Victory Review 2/21....w/PICS

[newt98]

Time to start one of these again.

 

so, the cruise this year was the dw and myself. last year we took our kids, and this year we left them at home. this cruise would be our fifth cruise, fourth on carnival. we have enjoyed every cruise we have been on, and this would be no different. although, this iwas the first cruise that i actually had complaints about. i will get to those in due time. we were on the triumph two year ago, and met a group from the roll call on that trip. we all got along so well that we booked this cruise together. so there were about eight of us from that triumph cruise two years back.

 

we would fly in to san juan on a thursday night and spend a few nights at the hilton, which i had gotten on priceline. and the ship sailed on sunday.

 

i took alot of pics on this cruise, but not as many on the ship as i had last year. with no sea days it made it difficult to get shots in the public areas or bars and lounges without people in them. plus i did not have the time to just stroll around the ship and get the pics that i had really wanted to. so you won't be seeing any pics of seahorses at stairwells or any topless mermaid statues.

[newt98]

we got into san juan at about 11:30 at night and grabbed a cab to head to the hilton. it was a short ride, maybe ten minutes, and it cost around $22. the hilton was right on thewater, so that was cool. but the 3 days in san juan were spent overcast and gray. these storms from the north have been wreaking havoc this year, and it made for difficult snorkeling at times also.

 

the hilton has a beach, some snorkeling, two pools, one with a swim up bar, many restaurants, koi pond, garden.....

 

it was a nice place to stay and it was about two miles from old san juan. it costs $12 to get to town in a taxi.

 

this was our room at the hilton on the sixth floor.

 

looking back towards the hallway

 

looking out towards the ocean.

[newt98]

this was the hilton at night.

 

this was from our balcony in the daytime.

 

this was at nightfrom the balcony.

[newt98]

i think the younger folk call this chillaxin'

 

the dw on the boardwalk in front of the hilton. nice cloudy day in the carib!

 

the beach/hammock area.

 

the pool area. the upper pool has the swim up bar, you can kind of see it back there. the pools were usually full of kids. there were three high schools from new hampshire on a field trip. but we're facing cuts, must be nice to live in N.H.;)

 

snorkeling area, good luck!

[newt98]

DAY 1 IN SAN JUAN

 

the original plan was to hang out on the beach at the hotel the first day. after the long flight from the northwest, i didnt really want to head in to town today. but as you can see, the weather was not cooperating. it was still warm, around 83 for a high that day, or somewhere around there. but not really a beach day though. so we grabbed a cab and headed into town to get breakfast, and just walk around.

 

before i get too far, i've got to give san their props. the reason we booked this cruise was because two years ago it was one of the ports of call, and we loved it here and wanted to spend more time in san juan. places like jamaica get all the press for being and isalnd paradise, but san juan is a much more interesting and beautiful place, in my opinion, which is the right one.

 

so we get to town and walk by all the "fancy" restaurants and peeked at their menus, but none of them looked that appealing. then i noticed a small place that looked like my kind of breakfast joint. it's called Yurta. it was a great little place to eat and not expensive. while we were there, a local girl sat across from us and we began talking. she taught us about the san juan political system, the movement to make san juan a state, and other local culture. i side with her belief to not make san juan a state. after talking for awhile, we finished up and i quietly paid my bill and hers, and we were on our way. we probably learned more in that hour than we would have on any tour.

 

Yurta

[Smoofdaddy]

 

the beach/hammock area.

 

 

I love that hotel. We stayed there before our cruise on the Destiny, Thanksgiving 2007 and would stay there again in a heartbeat. When I got home I actually created a painting of this very spot.

 

[purrlinda]

Another Victory Review!

 

I am very happy and excited to go along on this little ride. My cruise is in just under 2 months.

[newt98]

I love that hotel. We stayed there before our cruise on the Destiny, Thanksgiving 2007 and would stay there again in a heartbeat. When I got home I actually created a painting of this very spot.

 

 

very cool.

 

Another Victory Review!

 

I am very happy and excited to go along on this little ride. My cruise is in just under 2 months.

 

my internet is being a pig tonight, and it's late. so i will get back to it tomorrow.

[newt98]

ok, i think i can get one more done before i head to bed. after we ate we started through town. we went through an old church which was pretty cool. then we just started going in and out of shops. the buildings with all of their colors and balconies are quite the site to see. the streets are so narrow, you can see where alot of cars have lost their side mirrors from getting hit by passing vehicles.

 

one thing we learned from the girl at breakfast was that san juan used to be completely surrounded by fort walls. and as you walk along the outer edges of the town, you can walk along some of those old fort walls that are still existing today.

 

the city is also doind an expansive cobblestone project. they are placing cobblestone all over the city in walking areas to give that historic colonial feel to the town.

 

one of the wider streets.

 

one of the original fort walls that encompassed the city.

 

the charm of old san juan.

 

working on the cobblestone sidewalk.

 

one of many outdoor cafes.

