Viking team in San Juan Puerto Rico

This is a post from a poster who lives in PR. It was posted on the Port of Call: San Juan. I am impressed.

"This info is first hand. Viking Ocean Cruises has renewed its commitment to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The Viking Sea arrives at the Port of San Juan on October 26, to start its Fall/Winter 10-day Caribbean itineraries, with a brief intermission and excursion to the Amazon in between.

Viking executives were on the island yesterday on a site inspection. Businesses in and around Old San Juan are receiving notice with the schedules to prepare for Viking's passengers.

This is in addition to Royal Caribbean and NCL, who are also helping out by not abandoning us."

This is a post from a poster who lives in PR. It was posted on the Port of Call: San Juan. I am impressed.

 

"This info is first hand. Viking Ocean Cruises has renewed its commitment to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The Viking Sea arrives at the Port of San Juan on October 26, to start its Fall/Winter 10-day Caribbean itineraries, with a brief intermission and excursion to the Amazon in between.

 

Viking executives were on the island yesterday on a site inspection. Businesses in and around Old San Juan are receiving notice with the schedules to prepare for Viking's passengers.

 

This is in addition to Royal Caribbean and NCL, who are also helping out by not abandoning us."

This is great!! (y) Thank you for sharing.

We will be there on the Sea 2/5/18. Can't wait!

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This is a post from a poster who lives in PR. It was posted on the Port of Call: San Juan. I am impressed.

 

 

 

"This info is first hand. Viking Ocean Cruises has renewed its commitment to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The Viking Sea arrives at the Port of San Juan on October 26, to start its Fall/Winter 10-day Caribbean itineraries, with a brief intermission and excursion to the Amazon in between.

 

 

 

Viking executives were on the island yesterday on a site inspection. Businesses in and around Old San Juan are receiving notice with the schedules to prepare for Viking's passengers.

 

 

 

This is in addition to Royal Caribbean and NCL, who are also helping out by not abandoning us."

Nice going to all the cruise companies who are supporting the islanders .

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It is awesome to see cruiseline supporting San Juan. Without a doubt, the people of Puerto Rico need tourism dollars.

We are on the 12/16 sailing, and like many passengers who travel long distances, we have flights arriving prior to the sailing and staying over after. This initiation of sailings, however, is creating a new issue. Of the Hotels that are operating, a big majority of them are completely booked by FEMA and rescue operation personnel. I totally get their need for this space so that Puerto Rico can get back up and running, but This is causing the Hotels to cancel long standing reservations with short notices, even when those holding said reservations have continually checked and been promised not to worry......there are several threads on CC & TA addressing this and outlining the huge increase in cancelled reservations this week.......hopefully Viking and RCCL who also just announced resumption of cruises have had dialogue with someone in hospitality in San Juan who has the power to put a plan together for all these extra people who will shortly be descending into their port.

It is awesome to see cruiseline supporting San Juan. Without a doubt, the people of Puerto Rico need tourism dollars.

We are on the 12/16 sailing, and like many passengers who travel long distances, we have flights arriving prior to the sailing and staying over after. This initiation of sailings, however, is creating a new issue. Of the Hotels that are operating, a big majority of them are completely booked by FEMA and rescue operation personnel. I totally get their need for this space so that Puerto Rico can get back up and running, but This is causing the Hotels to cancel long standing reservations with short notices, even when those holding said reservations have continually checked and been promised not to worry......there are several threads on CC & TA addressing this and outlining the huge increase in cancelled reservations this week.......hopefully Viking and RCCL who also just announced resumption of cruises have had dialogue with someone in hospitality in San Juan who has the power to put a plan together for all these extra people who will shortly be descending into their port.

Well Said!

Hope the PTB are finding solutions for this hotel problem now extending into Novmerber and December.

Would love to hear from Viking Cruise about the total lack of availble hotel rooms for both contractors, who have chartered the whole hotel, and the cruisers about to descend San Juan as their port of departure and return.

Well Said!

Hope the PTB are finding solutions for this hotel problem now extending into Novmerber and December.

Would love to hear from Viking Cruise about the total lack of availble hotel rooms for both contractors, who have chartered the whole hotel, and the cruisers about to descend San Juan as their port of departure and return.

We second this request. Please Viking - this could morph into a huge nightmare.

Well Said!

Hope the PTB are finding solutions for this hotel problem now extending into Novmerber and December.

Would love to hear from Viking Cruise about the total lack of availble hotel rooms for both contractors, who have chartered the whole hotel, and the cruisers about to descend San Juan as their port of departure and return.

I’m wondering what hotel or hotels Viking uses or plans to use for the extensions. I don’t know how many they have booked but they will need accommodations.

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I’m wondering what hotel or hotels Viking uses or plans to use for the extensions. I don’t know how many they have booked but they will need accommodations.

 

 

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Same thoughts occurring here. Hopefully they will address our concerns sooner than later.

I was on the trip arriving in San Juan on October 26. I canceled the trip and took the refund because I was afraid to be dumped off in San Juan. Even though the port and city are open I felt that if connections did not go just right we might be really stuck. As for hotels, Viking canceled all post hotel stays through them sighting the lack of rooms and the need to use them for emergency workers. As Viking says we need to support our PR neighbors however I chose to do so with a contribution to a relief organization, not by going there.

Bumping this back up to the front to elevate to Viking’s attention tomorrow.....

Viking - please take a look at ports of call San Juan section with CC regarding this situation - it truly is escalating - this is a real problem.

If Viking cannot find hotel rooms for their passengers.....and you follow what is the current status in San Juan......Connect the dots please. Thank you

We aren’t sailing until March so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. We have reservations for the night before the cruise at El Convento. From what they are posting on their Facebook page they are open and will be taking new reservations November 1. I think - from what I’ve been reading the smaller boutique hotels seem to be doing better than the larger chains. We will only be there for 1 night and I’m fine with that.

