Cruise 2011 - Day 8/9 SAN JUAN, PR & HOME

FAREWELL CARNIVAL VICTORY!!!

"End of cruise" faces

It was bittersweet to wake up for the final time on the Carnival Victory. I love being rocked to sleep on the waves but all good things must come to an end and it is always nice to get back home. We were up around 7:45am and packed up the last of our remaining luggage and went to the dining room for breakfast. We took our time as our debarkation group was number 15 and wouldn’t be called for quite awhile. We had a great chat with our tablemates from Utah. They were very interested to hear about the Bay of Fundy and our incredibly high tides. We did our part to encourage some New Brunswick tourism ☺

After breakfast, we made our way to the Caribbean Lounge where they announced that we could sit and wait until our group was called. We found a seat but were only sitting for about 5 minutes when they made an announcement that any non-US citizens in the lounge could head to Deck 3 to disembark. Sweet!! We got off the ship and went through customs without a hitch. We then headed to the huge warehouse area where all of the luggage was stored. It took a little bit to find all of our suitcases but it wasn’t too long before we made our way out of the cruise terminal and grabbed a taxi to the Comfort Inn in Condado. We were there by 10am, which was definitely way too early to check in. The front-desk clerk helped us store our bags and we headed straight to the pool area and made ourselves a home on the four loungers. We had Heather’s little computer and enjoyed the hotel’s wireless to Skype with some family and check email, etc.

Late morning, Rebecca and I decided that we would head up to the park near Condado Beach as one of the other hotel guests had told us that there was a local market set up. We picked up some bananas, watermelon slices and pineapple and wandered through the tents checking out the local crafts and food kiosks.

Then we walked up Ashford Ave to the Walgreens and picked up some snacks for the plane trip home the next day. We had just returned to the hotel and were talking about going out to get some lunch when the front-desk clerk came to the pool area and told us she had a room ready for us. Perfect!! We were able to get our suitcase and take all of our stuff to the room before heading out to find some lunch!

Lunch at Wendy’s was a pretty big let down from our delicious cruise fare but we made the best of it and then headed to the beach for a couple of hours.

We had a late supper at a local Chile’s just down Ashford Ave and watched some of the Superbowl while we ate. On the way back to the hotel, they had a huge video screen set up in the park and a big crowd was watching the game. We did the same…but from the comfort of our room!

The following morning, we were up a 6:45am, had some free continental breakfast at the hotel and caught a cab to the airport.

Bags packed and ready to go : - (

Our flights went smoothly and we arrived early in Halifax.  We had a little problem getting into our car as there had been two snowstorms while we were gone and we were a bit blocked in.  We needed help to push the car out of the snow but were on the road by 5pm for our two and a half hour drive home.

Welcome home!!

Another incredible cruise adventure and we were blessed with calm waters, good food and great friends for company!

Cruise 2011 - Day 3 - AT SEA ON THE CARNIVAL VICTORY

Day 3 was our only day at sea on this island-packed itinerary. I followed my normal routine…early to rise, tea and breakfast snack, reading and yoga. When I saw lots of people starting to stake their claim on the loungers around the aft pool, I followed suit and picked a couple spots right next to the pool. We all went to the dining room for breakfast around 9:30am and then Rebecca and I headed to the aft pool for some sun.

The guys joined us and we all just relaxed and enjoyed the warmth and the sun. We jumped in the pool to cool off and then, oddly, decided that the hot tub would be a good thing to do. I thought I would be over-heated but it was actually a great temperature.  The guys decided to try out the water slide for a bit.

We also met more Canadians as you always tend to chat with whoever is around you. I couldn’t believe the number of Canadians on board. Obviously, cruising is becoming a very popular way to beat the snow and cold of the Great White North!!

The ship had to slow down, almost to a stop, to offload a passenger who was sick and had to leave.  I can't imagine how disappointing it would be to have to miss the rest of your vacation.  We never heard any specific details except that it seemed they got off under their own power and were tendered into Martinique to catch a flight home.

The island of Martinique

We had a late lunch around 2:30pm and then a nap. We had to prep a bit more as this was the first formal night of the cruise and we had to look somewhat presentable!

I always record the food I eat because the food is a big part of the cruise experience but, for some reason, I did not do a very good job on the first couple of meals?? For supper I had Strawberry Bisque, Pear & Citrus Carpaccio and Prime Rib for the entrée. Dessert was a delectable Apple Puff Pastry with Caramel Sauce (drool!!). We saw a couple of shows and hit the ‘hay’.

For not doing a whole lot, it was a very tiring day : - )

Cruise Jan 2011 - Day 1 SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

I actually consider Day 1 to be the day we started off on our journey but I will combine Jan 28th and 29th and call it Day 1.

Our trip actually began when we left home on the evening of the 27th and headed to Halifax. We stayed with Donald & Sarah H., which was a lovely way to start our vacation. They treated us to some delicious nachos and a mouth-watering salsa, imported straight from Albuquerque. We stayed up late talking and were up around 4am to head to the airport so I don’t think I got more than a couple of hours sleep.

