So Fascinating--Southern Caribbean (plus 3 days in PR) with Kids

We just returned (today) from our 10 day trip to Puerto Rico and Southern Caribbean cruise on the Fascination. Although things will be pretty busy around here for the next few weeks, I figure, I can work on what will likely be a long review in bits and pieces. While this is only our second cruise, I have always written lengthy reviews of our trips for other venues so we have a record, so for this cruise, I'll do this here. I received so much helpful information for both this cruise and our prior cruise in 2014 to Bermuda, so I like to return the favor and figure, maybe I can help someone else out in the process. While there are some terrific reviews of this itinerary here, there aren't as many from the Fascination on this itinerary, and even fewer with kids.

We are a family of five. DS and I are in our late 40s, and our kids are 12.5 (DD), 10 (DS1) and 8 (DS2). This was the second cruise for all of us, and our first visit to any of these gorgeous islands. We booked this cruise in January and the countdown began.

Since getting to Puerto Rico was a lot more involved than getting ourselves to Boston, we opted to tack on three days prior to the cruise so we could visit in more depth. I would highly recommend taking the opportunity to do this. We used miles to get four of our five tickets, so we managed to keep the cost down that way, but it will take a long time to replenish those credit card miles so we wanted to make it worth it. Not to mention, even with three days, there is so much more we would have liked to do. Next time. :)

We left on Thursday, August 18 on a very early morning flight. It's four hours from Boston and we landed prior to 11 AM, so you can do the math on that.

We're getting close. I also liked this because you could see some of our future destinations.

We're almost there.

Forts! I love taking photos and couldn't wait to visit. It didn't quite go the way I envisioned when we did, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

No ships in port today. This was a good time to travel, as we were the only ship in port at each destination, and we kept hearing how busy it can get.

One more from the air.

We landed and picked our rental car up from Hertz. We went with Hertz because of the convenience of being able to pick the car up at the airport and drop it off at the location at the Sheraton, which is right across the street from the cruise pier.

We stayed about 20-25 minutes outside of Old San Juan, at a Comfort Inn and Suites. With all things considered (needing a big enough room for all of us, having free parking, our plans), this made the most sense. We were upgraded when we arrived, which was a nice surprise, so we wound up with a one bedroom suite.

I think I'm out of room for photos here...

We dropped off our things and headed out for our first stop...the Bacardi Visitor Center.

Actually, we first tried to find some lunch, but it turns out that our location did not have a ton of restaurants in the immediate area. The hotel had given us some information about the Factory, and since we had planned on a bit of a low key day for this first day anyway, we figured we would eat at Georgina, which is Bacardi's restaurant.

While we were waiting for our food, the kids hung outside in the sun.

I didn't mean to overexpose the photo, but it conveys the heat of the day.

I ordered a flatbread that was a bit like pizza, with pesto and chicken.

After lunch, we purchased tickets for the tour. They offer multiple tours, but since we had kids, the only tour we could do was the historical tour. For $15/person (free for kids), you learned a bit about the beginnings of the Bacardi business, and you also were given a free drink.

The kids were given complementary lemonade and soda. My kids got Shirley Temples and thought that they were cool. They took them outside and sat near this gorgeous large tree.

Can you even see the kids?

This is a view of the outdoor bar. I was impressed with the wind turbine.

Shall we go inside?

Inside the first room, we heard a little bit of the history. The room had these awesome murals to admire.

As well as this fountain...

This barrel was also in the first room. It weighs several hundred pounds when full of rum.

After the first room, we viewed a short (maybe 10 minute) film and some other rooms where we could not take photos. There were a lot of photos, letters, diagrams, etc. There were also samples of different types of barrels used to age the rum.

Loving your review... Subscribing :)

In the end, you wound up in a room with a bar.

Contrary to what it looks like, we did not sample any rum here, but our guide behind the bar explained the different types of rum and in the next room (aka the gift shop) we were allowed to sample the "special" aged rum.

The gift shop had quite an impressive display of rum.

The kids were less impressed.

But they were good sports. We went outside and let them have one more Shirley Temple before we left.

