gmros Posted November 24, 2012 #1 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Hi all! It's me again with another "Live from" post from the Summit. You can find my previous post of my April 2012 trip here. But I'll use this thread more like a photo trip log and Q&A. If you have any questions or requests regarding Summit, Conrad Condado Hotel and/or the itinerary, please post them here and I'll try my best to find out the answers for you while I'm still in PR or on the ship. 11/22 Arrive in San Juan, staying at Conrad Condado Plaza 11/23 Arecibo (caves) tour 11/24 Sailaway 11/25 St. Croix 11/26 St. Kitts 11/27 Dominica 11/28 Grenada 11/29 Sea day 11/30 St. Thomas 12/01 Disembarkation I usually begin my daily posts with highlights of the day including tips, followed by food porn, then end with answers to questions and requests - all backed with photos :). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judatt Posted November 24, 2012 #2 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Hi all! It's me again with another "Live from" post from the Summit. You can find my previous post of my April 2012 trip here. But I'll use this thread more like a photo trip log and Q&A. If you have any questions or requests regarding Summit, Conrad Condado Hotel and/or the itinerary, please post them here and I'll try my best to find out the answers for you while I'm still in PR or on the ship. I usually begin my daily posts with highlights of the day including tips, followed by food porn, then end with answers to questions and requests - all backed with photos :). We are on the Summit on Dec 8. Planning to stay for 3 nights at Caribe Hilton prior to cruise. How was the Conrad? Always open to a nice Conrad - have had good experience with them - particularly in Asia. Thanks. Have a great cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 24, 2012 Author #3 Share Posted November 24, 2012 We are on the Summit on Dec 8. Planning to stay for 3 nights at Caribe Hilton prior to cruise. How was the Conrad? Always open to a nice Conrad - have had good experience with them - particularly in Asia. Thanks. Have a great cruise. Hi judatt! The Conrad is nice, modern and clean. The staff are friendly too. I will post a review and photos tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted November 24, 2012 #4 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Look forward to your updates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superweezie Posted November 24, 2012 #5 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Have fun! We are also on the 12/8 so looking forward to hearing any comments. Never been to st croix and have nothing planned there so would really love to hear your observations. Was planning on getting off the ship and just wandering but after reading on here, doesn't sound like there's much within wandering distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 24, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Thank you all! Superweezie, we're going diving in St. Croix. But I'll try to go around the area by the pier after our dive trip and take pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 24, 2012 Author #7 Share Posted November 24, 2012 NOVEMBER 22: NEW YORK TO SAN JUAN Flight - Delta We were able to book a flight on Delta from JFK to SJU for $256.40 pp, not a bad price compared to our other SJU flights. Flight was on time from take off to landing. We checked in at Terminal 3, not my favorite terminal. We got a shuttle to Terminal 4 where our plane was. There were small monitors in every seat with some complimentary entertainment like TV, games, some movies, etc. TV Channels In flight, they provided complimentary drinks (soda, juice, coffee, water), small snack pack and earphones. At least they provided free snacks. We flew US Air before to PR and all that was complimentary were the drinks. This also reminded of the 7-hour leg to Hawaii on United, we were only offered complimentary drinks as well. Their earphones are bad, bring your own. In-flight Internet - Gogo Don't bother getting this before or during flight. No signal coz the plane goes too far out of continental US or their coverage area. Taxi - from SJU to Condado Taxi stand was right outside the baggage claim area. It was pretty quick to get a taxi. We paid $15 + $1 per luggage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 24, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted November 24, 2012 PR Accommodation - Conrad Condado Plaza We booked the hotel through Hotwire for $98/night base price. The hotel was modern and pretty clean. There were 2 towers: Ocean and Lagoon. The Ocean tower faces the ocean, the Lagoon tower faces the bay. They have 2 pools, a jacuzzi and a small beach (public) oceanside; 1 pool and jacuzzi bayside. Lobby Front Desk We were in room 774 in the Lagoon tower and had a view of the lagoon. The room was pretty clean except the chair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 24, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Bathroom was tiny. TV was 27", tiny for the size of the room. UP NEXT: ARECIBO, PUERTO RICO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bplazo Posted November 24, 2012 #10 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Love you review. We will be on the same islands in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestx Posted November 24, 2012 #11 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Have fun! We are also on the 12/8 so looking forward to hearing any comments. Never been to st croix and have nothing planned there so would really love to hear your observations. Was planning on getting off the ship and just wandering but after reading on here, doesn't sound like there's much within wandering distance. I think you should plan to do more than wander around near the pier. We go to St. Croix annually for 7 to 14 days so I can answer any questions you might have. There will be quite a few vendors set up near the pier and there are a few art galleries and shops in F'sted. You could take a cab north to Rainbow Beach which is pretty and has an outdoor restaurant. But there are other things to do as well (Buck Island, island tour, ATV tours, etc.) depending on your interests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahmne Posted November 25, 2012 #12 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Looking forward to more posts! I'm on the same itinerary on the 8th. We're going in a few days early, hadn't heard about the caves before. I'll have to look into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonDreamr1 Posted November 25, 2012 #13 Share Posted November 25, 2012 We're on the 8-Dec sailing. I'm currently trying to narrow down our dive options. Which ports are you diving in? Which operators are you using? If it isn't too much trouble could you update after the dive on the quality of the operator? We have a few recs from our local dive shop, but the main lady we get the recs from hadn't been to some of the ports. Thank you :D Hope you have a great trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted November 25, 2012 #14 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Have a wonderful cruise. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaWatch12 Posted November 25, 2012 #15 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Hi gmros, Thanks for your posts. I am also on the 12/8 sailing. If you stop in Michael's Club, could you make note of what kind of live music they have. I hope they still have a vocalist on the piano. On the Century in May they would alternate between the vocalist and the string trio. Was always the last stop for a relaxing night cap before bed. Enjoy your cruise! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still Dreaming Posted November 25, 2012 #16 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Can't wait to hear more! We will be on her feb. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superweezie Posted November 25, 2012 #17 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Lovestx, I think our biggest problem is we are in st croix on a Sunday. From everything I've read on here and a few different sites, most things are closed then. The fort sounded interesting, closed. Cruzan rum, closed. The sun buggy sounds neat so that's a possibility and I read about the beach just to the left of the port. Snorkeling and diving aren't really an option since DH doesn't swim. Still searching though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 26, 2012 Author #18 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Internet is VERY SLOW today. I'll try again tomorrow. Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestx Posted November 26, 2012 #19 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Lovestx, I think our biggest problem is we are in st croix on a Sunday. From everything I've read on here and a few different sites, most things are closed then. The fort sounded interesting, closed. Cruzan rum, closed. The sun buggy sounds neat so that's a possibility and I read about the beach just to the left of the port. Snorkeling and diving aren't really an option since DH doesn't swim. Still searching though. I would think that many excursions will be availabablet o you even though the Fort and Cruzan Rum will be closed. I would encourage you to consider an island tour or a day at the Buccaneer or a day at Rainbow Beach unless you are more adventuresome and would do Geckosislandtours.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 26, 2012 Author #20 Share Posted November 26, 2012 NOVEMBER 23: PUERTO RICO We took the Arecibo tour via Natural Wonders PR for $95 pp. We've toured with Asha before and had fun. It was like a private tour coz it was just me and my husband, and Asha was flexible with our requests. Highly recommend Natural Wonders and the Arecibo tour for those who are physically capable, the tour required some hiking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 26, 2012 Author #21 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 26, 2012 Author #22 Share Posted November 26, 2012 QUESTIONS/REQUESTS We're on the 8-Dec sailing. I'm currently trying to narrow down our dive options. Which ports are you diving in? Which operators are you using? If it isn't too much trouble could you update after the dive on the quality of the operator? We have a few recs from our local dive shop, but the main lady we get the recs from hadn't been to some of the ports. Thank you :D Hope you have a great trip! I'll post a review of the dive operations we use as we go on. Hi gmros,Thanks for your posts. I am also on the 12/8 sailing. If you stop in Michael's Club, could you make note of what kind of live music they have. I hope they still have a vocalist on the piano. On the Century in May they would alternate between the vocalist and the string trio. Was always the last stop for a relaxing night cap before bed. Enjoy your cruise! Mark Hi SeaWatch, I'll let you know when I stop by. Lovestx, I think our biggest problem is we are in st croix on a Sunday. From everything I've read on here and a few different sites, most things are closed then. The fort sounded interesting, closed. Cruzan rum, closed. The sun buggy sounds neat so that's a possibility and I read about the beach just to the left of the port. Snorkeling and diving aren't really an option since DH doesn't swim. Still searching though. I'm sorry I wasn't able to take pictures at the pier as we were rushing coming from our dive trip. But we did try to walk around to look for magnets. From what we've seen, there's really not much at the pier. I agree with , I think it's better to go on a tour. UP NEXT: EMBARKATION Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superweezie Posted November 26, 2012 #23 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Thanks for the info. I'll start looking into some tours. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vplsh Posted November 26, 2012 #24 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Thanks for the review! Looking forward to following along with you. Can you give me the contact info for your trip in PR? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmros Posted November 28, 2012 Author #25 Share Posted November 28, 2012 NOVEMBER 24: EMBARKATION We arrived at the cruise terminal around 12:20pm, set foot on the ship around 1:10pm. It actually took us longer this time than our cruise in April when we arrived past 2pm. Oceanview Cafe (buffet) had a lot of people, but we found a table easily. Muster was at 5pm. We had a regular balcony cabin and I found it tiny. Bed was comfortable, pillows were flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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