Kikkycat

Yes, beaches are free and open to everyone all the time. If you desire anything even as simple as a chair, however, you will have to pay for it.

Beaches are not gated. I think it would not be available until 9am because the clerks who would process your reservation and check you in would not be on duty until 9am.

Unless you self-disembark, you are unlikely to be off the ship, with your luggage and through customs before 9am anyway.

I live in Portugal where hospitality staff are paid a proper salary so tipping is not expected. I understand the culture is different in the States but what about San Juan? Are we expected to tip cab drivers and restaurant staff etc? If so, what us the going rate please?

Yes, tipping is customary as it is part of the U.S. 15% to 18% of the bill before tax (if tax is added) is standard. Less if service is less than expected. More if service impressed you (20% is commonly used for above-average service - plus it's easier to mentally calculate). Anything less than 10% would be considered a bit of an insult.

You will want to check what phase the moon will be in while you're there. They do not offer tours near full moons (too much light to be able to see the glowing creatures).

I kind of doubt it. Even if your ship docks on time, it's usually 30 minutes or so until they actually let people off the ship. Then you'd have to take a water taxi across the bay. I haven't done this, but judging by the distance involved it must be at least a 20 minute ride. A taxi from the pier around the entire harbor to Bacardi wouldn't have a ghost of a chance.

FWIW, I have done the Bacardi tour. I understand it's been upgraded since I went, but it would not be anything I'd recommend doing when there are so many other interesting things to do in Puerto Rico.

I've been on Adventure and Serenade out of San Juan multiple times and muster was between 5:30-5:45. However last month on Jewel, muster was at 8 and we sailed at 8:30. We had tablemates who didn't get onboard until almost 6. I'll be on Adventure again in just over three weeks and can answer better then, but I think RCCL has changed up the times for all aboard and muster within the past year.

Here are pictures I took in November at Shipwreck.

I looked down toward Carambola (but didn't take any pictures) and thought the sand down there was not black. I could be wrong though. They mix a pretty strong adult beverage at the beach bar.

Not true: I have been in San Juan on both Royal and Carnival this year and we were at the OSJ pier.

That's not what I said. If you EMBARK on Royal (hence needing a hotel and having suitcases) you will leave from the Pan American pier.

Not sure what autocorrect did to me. It's a night time tour. Not fight time

It's a fight-time tour of an enclosed bay/lagoon which has organisms that glow in the dark.

Pretty sure the closest is the Hilton Caribe

Marriott Stellaris in Condado.

It's very easy to get off the ship and just walk around the streets of OSJ for a few hours. It's very compact and almost impossible to get lost (back to your ship would be downhill from anywhere). Plenty of small shops to explore, cafes to have breakfast or lunch, etc. if your feet are tired there's a free trolley too.

Next person who "meets" him should take his picture and post it here. Would that be allowed?

Yes, walking distance, as OSJ is very compact. But not very practical. Streets and sidewalks are narrow. Streets are cobblestone. The sidewalks are not cobblestone, but to call them flat would be incorrect. As I am using the CC app so I can't see if you have a signature. If you are sailing on Carnival, you will use the pier in OSJ. However, if you are on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity, you will embark from the Pan American pier, which is not walkable from any hotel.

Sorry but they are really all we've got. You'll find bottles from St. John Brewers at various bars, but that's about it.

Darn. We haven't been able to find anything else that's up our alley so we probably will go the brewpub for lunch and support them anyway.

Seven day Caribbean 2016, you get one perk under "Big" and $150.00 OBC per Veranda cabin for the onboard booking perk. Reduced deposit of $100.00 p.p., (there is a perk of $25.00 p.p. deposit this weekend which we were not offered). Really no incentive to book under the current promotion. The only reason we booked was we wanted our family to have adjoining cabins.

We booked today using the $25 deposit offer. It was a total of $25, not per person. We also got $300 OBC on a 6-day cruise

If you don't see them listed just ask your waiter. They may be able to get you an order, at least that was my experience when the shrimp cocktail was not listed every night.

This was the case on Jewel three weeks ago. Shrimp cocktail was never on the menu; however, I saw several people eating it on various evenings.

We're first time visitors to St. Croix this January. We had planned to get to Christiansted to go to the brewpub, but a recent review indicates equipment problems and they have none of their own beer available. We are wondering if there are other places where we might find local craft beer offerings (and I'm not talking about Caribe).

Thank you, any hotel advice ? Want to stay one night and possibly hike the rain forest and have some good eats in Old San Juan. Looking to keep costs down but want clean and comfortable.

The rain forest is ~1.5 hours away from Old San Juan, so you'll want to find an organized tour or rent a car. Taking a taxi would be extremely expensive. DH and I prefer to stay near OSJ/airport and take a cab into OSJ to walk around and eat. There are many places near the airport which are reasonably priced. The Hampton Inn is the first that comes to mind - many others are resorts on the beach and therefore far more expensive. Check Hotwire's section that actually lists the hotels to get an idea of location and amenities. That section costs more than the "Hot Rates" hotels but you know what you're getting upfront.

Would Adventure of the Seas starting from Sam Juan definitely be leaving from the Pan American Pier ?

Yes, it will be at the Pan American pier

Try Penzeys Spices.

I'd be pretty nervous trying to do all of that. The rain forest is at least an hour and a half from the port, and that's not counting traffic or road constructions.

Pictures taken Nov 10, 2015

They do not feed the animals (monkeys or mongoose) at Shipwreck anymore. The are not that cute when they are all over the bar and on your table were you are eating and drinking.

That was not the case when we were there two weeks ago. There was a large amount of sugarcane left for the monkeys and a slab of food for the mongooses. There were four of them eating while we sat nearby.