“Suite!” Just Retired to be a pirate at sea with Sea Dog and Polly The Pirate Semi Live Explorer Nov. 7th

[Sea Dog]

It's worth repeating !

If you are in San Juan, there are some amazing restaurants to eat authentic Puerto Rican food. I highly suggest Raices in Old Town and Barrachina also in Old Town.

 

Let's revisit Raices. Start off with some Mojito's

 

 

 

Then get this.

 

 

Everything on the menu looks great but I went for this.

 

 

And it tasted as good as it looked. So much flavor. I had never eaten Puerto Rican food before. I'm hooked. 

 

 

And they like to celebrate birthdays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eat at Raices it will be a great authentic meal. Cheers!

Edited November 18, 2021 by Sea Dog

[Sea Dog]

Who doesn't like a good fort?

 

 

We spent Saturday before the cruise exploring San Juan and visiting it's iconic forts, Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal. I won't get into all the history you can google it but the scenery and the feeling of awe at these architectural wonders is breath taking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2021 by Sea Dog

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Great question that @John&LaLa could answer better than me. If I were to guess I would say no. The frozen drinks take more time to make. My guess is the drinks are your standard mix drinks. Cape Cod, Rum and Coke, etc..... John care to weigh in?

 

I'm understanding that several suite lounges have expanded their drink selections. However, in the DL's they'll pretty much make you anything, or go getvyou what you ask for

[zpdw484]

Great review!  San Juan is our favorite departure port. Sailings from Puerto Rico just have a different vibe than Florida sailings and the ports are so much better. We are booked on Explorer for Dec 26th. Been on her twice but many many years ago. Would you mind sharing your overall thoughts on the ship and the condition she is in after being out of service for so long? Also did you guys get paper copies of the cruise compass or is it all digital? We were on Mardi gras back in October and it was all on the app, no paper copies in cabin. Thanks so much!

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Thanks It was my pleasure. I'm always inspired by all the others here on this board that take the time to take us along on their voyage.

 

 

 

Duly noted for next time. I have a feeling I will be returning to San Juan a lot to cruise out of.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this thread Greg.

Graham.

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I'm understanding that several suite lounges have expanded their drink selections. However, in the DL's they'll pretty much make you anything, or go getvyou what you ask for

John.

In the DL do you have to use your vouchers now and why they will get you any drink up to $13?

Personally I prefer choosing my drinks and will be on Anthem twice next year.

Regards.

Graham.

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Who doesn't like a good fort?

 

 

We spent Saturday before the cruise exploring San Juan and visiting it's iconic forts, Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal. I won't get into all the history you can google it but the scenery and the feeling of awe at these architectural wonders is breath taking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super photos.

[Ocean Boy]

Those two forts are great to explore.

[h20skibum]

9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I got to get in shape for next September on Symphony of the Seas.

Greg, I have thoroughly enjoyed your review.  Sailing from San Juan on a southern itinerary was the first Royal Caribbean sailing we did, and this brought back lots of memories of that one.

 

Now that you are retired, you will find that September will seem like a long ways off.  After I retired, I was (and still am) always looking for the next cruise to book.

 

Thanks for posting that extensive drink list.  I may try a few more new ones on my next cruise.

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, zpdw484 said:

Great review!  San Juan is our favorite departure port. Sailings from Puerto Rico just have a different vibe than Florida sailings and the ports are so much better. We are booked on Explorer for Dec 26th. Been on her twice but many many years ago. Would you mind sharing your overall thoughts on the ship and the condition she is in after being out of service for so long? Also did you guys get paper copies of the cruise compass or is it all digital? We were on Mardi gras back in October and it was all on the app, no paper copies in cabin. Thanks so much!

 

 

The overall condition of the ship was excellent in my opinion. She may look a little dated because let's face it she is an older ship but I found it to be charming.

 

One day in port some crew were painting the hull. She does not look like a rust bucket at all.

