mefinephotoman

We will be spending a week in San Juan before our cruise on the Jewel. I have to use a scooter and I was wondering how much of the fort I will be able to see?

We just visited El Morro this trip. Access into the main level won't be a problem but the best views are from a lower level which all I saw was steps and an upper area which did have a very steep incline. It is a National Park and I know that they are very helpful so they may have access away from the normal areas that we didn't see. You could probably ask them via email and gain more info. Make sure to look around the grounds in front and check out the area near the cemetery.

Don't blame you at all. Hope not having time to post was because you were having a fabulous time. Looking forward to hearing about it. We are on the Jewel in early November and I'm starting to get really excited!

One quick note. The ship has not been fitted with the new WIFI system which means that you cannot access the internet from your room as I had planned. This means that you could not set up to download images etc. and while it is working go do something.

We had a great time and discovered some new things about cruising and on board dining options etc. Lots of photos to share as well. I should be home in time this evening to post day one and possibly day two.

Sorry that "Live" didn't happen. But now that we are back on dry land I will resuscitate the thread. I will start posting soon.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Compass says it's still Dennis Charles

Thanks for posting that. :)

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Sorry the dinner portion of last night wasn't so great but always nice to meet new friends isn't it? Guess I'm not so sorry we couldn't make it last night. See you on the ship.:)

It was great to put faces with names. We have great people in our roll call. As far as dinner last night it is water under the bridge and we move on to the next adventure! See you soon!

Today we board the ship! Need to get everything packed and ready to go. We have met a nice couple here at the hotel and have talked about sharing a cab to the pier. But, while I have a minute I would like to review some of yesterday's events.

We did walk down to the port to take a carriage ride only to find out that they only run on days that ships are in. No ship, no carriage ride. So we walked around the port area for a while. Ended up stopping at Senior Froggy's for lunch. Even though it was nearly empty the staff made every effort to throw a party for those that were there.

We then just walked back to the hotel and stopped at a couple of plazas etc.

We then got ready for the evening with some of our fellow CC Roll Call members. We had a drink at El Convento and then went to Rosa De Triana for dinner.

El Convento has been fantastic as far as the level of service we have been provided. I give them a 10. In fact maybe I am a bit spoiled from it now.

We had a few issues with Rosa De Triana though. They looked like the had more customers than they could handle for the evening. I had made reservations for 12 people months ago and they gave us a table for 10 and put 2 of our guest at a different table away from us. Another big party came in shortly after we had placed our order and after that servers vanished. 2 of the 10 entrees didn't come out and there was no one serving us to even notice it.

The Flamenco Dancing was interesting but not worth ever going back for again.

I can't comment on the food because my entree was one that didn't show up. Also the owner was not gracious when I express my displeasure with the service we were given.

I would not recommend this establishment.

There are so many good options and I made a decision of where to have new friends dine based on reviews I had read. Hopefully this review will be informative for the next person looking for a great dining experience.

Here is an image of the Flamenco Dancers.

Well it has in most part been a fantastic couple of days in OSJ, but now it is time for cruising.

I will post more soon.

All the pictures have disappeared except for Post #3 and #36.

I think i moved them in photobucket. Are they back?

I took this yesterday morning as she was coming into port. I did some research and that is the only other ship we may see the entire trip. We are the only ship scheduled at each port! Good for crowds but will miss seeing the other ships.

It has been a totally lazy day so far and our legs are sore from all the walking yesterday.:o We went to breakfast right outside our door again at about 9:30 and then to the pool for some sun. Now we are just hanging out trying to get ourselves talked into heading to the pier area to take the carriage ride. Maybe, :rolleyes:maybe not.

We have our Roll Call gathering here tonight at 5:30.

I will post more soon!

WOW - this is a wonderful review. Love the photos!

 

Would you do me a big favor after you board the ship, and let me know who the Cruise Director is for your sailing? Dennis is scheduled to handover to Carly this weekend, and I'd like confirmation of the change so I can update the list.

 

Thanks!!!

Sure... I will post to my thread tomorrow. It should list the CD in the compass shouldn't it?

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

We decided to have a couple of drinks and dinner at Patio De Nispero. Talk about convenient it is only about 50 feet from our room.

We had met some of the staff the day before and really could feel the passion they have for taking care of their customers. Luis and Pamela were behind the bar. Luis is the Bar Manager and Pamela is a student at the University and working at the hotel in an intern program. It was her third day.

After Luis served us some drinks that had no names (He likes to surprise you) we then were handed over to Mateo for our dinner.

One of our fellow Roll Call members recognized us from our avatar and came up to introduce themselves to us. It was great to meet Bob (the weatherman) and his wife Lorraine!

Here is Mateo with my dish for the night. Mofongo wrapped in skirt steak. It was superb!! Although the hotel restaurants are a bit spendy, the level of service makes the experience so worth it.

