La Bombonera closing ?

[Marylandteachergirl]

Any news on La Bombonera reopening at a new location?

[vabchtraveler]

Any news on La Bombonera reopening at a new location?

 

Are you saying that it's closed? I was there in late January.:confused:

[Marylandteachergirl]

Hi vabchtravler!

 

Love, love, love your area!

 

If I am reading the posts about La Bombonera, correctly, then yes, it has closed. I copied the link to the thread below. I am hoping it may re-open in another location. We will be there in Nov., and it was on my "must-do" list. Some people have said Cafe Mallorca is the next best choice. Not sure of that location.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1621261

[alfaeric]

Hi vabchtravler!

 

Love, love, love your area!

 

If I am reading the posts about La Bombonera, correctly, then yes, it has closed. I copied the link to the thread below. I am hoping it may re-open in another location. We will be there in Nov., and it was on my "must-do" list. Some people have said Cafe Mallorca is the next best choice. Not sure of that location.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1621261

:eek::eek::eek:

 

Cafe Mallorca is down the street to the east of La Bombonera. Good, but not the same.

[vabchtraveler]

Hi vabchtravler!

 

Love, love, love your area!

 

If I am reading the posts about La Bombonera, correctly, then yes, it has closed. I copied the link to the thread below. I am hoping it may re-open in another location. We will be there in Nov., and it was on my "must-do" list. Some people have said Cafe Mallorca is the next best choice. Not sure of that location.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1621261

 

Thanks for the kudos on va bch - have yoiu ever been here in September? Crowds are diminished, festivals are ON, humidity is down, and ocean is warm - perfect!

 

As for La Bombonera, if it's permanently closed I'm going to be so sad! Cafe Mallorca is just down the street and really yummy (Rachel Ray went there, not La Bombonera). I believe that they are owned by the same folks -- maybe they'll just move that ancient Cuban coffee machine down there! I got on Trip Advisor last night and sent messages to a couple of TA Senior Posters from San Juan trying to get an update. No word yet, but I'll post it here if I get a response. :rolleyes:

[Marylandteachergirl]

I have not been in September. I just changed jobs, and vacation time will be more flexible - so something to think about. I have been there in June and also July. I wish more cruises sailed from Norfolk - it's only 3 1/2 hours away for us.

 

I hope they do move the coffee machine! Thank you for your offer to update if you hear anything.

[vabchtraveler]

I have not been in September. I just changed jobs, and vacation time will be more flexible - so something to think about. I have been there in June and also July. I wish more cruises sailed from Norfolk - it's only 3 1/2 hours away for us.

 

I hope they do move the coffee machine! Thank you for your offer to update if you hear anything.

 

We are desperate for somewhere to go other than the Bahamas and other than the Carnival Glory to sail on. But, that's what we have, so - we sailed on the Glory in May of 2011 and will go again next May - 2013. It is a nice relaxing cruise and just so easy when you live adjacent to the port. My daughter took my friend and I to Norfolk to board and as we stopped at a red light near the ship she yelled -"Hurry up and get out, the light is going to change!" :eek: Well, maybe not that bad - but almost....People who don't get to go can be a little 'testy';)

 

I thought of another source of info in San Juan so I'm going to email her tonight. We stayed at a place called Caleta 64 the last time we sailed from San Juan. The young couple who own those 4 apartments are delightful - Betsy will know what is going on and get back to me, I'm sure. I'll let you know. BTW, look up Caleta 64 - it was wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to be in the middle of everything and feel like a native.

[rainforestgirl]

La Bombonera has closed for good.

[vabchtraveler]

La Bombonera has closed for good.

Well that makes me very sad..Do you know why? It can't have been for lack of business!!! :confused:

[rainforestgirl]

Well that makes me very sad..Do you know why? It can't have been for lack of business!!! :confused:

 

Bombonera did not own the building the kitchen part was in and the owner of that building wanted to do something new with it. They could not come to terms and the owners of Bombonera did not want to spend the $ to renovate the building the restaurant part was in for a new kitchen.

[4dachsies]

Glad I saw this post, it was a "definite" visit for our trip in December. Hope they open another place...such a shame when people are so great at something and so well loved.

[Snorkel Dawg]

Thanks for the kudos on va bch - have yoiu ever been here in September? Crowds are diminished, festivals are ON, humidity is down, and ocean is warm - perfect!

 

As for La Bombonera, if it's permanently closed I'm going to be so sad! Cafe Mallorca is just down the street and really yummy (Rachel Ray went there, not La Bombonera). I believe that they are owned by the same folks -- maybe they'll just move that ancient Cuban coffee machine down there! I got on Trip Advisor last night and sent messages to a couple of TA Senior Posters from San Juan trying to get an update. No word yet, but I'll post it here if I get a response. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

Can you give any suggestions on what to order at Cafe Mallorca?

