C. Victory Sept. 16 '12 Review with pics

[Karpkg]

 

 

 

Coming across San Cristobal.

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

 

 

First view of El Morro.

 

 

 

That looks like a long walk, doesn't it? But we're on a trolley! It doesn't stop here, it stops right at the entrance!

 

 

[Karpkg]

 

So we get out here and start taking pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

Inside El Morro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

 

 

 

These staircases were unusual.

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

Then the circular staircase.

 

 

Beautiful.

 

 

Scaled El Morro as it was back then.

 

 

[Karpkg]

A few more then it's time to go. We'll go grab an early lunch and then head to the airport.

 

 

 

We leave and "Walk the Streets of Laredo." Just kidding!

 

But these streets do remind me of a Caribbean's version of San Francisco Streets.

 

 

Again, love the ironwork and the colors.

 

 

The doors!

 

 

[Crusin Karen]

You'd never know you cruised during hurricane season. BEAUTIFUL WEATHER! :D

[Karpkg]

Billy's getting worried about making his flight so we look for a place to eat. I suggest Punto de Vista restaurant, right next to the Aloha which is holding our luggage and back at the Carnival pier. So we head on back.

 

 

The food was delicious! Beautiful to look at. A fantastic place for lunch.

 

The appetizers and meal. Chicken nachos. Yum!

 

 

The kids wanted the fried mozzarella cheese. And, hamburgers. nope, didn't need pics of that.

 

 

Sis last meal of Chicken Mofongo.

 

 

DH had beef soft tacos.

 

 

Gotta have my sweet plantains. Also had fish tacos.

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

You'd never know you cruised during hurricane season. BEAUTIFUL WEATHER! :D

 

Yes. Sunny, humid and HOT. (steamy hot) But I'll take that over rain and cloudy any day. :)

 

 

We pick up our stuff next door, hail a cab from across the street and away we go.

 

We drop Billy off at the AA terminal. Before we separate we all go through USDA. Had to remind everyone to do that, you can easily miss the USDA conveyer which is off to the side. And there was no one around so putting our stuff on the belt and waiting for stickers to be slapped onto our luggage didn't take long. Watch those stickers though, they easily fall off.

 

My sis comes with us and we hunt for a lounge that has Sunday football playing. We find one area that has multiple LCD screens but to hubby's and Sis' dismay find that they are all tuned to one sport channel because it's satellite and it's the airport's one feed for all stores. So they end up watching football but a team they were just lukewarm about. At least it was football.

 

We find a spot to plug in our extension and plug up all the phones and laptop and hang around sipping on drinks and a few pastries checking our e-mails and the kids playing on our phones. 2 hours later then it's goodbyes and hugs all around and we head on to our respective flights.

 

We get into Atlanta about 8 pm, home around 9 pm and in bed by 10pm. Can't believe work and school is just the next day. But we had a blast and now am planning for the next cruise. Just trying to figure out where to next. :D

[ibcnusoon]

How easily did you hail a cab with 6 people and the luggage? Do most cabs in San Juan handle that much?

 

I am traveling with 6 people and was thinking of getting private service to our pre-cruise hotel in San Juan and then using Carnival's airport transfer for the trip back to the airport since our flights leave at 1:30pm.

[Karpkg]

How easily did you hail a cab with 6 people and the luggage? Do most cabs in San Juan handle that much?

 

I am traveling with 6 people and was thinking of getting private service to our pre-cruise hotel in San Juan and then using Carnival's airport transfer for the trip back to the airport since our flights leave at 1:30pm.

 

 

In the last pic and in this one look behind us and you'll see the cabs; they're all white minivans, large SUV's and passenger vans. We just looked over which one had the room to handle us and our luggage and went directly to that one.

 

When we first arrived at the airport the taxi stand saw us and our luggage and ordered the appropriately sized van for us. Same thing at the hotel when we were going to the pier.

 

At the Carnival pier the vans were all lined up along the sidewalk. It was an "eenie, meenie, miney, mo" kind of moment. Pick and choose. ;)

[ibcnusoon]

Ok thanks. I think I'm going to save myself some $$$ and opt for a taxi. I was going to get van service from the airport to the hotel, then use the Carnival shuttle to the airport at the end of the trip. It would cost me $90 each way (or 6 people and figuring at least 6 pieces of luggage). I think I can halve that by taking a taxi over the private shuttles.

