San Juan Back to Back...Victory and RC Adventure of the Seas or 15 night Hawaii

[azkcruizers]

Hi...my family is now booked on the Carnival Splendor 15 night Hawaii next January. For several reasons including the change in itinerary and worry about the weather I have been researching other ideas.

 

I really want something longer but there aren't many longer cruises. We have never sailed out of San Juan so I began looking there and realized that we could sail on the Carnival Victory and get off and on the RC Adventure of the Seas. It sounds appealing to me to hit so many different islands and change of food and scenery on the ship. My husband and father are very negative about packing everything up and getting off the ship and back on another to unpack. not sure what my DH is worried about, I do all the packing :D

 

Really torn on this one, anyone?

[kingoftheicedragons]

Things to keep in mind: How much does it cost to fly to San Juan as compared to flying to San Diego, or whatever port your Hawaii cruise would sail from?

 

You would probably want to arrive a day early...the cheapest hotel in the area I could find for San Juan was about $90 a night (we stayed at Hotel Milano, walking distance to Carnival pier, and clean).

 

Also, keep in mind that while San Juan is technically in the United States, it's not going to feel that way. It has more of a Caribbean/European feel to it. The primary language spoken is Spanish (though 99% of the people you'll encounter in San Juan do know English).

[tiggerman101]

Regardless of all the other details (price, etc) I think the main question is what kind of vacation are you looking for? The two trips out of San Juan are going to be very port intensive and a much more active cruise. The RT Hawaii cruise will have the sea days and relaxation before and after the port calls. It is true that the weather is most likely going to be cool for the Pacific crossing if that matters to you.

 

I love the islands that are accessible out of San Juan, but I also love a longer cruise. It just comes down to how active you want the trip to be.

[Tapi]

I like the idea of the B2B from San Juan. Each Caribbean island has its own flavor and culture. One may be British, another one French, another one Dutch. Such diversity may be very welcome on a long itinerary.

 

While the Hawaiian islands are beautiful, you'll be spending a LOT of days at sea, and you'll only be experiencing one culture.

 

If your family is concerned about the packing and swapping ships, have you considered other cruise lines outside of Carnival? Several, like Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America have 10-14 night Caribbean itineraries which may suit your needs better. :)

 

UPDATE:

 

I just looked up some longer Caribbean itineraries and I found several that look fantastic. The ones that caught my attention were aboard Celebrity Eclipse for 14 nights from Ft. Lauderdale which seem to be a balanced combination of ports and days at sea (plus, the Eclipse is an absolutely wonderful ship).

 

I was also surprised to find a 12 night itinerary on the Norwegian Pearl sailing from New York that goes pretty deep into the Southern Caribbean (all the way down to Barbados, St. Lucia and Antigua, in addition to 3 other islands including San Juan).