After dinner we had dessert. Patti had a bread pudding with fruit and cinnamon ice cream and I had a chocolate cake with a coffee glaze. Both were again delicious. We also asked for coffee with dessert and to our surprise the creamer that we asked for was steamed. That was a first and wonderful touch. While we ate our meal a pianist and trumpet player were there playing which just added to the ambiance.

After dinner we retired to our room and I ended up falling asleep again at about 9:30PM Hence I am now up again at 4:00AM. The good news is it does give me time to keep the posts caught up.

Tomorrow we want to take a carriage ride through OSJ and a boat tour of the Harbor and well as we are having our first CC gathering here at the hotel. I think there will be 6 or 7 couples from our JOS trip meeting. After communicating for so long on CC it will be great to meet everyone in person.

More to come soon!

Thanks for all the positive comments! I have appreciated all the effort others have invested in helping others on CC with reviews like this. After El Morro we went back to the hotel for to cool off in the pool and get some sun. Of course that is when the rain clouds rolled in and made that a short event. Then we changed and headed out for lunch. We ended up at Barrachinas! Patti had a Pina Colada which is claimed to be invented there.

Then just walking around doing some shopping. The narrow blue cobblestone street with the colorful buildings make for great photography.

Then it was back to hotel for a little nap and to rest our legs from all of the walking.

El Morro and the Cemetery

Notice the flags are at half mast in memory of 9/11

Well, Patti finally rose at around 6:30 and after coffee and getting ready we were out the door to explore. First stop, Cafe Cuatro Sambras for breakfast. Had a breakfast sandwich with ham and cheese and jam on a pressed croissant which was very good. The cappucino was fantastic, made from home grown and beans.

From there we headed from the pier to El Morro.Here are a few highlights from our walk.

A couple more of the room.

This is a enclosed patio which does add more living area. the water feature sure help with white noise for sleeping last night.

I need coffee!

After being up at 3:00AM yesterday to make our first flight. We had a couple of glasses of wine at the manager's reception, one more night cap at Patio de Nispero

and then it was off to bed. Retiring that early now has me wide awake at 4:00AM this morning. Note to self to stay up later tonight:p

Our room for the next couple of days is one of the newly remodeled rooms on the first floor. It is a bit small but loaded with charm and the history of this hotel oozes out of every detail.

El Gato!! Cats are a way of life here in OSJ. They are everywhere and seem to be welcome by the natives as though they are family. Here is one of the resident cats of the hotel.

Today we want to just explore more of Old San Juan, take in El Morro and later take a San Juan Harbor sunset sail. I will post more soon.

Looking forward to meeting you on Saturday. :D

See you at the Sky Bar!!!!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Your review was starting to get spooky...I am Mark also and my wife and I are also sailing on Jewel in 3 seeks for our 25th anniversary. It's our first cruise and we are sooooo excited! Following along on your trip will hopefully make the days pass just a bit quicker. Happy Anniversary and have a great trip! What type of room are you booked in? Subscribed.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

We are in a balcony 9th floor on the hump. This is our first cruise in September. Hopefully the weather stays great!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

We had a great safe flight into San Juan. Luggage took a while to come off the belt but finally we had all our bags. I am usually the stubborn type that wants to handle my own bags but for some reason this time I decide to except the offer to have help with the bags from the luggage porter. Best couple of bucks ever spent. He grabbed our bags and we followed him to the front of the line for the next cab. I guess I should always be so stubborn.:rolleyes:

Off we went into Old San Juan to the hotel. We decided to spurge a little being our 25th and all so we reserved a room at El Convento. The hotel is incredible!! I love doing photography and this place is a candy store for pictures. Here are a couple from today.

Once we got settled in we headed out to find something to eat. We found a nice little place around the corner. El Patio De Sam on Calle San Sabastian. The food and the service was great for a nice tasty sandwich lunch and a Modella Light.

More review to come!

At airport trying to learn how to import images.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

It seems like forever ago my wife Patti and I decided to do something special for our 25th wedding anniversary. We decided to plan a cruise out of Puerto Rico but this time spend some time in Old San Juan. Today is travel day!!! We are sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting for our connection to PR. This is my first time giving a trip review. So be patient. I will try to keep up with posting as much as I can thoughout the next 10 days.

Last night we left the girls (12 year old dogs) with Jen the dog groomer. Jen has known them since they were puppies. They hate when we leave but having Jen watch them is a great help.

Loaded 3 checked bags, 2 carryons and one fairly large personal item bag which left our luggage weighing in at just over 200 pounds.

I hope my next post later today will have some pictures from San Juan and our hotel El Convento.

Mark

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Subscribing so I can read when I get back from same cruise. I am at the airport headed to PR.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Where did you find the walking map? Im having trouble locating one that contains the forts along with the Catholic Church.

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/old-san-juan-walking-tour-1/

This site has a great map of OSJ and three parts to a tour that covers OSJ pretty well.:)

Last time I checked, Verizon treats San Juan like the mainland US. However, Verizon treats the USVI as foreign.

With Verizon USVI is text and data just like at home but they charge additional for phone calls.