Our flights on US Airways went fantastic! They were both on time leaving and arrived a bit early at each destination. With all of the storms that have been hitting Atlantic Canada and the east coast of the U.S., I don’t need to tell you that we were happy to get out between storm systems!

We landed at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan at around 2:20pm. It took a long while to get our baggage as, in typical island fashion, they couldn’t seem to decide which carousel the baggage would come out on. It ended up coming out on two different carousels – neither of which was labeled in any way with the flight number! Do not expect things to work in the same way as they do at home. Island time is much slower and efficiency is not often a priority. You have to go with the attitude that you are on vacation and will go with the flow.

We caught a cab to the Comfort Inn on Calle Clemencau in the Condado area. Cab fares in San Juan are regulated so there is a flat fee depending on which zone you are traveling to as well as $1 for each piece of luggage. Our trip from the airport to the hotel cost $25. We checked in around 4pm and went directly to our room and changed into some ‘warm weather’ clothing and headed out to Condado Beach. The beach is just a five minute walk from the hotel and we wanted to get whatever warmth and sun remained of the day. The sun was going down behind the hotels and apartment buildings lining the beach but we found a sunny spot and just sat in the sand, smelled the salt air and watched the big waves crashing on the shore. Condado is a great beach for surfing and boogie boarding as San Juan is on the Atlantic Ocean side of Puerto Rico.

We were getting quite hungry after our long day of travel so we headed up Ashford Ave to Danny’s Pizza. They make absolutely delicious pizza with a light but crispy crust and tomato sauce to die for!! We always have to order a couple of extra dishes of sauce to dip our pizza in. So yummy!

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Walgreens on Ashford to pick up snacks and a case of water to take on the ship with us. Bottles of water on the ship usually run about $4 each so it is much cheaper to buy your own or take on a refillable bottle to fill at one of the drink stations on ship. We usually tuck an extra collapsible duffle bag into our luggage to put our water in and check at the pier.  It was a quiet evening and an early bedtime since we had been up for many, many hours and were ready for some shut eye.

There is nothing like waking up and seeing beautiful sun and fluffy white clouds outside your window – and NO SNOW!! We started the day off with some scriptures and a couple of worship prayers seeing as it was Sunday. We grabbed some free continental breakfast in the breakfast room and headed out to the beach again. We weren’t planning on checking into the ship until around noon and didn’t want to miss one ray of sunshine. The guys braved the big waves and the girls relaxed on the beach and read…and kept an eye on our men to ensure that they weren’t drowning!!

Back to the hotel, showered and caught a cab to the Old San Juan Pier 4 where the Carnival Victory was berthed. The cab fare from the hotel to the OSJ Pier was $21. We arrived later than we normally would (around 12:45pm) but it actually worked out perfectly because there were no line-ups and we were checked in and on the ship within 15 minutes. In no time, we were at the Mediterranean Buffet grabbing some lunch. There are so many lunch options available – the regular buffet line, the deli sandwich station, the sushi station, the grill station out by the pool area. If you couldn’t find anything to eat – you had some issues! We topped off lunch with a soft yogurt which is available 24 hours a day.

We did a bit of touring around the ship to check out what changes had been made since our Victory cruise in March 2010. The Victory went to dry dock in October 2010 so there were a few changes we noticed. Specifically, there was a new adult-only retreat area called Serenity which offered a gorgeous spot for sunning and relaxation with vibrant teal lounge beds and woven chairs. You could tell that carpets had been updated and a few other smaller refurbishments made around the ship. The cabins were ready around 2:30pm so we dropped our stuff and found that most of our bags had been delivered.


Serenity Retreat



The view of the central pool, hot tubs and water slide



The view across the bay to the Pan American pier where most ships depart San Juan

We got off the ship to find the Marshall’s store that I read about online. It is located right beside Plaza de Armas in Old San Juan. It was about a 10 minute walk to get there. I wasn’t as impressed as some of the online reviewers were. There were definitely some good deals to be found but not as many deals or as much selection as I had hoped. Rebecca bought a bathing suit top and I bought a bottom for $10. Between us, we had an entire suit : - ) There were rain showers starting when we exited Marshall’s so we walked back to Paseo Gilberto Concepción de Gracia, which runs right along the waterfront, made a stop at the CVS and then quickly got back to the ship. Our missing suitcase was outside our door so I unpacked and then a nap was definitely called for. A wonderful thing about vacation is that there are no restrictions on the number of naps you can take in one day!

Supper that evening was open seating with no scheduled time so we made our way to the Pacific Dining Room around 6:30pm. The food on cruises can be one of the things that receive widely ranging reviews but I have rarely had any problems with the food options and quality on most of our cruises. There are generally about five appetizer options, two or three salad options, six or seven entrées and three dessert offerings. Dave has a very restricted diet and he had no problem sticking to it throughout the cruise. I think most of us had the ribs for supper and they were so tender, they would just fall off the bone. Delish!!

We attended the required Safety Briefing at 9:30pm and then hurried back to our cabins to get our bathing suits on so we could enjoy the hot tub near the aft (adult) pool. Sail-away was at 10pm and we sat in the hot tub for a good hour and a half while the Victory sailed out of San Juan Harbour past El Morro Fortress on our way to many delightful island adventures.