San Juan sayonara?

[Runaway Parent]

12 hours ago, Tapi said:

Very curious to learn what made you reach that conclusion about Puerto Rico. What places have you been to? What did you experience? 

I feel the same way as the others that have responded to this. We LOVE Puerto Rico! Our original plan for this cruise (June...cancelled) was to spend a week in PR before the cruise. The history, the beaches, the food...love it!

[flyers10]

We love Puerto Rico but this clinched it for us for October.  https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/info/travel-advisory

[Tapi]

3 hours ago, flyers10 said:

We love Puerto Rico but this clinched it for us for October.  https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/info/travel-advisory

We are actually traveling to Puerto Rico in 2 days. We read the travel advisory and we are making sure to abide by all the regulations in place. We had our rapid Covid tests performed today (they were negative for all 4 family members) and I just filled out the travel declaration form online. Yes, these added steps are a nuisance but they are understandable and manageable.
 

I’ve been reading that a lot of people are arriving without Covid tests and without filling out the online declaration since these went into effect on July 15th, creating long lines at the airport. Some travelers are claiming that they had no clue that these requirements are now in place, but we are prepared with all the proper documentation, and we are traveling with the full intent to respect and abide by all the protocols in place. 
 

We will be there for 6 days. We will most likely spend the vast majority of our time at our beach house, cooking all of our meals in house, just enjoying the ocean breeze and with minimal contact with others. But even though our activities will be limited, it will still be very nice to enjoy the beauty of this island.

 

But I can’t wait until things go back to normal. We are planning on returning in November and I’m hoping that by then, the current protocols will have eased up. 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Tapi

[jsglow]

5 minutes ago, Tapi said:

We are actually traveling to Puerto Rico in 2 days. We read the travel advisory and we are making sure to abide by all the regulations in place. We had our rapid Covid tests performed today (they were negative for all 4 family members) and I just filled out the travel declaration form online. Yes, these added steps are a nuisance but they are understandable and manageable.
 

I’ve been reading that a lot of people are arriving without Covid tests and without filling out the online declaration since these went into effect on July 15th, creating long lines at the airport. Some travelers are claiming that they had no clue that these requirements are now in place, but we are prepared with all the proper documentation, and we are traveling with the full intent to respect and abide by all the protocols in place. 
 

We will be there for 6 days. We will most likely spend the vast majority of our time at our beach house, cooking all of our meals in house, just enjoying the ocean breeze and with minimal contact with others. But even though our activities will be limited, it will still be very nice to enjoy the beauty of this island.

 

But I can’t wait until things go back to normal. We are planning on returning in November and I’m hoping that by then, the current protocols will have eased up. 

Have a good time.  Give us a report when you can.

[ch09]

Bookings from San Juan has been closed.

[beshears]

Yes, since the virus cancelled our cruise back in March, starting in PR, and now they plan to "scrap" the Fascination, who knows what will happen next. 😞 I have been to PR several times and enjoy the visit, but I had planned on taking my 3 sons/3 d-i-l's to visit St. Lucia, the port I fell in love with.  Now that this all has happened, I don't know if there will be an itinerary going that direction or not, and if so, what ship?  Guess the virus and time will tell!

[tidecat]

8 hours ago, ch09 said:

Bookings from San Juan has been closed.

In addition to the Fascination, the Fantasy, Inspiration, Imagination, and Sensation are all unavailable to book.

 

[buckeyefrank]

2 hours ago, beshears said:

Yes, since the virus cancelled our cruise back in March, starting in PR, and now they plan to "scrap" the Fascination, who knows what will happen next. 😞 I have been to PR several times and enjoy the visit, but I had planned on taking my 3 sons/3 d-i-l's to visit St. Lucia, the port I fell in love with.  Now that this all has happened, I don't know if there will be an itinerary going that direction or not, and if so, what ship?  Guess the virus and time will tell!

For the sake of accuracy, It has not been announced that the Fascination is being planned to be scrapped.  That is nothing more than an educated guess at this point.

[buckeyefrank]

I got my cancellation notice a few minutes ago.  It's official.  No cruises from SJ

[dltvermont]

Sad to see this one go away. It was our favorite itinerary. We had this one on our short list of cruises to replace our cancelled one back in April. Glad we didnt choose it or we would again be looking to reschedule!

 

I guess I can see them taking the older ship away but not the itinerary. It seems they can always fill up a ship here. They know something that isnt obvious to the public apparently!

[pghsteelerfan]

The itinerary out of San Juan was my all time favorite.  Our first cruise, our honeymoon, was out of San Juan on Festivale and we sailed out of San Juan on Valor (2013) and again on Liberty (2015, our last cruise).  We were booked on Fascination for October 31, 2021, on the itinerary that went to SST; Antigua; Dominica; Grenada; and Barbados and were really looking forward to it.  Two new islands (Antigua/Grenada) and one that would be like new (Dominica) since it's been so long.  I have seen other threads comment about an end of cruising out of San Juan and just hoping this is temporary until Carnival gets their feet back on the ground after all of this.  It was suggested to go for the smaller cruise ships (Windstar and another was mentioned) but they are way over our budget.  I'm glad we got to cruise this itinerary when we did.

