Sailing out of San Juan

[EKRAFT22]

Has anyone recently sailed out of San Juan on the Freedom?

 

I went in August (it was a last minute, 3 day cruise) and EVERYTHING was spoken in Spanish. From announcements, to the entertainment, music, etc. It makes sense, as most of the ship seemed to be Puerto Rican Natives, but it was very hard to enjoy the time spent on the ship for my boyfriend and I.

 

I went out of Puerto Rico in 2015 and this was a completely different experience (I only remember some announcements being done in Spanish after English).

I was thinking maybe this had to do with such a short cruise but I'm not sure if this is customary now.

 

Has anyone recently gone and had a different experience? I just booked another out of San Juan, completely forgetting about this and just want to know if I should reconsider..

[Clarea]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

[Scottee25]

I have sailed out of San Juan on numerous occasions. Last was a year ago but it was a 7 day cruise. Announcements were in both English and Spanish. Never been on a cruise with all announcements were in Spanish, even when I sailed out of Barcelona.

[alfaeric]

41 minutes ago, Scottee25 said:

I have sailed out of San Juan on numerous occasions. Last was a year ago but it was a 7 day cruise. Announcements were in both English and Spanish. Never been on a cruise with all announcements were in Spanish, even when I sailed out of Barcelona.

Just sailed on the Freedom 2 weeks ago, and it was the same.  All announcements were bi-lingual. 

 

Then again, some of our sailings from Miami were also bi-lingual.   

[EKRAFT22]

3 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Just sailed on the Freedom 2 weeks ago, and it was the same.  All announcements were bi-lingual. 

 

Then again, some of our sailings from Miami were also bi-lingual.   

 What about the entertainment? I'm not very worried about the announcements.. it was more the entertainment/music we couldn't enjoy.

[mixplix]

three times in four years out of San Juan, bilingual announcements,  no issues for us non-spanish speakers.

[buddylover]

3 minutes ago, EKRAFT22 said:

 What about the entertainment? I'm not very worried about the announcements.. it was more the entertainment/music we couldn't enjoy.

Never been on a ship where entertainment was in Spanish (foreign language), but sailed out of Puerto Rico many times (all 7 day or longer) and yes, all announcements were in both English (typically first) and then in Spanish.....and there was a good mix of both US mainland cruisers and cruisers from Puerto Rico.

[davekathy]

EKRAFT22; All of the RC production shows, quest, marriage show, pool side activities and others will be in English. As far as a guest entertainers (comedians, singers those types) will primarily be spoken/sung in English with possibility a little Spanish if the entertainer is bi-lingual. No matter the cruise lines we've sailed out of SJ they have never been exclusively in Spanish. Yours was the first I've ever heard of that being the case. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by davekathy

[EKRAFT22]

Just now, davekathy said:

EKRAFT22; All of the RC production shows, quest, marriage show, pool side activities and others will be in English. As far as a guest entertainers (comedians, singers those types) will primarily be spoken/sung in English with possibility a little Spanish if the entertainer is bi-lingual. No matter the cruise lines we've sailed out of SJ they have never been exclusively in Spanish. Yours is the first I've ever heard of that being the case. 

That's what I thought too! This was an unusual sailing. 3 days on a Wednesday ( i think it was just a fill in to be honest)

The entirety of the cruise I met two other English speaking families, and they were just as shocked as me. I had a feeling it was just because it was short and last minute, but just wanted to be sure.

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, EKRAFT22 said:

That's what I thought too! This was an unusual sailing. 3 days on a Wednesday ( i think it was just a fill in to be honest)

The entirety of the cruise I met two other English speaking families, and they were just as shocked as me. I had a feeling it was just because it was short and last minute, but just wanted to be sure.

We're doing another B2B cruise out of SJ March 2019 and have no concerns. We like cruising out of SJ. due to they are port intensive itineraries. 

[EKRAFT22]

2 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We're doing another B2B cruise out of SJ March 2019 and have no concerns. We like cruising out of SJ. due to they are port intensive itineraries. 

That's my favorite part too! I love cruising in March but lately have had to switch to August due to my work schedule.. Enjoy your trip.. thank you for the feedback!

[davekathy]

6 minutes ago, EKRAFT22 said:

That's my favorite part too! I love cruising in March but lately have had to switch to August due to my work schedule.. Enjoy your trip.. thank you for the feedback!

You're welcome. Oh yea I forgot to mention the cruises will be on the Freedom Of The Seas. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by davekathy

[Joseph2017China]

2 hours ago, EKRAFT22 said:

Has anyone recently sailed out of San Juan on the Freedom?

 

I went in August (it was a last minute, 3 day cruise) and EVERYTHING was spoken in Spanish. From announcements, to the entertainment, music, etc. It makes sense, as most of the ship seemed to be Puerto Rican Natives, but it was very hard to enjoy the time spent on the ship for my boyfriend and I.