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There is no power in OSJ other than generators

It is still a disaster area. It is not safe to be out after dark.

I hope that it is better by March for you Cyber Kat, but there is no expectation that it will be before 2018

I have looked at several hotel websites - the few, smaller decent looking hotels are all running $400/night+

The island is not yet able to accomodate the cruise passengers that the cruise lines are bringing there.

There is no power in OSJ other than generators

It is still a disaster area. It is not safe to be out after dark.

I hope that it is better by March for you Cyber Kat, but there is no expectation that it will be before 2018

I have looked at several hotel websites - the few, smaller decent looking hotels are all running $400/night+

The island is not yet able to accomodate the cruise passengers that the cruise lines are bringing there.

I'm not cancelling my cruise. We will be there 1 night and El Convento seems to be doing fine. I have no intentions of going out after dark. The hotel has a restaurant and a bar. I'm good :cool: And March is 5 months off.

Dear Vineyard View,

First, and most importantly, we’re happy to hear that you and your family are safe from the devastating wildfires that are sweeping Northern California.

Second, we noted your request for a response on this thread and are happy to oblige. Because some members on this thread will be traveling to San Juan sooner than others, however, a single answer to this question may not be accurate for all sailings.

Should you, or any other Cruise Critic member, have a question about how your hotel stay may be impacted, we’d be happy to hear from you individually at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. This way, we can ensure each question is met with information specific to the correlating departure.

We appreciate the opportunity to respond, Vineyard View, and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises

Bumping this back up to the front to elevate to Viking’s attention tomorrow.....

 

Viking - please take a look at ports of call San Juan section with CC regarding this situation - it truly is escalating - this is a real problem.

If Viking cannot find hotel rooms for their passengers.....and you follow what is the current status in San Juan......Connect the dots please. Thank you

We sincerely thank you Viking. We appreciate your kind words and willingness to assist - emotions and nerves are a bit more fragile than they traditionally are -

Hello Viking cruisers. if anyone is still weary about your upcoming cruise out of San Juan, I invite you to read this moving account by a Royal Caribbean cruiser on his family's early October sailing.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2553861

There has been a lot of concerns and questions about thestate of San Juan Puerto Rico and cruises from that port, so I thought I wouldgive a recap of our cruise. I am going to focus mostly on PR, but if you havequestions about other parts of the cruise, I will try to answer. We arecurrently staying 2 nights in Old San Juan, after our cruise of 10/7/17 onAdventure.

At the FLL gate, the agent sang Preciosa, a song about PR.Some filmed, and all cheered and clapped. Our flight was going to push off fromFLL on time, at 12:30PM today. They paused and announced that they would haveto wait a little while because we were taking on what provisions we could forPR. Yeah SW! And everyone clapped. Flight was maybe 75% full. SW had a few moreannouncements and songs. They clearly have LUV for PR.

Left FLL. Do a fewcircles near SJU, and landed fine. The airport looked fine, except for a fewtorn roofs. The most obvious signs of Maria are the trees and brush. Some downand some stripped. Terminal is normal inside.

Outside, there we around 20 taxis and other ground trans.Everything looked pretty normal.

In the baggage claim area, there were a handful of RCIagents. In a few minutes we were led outside to load the bags in a box truck.Then, we were directed to our (airport style) bus. Great, informative driver(tipped well). Pence is here, so roads were closed some, but opened as we left.Along the way, we saw some devastation, but it wasn't as bad as we thought itwould look. 15 later we were at the cruise terminal. It looked normal.

Along the way, we talked to a few locals. Some have storiesof home problems. Most seem to want to downplay the situation to us. As dayturned to night, there are a few hotels with lights on, so it's not a blackout.

I have faith in the positive attitude of our fellowcitizens. They are a proud state (quasi) that will bounce back.

While on the topic of the terminal, I would like to mentionthat I asked fellow PAX about their experiences at SJU airport on 10/6 or 10/7.Most were similar to ours; "It seemed pretty normal for a smallerairport". One group told me that it was really busy when they exited theplane, and they had to weave through the crowd.

All used the RCItransfer. We did because we thought it would be a sure thing (no worry aboutfinding a taxi), and RCI was offering it free to our cruise. They were tryingto ease the chaos. All had reported a good experience with this RCI transfer.

As I mentioned above,there was still the option of getting a taxi, as there was a line of themthere.

We arrived at the ship on 10/6 (RCI let us on 1 day early).AOS was facing forward into the Pan American cruise terminal. Our balcony roomwas Starboard side, so we looked down on the terminal and land. The terminallooked normal, except some walkways were missing portions of their roofs. Nextto the terminal is a National Guard base. All day Friday and Saturday Blackhawkhelicopters, and even a few Osprey, flew missions in and out of the base. I'mnot sure how much this constitutes the heli flights around the island, but itwas encouraging to see.

As I mentioned above,I'm not going to focus on the cruise itself too much, but I'll do a quickrundown.

St. Marteen was firstsubstituted to St. Croix. Then, STX was substituted to Martinique.

I had looked at whatmedia I could find on St. Marteen before we left. RCI had no choice making thechange. The island is devastated. This was confirmed by several of theislanders we talked to during the cruise. They have genuine concern for theirfellow Caribbean friends. It was heart warming.

The Captain told usabout their relief mission to STM. He made it sound like the island didn't evenknow that AOS was coming until practically the last minute. That's how bad thecommunications were at the time!

Leaving San Juan

We left on time on10/7. San Juan is a beautiful port to sail from due to the majesty of SanFelipe del Morro Fortress, which would normally be lighted. We were on deck 12for sail away. On that night, there were very few lights on in the Old San Juanarea. As our view moved, we could see down one of the streets to see a line ofcar headlights.

Cruise itself

As usual, the ship isits own city. There was nothing on-board to indicate that we just left anisland that was devastated by a hurricane.