A few more random shots of the grounds.

Bananas

We enjoyed our visit to Bacardi, although we were disappointed that we didn't see any of the rum actually being made. We thought that maybe on one of the other tours, that might have been an option, but I'm not sure.

We hit the road back to the hotel. It wasn't too far, but as it was rush hour, it took a little bit of time.

A few photos I took along the way.

This was still on the grounds of Bacardi.

This was while sitting in a bit of traffic.

This is a photo of the ferry which caught on fire the day before we arrived.

We had a pretty good view of it from our hotel.

We grabbed a quick dinner near the hotel (nothing fancy) and then hit the pool. The kids loved this pool because it had blue lights which caused them to glow.

That ended our first day. We had been up since 3/3:30 and were ready for bed. We watched a little of the Olympics and went to bed.

Day 2--Friday, August 19

We got up and had breakfast at the hotel. One thing that I like about the choice brand hotels is that they all provide a free breakfast, and you can usually get some sort of waffle and eggs with bacon or sausage. It's not gourmet, but it works, and it helps keep the costs down for families.

We had a few places to visit on today's itinerary, the first being

(Missing is the word "rio".)

The caves were about an hour from our hotel, and I had read that you want to get there fairly early, because the lines can get long. We left our hotel by about 9 AM, so we were fine.

Along the way, I snapped some photos. I liked the bright colors of these homes.

We paid $4 to park and $75 total--adults are $18 and kids are $13. You wait for your number to be called and you board a tram down to the caves.

On the way down during the tram ride, there is a stop where you are outfitted with an audio player, which was a nice change from other group tours where you might not be able to hear the live narrator, or if you lag behind a bit, you miss what the narrator is saying because you are bringing up the rear. The audio would stop and allow you to look at things in the cave, and when you had walked to the next stop, you would hit play and continue.

After another few minutes, you arrive and the rest of the tour is walking.

To get a sense of size perspective, DD on the left is about 5'2" and DS1 in red on the right is 4'10" or 11".

Even with the lights, it was still fairly dark in the caves and the walkways were wet in places. There were handrails to hold onto so you didn't slip.

Some natural light, too.

Thanks for taking the time to write this. Can't wait to read this rest, as this is the next cruise that my husband and I are doing in a couple months. We are also flying from Boston to San Juan.

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I don't know the two people in this photo, but I liked the photo so I'm including it.

A few more...

I liked this image of the stalactite.

The walking tour took us about 45 minutes. The time went quickly, and as I said, you were allowed to go at your own pace, more or less. We had a guide who answered questions and directed us to each stop, but you could linger for photos if you wanted, or move more quickly.

At the end, there were some additional "friends" to see.

While we waited for the tram, I took a few more photos (of course)!

The tram travels over the bridge to bring you back to the entrance.

The kids insisted on riding alone.

but we were right behind them. The plants were so lush.

At the entrance, there are a few vendors. One gives out samples of ice cream, so we had to stop and sample it.

We really enjoyed the caves. We have visited caves before, but not surrounded by such vegetation. If you are visiting Puerto Rico and have time to visit, I would recommend a trip out to them.

I'm enjoying your review, Lolavix! Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us. Southern Caribbean is the next itinerary I am looking forward to booking, so I am trying to read as much about it as I can.

Nice photos. Following.

I am enjoying your review and looking forward to more. This is a cruise on my bucket list:)

We just got back from a two week trip, with three days in Puerto Rico on either side of our seven day cruise on another line. We have two kids about the same age. I'll be following along to compare our likely similar experiences.

Yesss!!!! It's about time that there is a Fascination review out of San Juan that includes pictures. :D This itinerary out of San Juan is our all-time favorite and you can definitely count me in as one of your "followers". I'm really enjoying what you have so far and am really looking forward to the rest. :)

Littlekid58--Welcome and thanks for subscribing.

Bakersdozen12--When do you sail? You are going to love this. :)

Perfect Match--You are very welcome. I don't think you'd regret this itinerary one bit.

Easyboy--Thank you.

