Puerto Ricans on Adventure

[windham depot]

It was such a pleasure to read a review that wasn't about bad mouthing a group of people for ruining someone's vacation. My Husband and I cruised on Adventure Nov. 25th and we loved it and would definitely do it again.

 

It is not the responsibility if any one traveling group on a cruise to ruin your trip or be responsible for your good time. That's up to you and you alone.

 

Rhonda

[mation101]

Thanks Aviator,

 

It was really fascinating seeing so many people with so much cheese. we bouoght a few small wheels just to feel like a part of it.

[mation101]

It is actually the lobby bar, but still aquarium themed, full of latin dancers the one night we walked through. Very festive

[mation101]

Wasnt really meant as a jab, just a comparison. I felt there were some not so classy american groups on the second cruise (just one or two, but seemed to see them everywhere). You have to see Honey Boo Boo to get the humor. I watched one episode and that was one episode too many.

[kb2swc]

I have done 3 cruises out of San Juan – Never had an issue.

 

On another note – there was talk a couple weeks back about boarding times for Adventure not being until the afternoon. I’ll be there on Feb 3rd. Just wondering if you had an update on what time they were allowing you to board.

 

Thanks

 

Jerry

[mation101]

I have done 3 cruises out of San Juan – Never had an issue.

 

On another note – there was talk a couple weeks back about boarding times for Adventure not being until the afternoon. I’ll be there on Feb 3rd. Just wondering if you had an update on what time they were allowing you to board.

 

Thanks

 

Jerry

 

On our first cruise we were on board by 11:40, on the second cruise after we went through customs we were held down there until they cleared the ship and did not board until closer to 12:30.

 

It seems that they have to clear the ship of all passengers before they can let the repeaters back on, then they let the people waiting in the boarding area on.

 

So it does vary from cruise to cruise. We didnt want to be stuck in long lines waiting outside, so we got to the port at 9:00AM, they started checking bags around 10:00am, then we waited about 20 more minutes until they opened the doors for check-in. Once we had our seapass cards we were directed to plastic patio style chairs to wait for boarding.

 

I would rather be first in line waiting for an hour or so than be in a long line waiting, and I would go ape-Sh*$ if I was waiting in the hotel room for that hour.

 

Although we could not see the lines from the ship, I would guess getting there later, like noon, is not any faster than waiting before they open.

[njmomof2]

I was born and raised in NYC and at one time it was believed that there were more Puerto Ricans in NYC than in Puerto Rico.

 

I have not had the pleasure of doing the Southern Caribbean out of PR but would love to do it. Frankly, because of the way I grew up, I'm not sure I'd even notice the make up of the ship being different. Riding the subway from the time I went to high school and through the years after college I just don't notice stuff like that anymore so I'd probably feel more like I was at home than I do now living in NJ.

 

Sounds like you had a great time.

[Dirkgun]

May I do some 'splaining about the Puerto Ricans' love for gouda cheese? At least, this is my humble opinion on the subject.

 

When Spain relinquished Puerto Rico to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War of 1898, we were a dirt-poor island. Maybe poorer than Haiti is today. After some years of dominance by the fruit companies, the U.S. decided to civilize us and bring us into the 20th century. We had a little Marshall plan thrust upon us to erradicate poverty in the island. One of the problems was malnourishment. We basically lived off subsistance farming, mainly roots and whatever fruits we could pick from our fertile soil and the ocassional chicken or pig. To push calories into us, families were issued rations of stuff that included salted cod, sausages, powdered cocoa, powedered milk, etc., to include blocks of a strange new yellow-orange cheese - Gouda. The U.S. Federal agency in charge of this was the Puerto Rico Economic Reconstruction Administration - the P.R.E.R.A. Known here as "La prera".

 

So, being poor and thrifty and not wanting anything go to waste, we had to try to make something useful of the tons of gouda cheese that were dumped on us. And so it happens that we learned to use those "needed calories" and make them a part of our diet. For example, when you have nothing else to eat but gouda cheese, powdered milk and cocoa, well hell, why don't just warm the milk and cocoa and dump some of the cheap cheese into it. Especially on "cold" nights (lower 70s).

 

And to this day, Gouda cheese is preferred over other cheeses since we didn't know any better then, and even now knowing about more expensive cheeses, Gouda or as we know it "queso de papa", saved our seniors from starvation and we use it in many ways, to include as gifts from our travels to our cheese producing neighbor Dutch islands.

 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

 

 

That is a very interesting side to this story. Thanks for taking the time to enlighten.

[Dirkgun]

Not trying to hijack, just have a story.... The 2nd time we cruised out of San Juan was a cruise on Celebrity (Galaxy) for 11 nights and we happened to do it in the middle of January. So we went one day (Friday) into Old San Juan to walk around and shop etc. We had walked around the wall and up to El Morro's great lawn. When we turned the corner we saw this mass of people and vendors, kind of like a street fair (later found out it was the San Sebastian celebration) wow what a party. We checked it out for a few hours and watched the parade going up and down the streets with the costumes and it was awesome. When we went to go back to our hotel we had to wait a while to catch a bus from the station down by the pier. most of the ride was uneventful, but then we hit a traffic jam and it slowed way down. The problem was the cars were all heading into old town and were 4 lanes across heading in... even taking the lanes that were supposed to be going the other way.:eek::D so the bus had to wait for cars to merge back over then move a car length etc. Thing was the bus was full (standing room only) and there a lot of people that you could see had been at work all day. Our stop was the Marriot Miramar hotel in condado (we could see it just a block away) apparently a lot of the people on board wanted our stop also but they were getting restless because it was within spitting distance and the bus driver could not open the dorrs legally unless it was an official stop. They started chanting "Habre, Habre" (open, open) my wife and kids (ok and me) were wondering if there was going to be a riot and somehow they were going to come after the obvious tourists in the group..... but then they all start laughing and partying. It was then we realized they are just a boistrous happy people not to be afraid of but to enjoy. :):D