 

Another question about San Juan airport. My daughter is flying back to college via JetBlue and we are flying USAir. Do you know if they are in the same terminal? Where you able to go through agriculture customs with all 6 of you, then separate to go to your gates?? I'm trying to visualize at what point I will be separated from DD. Thanks.

[Karpkg]

This taxi ride was around $30? Going from/to Zone 1 to 3 was $19, then $2 fuel surcharge, $2 more for passengers past 4 people, then the rest for the luggage. For 6 people and luggage; for my family we had 3 carry-on, 3 personal bags, 1 checked in, 1 CPAP(medical device needed for sleep apnea problems); Billy had 1 checked in, 1 CPAP, my sis had 1 carry-on and 1 personal.

 

Tip: I usually bring a multiple outlet cord for all the electronics we have. I'm hearing on some ships those are confiscated, it wasn't on our trip. I think on future trips I'll keep it in the same bag as the CPAP to make sure people know it's an essential item. We did find out that we needed an extension cord because we had 2 CPAPS this time, not just one so we asked at Guest Services and our steward brought it in that first night.

 

Hope this helps.

[Karpkg]

Ok thanks. I think I'm going to save myself some $$$ and opt for a taxi. I was going to get van service from the airport to the hotel, then use the Carnival shuttle to the airport at the end of the trip. It would cost me $90 each way (or 6 people and figuring at least 6 pieces of luggage). I think I can halve that by taking a taxi over the private shuttles.

 

Another question about San Juan airport. My daughter is flying back to college via JetBlue and we are flying USAir. Do you know if they are in the same terminal? Where you able to go through agriculture customs with all 6 of you, then separate to go to your gates?? I'm trying to visualize at what point I will be separated from DD. Thanks.

 

 

Here's a terminal map I found by googling.

 

 

I can't remember the terminals, but I think Billy was in D; we were in B an my sis was in terminal C. We just crossed over everywhere when we deposited people off. We had a lounge area between terminal B and C so my sis and us hung in there. It took her 5 minutes to go to hers and likewise for us. Billy's was a 10 min. walk? Since our flights were in the afternoon and low season, the airport was virtually empty.

 

Customs was at the front door, but not at every "front door." We entered and Billy was about to head for AA when I stopped him and said we needed to find the USDA checkpoint. It was located a little down the ways at another entrance point. We all stayed together. After security check point then we separated.

[Karpkg]

Found this that will help cruise passengers and navigating the airport.

 

San Juan Airport Gateway to the Caribbean

 

JetBlue website says they have a new home at Terminal A.

 

USAir says their terminal is in B.

 

Hope this helps.

[Karpkg]

Summary and random thoughts:

 

Packing list:

 

For our first cruise port we drove so we had no weight restrictions. Of course this one we flew and so had to choose what to bring and what to leave behind.

What to leave behind:

 

Drinks. We bought what we needed at the local CVS before we boarded. If you want a better selection try and not do it within the last few hours of boarding; the place was bombarded with tourists and last minute buying. We bought water but water taste wasn't a problem like it was on the C. Fascination. Fascination water had a sulphur lingering taste, not so with the Victory.

 

over the door organizer. We needed the storage on Fascination- they have non-existent counters. On the Victory they had long counters with a shelf below and a medicine cabinet with four shelves; more than adequate room for 3 adults and their knick knacks.

 

Towels. Just use the Carnival towels, and when we went on excursions I even didn't bring a towel for each person. Pretty bulky and heavy. The hot sun dried us off pretty well.

 

What I brought that I used.

 

cash. I stopped at my local bank with a list of which bills I wanted and 2 rolls of quarters. Kept it in an envelope and wrote on the envelope each day the amount spent and what for. wasn't always exact because hubby kept the cash but it helped to budget. Had already called credit card companies that I was on a trip for these days.

 

Used up gift card or magnetic hotel key card, anything with a magnetic strip in the back that you won't use for anything else. We used this for our safe.

 

1 white/beige flat full size sheet. Or if you have that parachute material beach sheet- they take very little room and weight, shake the sand off easily, saved me $$ than renting chairs.