The ship and staffwere great, as we normally find on RCI. I guess that I have read some negativereviews lately that my expectations were low. A few things that stood out in mymind:

The food was great.Sure, the Windjammer is just a buffet. We found it more than adequate. I lovethe design/layout of seating and the way food is spread around. It is easy to"learn the system". I learned that if they don't have what you arelooking for, just ask. One night I got a baked potato and couldn't find sourcream. I asked a crew member behind the counter. He came around andaggressively located it for me. Same on another occasion. That time, he went tothe cooler and came back with a full bowl for me. The dining room is"fancier" food, but if you want a quick bite, especially at breakfastand lunch, the WJ is great. I have been to a good amount of great restaurantsaround the country, but would rather eat in the WJ anytime, especially withthat view!

Tip: If you head intoshore, watch the WJ times when you get back on-board. It does close in the lateafternoon. You might want to grab a snack before it does.

I was disappointed atthe main dining room seating layout. In the old days you sat with someone elseand could share the mealtime with your new friends. Now, they isolate you. Ourgroup of 3 sat alone at a table for 4. This has probably been covered on theboards? Probably some people are happy with this change, but I like meeting newfriends, and missed it.

Our first experiencewith wifi was okay. Hey, it's not super-speed, but is adequate. It worked inour stateroom and throughout most of the ship. We bought only one package, butshared it between our 3 phones and 1 laptop. You can normally knock off anotheruser by logging yourself in.

Contrary to a recentpost, we had live "Caribbean" music on the pool deck.

Still had towelanimals!

On day 5 (or so?)they offered a drink special. You can buy a punch card for $85 plus gratuity,which amounts to $100ish. Then, it is good for 10 drinks valued at $12 or less.This could save you a few bucks if you are normally getting $12 drinks. I don'tknow if they do this on every cruise???

Captain Tomas is verypersonable. At the Crown & Anchor reception, he had wonderful praise forthe crew (and Royal) for their work on the hurricane relief cruise.

If you like PinaColadas (there's that song...), try ordering a "Kraken Colada". It'seven better! I found good beer, like Dogfish Head in the Pub.

The ship was quickand easy to disembark on the mornings in port. Same with coming back.

Itinerary

This is a greatitinerary, with intensive island hoping at beautiful islands. Granted, I am notan expert, but IMHO, it is the best of Caribbean cruise itineraries. We metfriendly and helpful people at every stop. Each island made us to want to goback (okay, some slightly more than others). I want to keep it brief and focusmainly on the post-Maria aspect of this sailing.

Talking to theislanders was heart-warming. They expressed support for their neighboringisland friends. Each country seems genuinely concerned for the others. They aredoing what they can to send help to the adjacent islands. Just a strongexample:

In Antigua, we took the bus to Jolly Harbor to take the ReefRiders tour. When we arrived, the tour prior to us just got back. It consistedof two guys from Samaritan's Purse. This organization is doing a lot to helpthose hit by the recent hurricanes. These two guys recently arrived on Antigua,which is used as a base of operations for them to help Dominica. Once the ownerof Reef Riders found out why they were there, he offered to refund their money.He further offered free tours to any of their fellow Samaritan's Purse membersthat could use a break and would like some relaxation. So wonderful!

We continued on ourtour with the owner's son, Tiggr. Out at the reef, I asked Tiggr aboutDominica, because I had heard that Maria destroyed the island. He explained thecomplete damage that occurred to Dominica and that they had friends there. Hewas happy that our cruises were returning to the post-hurricane area, becausethat meant money for them. In turn, that meant they could send more help toDominica. He further explained that he lost friends in Dominica to thehurricane. It was very sobering! Then, like the professional that he is, hecontinued "but I don't want to tell you that story. You are on yourvacation, not here to be depressed". He explained that Antigua has takenon a good amount of refugees from Dominica. We could feel the love they have fortheir neighbors and friends.

Along the way, we witnessed many similar stories ofneighbors helping neighbors. This was a great cruise on its own, but was alsoan incredible learning experience for us.

I guess that I started this trip with a little guilt. In mymind, it was something like "should we be visiting a region that has beenthrough this much?" This guilt was relieved at every stop. We did a tour,varying in style, at every island. Tour operators and taxi drivers alike toldus how happy they were that Adventure was there and Royal took the leap tostart coming again. They have been out of work for a while and were happy tostart working again. This sentiment wasn't coerced from us, but rather, camefrom them.

There have been morethan a few discussions on these boards about Adventure's return to service andwhether RCI made the correct decision in doing so. I don't know the depth ofrelationship that Royal has with the islands, but I would bet that it is morethan just casual. Therefore, I would assume that the people in this region weretelling them "yes, come back now. It will help". In all, thisexperience taught me that Royal did the right thing in returning to thisitinerary.

Cruise finished – Disembark

Following the instructions that Royal gave us on the lastnight, we had our bags out in the hall by 11PM. In the morning, you have to beout of the room by 8:00AM. Our assigned waiting area was the Main Dining Room,with an approximate disembark call at 8:00. That time is different for everygroup. We ate breakfast, cleared the room, and got to the MDR by just before 8:00.Shortly (maybe 5-10 min) the call came for us to Disembark. We left the ship.In the cruise terminal, you enter the luggage hall. There were a handful (maybe10 or so) porters in the hall just as you entered. I had read on these boardsthat if you have one of them help, it expedites the customs process. In thiscase, I also figured they would be glad to have the work and a tip. So, Iengaged one of the porters. The bags were spread out in the room well and itonly took a few minutes to find ours. He grabbed them. There was a separatecustoms line for porters and nobody was in it. The "help yourself"line was about 20 feet long, still not bad. Customs was another few minutes,and almost before you knew it we were heading outside. The whole process was asquick and painless as it gets. Thanks Royal. There were a bunch of taxisoutside and the taxi agent lined us up with one. Off we go! About 10minutes toOld San Juan.