Thanks

[lah66]

Any updates on LaBombonera? I keep hoping it will reopen in a different location. Is the old building being used for anything or just sitting empty? What a shame...we are going back in March and are just hoping.....Thanks for any updates!

[Snorkel Dawg]

Any recent good news? Anybody?

 

 

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[lah66]

SnorkelDawg...I think we are out of luck...I think you cruise right after us...We were so wanting to bring DD back to LaBonbonera this year! We will settle with Cafe Mallorca and hope for a better experience this time! You have to have a Mallorca when you are in OSJ! I wonder if they have that terrific freshly made OJ like LaBon had...Have a great cruise! Have you snorkeled anywhere close to OSJ? Lauri

[Snorkel Dawg]

SnorkelDawg...I think we are out of luck...I think you cruise right after us...We were so wanting to bring DD back to LaBonbonera this year! We will settle with Cafe Mallorca and hope for a better experience this time! You have to have a Mallorca when you are in OSJ! I wonder if they have that terrific freshly made OJ like LaBon had...Have a great cruise! Have you snorkeled anywhere close to OSJ? Lauri

 

 

 

Hi Lah Lauri,

 

We are going to have dinner at Cafe La Princessa our first night (have you been?) & planning on having breakfast at Cafe Mallorca the next morning. ship sails. What was your bad experience there? What's your favorite Mallorce there?

 

We have never snorkeled in Puerto Rico, only swimming. I understand the best beaches for snorkeling are on the other side of the island. Sadly we've never had the time to visit them.

[lah66]

We have not tried Cafe LaPrincesa...but thought we may this trip...we want to walk LaPrincesa past the gate and go under El Morro (cant get to it from there, but a great walk and photo op's) so that would be a great day to try it out. Are they open for lunch? We are also planning to eat at either El Picoteo (in El Convento) or Rosa de Triana (across from El Convento), Punta de Vista, and Barrachinas. We have three days pre cruise to wander...

We went to LaMallorca the morning after visiting LaBonbonera so the experience was still fresh in our mind. Our waiter was pretty awful, not in the least bit engaging and though we asked for coffee twice, never got any. Our Mallorcas were burned on the bottom and we should have sent them back, but we just wanted to get out of there and get on with our day. Both places we ordered the egg, ham and cheese mallorca. LaBonbonera had an awesome OJ machine...did not see one at LaMallorca but will have to ask. The best OJ ever!!

 

We have not been in any water in SJ other than the base of LaMina falls in El Yunque and the gorgeous Gran Melia swimming pool! We are doing a few days post cruise by El Yunque so hope to swim at Luquillo Beach but I dont think we will bring our equipment. We really want to plan our next trip to include Culebra with lots of great snorkeling there..Flamenco Beach is wonderful, I hear...

 

Have a great cruise on the Summit! We really went back and forth before finally deciding on the Brilliance itin. Hope to sail Celebrity in the future though...Lauri

[Snorkel Dawg]

That's our plan exactly! We'll walk the La Princessa (something we have never done) and end up having dinner at La Princessa. I'm a cruise planning nut and the pics of the place at night look pretty romantic with the lights and foliage. It will be a surprise for my DW. I'm the cruise and excursion planner, she just likes going with the flow lol.

 

Too bad you didn't have good service at Mallorca. Funny I was going to ask about their coffee. Everyone raved about La Bombneras coffee. We really enjoy good quality coffee. Will order some and the OJ you enjoyed. I'm planning at stopping by the grocery by our hotel to pick up some Puerto Rican coffee. Have to get some for ourselves and it always makes a great gift souvenir.

 

We have stayed in the high rise hotels right by the airport a couple times and went to the beach there. I wasn't awed by the water like I am in the rest of the Caribbean islands. One time the waves and undertow were incredibly strong. Our kids were with us that trip and we didn't feel it was very safe for them after a little scare.

 

Maybe on another cruise our of OSJ we will have to go a few days early like you are doing and go see The rainforest. I hope you have a great time there. I have read it's just beautiful!

 

I choose our cruise for the port intensive itinerary and the great price. For my DW and I We have an inside for $469 PP, with our flight still under 2k! I do prefer a balcony but not for $800 more...

 

We have a couple exciting private excursions planned! In St. Thomas we'll take a boat to the BVI's with a stop at St. John, Salt Spit, Yost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar Bar, and also the real treasure island off of St. Thomas.

 

In Antigua we have booked the Hawnalea 35' sailboat with 2 other couples for a day of sailing and snorkeling. We have never been on an actual sailboat, so we are very excited!

 

You should try Celebrity, it's fantastic our favorite line of the few we have sailed. My kids prefer RCL for the many kid friendly activities.