[jessemon]

San Jaun pix are great. I have been there more than a few times on cruises. I look at other peoples pix and say..."I've been there, and there and there." It is a great city with wonderful people. One of my favorite stops in SJ was the government building. It has a rotunda in the entry that is beautifully painted and probably as old as the US. I even had the governor shake my hand there on his way out....He asked me if I were there on vacation or on a cruise. I told him on a cruise. He said to come back down on vacation for a week the next time so I could spend a little more money there and laughed, patted me on the back and wished me a great cruise....

[cantwait06]

wahoo, another victory review, and full of pictures! Thank you, can't wait for more:) :) :)

[PictureChris]

Hey, I think I was on this cruise! Looking forward to reviews of Dominica, Barbados and St. Lucia (as I was stuck in my cabin). Let me know when you want to talk cameras.

[newt98]

Hey, I think I was on this cruise! Looking forward to reviews of Dominica, Barbados and St. Lucia (as I was stuck in my cabin). Let me know when you want to talk cameras.

 

hey chris,

 

that was a bummer you were stuck in there.:(

[Payd]

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review...and of course more pictures!!

[newt98]

throughout the day we just kept taking pictures and doing some shopping in all the stores, we werent really looking for anything specific, just tourist crap ya know. we stopped for lunch at this outdoor cafe, which had really good food. it was then that i had my first beer! but they didnt really have a good choice so i had a corona, or two.

 

after lunch we headed towards the governors mansion, and guess what, more pictures.:rolleyes:

 

crowded streets

 

random balconies

 

on the way to the governors mansion

 

governors mansion

 

near the waterfront

[newt98]

i don't know if i'm going to slow with this or not, i get carried away with details at times, so i'm sorry if it's not moving fast enough.

 

the place we had lunch at was right behing the sheraton. the food was really good, but the service sucked. but the tip is already added to the bill, so i guess service doesnt really matter here. except that the cafe two doors down was packed, and this place was empty. we would end up eating at both places, but the service was definately better at the other place, but again, the food was as good as it looked.

 

then in the middle of town there is this park area with a crapload of pigeons. people would be feeding them all over, and they kind of overrun the place, it's kind of cool, but i think birds are kind of gross for the most part. so i didnt like it when people would throw the food near me cause i didnt want pigeon droppings all over me, or my shoes, oh yeah, or my on my wife.

 

your tour guide

 

your tour guides assistant

 

lunch, and first beer of the trip

 

where we ate lunch

 

put rice in your hand if you want this pic. yuk!

[newt98]

so we ontinued around twon taking pics. we covered alot of old san juan. we spent two full days just walking around.

 

one of the old gates at an entry point into the city.

 

i took about 30 pics of this gate.

 

jus be glad i didnt post them all.

 

yea, i know, another gate pic.

 

hey look, no gate!

[newt98]

here are a few pics of the church we walked in to. it was a pretty cool looking church from the inside. it was kind of funny though, when we first walked in, we heard singing. it sounded like they had music coming from a speaker syste, it was like singing you would expect to hear in an old convent or something like that. well as we walked around one of the corners in the church, we realized that the singing was just the cleaning lady singing whil she was cleaning. it was pretty funny, and very beautiful singing.

 

in the church

 

still in church

 

and, still in church, i would tell what these pictures represent, but i can't say i'm very churchgoing, i just thought it was cool.

[newt98]

so, the last pictures from day 1. there is a taxi area near the edge of town, and there was this skater doing some tricks off of the fountain area. so we stood at a safe distance and got some pics.

 

good takeoff

 

going well

 

nice landing, but without the board

 

couldn't stick it

 

fail!

[jrmende63]

Thanks for the review and the pics. I like details! I like the pics too! :)

[newt98]

thanks;)

[newt98]

ok, so we;ll try it again. but this time, i'm going to stand right in front of him! well, there was a large orange traffic barricade i was standing behind, so i was safe. ok, here he comes,

 

setting up for a great takeoff

 

we have liftoff

 

staying close to his board

 

he could land it

 

right on the money, x-games here i come!

 

and, splat! apparently i didnt stand in the most advantageous spot. luckily there was that barricade there, but he did hit it pretty hard, and me. but we both laughed about it. actually if i wasnt there, he would have smashed into a car in the street. but we did hit pretty hard, he was a big kid, with alot of momentum.

[cuted126]

Great so far!! I love all the details!:D

[newt98]

so that wrapped up day 1, almost. so we get a cab and head back to the hotel, and when we exit the cab, my wife apparently leaves her camera sitting on the floor. so she realizes this when we get to the room and is very upset about it. not so much for the camera, but more for the pics. but there was not much we could about it. we did go down to the lost and found and let them know about the situation and they took down our information, but we would never hear from them again. but, there is more to the story on day two.

 

i will get back to day two later, it will be a little quicker to get through, at this point i'm down to fort pictures and e few random ones, then on to the ship.:)

[newt98]

Great so far!! I love all the details!:D

 

 

thank you, it's like going on the cruise again, but without the ship, or food, or sun, or room steward,.....:(