 

Wire dry cleaning hangers. They didn't take any room at all and I hung a lot of stuff.

 

collapsible cooler, zip lock bags, 2 trashbags. used the zip log bags for ice, stuck some canned drinks and bottled water in my cooler and took it with us on some excursions. Trash bags- used to put wet clothing in or stinky clothing with a couple dryer sheets to keep the smell down; I've done that also to sandals that smell- stick dryer sheets in to combat the smell. (also helps if you don't have a balcony to air out or dry your stuff.)

 

My own lanyards. I have a dozen or so lying around somewhere.

 

Water shoes- I bought Keens for the kids and myself. Used them a lot- hiking in rainforest, rocky/sea urchins floor- St. Kitts and St. Lucia.

 

What I could've/should've brought:

 

Battery Mister fans. A luxury item I use when I walk around in Disney, I could have used it here as well.

 

More bathing suits, less other clothing. I wore a bathing suit under my clothes almost every day out on some excursion. Almost all excursions had beach or snorkeling and not many convenient places to change (long lines to bathrooms, etc). Packed 2 long pants for just in case(didn't touch them).

 

Note to self: a splitter for the headphones so the kids can use 2 headphones out of one speaker output on the laptop. They used earbuds on the plane to watch a movie. Had to have one earpiece for one ear for DS and the other ear piece for the other ear of DD. Well, they made do.

 

Should've bought the underwater camera (Canon D20) from home than in St. Thomas. The internet now makes buying items pretty easy, but definitely don't order within 1 week of leaving. I regret procrastinating too long.

 

vinager in a small spray bottle (neutralize jellyfish stings). I'll add that to my first aid stuff for future trips.

 

On some excursions/islands- roll up some toilet paper, stick it in a ziplock bag and take it with you. Can be used for kleenex in a pinch.

 

I think I'll get my own snorkel and mask. I need a smaller snorkel for my mouth size and we rented gear almost every day, I see more snorkeling in the future.

 

What I could've left behind:

 

The walkie/talkies. We didn't split up as much as I had thought. We used the ship's phones to communicate between cabins a lot.

 

What I've learned:

 

Go on the roll call threads, find your date of your trip and GET TO KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO'S ALSO GOING. It'll help to organize excursions (Herod St. Lucia required min. 10 people for land/sea tour) more negotiating power and reduces overall taxi fare. Like minds can also go to like places with minimal compromises. (Don't get in a cab with a couple who only wants to do shopping and you want to spend your time at a beach)

 

Camp Carnival- grab that schedule and learn it ahead of time. I brought the kids in and found out I had to pick them up only 1 and a half hour later for lunch; another time they were at a different location for pick up.

 

Check your restaurant bill. Sometimes tip is already included- you don't want to double tip if you can help it and not all places will admit that to you.

 

Cash is king for a lot of excursions, tipping, taxi fares. We didn't have to convert to local currency.

 

Pics with animals/bargaining for merchandise or excursions. Sometimes it helps to show how little you have in your hand. It will tell the vendor that's all you have and what you have in the hand is better than nothing.

 

Food that was different:

 

Puerto Rico- Chicken mofongo and starchy plantains

St. Thomas- conch fritters

St. Lucia- Blue Marlin, local fruits- Cassava

Barbados- Flying Fish

[ibcnusoon]

This taxi ride was around $30? Going from/to Zone 1 to 3 was $19, then $2 fuel surcharge, $2 more for passengers past 4 people, then the rest for the luggage. For 6 people and luggage; for my family we had 3 carry-on, 3 personal bags, 1 checked in, 1 CPAP(medical device needed for sleep apnea problems); Billy had 1 checked in, 1 CPAP, my sis had 1 carry-on and 1 personal.

 

Tip: I usually bring a multiple outlet cord for all the electronics we have. I'm hearing on some ships those are confiscated, it wasn't on our trip. I think on future trips I'll keep it in the same bag as the CPAP to make sure people know it's an essential item. We did find out that we needed an extension cord because we had 2 CPAPS this time, not just one so we asked at Guest Services and our steward brought it in that first night.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I'm traveling on this same cruise with my Dad and Stepmom and they have portable oxygen concentrators. Carnival called me and told me to bring an extension cord for them - so they better not confiscate it! I will put it in one of the POC bags so they know it's for the machines. Wow, the taxi counts even the CPAP bags?? I figured it would cost us about $30 plus tip, we are also arrived after 10pm on Friday night so there is another $1 surcharge and I read somewhere that it's $2 for every person after the 5th person up to 7 people, maybe they changed it to $2 after the 4th person? Whatever the case, we will definately take a taxi.