[youngatheart136]

I am so glad someone shares my feelings. My husband and I took a cruise out of San Juan last March. I had read all kinds of "concerns", but we had a truly enjoyable time and found just about everyone on board to be polite and enjoying their cruise as much as we were.

[steveru621]

We are just off a B2B on Adventure, and as much as I would like to write a review, Im pretty sure I will never get to it, so instead I am going to post a few topics that seemed to be hot the few weeks before our Jan 6th sailing.

 

This is about the first cruise which is known as the "Puerto Rican" cruise. It goes to Aruba and the rumor is there are more PR's on this cruise because of the casinos. This was also one of the semi monthly "Quincenara" cruises. They actually advertise and host a big ceremony for several girls on the Wed. There were probably over 50 girls celebrating on this cruise, thus huge families traveling together to join in the celebration.

 

During the week we never experienced any more rudeness than on any other cruise. Yes there were big groups and they were celebrating and having a good time, but never did they seem overly loud or out of place. I actually got caught up in their excitement.

 

The WJ was VERY crowded at breakfast and lunch, but we never could not find a seat. However we did try the MDR for both meals and found we enjoyed that experience so much we probably will not make the WJ our hot spot on any more cruises. The food is literally better quality and selection in the MDR.

 

When the kids got a little crazy by the pool, the pool police were there right away telling them to cool it, and for the most part they would comply.

 

The coffee was way stronger too, and I found out its because coffee with milk is the preferred drink, and needs to be stronger so it doesn't get diluted by the milk. I solved this problem by using 1/3 hot water before pouring the coffee.

 

The most amazing thing we saw was in Aruba, as we were getting off the ship we saw masses of people coming back to the ship with trolly's full of wheels of Gouda cheese. I had no idea that the cheese was so popular with the PR's. Quite a sight.

 

All in all we loved both cruises, but I have to say the first one with all the PR's was much more festive than the second.

 

We agree 100%.

 

I heard there was a Puerto Rican site complaining about all of the main-landers on the ships sailing out of San Juan.;) It's great you enjoyed your cruises.

 

We have done two out of San Juan, and enjoyed them both.

 

Quincenara is fun and entertaining to observe (is that bad?). Proud families and teens! I'm trying not to make fun of these young girls, but it was fun watching them try to walk in high heels in their beautiful gowns.

[Aviator of the Seas]

Aviator - as always your love of San Juan shines through in every single one of your posts. I do hope our paths cross one day soon :)

 

It would be an honor, thanks!

[Pricetag]

My husband and I will be on our 4th consecutive cruise out of SJ on AOS. We love SJ, it's culture and it's people. We go in a few days early to spend time enjoying everything they have to offer. LOVE the food, the atmosphere and the incredibly nice people. I could go on and on. We've never encountered any issues or problems with anyone from SJ on our cruises. Sometimes it's those who are not from SJ who can be the problem. Those who are not willing to open their eyes and hearts and attitudes to having fun and the special bonds of family.

 

Okay, sounding sappy. You get the point.

[ckrobyn]

As you can see from my signature, I have done multiple B2B's out of SJ and we have never had to disembark on turnover day. I was surprised to see that you did? I guess this must be new?:rolleyes:

[SoonerGirlOKC]

Well dang it... Now I need to add a "wheel of cheese" to my list of things to buy while on the cruise. LOL... How much will this add to my budget, and do they even let you pack cheese? You never know these days with all the flight restrictions.:D Seriously how much is this wheel of cheese gonna cost me?? LOL

[mation101]

Well dang it... Now I need to add a "wheel of cheese" to my list of things to buy while on the cruise. LOL... How much will this add to my budget, and do they even let you pack cheese? You never know these days with all the flight restrictions.:D Seriously how much is this wheel of cheese gonna cost me?? LOL

 

The Large wheels (10lbs approx) $40.00 US

The small wheels ( 1lbs approx) $ 9.00 US

 

They pack them in nice boxes like the alcohol is packed in for taking on board.

You could also buy a cheap suitcase to carry more on the plane with you for a nice snack with your free soda.There will be a charge for crackers on the plane though, so don't forget to get some prior to departure.:D

[mation101]

Robyn,

 

We made friends with a couple that were on 4 consecutive cruises, and they had to disembark and go thru customs on each turn-around day.

 

Ours was easy, got our seapass the day before at the info meeting. Went to imperial lounge around 11:30, it was delayed because they needed to clear the manifest of all previous passengers. We were then escorted down to customs, showed our passports, were asked if we were in transit, then went back to the escalator to line up for re-embarkation. It was painless, but we were never really on the ship alone because they started general boarding as soon as we were back on ship which was about an hour later than we embarked the week before.