[Joebucks]

I have been trying to convince the other half to do one of these. Sadly, that will not be an option. Perhaps I will try it on another line. I was really excited for some of the ones with Tortola, Grenada, and Dominica

[jsglow]

27 minutes ago, pghsteelerfan said:

The itinerary out of San Juan was my all time favorite.  Our first cruise, our honeymoon, was out of San Juan on Festivale and we sailed out of San Juan on Valor (2013) and again on Liberty (2015, our last cruise).  We were booked on Fascination for October 31, 2021, on the itinerary that went to SST; Antigua; Dominica; Grenada; and Barbados and were really looking forward to it.  Two new islands (Antigua/Grenada) and one that would be like new (Dominica) since it's been so long.  I have seen other threads comment about an end of cruising out of San Juan and just hoping this is temporary until Carnival gets their feet back on the ground after all of this.  It was suggested to go for the smaller cruise ships (Windstar and another was mentioned) but they are way over our budget.  I'm glad we got to cruise this itinerary when we did.

 

That was probably me with Windstar suggestion.  We'll miss the SJU Carnival departures.  Probably my favorite port to cruise from.  I hope they can come back someday.

[FiredogCruiser]

According to their information this morning they are going to concentrate on north American drive to ports. I assume to avoid the need to fly, as people seem to be more concerned about flying than cruising. I believe John Heald did a survey a while back and the majority indicated a desire to drive to the port for their next port. They did say this morning that San Juan would remain a port of call, however, but no longer a home port until at least 2022.

 

Personally, we have been to San Juan a number of times, both as a port of call and as a debarking port from a journey cruise. But we had never originated from San Juan, and I doubt we ever would given the cost of air travel, ship options, and itineraries offered. Our view there were always much better options available, usually at less overall total cost.

[BlerkOne]

Carnival will have two ships in cold storage ready to resume cruises from San Juan when exotic ports are ready to accept stubborn, disease prone American cruisers. The other would be available for Cuba cruises.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, jsglow said:

 

That was probably me with Windstar suggestion.  We'll miss the SJU Carnival departures.  Probably my favorite port to cruise from.  I hope they can come back someday.

 

The last time I was on Windstar, it was owned by Carnival. I'll have to check them out again.

[jimbo5544]

5 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

 

The last time I was on Windstar, it was owned by Carnival. I'll have to check them out again.

We just got an invite to sail on them this coming spring.  Really nice itinerary.

[jean87510]

hopefully they go back.  San Juan is my favorite port to sail out of.  We usually stay for a few days pre or post cruise in Culebra or Vieques.  I love the many ports for San Juan cruises.  I have sailed with Celebrity and RCCL out of San Juan and its just fantastic watching the forts lit up at night. 

[Runaway Parent]

Got the email today---cancelled. 

[xDisconnections]

56 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

hopefully they go back.  San Juan is my favorite port to sail out of.  We usually stay for a few days pre or post cruise in Culebra or Vieques.  I love the many ports for San Juan cruises.  I have sailed with Celebrity and RCCL out of San Juan and its just fantastic watching the forts lit up at night. 

It’s sad to see the W Vieques will never reopen because of the past hurricane. The La Concha Renaissance has been my new go to for San Juan and it’s an easy destination for us without even going for a cruise.

[BeachDiva101]

I'm so sad that Carnival has decided to abandon cruises departing from this port.  This was my favorite cruise itinerary, because it was port heavy and only 1 sea day.  Loved doing a beach crawl on all the different islands.   I'm so glad I was able to do it last June 2019 with my niece to celebrate her graduation. 

[beshears]

Well I don't know what the 7 or 8 of us will do, mainly because of WHEN the virus will be gone, or what we have to do to "travel/cruise." Yes, I know a lot of people do not want to fly, but being in Missouri, it is a long drive to Florida, so time will tell. I was able to check out our insurance coverage (not through Carnival) I had taken out for the flight/cruise, and fortunately we are STILL covered until January 2022.

[mpdog42]

On 7/23/2020 at 4:16 PM, BlerkOne said:

Carnival will have two ships in cold storage ready to resume cruises from San Juan when exotic ports are ready to accept stubborn, disease prone American cruisers. The other would be available for Cuba cruises.

What's with all the Hate on Americans? Are you located in France??

[tidecat]

1 hour ago, mpdog42 said:

What's with all the Hate on Americans? Are you located in France??

Many countries around the world, including all European Union members, have varying restrictions on US travelers right now.

 

I personally don't think Imagination will ever return due to the low number of balcony cabins, and even if Fascination did return, she could just wind up replacing Sensation or Ecstasy, both of which are older. Given the 8-K Carnival filed with the SEC stating it planned to part with 2 additional ships, one or both of these ships may not live to see October.