SMSACE6--Go for it!

Cyntil8ing--I'd love to swap stories. And I know we would have loved three more days in Puerto Rico. My kids started school today, so we had to come back.

Pghsteelerfan--Welcome. When I said that I received some great information in my first post here, your reviews are terrific and were so helpful in my initial planning. I'm happy to have you along. :cool:

On with a little more of the review!

After our visit to the caves, we were hungry, so we set out in search of lunch.

We didn't get too far before we had to make a stop for a snack.

There were so many places to stop along the way, but we found one that sold cold coconut juice. We all enjoyed a refreshing drink, and I enjoyed looking at the different foods for sale.

We continued on and drove back to the town of Arecibo. DH had looked up a few places on his iPad prior to leaving the hotel, so I picked one based on the high reviews. Thankfully, our phone cooperated and allowed us access to Google Maps and we wound up at

Good Times Restaurant. We figured the name was a good omen.

We were not disappointed at all. They had quite an extensive menu. While the kids chose familiar things like burgers, DH and I decided to try our first mofongo (the sign said 170 different types, but it seemed like even more). The waitress explained to us that mofongo is mashed plantains accompanied by whatever you'd like. She recommended skirt steak and shrimp, so that is what I got.

Neither DH nor I could finish ours, which is too bad because looking at this photo, I wouldn't mind having the leftovers right now.

While we were waiting for our food, DS2 sat at the bar and talked to an older gentleman. After the man left, DS stayed there and read a book.

The people in the restaurant were very kind and didn't seem to mind him sitting there. The few other customers who were there were not at the bar, and DS was content...all in all, it was a wonderful lunch and I'd love to visit them again someday.

After our lunch, we headed inland, to

This is a 1000 foot radio telescope which has been featured in movies like "Contact" and "Golden Eye". When we were planning our trip and decided to visit Puerto Rico for a few days, DH asked if we could visit. He usually leaves most of the planning up to me and just goes with it, so since he had a specific request, I definitely made it a point to add it to our itinerary.

You have to walk up a fairly steep hill (about 500 paces), but you can take your time. The fee is $12 for adults and $8 for kids.

Before we went to see the telescope, we watched a short film.

and after that, we headed outside to be awe-struck at the size of it.

The panels were each 3' x 6'.

and are made out of something like this:

You can stay as long as you like. We ooh'ed and ahh'ed for a few minutes and then went back inside to look at some of the exhibits in the visitor's center.

This basically explains why the telescope was built in Arecibo. It needed to be situated near the equator and since there is a sinkhole which could accommodate its large size, Arecibo was a good spot.

Some moon rock:

I think this next photo was supposed to help visitors better understand the rotation of the planets. DD decided that practicing ballet would be a good use as well. DS2 just wanted to spin.

There were other interactive exhibits to visit and try. You could also write

So the kids did. I didn't get photos of all of them, but here is one thought which I think would make those at Arecibo happy.

After we had our fill of the exhibits and viewing the scope, we headed back to the car. On the way, I admired more of the vegetation.

The drive back to the hotel was a little more than an hour.

On the way back, we saw some things that we don't always see at home, like cows and bulls by the side of the road.

and some things that were more familiar, like shopping outlets.

If anyone is wondering about the driving, I would say that yes, we did see some crazy maneuvers...most of which were crazy mainly due to the lack of using the turn signals. However, we are from Boston, so we have our share of craziness. DH did all of the driving and he was fine with it.

We also rented the autoexpress toll pass from Hertz. I had read that it was easiest to do that and then not worry about the tolls. Sometimes, the tolls are unmanned or don't take cash, and you run the risk of a steep penalty without using the pass. The pass is $5/day plus the tolls. We'll see in a few weeks how much we spent on those.

The kids wanted to swim in the pool, so we let them for a short time. Before we went to dinner, we also checked out the beach across from the hotel. It was too rocky to swim in, but perfect for trying to skip stones (or coconuts!).

We then headed to dinner. There was a place across from the hotel but it was a bit pricey and was mostly seafood, which some of us (mmm...kids) don't really like. It looked like fun, though.

