"Puerto Rico's Favorites" Carnival Excursion

[pacarolinagirl]

***BUMP*** :)

 

Any new reviews on this excursion? :D

[excited1sttimer]

I've had a hard time getting rid of my sea legs this time...sorry for the delay in the review. I have planned to get a full review done, but alas, not yet!

 

We did this excursion on March 9. It was selling out fast on our ship...so if you're interested you should book quickly. On our first day I asked about availability since my group had not made a decision, and there were only 10 slots left...and I needed 7. They said they were trying to get more, but could not guarantee they would. I booked then, so I don't know if they got the extras or not. We had Litza as a guide. She was also very informative and funny. She had lots of knowledge about plants and animals, and was enthuiastic to share it all. Much of her information was shared via the intercom system while driving through New San Juan and up the mountian to the rain forest.

 

Like others have said, it may be too much to try and pack into one excursion. I didn't feel like we had enough time at either the rainforest or at the fort. It seems like you almost have to do one or the other. The other hitstoric sites mentioned were drive by type viewings, barely stopping to take a picture out the window. We were able to get out at the rainforest welcome center, the observation tower, and the waterfall and take some great picts, but really didn't have enough time to explore. We had about 45 mins to an hour at the fort, and it was not enough time to explore it all. Be careful there...if you follow the tunnel, the exit is not in the same place as the entrance, and we were not near the bus when we exited.

 

However, if you aren't into hiking the rainforest or into exploring all the nooks and crannies of the forts, this would be good. I think the tour gide makes or breaks it. Our guide also had great info on shopping and local food and was very flexible in putting you off in town or at the ship.

 

Hope this helps!

[Cruisin Together]

Thanks for the review. Did you enough time afterwards to get in some shopping and maybe some local foods/drinks?

[hermitstyle]

I agree with excited1sttimer on booking this excursion quick. I just went to book for my mom and I (granted, it is 9 days prior to sailing, a little late I guess :o) and it went from $59.99/pp to $99.99/pp :eek: and it's sold out for our sailing! I'm a bit bummed, because I was looking forward to this one, but I guess I'll have to make do on my own. Looks like it's true that the early bird gets the worm!

[excited1sttimer]

It's a five hour excursion. We docked at 7:00, met the tour on the dock at 7:30 and were off by 8. So we finished 1 to 1:30 ish, we were running a little late, and had the rest of the time in town for eating or shopping, then back to the ship by 3...so you had time for shopping or eating, but not both. The other option is to go back to the ship where there is limited shopping, and I saw a subway and maybe one other place to eat. My brother and his wife left the fort early, found the suggested local eatery, and had just enough time to walk there, eat, and walk back to the ship. They got back a little too close to all abord time for my comfort, at about 5 till or so. He said it was packed with locals and the staff were in no hurry to rush the experience. My husband, daughter and I hit a couple of souvenir type shops then walked back to the ship and had a late lunch on board. We got back about 2:45 or so. So, it really depends on how early you are in port, as to what the options are for lunch and how much time you'll have after the excursion. The drop off is about six blocks in and three blocks over from the pier. I must admit though, the blocks are small blocks, about half a typical big city block. We were docked at Pier 4, which I think is standard procedure for Carnival. The guide also said there was a free trolly, but traffic was backed up and we didn't want to chance it, so we walked it.

[Cruisin Together]

Thanks for answering my questions about time spent for shopping. I hope it is not to far to walk back to the ship. My husband has bad knees and I do not want to hear him complain about walking to far. I may get him a taxi or something to get him back.:mad:

[pacarolinagirl]

Thanks for another review. We booked this excursion a while back & I think we'll keep it booked. :) 45 - 60 min at the Fort will satisfy our 11 yr old. :)

 

If you get dropped of for "shopping" about how far is the walk back to the dock? I booked this excursion due to a low back injury (may be having surgery this summer) so a long walk may not be doable for me. Sigh!

[nina_930]

Thanks for another review. We booked this excursion a while back & I think we'll keep it booked. :) 45 - 60 min at the Fort will satisfy our 11 yr old. :)

 

If you get dropped of for "shopping" about how far is the walk back to the dock? I booked this excursion due to a low back injury (may be having surgery this summer) so a long walk may not be doable for me. Sigh!

 

 

Did you end up taking this tour? How long was the walk back if you did? Did you find you had enough time for shopping? Thanks!

[ideasamy]

Thanks to both the posters who did the reviews. My 10 year old and I are going to do this same tour in one month. Was there time or the option to see San morro after the tour, which does not seem to be included? Let me add this will be my first cruise ever and I am a bit of a worry wart about getting back on the ship in time. :)