Casablanca Hotel

We checked in. I guess that I was a little surprised to seelights on inside. What, electricity? The porter helped with the bags. Fourfloors of stairs.

At the room, we received the big surprise as he informed usthey are running on generator power and the AC is "kinda off and on".But the great salesmanship kicked in, when he said "luckily you guys havea balcony room - just open the doors". The room was beautifully decorated.Everything worked, including wifi, water, toilet (don't laugh), shower, andsatellite TV. We went out to explore Old San Juan for the day. When we got back,the AC was on in the lobby, but not in our room. We slept with the balconydoors open. It was pretty muggy, but otherwise all was good.

Old San Juan (OSJ)

The woman at the Casablanca front desk gave us a map. Shewrote down and marked some places that she recommends for eating. I asked whatattractions were open. She said "none". Well, it looks like it willjust be a walking tour. We explored many of the streets, eventually as far asdel Morro. We had planned to visit to following places:

Castillo de SanFelipe del Morro (fort), Fort San Cristobal, Catedral de San Juan (Cathedralwith Ponce Leon), San Juan Gate at Calle San Francisco & Calle RecintoOeste, Plaza del Quinto Centenario, Plaza de Colón, Plazuela La Rogativa CalleRafael Cordero, La Fortaleza (oldest executive mansion in Western Hemisphere),Casa Blanca (historic home and home of Ponce de Leon), Paseo De La PrincesaCalle

Of that list, the only things that were open were: Catedralde San Juan, San Juan Gate, and ALL of the plazas, including a few plazas wedidn't have on our list. I was surprised, and saddened, to find del Morroclosed. I guess that I expected it to be least affected by a hurricane, becauseit is massive!

Most of the city looked fine. There were a few trees andelectricity poles down here and there. Even though the attractions were closed,we had a great time just looking around. This is one of the most beautiful, andinteresting, cities that I've ever been too. Our DD loves photography, and wasconstantly finding something interesting to snap a pic at. On Saturday, thereweren't a lot of people out, but it wasn't empty either. A decent amount ofcars were on the streets.

On our way West, we went by Casa Cortes ChocoBar. They had afew workers outside, trying to drum up business. We headed in. If you haven'tbeen here before, we would highly recommend it. It is smartly decorated inside.It looks like something you would find in any "upscale" restaurantmarket. Think gaslamp San Diego, or in our case, downtown Gilbert or Phoenix.All three of us ordered frozen chocolate mochas, which were delish!

On our way to the San Juan Gate, we went by BarrachinaRestaurant. The manager, Luis, was outside and pitching. He was a friendly guyand we had planned to go there anyways, so we told him we would stop by later,which we did. It was nice inside, because the AC was on. We had a few of theirfamous "invented here" Pina Coladas and some great Puerto Rican food,then headed back to the hotel for the night.

Sunday

We did more walking around on Sunday. First, we started withbreakfast at Casa Cortes ChocoBar. The "Adventure" for us this timewas a power loss. We had our frozen Mochas, and were waiting for breakfast,when it went out. The employees announced that it would be back on in about 5to 10 minutes, which it was. Our breakfast came out. All enjoyed! Their menu isa floating one, changing day to day based upon the supply of ingredients. Myrecommendation is the french toast, covered in vanilla topping, if they have itwhen you are lucky enough to go.

Sunday was a lot busier than Saturday. We found a few newplaces to visit.

There was a great artist co-op store just across the streetfrom Parroquia San Francisco de Asis (church) and under the hotel Da House, at301 Calle San Francisco. The girls bought some items: a Christmas ornament, avase, a keychain and a backpack. All hand made, beautiful, and reasonablypriced. We spoke with the friendly owners for a while.

You could almostfollow the flow of people to Senor Paleta on 153 Calle Tetuan. They makepopsicles. That place was hopping.

For dinner we went toPirilo Pizza, at 207 Calle Tanca. The pizza was great (they also have pasta)and they had a good beer and wine selection.

The "situation"

We talked to many locals. Everyone was so friendly. Onething that we noticed is they don't normally talk about "after thehurricane", or "after Maria". They just say "thesituation", as though to describe the conditions as they are now. Anyways,from what we gather, the "situation" is close to this:

In San Juan, it seems most have running water now.Electricity was stated to be at 10 to 20 percent of the island. Must likely,mostly in the big cities. In the rural areas, there is little power or runningwater. Many that live there are waiting it out. Others are temporarily movingto the mainland for a while until things get better. Meanwhile, FEMA isdelivering water and other needs, on a house-to-house basis. I found bottledwater for sale in the Walgreens by the cruise port.

In OSJ, everythingthat was open was so because they have a generator. I would assume that theCondado are is the same, but we didn't go there. Cell service was spotty, butwe did get it.

Police could be foundat every major plaza, and sometimes in places in between. At night, they wouldlight up the plaza with a portable generator-light setup like you see atconstruction sites. We never felt unsafe.

Along the way I notedsome of the places that were open in OSJ:

Barrachina Restaurant,Casa Cortes ChocoBar, Senor Paleta, Pirilo Pizza, La Madre (Mexican),Caficultura (coffee & breakfast), Nono's bar & restaurant, El MesonSandwiches, Yeyos, Moreno Spot Bar & Grill, Club Spritz, Starbucks near thecruise port, Cafe Manolin. There were probably a few more that I missed?

Ben & Jerry's was closed!

Back to Casablanca Hotel

When we got back to the hotel, I asked the front desk if thedrinking water was potable. According to the utility company it is, but theyrecommended getting water from their water dispenser, because it was filtered.We all took showers and got ready for bed. Around maybe 9 or so, someone fromthe front desk came up. He told us that the AC was okay to use now. He showedme how to turn it on and we checked that it was running. We shut the doors tothe balcony and enjoyed our new-found comfort! BTW, they have a bar in thelobby that was open until midnight.

