Hearsay1

Yes those are the restrooms i used and no I don't agree that is the norm. I have been to almost every Caribbean island more than once and have been to many beach clubs. I have never seen this before. If it doesn't bother you, fine. but I absolutely think it should be upfront information. I doubt I'm the only one that thinks this way

I went to Almapena last week and wold not recommend it, Yes you can drink all day but they only serve you lunch, you do not get to eat all day. And there was no choice at lunch. They just brought out some nachos, guacamole, then two plates, one with two small beef tacos, the other with two small shrimp taco. No dessert. The food was ok but I don't eat guacamole and would have preferred a choice. There was only one bartender/waiter for the beach and the restaurant. It wasn't a good beach day but if it had been crowded he wouldn't have been able to do it all. But for me the biggest complaint is about the bathrooms on the beach. No one mentions it so maybe I'm the only one bothered by it but they don't want you to flush toilet paper down the toilet. You have to put it in an open wastebasket. Not covered, not emptied during out time there, no attempt at odor control. I had to mouth breathe or I may have vomited. In my opinion disgusting and unsanitary. Would never go back

Both are very beautiful places. But, if I had to pick just one, I would go with Blue Kay for several reason...You can't beat the location being just a few minutes away from the port and only costing $3 to get there (although Almaplena includes the taxi ride to/from the port). When you are so close to port, it's awesome to get pics of the ship there from the beach and it also allows you to stay longer because of less traveling time.

 

Almaplena is an AI, which means you can go there and drink and eat all day if you want. Blue Kay is a pay as you go, but I personally didn't find it to be too expensive and all 3 of us ate and drank when we wanted to and (I can't remember without looking over my review), I think we spent less than $50 for all day. (Which of course was cheaper than paying for an AI for 3 people, which would have been at least double+ for the day).

 

I also liked that snorkeling was cool and interesting right off the beach at Blue Kay. It's by no means a reef, but PLENTY to see and in shallow water. It definitely made the day even better. Almaplena has a reef in front of it, but you have to swim out a ways.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either. I just like that Blue Kay is so close and such as nice stretch of beach (and HUGE) along the Malecon. :)

Just got home from cruise that stopped in Costa Maya and on basis of this board booked a day at ALmapenya since Maya Chan was booked. None of the people who recommended this mentioned the disgusting and unsanitary bathroom facilities on the beach. They have a sign that toilet paper is not to be flushed down the toilet but deposited in an open waste basket. I thought it smelled when I first got there but by the time I left I had to mouth breathe or I may have vomited. This may be fine for some and I undeestand the "eco friendly" intent but to me this is just too much and should have been disclosed by someone. If you want to provide a receptacle rather than flush paper that is your choice but the container should be covered, emptied frequently and some type of odor prevention should be used. Totally disgusting and if I had known I would never have gone. Will never go back or recommend this place

Thanks for looking more. Hoping so since our friends just moved from an OS next to us when we moved from an Aquatheater to the RLS. Unless there is some physical reason I would think it can be opened since they are connecting rooms.

Probably, they open them to clean the balconies, don't know about the RLS though

Just saw this on the Marriott Stellaris Facebook page. We have this hotel booked for our cruise in November but since they don't list any specifics on timeframe I'm going to hold off on canceling. We'll see what happens down the road.

Due to Hurricane Maria, the San Juan Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino is not taking any new reservations at this time. We are currently assessing the damage and will provide updates as they are available. The safety of our guests and associates is always a top priority and there are no reported injuries at this time. We are waiving cancellation and change fees for specific arrival dates and suggest our customers call 1-800-228-9290 for more information about their reservations. Those in countries outside of the United States seeking information about their reservations should call the Marriott toll-free number in their country. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this storm.

 

Marriott International has established a resource line for those looking for information about guests and associates who may have been impacted by the hurricane. The number is (866) 211-4610. For those calling outside the U.S. and Canada, the number is +1 402-390-3265. The resource line is staffed from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (ET).

I had a reservation there and before they cancelled the Adventure that was supposed to leave today, I called the hotel directly to check on status. They asked if I had a reservation and then said it was open for those who had reservations. I'd hold off. a lot can happen in a month

The Captain on the Adventure just announced that we will be leaving Bonaire tonight and sailing to Ft Lauderdale with an 8am arrival on SUNDAY. They will be keeping the ship there, operating as a hotel overnight, for those needing to stay to arrange flights and hotels, etc...

