public thank you note to the line for how they handled a medical emergency that one of her traveling companions suffered while onboard.

The concerned care and humane treatment of the medical emergency onboard, the turn back to Puerto Limón, the disembarkation, the coordination of several ambulances and admittance to a local hospital, but above all, the constant follow up the family has received from the line, has contributed immensely to our peace of mind that everything will be well.

Kudos to the medical personnel on board the Zuiderdam and to the Captain, whose timely and wise decision could have very well saved my wife's sister's life. We are still dealing with the emergency care in Costa Rica and trying to figure out how to repatriate her, but Holland America has been with us every step of the way making sure we have everything we need.

Looking forward to sailing with Holland America in the near future. I know I will be well taken care of.

Gracias,

First of all, my best to your wife and sister. Being ill is bad enough, but to be ill in a foreign country is even tougher. I just feel compelled to say that never once have I considered a medical emergency an inconvenience to me and my vacation. It would be just plain unkind and insensitive to feel inconvenienced. My thoughts are always with the patient and their travel companions. It’s sad to think people actually think that way.

Thanks.

Very good advice and hopefully everything works out for your wife and her sisters.

 

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Thanks.

I'm not going to opine, but give you the facts of what happened to my wife and her sisters just last night.

They were on a Panama Canal cruise on HAL, returning to Port Everglades. Just departed Puerto Limon and one of the sisters became incoherent. She's diabetic. They went down to see the doc, who was afraid it was a stroke so the ship turned around to Costa Rica (they faced two sea days ahead).

HAL arranged for ambulances: one ground ambulance to take her to the Puerto Limon airstrip to wait for an air ambulance, and then another ground ambulance at San Jose to take her to the hospital.

The hospital asked for a $5,000.00 deposit or credit card guarantee to begin treatment. We have no idea who paid for the air ambulance, but are afraid the bill is coming.

She's at the ICU in a San Jose hospital, and we're still trying to figure out what happened to her and how are we getting her back to the U.S. The State Department and her church, which happens to have a branch in Costa Rica, have been mobilized and are providing adequate assistance.

Now, Costa Rica is not the worst place in the world to have a medical emergency. But still, imagine the ordeal we/they are going through and I'm not even talking about the money yet.

GET THAT TRAVEL INSURANCE IF YOU'RE GOING ANYWHERE WERE YOUR MEDICAL INSURANCE DOESN'T COVER YOU!