Checkout

We were checking out of the Casablanca. The woman at thefront desk offered to call a taxi for us, saying that it would take about 10minutes for him to get there, which it did. The airport was only about 10minutes away. The driver said that the airport has a total of 4 terminals.Before Maria, 2 of them were under refurbishment (closed). Maria damaged 1,leaving only 1. Just recently 1 opened, so they are back to the pre-Mariastatus. I think the improvement happened while we were on our cruise?

Upon arrival at the airport we had to send our bags thru ascanner for USDA inspection. It only took a few minutes.

SW didn't have their kiosks working, so we stood in thenormal line. It went quick. In their ticketing area, I was getting cell and 4G.Gustos coffee, Domino's pizza, David's cookies were open in this area. La Fondawas closed at the time.

TSA inspection took only a few minutes.

We went thru theDufry duty free shop on the way to our gate. I felt compelled to buy somePuerto Rican rum.

Our gate was A3. I think SW is sharing it now with JetBlue.Then gate area wasn't too full, looking similar to the very first pic I sent onthis thread. It's the same terminal. The seats were maybe 75% taken. Thedisadvantage to this terminal is the seating. In a bigger airport, if theseating is taken, you can just go to the next gate. Here, there are only a fewgates.

SW advised us to arrive about 3 hours prior. We sped througheverything, so now we sat. In this terminal, the following was open: El MarketPuerto Rico, Aeromeals, the convenience store, and Dufry duty free. Bothbathrooms were open. Cell worked, but spotty. The AC was on!

We had so much timethat I walked over to the gates C and D area. Popeye's, Church's, Gustoscoffee, Landshark bar & grill, Domino's, Starbucks, El Market, V bar, andthe convenience store were all open.

Overall, the airport was fine.

Some final thoughts and tips.

If you have a hotel booked, call them beforehand. Speak tothem directly. Ask about the conditions. Do they have running water (probablymost do)? How about AC?

Do good planning before you go. Most of us already do. It'swhy we follow these boards. I downloaded the Google map of OSJ on my phone. Thatway, I had a map even when the cell service goes down.

If flying SW, consider paying for the EarlyBird check-in. InSan Juan, you might not have internet service at the time of your check-in.

Okay, a little personal now. I hate to get preachy, but I amtaking some liberties due to the situation in PR. Do your best to be patientand kind to the people of Puerto Rico. The restaurant may be beautiful, theiruniforms nice, and the food great, but their home life could (most likely is) amess right now. They probably don't have electricity. They may have theirbrother's family living with them right now, because his house lost its roof.That is the case for our last taxi driver. If you are curious, ask. Spend sometime. It seemed to make them feel better to know that you care. If you believe,tell them that they are in your prayers. Tip well!

Don't have guiltabout intruding on their island right now. Without fail, they were happy to seeus "tourists" back, and happy to be back to work. Maybe it is comfortand hope.

I think that's aboutit.

Dan

Thank you for taking the time to post all this information.

Great review of what cruising from San Juan is like this month.

The Viking Sea will be there this weekend. Look forward to any reports from them too.

Kudos for posting this here in the Viking forum.

Thank you so much for taking so much of your time writing this great review. I feel much better about cruising from SJ in December.

This is a post from a poster who lives in PR. It was posted on the Port of Call: San Juan. I am impressed.

 

"This info is first hand. Viking Ocean Cruises has renewed its commitment to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The Viking Sea arrives at the Port of San Juan on October 26, to start its Fall/Winter 10-day Caribbean itineraries, with a brief intermission and excursion to the Amazon in between.

 

Viking executives were on the island yesterday on a site inspection. Businesses in and around Old San Juan are receiving notice with the schedules to prepare for Viking's passengers.

 

This is in addition to Royal Caribbean and NCL, who are also helping out by not abandoning us."

Thanks for sharing. We're on the 12/16 cruise to the Amazon.

Hello Viking cruisers. if anyone is still weary about your upcoming cruise out of San Juan, I invite you to read this moving account by a Royal Caribbean cruiser on his family's early October sailing.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2553861

 

There has been a lot of concerns and questions about thestate of San Juan Puerto Rico and cruises from that port, so I thought I wouldgive a recap of our cruise. I am going to focus mostly on PR, but if you havequestions about other parts of the cruise, I will try to answer. We arecurrently staying 2 nights in Old San Juan, after our cruise of 10/7/17 onAdventure.

 

 

At the FLL gate, the agent sang Preciosa, a song about PR.Some filmed, and all cheered and clapped. Our flight was going to push off fromFLL on time, at 12:30PM today. They paused and announced that they would haveto wait a little while because we were taking on what provisions we could forPR. Yeah SW! And everyone clapped. Flight was maybe 75% full. SW had a few moreannouncements and songs. They clearly have LUV for PR.

Left FLL. Do a fewcircles near SJU, and landed fine. The airport looked fine, except for a fewtorn roofs. The most obvious signs of Maria are the trees and brush. Some downand some stripped. Terminal is normal inside.

 

 

Outside, there we around 20 taxis and other ground trans.Everything looked pretty normal.

 

 

In the baggage claim area, there were a handful of RCIagents. In a few minutes we were led outside to load the bags in a box truck.Then, we were directed to our (airport style) bus. Great, informative driver(tipped well). Pence is here, so roads were closed some, but opened as we left.Along the way, we saw some devastation, but it wasn't as bad as we thought itwould look. 15 later we were at the cruise terminal. It looked normal.

 

 

Along the way, we talked to a few locals. Some have storiesof home problems. Most seem to want to downplay the situation to us. As dayturned to night, there are a few hotels with lights on, so it's not a blackout.

 

 

I have faith in the positive attitude of our fellowcitizens. They are a proud state (quasi) that will bounce back.

