1st Time Cruise to Puerto Rico,USVI,HELP!!

[craziecruiser]

Help!! First time cruiser to Puerto Rico, St.Thomas, St.Maarten in December on Carnival Victory!!. Need to know what to bring, What to avoid, Tipping tips, Any and All Advice.Also any good hotels in Miami anyone would reccomend? we are staying a night before we board the next day.. HELP!!!

[Sheffie]

So many questions!

 

First of all, you will NOT need half the clothes you think you will. You really don't change clothes a lot. Take shorts and tops for daytime, and appropriate clothing for evenings. I take 2 swimsuits so that one is always dry; don't like putting on a wet suit.

 

San Juan: I suggest that you grab a cab up to El Morro and then wander your way back down through Old San Juan to the pier; it is like being in Europe with all the cobblestone streets and statues.

 

St. Maarten: do the America's Cup Regatta and then either go to a beach or go shopping. This excursion is the top rated one in the Caribbean for a very good reason.

 

St. Thomas: so many beaches! We have done the Buck Island excursion 2 times, and have gone over to St. John on our own 2 times. Both are wonderful, but on St. John you can hang out on the beach all day as well as snorkel.

 

If you go to the "Forum Jump" drop down box at the bottom of this page you can get to the differents of ports boards. There is a wealth of information located there.

 

Here is a link to our pictures. Check out the links to the islands you are going to.

 

Have fun planning!

[Yankee_Fan]

Make sure you go to La Bombonera in Old San Juan....try the mallorcas....mmmmmm! ;)

[craziecruiser]

I will def. check out those places!! We were also thinking of taking a catamaran out from St.Maarten (the "Golden Eagle") to a little island called Tintamar to do some snorkeling.. i am so exzcited!!!!!!!!! Thank you for the suggestions!:D If anyone else has any cool suggestions, please let me know! Also, are you supposed to tip the guys who take your luggage on board?? someone told me that if you didn't then you might not get your luggage back !!

[Sheffie]

Also, are you supposed to tip the guys who take your luggage on board?? someone told me that if you didn't then you might not get your luggage back !!

 

It is customary to give them a tip ($1 per bag, or more if you wish), but I have never heard of them not putting your luggage on the ship.

[jpgd]

I am Luis from San Juan Puerto Rico

Be ready to spend money in Puerto Rico, Taxi WOW EXPENSIVE.

Places to go: many; traffic its horrible so you better stay in San Juan area

Suggestion: Plaza las Americas (shopping mall),El Morro.

Puerto Rico its beautiful but you need 2 week to visit most places and really enjoy PR. Final suggestions come back to PR with this in mind.

If you want to contact me LSSC100@YAHOO.COM

[eyzwdeshut]

we did the horseback riding thru the rain forest in San Juan. It was nice, but i wouldn't say it was anything exciting...

We did the 'best of' tour in st thomas. we really enjoyed that b/c it took you all over the island. you could see lots of different parts of the island. With 365 beaches, you can sure everything is a great view there!

[CaribbeanBound]

craziecruser...

 

You are in luck. We did this trip recently and posted an incredibly long review which answers ALL of your questiosn and more!

 

Tips for Eastern Caribbean Cruisers

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/easterncaribbean.html

 

Information on additional ports:

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html