Live From the Caribbean Princess - 4/5 - 4/12

[LoraJ]

 

 

Hello everyone. My husband and I are ready to set sail on the Caribbean Princess this Sunday. This is our first cruise on Princess. this will be my 10th cruise and DH's third. CC has been a wonderful source of information for this trip since I have been planning it for just over a year. We were originally going to do a European cruise, but then decided to do this Southern Caribbean route.

 

Our journey started today. After a 2 hour wait on the tarmac at Newark airport, we were finally able to take off. During the wait on the tarmac they stated to show us Marley & Me. Cute movie, but we watched the last part in the air, while trying to eat and I had a hard time swallowing my food while trying not blubber.

 

Everything was fine at the San Juan airport. We had priority bags, which seemed to come out last though. But soon we were on our way to the Marriott Stellaris Hotel & Casino in the Condado area. We had a speedy check-in. Our room is pretty nice. We have a corner room which has two balconies. Wish we were higher, but it's still nice.

 

Once DH is done feeding the slot machines, we are going to walk down the street to Ropa Vieja for dinner. We ate there a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it.

 

Here are some photos of our room:

 

 

 

 

 

[kastaway ken]

Hello Lora

 

Thanks for posting. Great photos. I hope you enjoy your time in SJ. Looking forward to meeting you guys on Sunday.

 

Kastaway Ken

[Merc]

Lora, hope you have a great cruise, we are sailing may 10th, cant wait. We are also staying at the Marriott Stellaris. thanks for the great pictures. keep posting if you can. Have a Great trip.

[jetsfan]

Love your pictures! We stayed at the Stellaris last year and had a great time. We will be there for one night before our 4/26 cruise. Have a great vacation!

[manjss]

Can't wait to hear all about it. Your room looks amazing, and the view!!!! Have a blast. If you would not mind posting when you get back about how much the boat rocked, I would greatly appreciate it!

[smilz]

Have a great cruise! Have a chocolate fondue for me at the international cafe! (only $3):):):)

[KSTAZMAN]

Good pics. We still have loads of time until we arrive in December.

John

[sherman931]

Thanks for your comments and photos.

[LoraJ]

1 Day until we set sail!

 

The weather is beautiful here in San Juan. Hope we have weather like this for the next week.

 

This morning I found a salon down the road where I got a mani/pedi. The manicure is already ruined. :)

 

We then took a cab to Old San Juan. I asked the driver to drop us off at El Morro. He dropped us off at the other fort, San Cristobal. That's fine, it's still really neat to see. After that we walked around town looking for lunch. We ended up at Raices. http://www.restauranteraices.com/English/index.html The food was very good and the service was friendly and prompt.

 

We then headed back to the hotel and hung by the pool and took a walk along the beach.

 

 

The next time I post in this thread will be from the ship. Can't wait to get on board. I'll be sure to report on the motion. I am sure it has a lot to do with the weather. I hear it has been windy down here for a while which can cause a lot of movement. I've sailed on smooth sailings, and others where we bobbed like a cork. So hopefully I can be a good judge of the movement.

 

 

 

 

 

[Angela7500]

Thanks for the updates! My boyfriend and I are doing your same itinerary on May 3rd. We're also staying at the Marriott post cruise for one night. I'd love to hear what you thought of your stay there.

 

I look forward to following your thread! :)

[NJRonbo]

Been taking a real interest in this thread as I sail with Caribbean Princess

for their repositioning SJU->NYC on May 17th.

 

I am booked at the Condado Plaza Hotel. That hotel and the Hilton are

the closest to the Pan Am Pier from which the CB will be departing.

 

I am interested in the boarding process and how well that goes.

We are actually planning to get on line very early, though I am

certain that means we will be standing outside in the sun for an

hour or so before they open the doors.

 

Also interested in the liquor store inside the terminal and if

people are successfully able to bring liquor on the ship. I take

it you are departing from the Pan Am Pier?

 

So, today is your departure day. Please fill us in on how well the

boarding process goes, wait time, etc.

 

Thanks for providing pictures. Look forward to the pictures you

will be posting aboard the ship.

[CherylsCaribbeanTravel]

Hi Lora!!

 

I'm sitting in the lobby of the Sheraton in Old San Juan. I can see the Caribbean Princess from the roof top pool. She came in on time and is waiting for us to board.

 

I had a great two days in Old San Juan!! I have uploaded the Old San Juan portion of my review on our roll call web page here:

 

http://www.cherylstravel.com/caribbeanprincesshome.htm

 

Since I built the skelaton of the web page prior to leaving, updating the review and photos has been a breeze. If I can get reasonable speed during the cruise, I'll upload more as I go.