 

 

While on the topic of the terminal, I would like to mentionthat I asked fellow PAX about their experiences at SJU airport on 10/6 or 10/7.Most were similar to ours; "It seemed pretty normal for a smallerairport". One group told me that it was really busy when they exited theplane, and they had to weave through the crowd.

 

 

All used the RCItransfer. We did because we thought it would be a sure thing (no worry aboutfinding a taxi), and RCI was offering it free to our cruise. They were tryingto ease the chaos. All had reported a good experience with this RCI transfer.

 

 

As I mentioned above,there was still the option of getting a taxi, as there was a line of themthere.

 

 

We arrived at the ship on 10/6 (RCI let us on 1 day early).AOS was facing forward into the Pan American cruise terminal. Our balcony roomwas Starboard side, so we looked down on the terminal and land. The terminallooked normal, except some walkways were missing portions of their roofs. Nextto the terminal is a National Guard base. All day Friday and Saturday Blackhawkhelicopters, and even a few Osprey, flew missions in and out of the base. I'mnot sure how much this constitutes the heli flights around the island, but itwas encouraging to see.

 

 

As I mentioned above,I'm not going to focus on the cruise itself too much, but I'll do a quickrundown.

 

 

St. Marteen was firstsubstituted to St. Croix. Then, STX was substituted to Martinique.

 

 

I had looked at whatmedia I could find on St. Marteen before we left. RCI had no choice making thechange. The island is devastated. This was confirmed by several of theislanders we talked to during the cruise. They have genuine concern for theirfellow Caribbean friends. It was heart warming.

 

 

The Captain told usabout their relief mission to STM. He made it sound like the island didn't evenknow that AOS was coming until practically the last minute. That's how bad thecommunications were at the time!

 

 

Leaving San Juan

 

 

We left on time on10/7. San Juan is a beautiful port to sail from due to the majesty of SanFelipe del Morro Fortress, which would normally be lighted. We were on deck 12for sail away. On that night, there were very few lights on in the Old San Juanarea. As our view moved, we could see down one of the streets to see a line ofcar headlights.

 

 

Cruise itself

 

 

As usual, the ship isits own city. There was nothing on-board to indicate that we just left anisland that was devastated by a hurricane.

 

 

The ship and staffwere great, as we normally find on RCI. I guess that I have read some negativereviews lately that my expectations were low. A few things that stood out in mymind:

 

 

The food was great.Sure, the Windjammer is just a buffet. We found it more than adequate. I lovethe design/layout of seating and the way food is spread around. It is easy to"learn the system". I learned that if they don't have what you arelooking for, just ask. One night I got a baked potato and couldn't find sourcream. I asked a crew member behind the counter. He came around andaggressively located it for me. Same on another occasion. That time, he went tothe cooler and came back with a full bowl for me. The dining room is"fancier" food, but if you want a quick bite, especially at breakfastand lunch, the WJ is great. I have been to a good amount of great restaurantsaround the country, but would rather eat in the WJ anytime, especially withthat view!

 

 

Tip: If you head intoshore, watch the WJ times when you get back on-board. It does close in the lateafternoon. You might want to grab a snack before it does.

 

 

I was disappointed atthe main dining room seating layout. In the old days you sat with someone elseand could share the mealtime with your new friends. Now, they isolate you. Ourgroup of 3 sat alone at a table for 4. This has probably been covered on theboards? Probably some people are happy with this change, but I like meeting newfriends, and missed it.

 

 

Our first experiencewith wifi was okay. Hey, it's not super-speed, but is adequate. It worked inour stateroom and throughout most of the ship. We bought only one package, butshared it between our 3 phones and 1 laptop. You can normally knock off anotheruser by logging yourself in.

 

 

Contrary to a recentpost, we had live "Caribbean" music on the pool deck.

 

 

Still had towelanimals!

 

 

On day 5 (or so?)they offered a drink special. You can buy a punch card for $85 plus gratuity,which amounts to $100ish. Then, it is good for 10 drinks valued at $12 or less.This could save you a few bucks if you are normally getting $12 drinks. I don'tknow if they do this on every cruise???

 

 

Captain Tomas is verypersonable. At the Crown & Anchor reception, he had wonderful praise forthe crew (and Royal) for their work on the hurricane relief cruise.

 

 

If you like PinaColadas (there's that song...), try ordering a "Kraken Colada". It'seven better! I found good beer, like Dogfish Head in the Pub.

The ship was quickand easy to disembark on the mornings in port. Same with coming back.

 

 

Itinerary

 

 

This is a greatitinerary, with intensive island hoping at beautiful islands. Granted, I am notan expert, but IMHO, it is the best of Caribbean cruise itineraries. We metfriendly and helpful people at every stop. Each island made us to want to goback (okay, some slightly more than others). I want to keep it brief and focusmainly on the post-Maria aspect of this sailing.

 

 

Talking to theislanders was heart-warming. They expressed support for their neighboringisland friends. Each country seems genuinely concerned for the others. They aredoing what they can to send help to the adjacent islands. Just a strongexample:

 

 

In Antigua, we took the bus to Jolly Harbor to take the ReefRiders tour. When we arrived, the tour prior to us just got back. It consistedof two guys from Samaritan's Purse. This organization is doing a lot to helpthose hit by the recent hurricanes. These two guys recently arrived on Antigua,which is used as a base of operations for them to help Dominica. Once the ownerof Reef Riders found out why they were there, he offered to refund their money.He further offered free tours to any of their fellow Samaritan's Purse membersthat could use a break and would like some relaxation. So wonderful!

 

 

We continued on ourtour with the owner's son, Tiggr. Out at the reef, I asked Tiggr aboutDominica, because I had heard that Maria destroyed the island. He explained thecomplete damage that occurred to Dominica and that they had friends there. Hewas happy that our cruises were returning to the post-hurricane area, becausethat meant money for them. In turn, that meant they could send more help toDominica. He further explained that he lost friends in Dominica to thehurricane. It was very sobering! Then, like the professional that he is, hecontinued "but I don't want to tell you that story. You are on yourvacation, not here to be depressed". He explained that Antigua has takenon a good amount of refugees from Dominica. We could feel the love they have fortheir neighbors and friends.

