Feeling the Breeze again - a review

[mxmom]

Thank so much for a wonderful review. I will be sailing on the breeze over Thanksgiving and am loving all your pictures!!

[summercruisin']

Thanks for your review.

 

Enjoying your review! Thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you both so much!

[summercruisin']

Thank so much for a wonderful review. I will be sailing on the breeze over Thanksgiving and am loving all your pictures!!

 

Thank you! Thanksgiving is just around the corner! How exciting!! I hope you have a great time!

[summercruisin']

Ok, friends, stay with me! I still have two stops and a handful of other ship topics to cover! Oh, and more Matt :D. Here we go....

[summercruisin']

Our next stop was in San Juan, for a short day (like 7-2). As I briefly mentioned before, DH and I had cruised out of San Juan before with our son (who was then not quite 4 - his first cruise!) and several members of my family. My mom had recently passed away after fighting cancer, and my dad took us all on a cruise. My little family flew in the day before, but DH accidentally left one of our bags in the taxi (the most important one.....the one with the cruise tickets - and back then they sent them via mail - and our passports, meds, plane tickets, and other documents :(), so we spent the entire evening trying to get those things back. By the time we did (thankfully!!), we were so exhausted we just turned in for the evening. The rest of the family joined us the next day, and we went on with the cruise without seeing much of San Juan. Soooooo, I was looking forward to making up for that a bit, even though we knew we would be rushed.

 

There's the Sheraton....where we stayed last time we were here!

 

 

I remembered San Juan having these beautiful old buildings and cobblestone streets.

 

 

And I knew there were forts nearby. Since we didn't have very long in the old city, and I was in a funk and not eager to plan, I decided we would just wander around the city and perhaps visit a fort. I knew DS would be okay with a walking tour (although he was not very excited about my lack of a plan).

 

We set off towards one of the forts...

 

 

It took about 10-15 minutes of easy walking with some pretty sights...

 

 

we found the old fort, surrounded by newer structures.

 

[summercruisin']

 

For $5 per adult (and no charge for children 15 and under), you can get entrance to both forts (Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal)....save your receipt as you travel from one to another. You can walk from one to another or catch the free trolley. We chose to walk.

 

 

Both forts are beautiful and worth seeing!

 

a bathtub with an ocean view :p

[summercruisin']

There are lots of hallways, ramps, stairways, views, dungeons, and other cool stuff to explore!

 

 

and beautiful views. This is looking from one fort to another...

 

 

There's our ship!

 

 

another pretty view

 

[summercruisin']

on top of the fort

 

 

ocean view

 

 

 

Carnival took advantage of this time to check out their safety boats, I guess...

 

 

a spiral staircase

 

[summercruisin']

soldiers' living quarters

 

 

This wall was supposedly rebuilt/refinished to look as closely as possible to its original appearance

 

 

The cistern/well for catching fresh water

 

 

This carving in the wall meant that there were explosives stored in this area

 

[summercruisin']

Cool tunnels to explore

 

 

and then this.....oh my goodness! So cool! So, supposedly this is the dungeon where they kept prisoners. And supposedly, a captured sea captain was kept here, and he created these sketches that have been preserved! What an amazing opportunity to experience history and feel a connection with someone from the past!

 

 

 

[summercruisin']

After spending about an hour and a half at the first fort, we headed to the second. We decided to walk and got to see lots of pretty buildings and views.

 

 

When we got to the second fort, we went to the cemetery by the sea, Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery.

 

 

Unfortunately, there are several tombs that have not been kept up as well as one might expect. DD was a little nervous that some spirits had escaped! :eek:

 

 

Nonetheless, there were lots of beautiful, intricate statues

 

 

[summercruisin']

Next, we headed into San Cristobel fort

 

 

 

 

The centerpiece of this fort is the lighthouse, and you can go inside

 

 

more pretty views

 

[summercruisin']

the lighthouse had beautiful old windows

 

 

the bell at the top of the fort

 

 

 

 

[summercruisin']

the triangular staircase was really cool!

 

 

After a fairly quick tour of San Cristobel, we knew we had to head back to the ship, all too soon. We thought about waiting for the free trolley, but after a few minutes of waiting, we decided to walk instead. I preferred that anyway, because I wanted to savor every last minute of our short day there. Off we went, back through the old city....

 

 

We got to see several parts of the old wall

 

 

And, how lucky are we? We got to catch a glimpse of the Attessa IV, a yacht owned by a billionaire! (Of course, not so lucky as those who get to see the inside or travel on her!). Impressive!

 

 

We got back onboard, and then DH and I decided to go try out the Italian restaurant (free for lunch, but dinner costs extra), located above the Lido buffet. We did not get to try it out last year on the Breeze, so we were really looking forward to trying it out on this trip. DD agreed to go to Camp Carnival for a little while after a quick lunch, so DH and I had a lunch date

 

 

 

We both decided to have the feature for the day, which was lasagna. But, it is not traditional lasagna. Carnival's lasagna in Cucina del Capitano includes yummy chunks of pumpkin and very little sauce. It was absolutely delicious!!