 

No word on the next cruise at this time.

 

Dan.

Are you currently on the ship and hear this personally? I haven't heard anything yet from RCCL even though they said they would let us know by early afternoon today

Which Marriott are you referring to? Generator power I am assuming?

 

We are booked at La Concha in November, and although still 50 days out, I am in full contingency mode here....

 

Having said that, my first and foremost thoughts are with the people of San Juan as they begin the rebuilding process.

San Jan Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino

Well I did just speak to Jet Blue and the Marriott. Jetblue expects the airport to open tonight and the Marriott has power and is open to those with reservations. I'll keep packing I guess

I agree. I absolutely understand the tension of those traveling this week (less so the frantic pleas of those traveling a month from now) and I do think that the safety of the port facilities is only one factor. There is also the idea of yes, one could technically get to SJU and get on the ship but is being in San Juan when the infrastructure is stressed, locals are suffering and hotels are unable to host as many people as they had been an ethical choice?

 

It is fair to say that all is not yet known. The hurricane only just happened and although people are used to answers arriving in a nano-second in the age of Facebook, these issues are complex. That said, I think that RCL should step up and issue one of its press releases that invariably begin with "out of an abundance of caution..." and cancel this week's cruise. Since AOS is on a one week turnaround, this would give them ample time to make a fair call about next week's cruise, and future ones.

I absolutely agree, Cancel it and let us make other plans, just don't leave us hanging

It seems like some people just don't understand that while the eye of the hurricane is past Puerto Rico, there was still massive wind and rain battering the island all day yesterday. It was literally not safe to come outside and evaluate the damage. Today they can START that process. It is unreasonable to expect answers already!

You could not be more wrong.. I just saw a report showing people in Puerto Rico straightening nails to try to fix their own property. The US is delivering 8 million meals and gallons of water. Getting luxury cruise passengers in and out of Puerto Rico is not and should not be a priority for the people and government of PR. It is however the responsibility of Royal Caribbean for the safety of their passengers and bringing them into a disaster area is not safe. I still have not had any communication from them about the status of my cruise Saturday even though it should be clear to anyone with half a brain that we should not even be thinking about travelling to PR now. But until they officially cancel the cruise or move it to another port we are in limbo. It's long past time for them to make their decision and convey it

I just added a second person to my solo booking less than a month before sailing and only paid the extra taxes. It didn't involve rebooking the cruise. did it through travel agent.

I too am anxiously waiting to hear about my upcoming cruise. I read somewhere that Royal may not be letting passengers know until about four weeks prior to the sailing.

 

I agree that it would make it easier for many to know earlier in order to be able to change flights, ships, etc. but the logistics of doing this with all the ships that Royal has out of Florida (not even counting Bayonne or Baltimore) as well as all the other cruise lines (Disney, Carnival, MSC, etc.) and their ships, I would not want to be on that team to attempt to redirect all of these ships.

 

They still do not know if any of the hit ports will be up in the near future. They say weeks, maybe months on some, but they also need to stay in touch with the governments of those islands to know if they are going to be open sooner and then check to make sure the ports will be safe to let passengers off. The other major concern is that all the cruise lines need to coordinate in a way as to not overload the available ports on any given day. One comment I read recently is that they do not want to have 13 ships in a port on one day.

 

This is very difficult task at best. I am willing to let them take the time needed to work it all out.

I can understand that you may be willing to give them time to work it out if your cruise is one or two weeks or longer away. But what about those of us who are two days out and have heard nothing? Clearly we are not leaving from Puerto Rico on Saturday. If they can change ports that's great, I'm willing to go. But will I be able to get a flight on such short notice? and what will it cost? My heart goes out to those people who have lost everything, I can't imagine what they are going through. A cruise is a luxury, not a necessity, I get it, but zero communication is just wrong. The latest itinierary changes still list the cruise as going to St Kitts and from what I understand St Kitts had significant damage. My travel agent said yesterday that Adventure is still listed as sailing on Saturday. If we choose to rebook now, we would lose the future credit so that is not an option. I've found an alternative option but there are very few cabins left at the level I'm booking and they could go quickly. RC says they will let us know by early this afternoon but in my humble opinion less than 48 hours notice is unacceptable. They dropped the ball on this one. They should just bite the bullet, cancel the cruise leaving this weekend and let us make our plans