 

 

Along the way, we witnessed many similar stories ofneighbors helping neighbors. This was a great cruise on its own, but was alsoan incredible learning experience for us.

 

 

I guess that I started this trip with a little guilt. In mymind, it was something like "should we be visiting a region that has beenthrough this much?" This guilt was relieved at every stop. We did a tour,varying in style, at every island. Tour operators and taxi drivers alike toldus how happy they were that Adventure was there and Royal took the leap tostart coming again. They have been out of work for a while and were happy tostart working again. This sentiment wasn't coerced from us, but rather, camefrom them.

There have been morethan a few discussions on these boards about Adventure's return to service andwhether RCI made the correct decision in doing so. I don't know the depth ofrelationship that Royal has with the islands, but I would bet that it is morethan just casual. Therefore, I would assume that the people in this region weretelling them "yes, come back now. It will help". In all, thisexperience taught me that Royal did the right thing in returning to thisitinerary.

 

 

Cruise finished – Disembark

 

 

Following the instructions that Royal gave us on the lastnight, we had our bags out in the hall by 11PM. In the morning, you have to beout of the room by 8:00AM. Our assigned waiting area was the Main Dining Room,with an approximate disembark call at 8:00. That time is different for everygroup. We ate breakfast, cleared the room, and got to the MDR by just before 8:00.Shortly (maybe 5-10 min) the call came for us to Disembark. We left the ship.In the cruise terminal, you enter the luggage hall. There were a handful (maybe10 or so) porters in the hall just as you entered. I had read on these boardsthat if you have one of them help, it expedites the customs process. In thiscase, I also figured they would be glad to have the work and a tip. So, Iengaged one of the porters. The bags were spread out in the room well and itonly took a few minutes to find ours. He grabbed them. There was a separatecustoms line for porters and nobody was in it. The "help yourself"line was about 20 feet long, still not bad. Customs was another few minutes,and almost before you knew it we were heading outside. The whole process was asquick and painless as it gets. Thanks Royal. There were a bunch of taxisoutside and the taxi agent lined us up with one. Off we go! About 10minutes toOld San Juan.

 

 

Casablanca Hotel

 

 

We checked in. I guess that I was a little surprised to seelights on inside. What, electricity? The porter helped with the bags. Fourfloors of stairs.

 

At the room, we received the big surprise as he informed usthey are running on generator power and the AC is "kinda off and on".But the great salesmanship kicked in, when he said "luckily you guys havea balcony room - just open the doors". The room was beautifully decorated.Everything worked, including wifi, water, toilet (don't laugh), shower, andsatellite TV. We went out to explore Old San Juan for the day. When we got back,the AC was on in the lobby, but not in our room. We slept with the balconydoors open. It was pretty muggy, but otherwise all was good.

 

 

Old San Juan (OSJ)

 

The woman at the Casablanca front desk gave us a map. Shewrote down and marked some places that she recommends for eating. I asked whatattractions were open. She said "none". Well, it looks like it willjust be a walking tour. We explored many of the streets, eventually as far asdel Morro. We had planned to visit to following places:

Castillo de SanFelipe del Morro (fort), Fort San Cristobal, Catedral de San Juan (Cathedralwith Ponce Leon), San Juan Gate at Calle San Francisco & Calle RecintoOeste, Plaza del Quinto Centenario, Plaza de Colón, Plazuela La Rogativa CalleRafael Cordero, La Fortaleza (oldest executive mansion in Western Hemisphere),Casa Blanca (historic home and home of Ponce de Leon), Paseo De La PrincesaCalle

 

 

Of that list, the only things that were open were: Catedralde San Juan, San Juan Gate, and ALL of the plazas, including a few plazas wedidn't have on our list. I was surprised, and saddened, to find del Morroclosed. I guess that I expected it to be least affected by a hurricane, becauseit is massive!

 

 

Most of the city looked fine. There were a few trees andelectricity poles down here and there. Even though the attractions were closed,we had a great time just looking around. This is one of the most beautiful, andinteresting, cities that I've ever been too. Our DD loves photography, and wasconstantly finding something interesting to snap a pic at. On Saturday, thereweren't a lot of people out, but it wasn't empty either. A decent amount ofcars were on the streets.

 

 

On our way West, we went by Casa Cortes ChocoBar. They had afew workers outside, trying to drum up business. We headed in. If you haven'tbeen here before, we would highly recommend it. It is smartly decorated inside.It looks like something you would find in any "upscale" restaurantmarket. Think gaslamp San Diego, or in our case, downtown Gilbert or Phoenix.All three of us ordered frozen chocolate mochas, which were delish!

 

 

On our way to the San Juan Gate, we went by BarrachinaRestaurant. The manager, Luis, was outside and pitching. He was a friendly guyand we had planned to go there anyways, so we told him we would stop by later,which we did. It was nice inside, because the AC was on. We had a few of theirfamous "invented here" Pina Coladas and some great Puerto Rican food,then headed back to the hotel for the night.

 

 

Sunday

 

 

We did more walking around on Sunday. First, we started withbreakfast at Casa Cortes ChocoBar. The "Adventure" for us this timewas a power loss. We had our frozen Mochas, and were waiting for breakfast,when it went out. The employees announced that it would be back on in about 5to 10 minutes, which it was. Our breakfast came out. All enjoyed! Their menu isa floating one, changing day to day based upon the supply of ingredients. Myrecommendation is the french toast, covered in vanilla topping, if they have itwhen you are lucky enough to go.

 

Sunday was a lot busier than Saturday. We found a few newplaces to visit.