[Getaway Girl 73]

Our next stop was in San Juan' date=' for a short day (like 7-2). As I briefly mentioned before, DH and I had cruised out of San Juan before with our son (who was then not quite 4 - his first cruise!) and several members of my family. My mom had recently passed away after fighting cancer, and my dad took us all on a cruise. My little family flew in the day before, but DH accidentally left one of our bags in the taxi (the most important one.....the one with the cruise tickets - and back then they sent them via mail - and our passports, meds, plane tickets, and other documents :(), so we spent the entire evening trying to get those things back. By the time we did (thankfully!!), we were so exhausted we just turned in for the evening. The rest of the family joined us the next day, and we went on with the cruise without seeing much of San Juan. Soooooo, I was looking forward to making up for that a bit, even though we knew we would be rushed.

 

There's the Sheraton....where we stayed last time we were here!

 

 

I remembered San Juan having these beautiful old buildings and cobblestone streets.

 

 

And I knew there were forts nearby. Since we didn't have very long in the old city, and I was in a funk and not eager to plan, I decided we would just wander around the city and perhaps visit a fort. I knew DS would be okay with a walking tour (although he was not very excited about my lack of a plan).

 

We set off towards one of the forts...

 

 

It took about 10-15 minutes of easy walking with some pretty sights...

 

 

we found the old fort, surrounded by newer structures.

 

 

Awesome pics thanks for posting--gotta add San Juan to my destination list.

[wrcjr98]

Come Back! I'm having review withdrawls! You left us with promises of more Matt!!! lol

[summercruisin']

Come Back! I'm having review withdrawls! You left us with promises of more Matt!!! lol

 

LOL! :p Okay, okay! I just had a crazy weekend....I was the matron of honor in a wedding and then I drove my teenager and his bff to an amusement park 5 hours away to ride "the best coaster in the world!"....so worth it! We went to Carowinds and rode their new Fury 325......a gigacoaster with a 325 foot drop (more than 2x the height of the Statue of Liberty!) at 81 degrees, reaching speeds of some 95 mph.....woot! Good times! Okay.....so Matt will show up in my Grand Turk pics! :D

[summercruisin']

Awesome pics thanks for posting--gotta add San Juan to my destination list.

 

Thank you!!! You surely will not regret a San Juan visit! :)

[Getaway Girl 73]

LOL! :p Okay' date=' okay! I just had a crazy weekend....I was the matron of honor in a wedding and then I drove my teenager and his bff to an amusement park 5 hours away to ride "the best coaster in the world!"....so worth it! We went to Carowinds and rode their new Fury 325......a gigacoaster with a 325 foot drop (more than 2x the height of the Statue of Liberty!) at 81 degrees, reaching speeds of some 95 mph.....woot! Good times! Okay.....so Matt will show up in my Grand Turk pics! :D[/quote']

 

Omg I so wanna ride that!!! I love rollercoasters, especially gigacoasters! Between cruising I have to get to Six flags over TX to ride the Bat Man 4D spin coaster. When they figure out how to put a rollercoaster on a cruise ship my name will be first on the roll.

[wrcjr98]

LOL! :p Okay' date=' okay! I just had a crazy weekend....I was the matron of honor in a wedding and then I drove my teenager and his bff to an amusement park 5 hours away to ride "the best coaster in the world!"....so worth it! We went to Carowinds and rode their new Fury 325......a gigacoaster with a 325 foot drop (more than 2x the height of the Statue of Liberty!) at 81 degrees, reaching speeds of some 95 mph.....woot! Good times! Okay.....so Matt will show up in my Grand Turk pics! :D[/quote']

 

Oh wow! What a weekend! I was just messing with ya - I know your review will be worth the wait - I'm loving it so far!!

[sharonaubrey]

You're a wonderful reviewer. My grandson is autistic and he's with me nearly every day so I totally 'get' your stories. Such an affectionate child disputed his meltdowns. We will be on the Breeze January 2nd. Thanks for a lovely review

[awarren114]

great review! We sail on the Breeze for our first cruise next month!

[summercruisin']

Omg I so wanna ride that!!! I love rollercoasters, especially gigacoasters! Between cruising I have to get to Six flags over TX to ride the Bat Man 4D spin coaster. When they figure out how to put a rollercoaster on a cruise ship my name will be first on the roll.

 

Ha! Funny! That is exactly what DS says.....put a gigacoaster on a cruise ship! It's so odd that he is overly cautious about many things, but once he started riding coasters, he has no fear with them. :D I'm hoping it will help him face other things he is afraid of.

[summercruisin']

Oh wow! What a weekend! I was just messing with ya - I know your review will be worth the wait - I'm loving it so far!!

 

Thanks! About to get it done......:D

[summercruisin']

You're a wonderful reviewer. My grandson is autistic and he's with me nearly every day so I totally 'get' your stories. Such an affectionate child disputed his meltdowns. We will be on the Breeze January 2nd. Thanks for a lovely review

 

Awww, thanks! :) It is always good to find someone who understands, because so many people do not. I do love the moments of affection as well :). My DS has grown in so many ways, and it is getting a little easier. Then again, maybe I am the one who has grown and just know how to manage a little better. ;) You probably feel the same on that too!

 

Hope y'all have a great time on the Breeze (I know you will!)