 

I did all the cruise compass. I will scan and post. I used my app more than the compass but it was nice to have both.

 

 

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this thread Greg.

Graham.

 

 

Thanks Graham. It was my pleasure.

 

 

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

Greg, I have thoroughly enjoyed your review.  Sailing from San Juan on a southern itinerary was the first Royal Caribbean sailing we did, and this brought back lots of memories of that one.

 

Now that you are retired, you will find that September will seem like a long ways off.  After I retired, I was (and still am) always looking for the next cruise to book.

 

Thanks for posting that extensive drink list.  I may try a few more new ones on my next cruise.

 

Thank you Mark. You are exactly right about September being a long way. I mentioned to Linda just yesterday that I am ready to cruise again just 3 days after getting off the ship.

 

So many great drinks. I should have tried more.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

JUNIOR SUITE CABIN #9306

 

I posted a couple pictures of our cabin earlier, but here are all the ones I took to give you an idea of what it is like and how big it was. It was a nice cabin. I think for 3 people it was a little cramped.

 

The fold out sofa bed was not long enough for Jonathan's leg's. He also said it was not very comfortable.

 

I also commented earlier about the height of the bathtub and that it could pose problems for people getting in and out of tub.

 

The big plus was the walk in closet. That really helped storing stuff with plenty of room to hang our clothes for 3 people.

 

Would I stay in this cabin again? Absolutely but for 2 people not 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2021 by Sea Dog

[jmh2006]

@Sea Dog Thanks again for your wonderful review.  That drink list you posted was fantastic.  I agree with you about the Jr. Suite.  We have stayed in Jr Suites in the past and the walk in closet is the best!  I also have an only child, son, who is 23 who cruises with us often and we have shared OV Balconies with sofa bed in the past.  We debated about sharing a Jr Suite for our upcoming Harmony cruise departing 11/21/21 but decided to book two Central Park Balcony cabins with him as a solo cruiser.  I think we made a wise decision 😉

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

John.

In the DL do you have to use your vouchers now and why they will get you any drink up to $13?

Personally I prefer choosing my drinks and will be on Anthem twice next year.

Regards.

Graham.

 

Every ship seems different, but on Harmony now, we are required to use vouchers everywhere. Might be some leeway with individual servers, but don't expect it. 

 

FWIW, my 3 drinks on Coco Cay never got charged to my account

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Every ship seems different, but on Harmony now, we are required to use vouchers everywhere. Might be some leeway with individual servers, but don't expect it. 

 

FWIW, my 3 drinks on Coco Cay never got charged to my account

Thank you.

We prefer the new set up because we can have Sauvignon Blanc rather than the Pinot grigio which was on the old diamond list.

Hope you are both having a wonderful cruise on Harmony.

Graham.

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

 

 

FWIW, my 3 drinks on Coco Cay never got charged to my account

How many days ago was that stop? sometimes charges are delayed, but most times they are pretty good about catching up on those kind of charges.

[John&LaLa]

27 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

How many days ago was that stop? sometimes charges are delayed, but most times they are pretty good about catching up on those kind of charges.

 

Maybe on actual charges, but on mossing vouchers they can't move them from one day to another. They would need to put it on the day accrued, and that hasn't happened yet.

 

Coco Cay was Monday.

Edited November 18, 2021 by John&LaLa

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Maybe on actual charges, but on mossing vouchers they can't move them from one day to another. They would need to put it on the day accrued, and that hasn't happened yet.

 

Coco Cay was Monday.

Did they actual use your sea pass card or was this done on one of those written paper charges they sometimes do on their private islands?

[davekathy]

9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Who doesn't like a good fort?

 

For some reason when I first read the title to this post I didn't read it as "...fort". 

[John&LaLa]

25 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Did they actual use your sea pass card or was this done on one of those written paper charges they sometimes do on their private islands?

 

Used card

[helen haywood]

12 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

The only thing left to do is plan my next adventure and drink some more rum.

Make sure you do it in that order!