 

 

There was a great artist co-op store just across the streetfrom Parroquia San Francisco de Asis (church) and under the hotel Da House, at301 Calle San Francisco. The girls bought some items: a Christmas ornament, avase, a keychain and a backpack. All hand made, beautiful, and reasonablypriced. We spoke with the friendly owners for a while.

 

 

You could almostfollow the flow of people to Senor Paleta on 153 Calle Tetuan. They makepopsicles. That place was hopping.

 

 

For dinner we went toPirilo Pizza, at 207 Calle Tanca. The pizza was great (they also have pasta)and they had a good beer and wine selection.

 

 

The "situation"

 

We talked to many locals. Everyone was so friendly. Onething that we noticed is they don't normally talk about "after thehurricane", or "after Maria". They just say "thesituation", as though to describe the conditions as they are now. Anyways,from what we gather, the "situation" is close to this:

 

 

In San Juan, it seems most have running water now.Electricity was stated to be at 10 to 20 percent of the island. Must likely,mostly in the big cities. In the rural areas, there is little power or runningwater. Many that live there are waiting it out. Others are temporarily movingto the mainland for a while until things get better. Meanwhile, FEMA isdelivering water and other needs, on a house-to-house basis. I found bottledwater for sale in the Walgreens by the cruise port.

 

 

In OSJ, everythingthat was open was so because they have a generator. I would assume that theCondado are is the same, but we didn't go there. Cell service was spotty, butwe did get it.

 

 

Police could be foundat every major plaza, and sometimes in places in between. At night, they wouldlight up the plaza with a portable generator-light setup like you see atconstruction sites. We never felt unsafe.

 

 

Along the way I notedsome of the places that were open in OSJ:

 

 

Barrachina Restaurant,Casa Cortes ChocoBar, Senor Paleta, Pirilo Pizza, La Madre (Mexican),Caficultura (coffee & breakfast), Nono's bar & restaurant, El MesonSandwiches, Yeyos, Moreno Spot Bar & Grill, Club Spritz, Starbucks near thecruise port, Cafe Manolin. There were probably a few more that I missed?

 

 

Ben & Jerry's was closed!

 

 

Back to Casablanca Hotel

 

 

When we got back to the hotel, I asked the front desk if thedrinking water was potable. According to the utility company it is, but theyrecommended getting water from their water dispenser, because it was filtered.We all took showers and got ready for bed. Around maybe 9 or so, someone fromthe front desk came up. He told us that the AC was okay to use now. He showedme how to turn it on and we checked that it was running. We shut the doors tothe balcony and enjoyed our new-found comfort! BTW, they have a bar in thelobby that was open until midnight.

 

 

Checkout

 

 

We were checking out of the Casablanca. The woman at thefront desk offered to call a taxi for us, saying that it would take about 10minutes for him to get there, which it did. The airport was only about 10minutes away. The driver said that the airport has a total of 4 terminals.Before Maria, 2 of them were under refurbishment (closed). Maria damaged 1,leaving only 1. Just recently 1 opened, so they are back to the pre-Mariastatus. I think the improvement happened while we were on our cruise?

 

 

Upon arrival at the airport we had to send our bags thru ascanner for USDA inspection. It only took a few minutes.

 

 

SW didn't have their kiosks working, so we stood in thenormal line. It went quick. In their ticketing area, I was getting cell and 4G.Gustos coffee, Domino's pizza, David's cookies were open in this area. La Fondawas closed at the time.

 

 

TSA inspection took only a few minutes.

 

 

We went thru theDufry duty free shop on the way to our gate. I felt compelled to buy somePuerto Rican rum.

 

 

Our gate was A3. I think SW is sharing it now with JetBlue.Then gate area wasn't too full, looking similar to the very first pic I sent onthis thread. It's the same terminal. The seats were maybe 75% taken. Thedisadvantage to this terminal is the seating. In a bigger airport, if theseating is taken, you can just go to the next gate. Here, there are only a fewgates.

 

 

SW advised us to arrive about 3 hours prior. We sped througheverything, so now we sat. In this terminal, the following was open: El MarketPuerto Rico, Aeromeals, the convenience store, and Dufry duty free. Bothbathrooms were open. Cell worked, but spotty. The AC was on!

 

 

We had so much timethat I walked over to the gates C and D area. Popeye's, Church's, Gustoscoffee, Landshark bar & grill, Domino's, Starbucks, El Market, V bar, andthe convenience store were all open.

 

 

Overall, the airport was fine.

 

 

Some final thoughts and tips.

 

 

If you have a hotel booked, call them beforehand. Speak tothem directly. Ask about the conditions. Do they have running water (probablymost do)? How about AC?

 

 

Do good planning before you go. Most of us already do. It'swhy we follow these boards. I downloaded the Google map of OSJ on my phone. Thatway, I had a map even when the cell service goes down.

 

 

If flying SW, consider paying for the EarlyBird check-in. InSan Juan, you might not have internet service at the time of your check-in.

 

 

Okay, a little personal now. I hate to get preachy, but I amtaking some liberties due to the situation in PR. Do your best to be patientand kind to the people of Puerto Rico. The restaurant may be beautiful, theiruniforms nice, and the food great, but their home life could (most likely is) amess right now. They probably don't have electricity. They may have theirbrother's family living with them right now, because his house lost its roof.That is the case for our last taxi driver. If you are curious, ask. Spend sometime. It seemed to make them feel better to know that you care. If you believe,tell them that they are in your prayers. Tip well!

 

 

Don't have guiltabout intruding on their island right now. Without fail, they were happy to seeus "tourists" back, and happy to be back to work. Maybe it is comfortand hope.

 

 

I think that's aboutit.

Dan

Thanks for this post.

Thanks for this post.

You're welcome.

Thanks for reposting in full aviator. Very informative and heartening.

Sent from my GT-I9195I using Forums mobile app

One of the first Viking Sea tour groups to go out this morning on their walking tour of Old San Juan. Lovely, eh?