[ibcnusoon]

Found this that will help cruise passengers and navigating the airport.

 

San Juan Airport Gateway to the Caribbean

 

JetBlue website says they have a new home at Terminal A.

 

USAir says their terminal is in B.

 

Hope this helps.

 

eek that was what I was afraid of. Doesn't look like Terminal A is connected to B like it is to C and D. Thanks for the information!

[ibcnusoon]

Did you use your cell phones in San Juan and St. Thomas? Still trying to determine what the rate would be with Verizon, before I call them before our cruise and ask.

[Karpkg]

I'm traveling on this same cruise with my Dad and Stepmom and they have portable oxygen concentrators. Carnival called me and told me to bring an extension cord for them - so they better not confiscate it! I will put it in one of the POC bags so they know it's for the machines. Wow, the taxi counts even the CPAP bags?? I figured it would cost us about $30 plus tip, we are also arrived after 10pm on Friday night so there is another $1 surcharge and I read somewhere that it's $2 for every person after the 5th person up to 7 people, maybe they changed it to $2 after the 4th person? Whatever the case, we will definately take a taxi.

 

To be honest I don't know which luggage they counted in their fee. We held our personal stuff with us, the larger stuff was in the back.

 

As for the extension cord I heard that people with medical devices they'd be able to supply you with one if you needed it; I wasn't expecting Billy to have one so our multiple outlet cord was essential along with that extension cord. I believe Carnival wants to make sure there isn't a run on extension cords and your parents not be without one so they're asking for them to bring theirs.

 

I'm just reading a Glory review where they were confiscating even pre-packaged multiple outlet cords; I'll have to forewarn future ships that we can't have ours taken.

[Karpkg]

Did you use your cell phones in San Juan and St. Thomas? Still trying to determine what the rate would be with Verizon, before I call them before our cruise and ask.

 

Yes. Puerto Rico is US Territory and St. Thomas is US Virgin Islands. Made phone calls freely; we have ATT&T. I just googled Verizon and read that if you have an American phone than treat it as a local phone, and you're using your minutes.

 

Didn't chance phone calls anywhere else. I got more careful and searched for local free wifi only on St. Lucia. Didn't find any in St. Maarten. Free wifi in the terminal of Barbados. St. Kitts it was sporadic in the terminal near the information desk.

[ibcnusoon]

Yes. Puerto Rico is US Territory and St. Thomas is US Virgin Islands. Made phone calls freely; we have ATT&T. I just googled Verizon and read that if you have an American phone than treat it as a local phone, and you're using your minutes.

 

Didn't chance phone calls anywhere else. I got more careful and searched for local free wifi only on St. Lucia. Didn't find any in St. Maarten. Free wifi in the terminal of Barbados. St. Kitts it was sporadic in the terminal near the information desk.

 

Thanks. I need internet for an online business I have and my oldest DD has a project due for college during our trip so she'll need internet too. I'm going to go for the $99 plan that they are offering for unlimited internet.

 

I was concerned as to what to do in San Juan because we are spending 2 nights pre-cruise and I'm sure my DH will want to hang out at the forts, my DDs will want to shop in Old San Juan, and I'll have to entertain my Dad and Stepmom and not venture too far from our hotel ... so we'll be scattered and I want to make sure we have a mobile device to keep in touch with each other. The other port stops we are doing excursions together so there will be no need for phones and I will just tell everyone from home in order to contact me, just email me, since we'll have the internet 24/7 on the ship.

[trippingpara]

eek that was what I was afraid of. Doesn't look like Terminal A is connected to B like it is to C and D. Thanks for the information!

 

The JetBlue terminal is connected to the other terminals. When we flew out on Sunday, we were in the JetBlue's new terminal and there is very little food options so we went for a walk. It is quite a walk down a back hall past security and then you will walk into the main food and shopping area for all of the terminals. You can then walk to B, C and D from there.