 

I'm wearing mardi-gras beads with a crocodile, a white shirt, and a light blue skirt and headed to the ship in a few hours. See everyone onboard!

 

Cheryl :)

[CanuckCruizer]

Lora and Cheryl - We are going on the CB in a couple of weeks and I just wanted to thank you guys for reporting live! You guys are great - posting pics and everything! Cheryl - your web page is THE BOMB!!! Unbelievable! I am very impressed and also very grateful that you are taking the time on your holiday to tell us what is happening - lol.

 

Keep up the fantastic work girls!!:D

 

Canuck

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks you both for taking the time to post live.

 

Look forward to the cruise. :)

[lovinlife12345]

Loving this...thank you both for keeping us informed and the pictures I love them...August 4th is our CB cruise, everytime I open up this thread I get more excited, have a wonderful relaxing fun filled journey :)!

[mea718]

Thanks for the live report. We'll be three weeks behind you and will be looking forward to your reports. Snowing AGAIN for the 2nd weekend in a row here:(. But weather looks great down there!

[Clutterlady]

Thanks for the live posts, can't wait to hear more! Hope you love the CB as much as we do:)

[LoraJ]

We are on board!!!! :)

 

We checked out of our hotel just after 11am and hopped in a cab to the Pan American Pier. We arrived at the dock at around 11:20am and dropped off our bags and stood in line. At around 11:50am they started to let everyone in the building sitting us in rows of chairs. Samples of rum punch were passed around and then at around 12:15 they started to let us check in. We were in our cabin by around 12:30p.

 

We love our cabin. Since my big 4-0 is this week, I splurged and got us a PH suite. We are in R411. I am really thrilled with the bathroom and was so pleased to see two lounge chairs on the balcony.

 

The CB is not doing the Elite/Suite perk that the Ruby has, at this time, where they have drink specials and appetizers in Skywalkers. I also ran up to the Sanctuary to see if I could reserve a chair for the week, but they seem to only do it by the day. But they said that they will be offering that n the future. My guess is when it starts to sail out of NY since there wll be more sea days. I tired to make an AD reservation for tonight at the Coral dining room podium and practically got scolded for even suggesting such a thing because it is unfair to the other passengers if there are empty seats because people didn't show up. I have no intention for making a standing reservation, I only wanted to inquire about tonight.

 

The Coral dining room was open for lunch. Didn't look like it would be difficult to be seated there.

 

 

 

We had lunch at Horizons Court. The food was pretty good. I will miss the selection of fruit juices they have on Carnival. I will try and see about the lemonade at some point.

 

Service has been wonderful so far, except for my scolding. The Wi-Fi is working so far and isn't too bad. Although I am sure that will probably change once we start moving.

 

I am about to head to our meet-n-greet. I will post photos of the ship later. If there are any photos of places you would like to see, let me know and I will try and take them.

 

 

As for the Marriott, we really liked it. The location was great. If we're ever in San Juan again, we'd definitely stay there again. Although I think I'd also like to try out La Concha. Looked really nice (and swanky)

 

I'll try and get some pictures up between the M&G and muster drill. Maybe I will test out the wifi on the balcony. :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Happy Birthday!!!

 

 

Have a fantastic sailaway!! :D

[travellover39]

Happy Birthday and thanks so much for posting:) Love your pictures and looking forward to more as you cruise. :D

 

Love the details and sorry about your scolding. They could have been more kinder and said "we aren't taking reservations at this time" with a smile.

 

Enjoy your cruise:)

[lovinlife12345]

Happy Birthday!!! It will be our first time aboard the CB in August...you mentioned AD (sorry for the scolding :() which I'm assuming is anytime dining we have traditional because of our very large party could you tell me which dining room they use for traditional. Bon Voyage..and again Happy Birthday!

[gmka]

My family and I will be sailing the CP in a couple of weeks and I also appreciate your taking the time to post. Could you please check the Terrace Pool and let us know if it has steps with a banister to walk into the pool or does it have the step ladder on the side of the pool that u climb up and down. My Mom will be with us and I was wondering if there was easy access in and out of the pools.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Happy Birthday-looking forward to hearing about the rest of your cruise!

[sunprincess]

Happy Birthday & Bon Voyage Lora!!!

 

Just back a few weeks ago from B2B.....coming back 5/17....cannot wait....

 

ENJOY your cruise!!

[LoraJ]

Hi All!

 

I was trying to upload some photos but had issues. Got a couple uploaded and will try and post them tomorrow.

 

I will check the terrace pool and get back to you. It looked like stairs from the angle I was looking at it, but I will double check for you and take a photo as well.

 

And the traditional dining is in the Palm dining room. :)

 

We're setting sail in an hour. I will be able to report on the motion tomorrow.