We drove back a few minutes towards Arecibo and found a strip mall area which had some familiar places. We wound up at a Sizzler, which was fast and easy for everyone to get something they would eat.

Our hotel had an event room, and tonight they were hosting a party.

Our room was one of the ones with the double balconies, directly below the party. Fortunately, we were all pretty tired so although we could hear the music when we first got back from dinner, it didn't seem to bother any of us.

Day 2 was done. I would definitely recommend the caves, as that would appeal to all ages, and the tram down and slow walk through would work for even those with slight mobility problems. Arecibo was interesting to me, and DH loved it as it was something that he had always wanted to visit after seeing "Contact". The kids were entertained by the interactive exhibits, but probably weren't as impressed by the actual telescope as DH and I. The walk up was steep, but if you needed help, I think you could call security and get a ride up to the top.

Cyntil8ing--I'd love to swap stories. And I know we would have loved three more days in Puerto Rico. My kids started school today, so we had to come back.

We seem to live a similar cruising life. I browsed your Bermuda review. We were in Bermuda in August 2014 too. It was our third trip (preceded in 2011 and 2013).

Last summer, we cruised out of San Juan, arriving four days beforehand. Unfortunately, our itinerary was changed twice due to a hurricane and a tropical storm (one of the perils of booking August cruises!), and we ended up in the ABCs instead, so we booked the original itinerary again for this summer. Thankfully, no itinerary issues this time.

Here is a link to my photo review of the 2015 cruise and our stay in Fajardo, PR beforehand. We tried, but failed, to visit the Arecibo radio telescope, also because of my husband's James Bond penchant. We spent more time at the Window Cave than we expected, underestimated the time it would take us to get there and didn't arrive until after it closed.

Photo review: Adventure OTS, Hurricane rerouted itinerary

I hope to start my review of this year's cruise shortly.

subcribing sounds like you had a wonderful trip

Cyntil8ing--As soon as I clicked on your link, I realized that yours is one of the reviews I read several months ago. And in this next installment, something you said actually helped us out. Stay tuned. :) On another note, you seemed to be pretty calm about the itinerary changes. I did go back and forth between this itinerary and one with the ABCs, so it would probably have been fine with me as well. It's all new to us right now.

Starfish--Welcome and you are right.

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We awoke to another beautiful day. I could get used to this.

Our plan today was to head in the opposite direction, and hit El Yunque, a beach and our Biobay excursion.

When we pulled up the GPS directions, it put us in the heart of El Yunque. I recalled a review which said to be sure you put the destination as the Visitors' Center. When I did that, the placement made much more sense. Turns out that this advice was given by Cyntil8ing. Thank you!

We arrived and paid the $4 or $5 parking fee and stopped in the center for a map and directions. We looked at a few of the exhibits.

They welcome you with several different panels.

The immersion into the jungle starts immediately.

And we're off!

The main road has many designated stops to make. We knew it would be crowded since it was Saturday, so we didn't spend too long at the Visitors' Center.

Our first stop was La Coca Falls, which is essentially a drive-by water fall.

This was fun (and easy) to see, and took very little effort.

It really was a jungle out there! (Sorry for the corny pun.) No rain in the forest that day, but no matter.

I am not very good at spotting wildlife. Someone in my family spotted this snail.

Whenever I have to strain to see what the others can see more easily, I marvel at how camouflage in nature works. I wouldn't do very well as a predator.

We did not hike to the top. I think it was several hours each way, which would have probably translated to a day+ for my crew. Admiring it from afar would have to suffice.

We kept driving and arrived at the first trail entrance for La Mina Falls. La Mina Falls is very popular, as it's a waterfall you can swim in. You can hike up to the falls or you can drive further to the trail head at the other end and hike down. We noticed how crowded the parking area was, so we took our chances and kept driving. A short while later, we arrived at the further trailhead. Still crowded, and we had to park in the overflow parking, but we had made it.

Here we go...

I was a little concerned that we were hiking down and would have to hike back up when we were more tired, but so be it. No turning back now.