Saturday, March 21, 2008
Selected Pics (8)In order to save a couple hundred dollars on airfare each, we booked an itinerary to San Juan that included two connections on the way down. Before departing CVG for Newark, we caught a beautiful sunrise from the terminal. Our one-year Crown Room membership eased the trip as well, especially during our 3-hour layover in Newark. If you've never been to a Crown Room, I encourage you to treat yourself to a day pass the next time you have a long layover. We didn't have nearly as much time in Atlanta, so it was a good thing that our first two legs were on time. We did experience a bit of a delay in Atlanta though and ended up about 30-45 minutes late to San Juan. Overall, not too bad. We made it!
The weather was beautiful in San Juan, even at 9pm. We collected our luggage and caught a cab to the Courtyard Isla Verde Beach Resort where we met Mark & Christy. They had waited for us to go out to dinner. A friend of Christy's from P&G met us at Budatai, a new restaurant that happened to be right around the corner from the Holiday Inn Express that we stayed in last year.
After a nice (and very expensive) dinner, Sara and Carlos took us out to a club. We were a little tired for partying though, so we caught a cab back to the hotel and crashed.
Courtyard Marriott (Google Maps)
Address: 7012 Boca de Cangrejos Avenue, Isla Verde, Carolina, 00979 Puerto Rico
Phone: 787-791-0404
Sunday, March 22, 2008
Selected Pics (8)On Sunday morning, we slept in a little and repacked our bags. Our plan, since we still had a couple hours before our 2pm checkin, was to check the bags and go have lunch at a local favorite that Carlos and Sara recommended. However, when we went down to check our bags, some other guests indicated they were also cruising on the Caribbean Princess and were going to go ahead and head over. We decided to do the same. Indeed, they were already processing passengers and we probably waited in line for no more than 30 minutes before we were called to the counter to check in. I was planning to inquire about an upgrade, but I heard someone else in line ask and they were told to check with the Pasesenger Services desk once they were aboard so I didn't ask. Something didn't seem right when we got our cabin assignment though - we were on the wrong deck. When I asked about it, she said she thought we were upgraded. We crossed our fingers and went aboard.
When we got to the rooms, we found out that the Lloyds were just 3 rooms down and... we both had been upgraded from outside staterooms to balcony staterooms! Wow! We screamed a little if I recall correctly. :-) It was a great way to start the cruise.
Since we checked our bags, we raided our carry-ons for suits and headed to the upper deck to grab some food, relax, and enjoy some entertainment on the big screen. We left only for the muster drill, saving our seats for the main Movies Under The Stars event later that night (no formal dining on embarkation day). When we got back our belongings were missing. I found them under cover and out of the rain. Apparently someone moved them for us. Thanks!
Puerto Rico Web Sites ( Lonely Planet Review, Frommers Reviews, Cruise Critic Review, Destination360 Review, Go To Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Puerto Rico Travel Maps, TravelAndSports.com, Marriott Condado San Juan, Trip Advisor - San Juan Hotels, Caribe Hilton San Juan )
El Yunque References ( El Yunque National Forest, El Yunque on Your Own, Frommers Reviews, Puerto Rico Tropical Tours, AdvenTours, Golden Heron EcoTours, Island Walkers, Castillo Tours, Viator, Javier of San Juan Happy Tours, Victor of Countryside Tours )