[jmklade]

12 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

FINAL THOUGHTS

 

My final thoughts.

This was one of the best cruises I have ever taken even though that’s not saying much as I’m still a gold member.

 

What stands out is Royal Caribbeans commitment to safety and the protocols to make cruising safe in this COVID world that we live in.

 

Everything was centered around safety and cleanliness. The crew was cleaning everywhere at anytime. I was so impressed. 

 

Not only was the crew amazing but I have to applaud the guests. No one complained about the protocols. Everyone wore their mask.  If you have a problem with that I suggest you don’t cruise. Everyone on this cruise was happy to comply. I never once heard anyone complain about wearing a mask. If the crew can do it 24/7 surely you can do while strolling the common areas on the ship. Even in the vaccinated venues where we could take our mask off, the crew kept theirs on.

 

That’s why this crew was so impressive. They genuinely were grateful to have us back. We were treated as royalty and for that I am thankful. I made some new friends that were crew. I hope to stay in touch and see them again. They made every moment special for me.

 

The only negative thing for me was the internet. I was planning on doing a whole diatribe on it but then thought about this, the only reason I cared about the internet was to do a live review. Most people don’t do that. And to be honest, I think it’s better to completely unplug on a cruise. I did it because I care about our Cruise Critic community. In the end I may go back to semi-live. I’m a producer and like things to be organized and laid out and presented well. I need the time to do that. My only complaint in the whole internet fiasco is that Royal should not bill something as a surf and stream on a ship that has old infrastructure and can’t handle it. Enough said.

 

Well this is it for now. I may post some more pictures only because I have over 1,000 that I took. I will here to answer your questions. My words and even my pictures can’t do the justice of beauty that is the Southern Caribbean. I am now a lucky retired pirate. The only thing left to do is plan my next adventure and drink some more rum.

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely fantastic review so thank you very much.  We are going on Oasis in 3 weeks for a Western Caribbean cruise out of Miami.  We normally take the cruise that you just took and I have to agree...that is my favorite itinerary.  I love old San Juan and the Southern Caribbean islands.  Once again, thanks for your great review and I would love to be on a sailing with you some day.

 

 

[Ozark_Kid]

While on Symphony last month they did not charge us for one of our specialty dinners.  We purchased the 3 meal plan.  We ended up doing 5.  We were only charge for 1 of the 2 extra. The dinner at Hooks never made it on the bill.   Not sure why but no complaints.

[jmklade]

11 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Thanks It was my pleasure. I'm always inspired by all the others here on this board that take the time to take us along on their voyage.

 

 

 

Duly noted for next time. I have a feeling I will be returning to San Juan a lot to cruise out of.

If you stay at El Convento pre-cruise, they let us drop our luggage there for free after our cruise with some friends while we strolled Old San Juan.

[Luckynana]

12 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

POST SCRIPT

After going through some of my footage, I realized I can offer some other musings. Some may be of interest others may not. I'll let you be the judge I'll just throw some of them out there.

 

Vaccinated Bands.

Early on Royal was doing rubber bands to show those who were fully vaccinated. Now they use a cloth band with clasp that can not be slid off or adjusted.

 

 

The problem is the tail (best term I could come up with) can be long. The first night at dinner I dipped that "tail" into my food several times.

Solution: Go to guests services and have them take a pair of scissors and cut the excess off. Worked great.

 

 

I really appreciate everyone kind comments about my son Jonathan and our close relationship. In an effort in full transparency here is a pair of pictures that my wife took to illustrate "like father, like son." This was after our submarine excursion, and a few really good Kraken Colada's.

 

 

 

Life is good !

I love it, Greg!❤️

Thank you for the enormous list of the alcohol drinks.  I took pictures to bring along.  Did you try all of them?

[BonTexasNY]

15 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Our middle grandson put away 17.  He asked the waiter what the most anyone had ever eaten, was told 14 or 15 and he wanted to beat that number. 
 

😲