 

To me Celeb has such wonderful food, service and simply oozes class! I hope to meet you onboard a Celebrity ship on day. Have an incredible cruise and a safe journey :)

 

Dawg

 

 

 

 

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[lah66]

SnorkelDawg,

Yes, your future plans of PR need to include ElYunque and the Biobay! Both were unbelievable experiences! We were hoping to repeat the Biobay this year with DD but time constraints are not allowing us! I am sure you have found the website puertoricodaytripsdotcom...they have great info!

When DH and I go cruising on our own we usually get an inside..especially now we are paying DS college expenses...we never are in the room much and sleep so well! We do love the aft balconies though, which we usually book when our kids are along. We are in a hump balcony on the Brilliance with DD which we had a price adjustment down to $899 per person and were lucky to get airfare for $435 from MI.

Your St Thomas excursion sounds wonderful! Is that through Celebrity or a private booking? My Mom, Sister, Niece and I will be in St Thomas in Oct..that may be a good trip for us to do. Easter Sunday we are going with Fury Charters for a half day sail and snorkel with the turtles. DD is a turtle fanatic!!

Thanks for the info! Would love to meet up one day with the Snorkel Dawg!!

Lauri

[Snorkel Dawg]

We have much in common. Our oldest DD is in college, her freshman year and you guessed it we are paying too! :rolleyes: We also try to get a balcony with the kids and only last trip on Allure Of the seas we got our 1st inside. Never had an aft but it's on the bucket list after college is paid for. we had our first connecting insides on Allure ,one cabin had a prominade facing window (which we gave the girls). Allure was crazy expensive but someone has to pay for the zip line, rock wall, merry go round, ice skating rink, & flow rider etc! :eek: Great family ship though

 

Here's our chartered boat The Innovation in St. Thomas...

 

http://stthomasboatrental.com/our-boats/

 

We will be sharing it w/4 other couples.

Here's how it breaks down in $

 

"to get into BVI, we need to pay $30/person for a vistor's visa and bring a passport. We have confirmed that this is normal to get to Jost Van Dyke.

(This is figured into below price)

 

With 3 couples cost = 600 + 150 (fuel) + 180 (visas) = 930/6 = $155/person (our original cost plus $30/person for visa)

 

With 4 couples = 700 + 150 (fuel) + 240 (8 visas) = 1090/8 = $136/person

 

So we'll end up paying $272 for the two of us. This includes lunch, beer, wine, rum punch, water, & pop. We will have to taxi to Red Hook to get onboard...

 

BTW-We will go snorkeling on our own off Carlslile Beach in Barbados. The catamarans feed the turtles just off shore & we'll be swimming out by them on our own.

 

Here's a turtle pic from our last trip to Barbados,

Enjoy!

 

FH000024 by snokeldawgs, on Flickr

[lah66]

Snorkel Dawg,

Thank you for the info on The Innovation...maybe we can get some couples from our Roll Call to join to make it affordable...sounds like a great trip. You have to get creative in St Thomas since almost every cruise goes there!! And Thank you for the turtle picture...my DD loved it and it made her even more excited for our cruise! Take care Lauri

[Cruisin KLS]

We never made it to La Bombonera before it closed but did eat at Cafeteria Mallorca tis past January. We were not impressed. DH found better mallorcas at a small kiosk in the corner of the Plaza des Armes. Their coffee was to die for as well. They also had some plantains stuffed with guava that were great! Give them a sot. Very reasonable.

 

-Kristi

[lah66]

What great information Kristi! We spent some time at the park and know the kiosk you are referring to! We will have to try it out! We are renting Caleta 64 apartment which is just down the street from the Plaza De Armas so it would be a quick jaunt in the morning. I was hoping we were at Cafe Mallorca on a bad day since I have read other positive reviews...Thank you for the information!

Lauri

[Cruisin KLS]

What great information Kristi! We spent some time at the park and know the kiosk you are referring to! We will have to try it out! We are renting Caleta 64 apartment which is just down the street from the Plaza De Armas so it would be a quick jaunt in the morning. I was hoping we were at Cafe Mallorca on a bad day since I have read other positive reviews...Thank you for the information!

Lauri

 

Just so you know there are 2 kiosks there and the one we ate at was the smaller one. They did run out of mallorcas the second time we stopped so I recommend going early.

[lah66]

We will go early...send my DH out while DD and I are getting ready for the day...I remember just one kiosk, but if there are two, we will go to the smaller one...Thanks for the tips..

Actually, now that I think about it, I remember the smaller kiosk in the corner of the plaza and towards the middle of the plaza was a larger (more) permanent structure that I do think they were selling stuff out of. I think we bought drinks from the smaller one. DH just clarified that he saw a sign there advertising Mallorcas so we know right where to go!! Lauri