 

I went out of Puerto Rico in 2015 and this was a completely different experience (I only remember some announcements being done in Spanish after English).

I was thinking maybe this had to do with such a short cruise but I'm not sure if this is customary now.

 

Has anyone recently gone and had a different experience? I just booked another out of San Juan, completely forgetting about this and just want to know if I should reconsider..

I think you should reconsider.  If you did not enjoy a cruise because English was a second language than cruises outside of the 50 states is not for you.  I have been on trips around the world, and never once did I not enjoy the difference in cultures and never had an issue with languages being different. 

 

Spanish will be a very dominant language on the ship but that is part of what makes going on cruises exciting.  But it's not for everyone.

[EKRAFT22]

Just now, Joseph2017China said:

I think you should reconsider.  If you did not enjoy a cruise because English was a second language than cruises outside of the 50 states is not for you.  I have been on trips around the world, and never once did I not enjoy the difference in cultures and never had an issue with languages being different. 

 

Spanish will be a very dominant language on the ship but that is part of what makes going on cruises exciting.  But it's not for everyone.

You're clearly misunderstanding. This is not about culture, that is what I enjoy about the islands and port of calls the most.

It's about paying thousands of dollars and not even understanding the comedians punch lines. I have zero issues with the entire sailing being completely bilingual, but I do not enjoy when it was solely in Spanish which was my most recent experience. That is why I reached out to hear others experiences. 

[Cigar King]

We have never had a problem with English when sailing out of San Juan.  There are a lot of passengers who prefer to speak Spanish, but, the ship has no problem with English.  (or many other languages)

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[alfaeric]

1 hour ago, EKRAFT22 said:

 What about the entertainment? I'm not very worried about the announcements.. it was more the entertainment/music we couldn't enjoy.

The only "Spanish" entertainment was the Latin Band (whoever it is on that sailing), which was totally fine with me, as it was great music.  All the other shows were English.  Although, some shows had mirror shows in different venues in Spanish- which we've seen before.  

 

The comedians always make fun of the fact they don't speak Spanish.

 

I wouldn't worry about it.

Edited January 17, 2019 by alfaeric

[Vlad the Impaler]

4 hours ago, EKRAFT22 said:

Has anyone recently sailed out of San Juan on the Freedom?

 

We were on Freedom last week. Announcements were all bilingual. All of the production shows and most of the activities were in English. There were a couple activities that were Spanish-only, and they were noted as such in the Compass. We went to every show and had a great time. They do heavily cater to the largely Puerto Rican audience though. Besides choices in music/WJ food/entertainers, many things started with the host first recognizing who's from Puerto Rico (often asking about other countries first to build up suspense) which was received by a lot of yelling and cheering, and some chants in Spanish.

 

It was a cultural experience for sure, but still mostly in English. I think you'll enjoy the cruise. We did!

[trev71]

Sailed out of San Juan in 2015 and 2017. Both announcements were in English and Spanish 

[PhoenixCruiser]

What day did they offer a 3 nighter on the Freedom last August?

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[bilyclub]

10 hours ago, EKRAFT22 said:

That's what I thought too! This was an unusual sailing. 3 days on a Wednesday ( i think it was just a fill in to be honest)

The entirety of the cruise I met two other English speaking families, and they were just as shocked as me. I had a feeling it was just because it was short and last minute, but just wanted to be sure.

 

45 minutes ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

What day did they offer a 3 nighter on the Freedom last August?

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[DISFANS3]

We will be going out of San juan on the Freedom in March. Do I need to learn Spanish before I arrive...Ha Ha..

[EKRAFT22]

5 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

What day did they offer a 3 nighter on the Freedom last August?

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August 1st - August 4th. Only went to St. Thomas & St. Maarten.

[alfaeric]

3 hours ago, DISFANS3 said:

We will be going out of San juan on the Freedom in March. Do I need to learn Spanish before I arrive...Ha Ha..

You may be joking, but it does help a lot, especially when it comes to food.  That's the one thing I know pretty well is the various food in Spanish- but with a Puerto Rican focus, especially.

[PhoenixCruiser]

August 1st - August 4th. Only went to St. Thomas & St. Maarten.

Oh that's right, thanks!

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[LeeW]

Our favorite place to sail from.  You can get a lot of eastern Caribbean ports that you can't see from Florida sailings.  Plus a great place to spend a couple of days pre-cruise.  Note that if you sail on cruises that are underbooked you will find them filling the ship with locals at incredibly cheap prices.  No different than other ports.  We generally sail B2B from there because it really isn't worth the airfare for a 7 day.  Definitely wouldn't do it for a 3 day.