San Juan & Easter Brilliance Cruise with pictures!

[Kevin's girl]

Great review!! Your photos are just beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I'm so sorry to hear that RCI is cutting Gaudaloupe. We had such a wonderful day there, and would love to go back and see more.

[khm1]

Great review! Thanks for sharing all of your fantastic photos!

[Luv06012012]

Your pictures are gorgeous! The color of the water in Antigua and St. Croix is unreal. You have pictures that could be postcards!

 

A side note...my first cruise was a Southern Caribbean cruise the second week in April and we had gorgeous weather all week long! It stopped in Aruba, Curacao, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

[lah66]

Luv, So we cruised on the wrong week! That actually is good to know..I know that April starts the rainy season but I didnt take it so literally! We have never been rained out on a cruise before and on this cruise we had to alter plans everyday because of the rain! We love the Southern Caribbean! Aruba and Curacao were some of our favorite stops along with St Kitts and now St Lucia!

 

Thanks everyone for reading...I still have our post cruise days in San Juan to finish yet..mostly the Grand Melia and ElYunque! Life is getting in the way with prom preparation and college graduations!

 

Lauri

[cruisefromct]

Really enjoying your review. I was on for the three weeks before you and got off the day you got on the Brilliance. We had rain the last week, glad to see the sun was shining for your cruise.

 

Lisa

[lah66]

Graduation and Prom went off without a hitch yesterday...finally time for finishing this review!

 

We decided to self-disembark since our last disembarkation in San Juan last spring was a drag! Last year, we chose a later disembark time and though we waited until the lines died down inside the ship, the lines outside the ship waiting to go through customs took forever!

 

We were off this ship by 700 am. We called Charlies to pick us up and were told that they would not be able to send someone until 8 am but we could take a taxi if we wanted. So, we jumped in a taxi. I think it was almost $20 with tip to drive to Charlies. We got there and the office was not open. So, even though he said we could taxi to the office to get there sooner, he neglected to tell me that when we arrived, nobody would be there to help us until 8 am either! And I did not think to ask...seeing that he offered this solution to me! Argh! Note to self...so we waited with our luggage for a half hour when an employee unlocked the door at about 745...she was very nice and let us wait inside in the A/C while she got her computer going etc. We were out the door at 815 with our cute little red car!

 

We drove to the Gran Melia. Though we had just upgraded all our maps on our GPS, it still was not updated as to the new stretch of road going into Rio Grande...but we were familiar enough to know where we were going. We got to the Gran Melia by 9 am and really didn't think a room would be ready! But it was! As was our experience last year, the office staff was not pleasant.

 

 

 

We booked through Priceline for $95 a night. We knew all the rooms had a pull out sofa so we would all fit in the room (Priceline only guarantees rooms for 2 people). We told them we had 3 people so they gave us the choice of 2 double beds, which we chose, and did not charge us any extra. We were in our room by 930 am. The room was very nice, very similiar to the one we stayed in last year. It is very roomy and the finishings are very high quality but showing a bit of wear. Very comfortable beds! As a side note, we would probably not stay here again if we could find other affordable places in this area. Staying here a second time we were not quite as blown away with our beautiful surroundings and so the little things like the rude office staff helped us come to this conclusion. Its not a bad place, but we like to have new experiences too!

 

 

 

 

We unpacked a bit and then took a walk around the grounds!

[lah66]

We were much closer to the ocean this year. Just a short walk from our room were these beautiful views...

 

 

 

 

I will never get over how big and beautiful the pool area is. Again, we did see some wear and tear and even some garbage littering the area.

 

 

 

[lah66]

Continuing our walk...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lah66]

We drove to a grocery store for soda, snacks and picnic foods for our El Yunque hike the next day. After shopping, we drove to El Jefe Hamburger in the Luquillo Beach Kiosks to have lunch. We got there a few minutes early so we went to the free side of Luquillo Beach and watched this family play in the water with their three dogs! So adorable! Not shown in my pictures is the ton of trash littering this beach. It really was a shame.

 

 

 

Once El Jefe opened, we went for a burger, fries,onion peels and Medalla. They put them in a little bucket on ice so every sip is as cold as the first!! The onion peels were no where near as good as last year. This year they were much larger and greasier.

 

 

 

We have not visited the other kiosks.

 

 

[lah66]

After lunch we went back to the Gran Melia and enjoyed the ocean and the pool some more. For dinner we decided to stay in and order pizza and just relax! We got to bed early so we could get up early to beat the crowds to El Yunque!

 

First stop is LaCoca falls. It is right on the road leading into the park. I got all my directions and advice from PuertoRicoDayTrips.com. They have great maps and trail advice!

 

 

 

 

Next stop was the Yokahu Tower. Make sure to get here early or the parking lot fills up! There are maybe 100 steps to the top. The views are great!

 

 

 

[lah66]

Still at Yokahu Tower...

 

 

 

 

Last year we discovered Juan Diego Falls and knew we had to show DD. Not many people know about it so you are almost always alone when you go there. It is just off the road but it is a rough climb over rocks etc..can be slippery in places and is not a groomed trail at all. But so worth it! There is an upper and lower falls that you can see in these pictures. You can climb up to the seconds falls but DH did it last year and it was much wetter this year, so we stayed at the first falls.

 

 

 

[lah66]

On our way out, we ran into this big guy..DD was so excited! He was huge!

 

 

 

Next was Bano Grande (big toliet??)

 

 

We took a few steps down and went on the El Yunque trail which met up with the Caimatillo Trail...We wanted an easy hike where we could stop for a picnic along the way. We did the Big Tree Trail last year down to the falls and loved it, but DD is not much for hiking, so we took it easy! There were many picnic areas off the trail. It was fun!

 

 

 

[lah66]

We wanted to go to the nice side of Luquillo Beach (pay $4.28 for parking) and spend some time on the beach. It was a very busy Sunday afternoon and the beach was really crowded, so after walking the beach for a while, we decided we had enough sun and went back to the hotel. We had a wonderful dinner at Richies cafe. The drinks, mofongo and views were incredible!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning we were up bright and early and returned our car to Charlies. They drove us to the airport and we were on our way back to Michigan! We had a great trip that was very relaxing! When DH and I travel alone, we are much busier and more adventurous but we usually arrive home exhausted! We are not sure when we will be back to San Juan. We would love to do a back to back after DD starts college but there are so many other trips we want to take too!

 

I hope you have enjoyed the review and photos..I realized I should have included more details in the planning and costs...but not bad for a first attempt! Please let me know if you have any questions I can answer! And Thank you for all the help you have given me over the last few years of cruise planning!

Lauri

[rednancy1]

Great review and beautiful photos. :):):)

[wllinc]

thanks for the review and picture

[Sawarren]

Good review. I love pics so was glad you included lots!

[Luv06012012]

I'm so jealous!!!!!!! Those pics of El Yunque are gorgeous and OH MY GOSH THAT WAS A HUGE SNAIL!!!! I love it! He's the type of snail you only see in story books around here! That was amazing. Too cute.

 

We were originally going to book an itinerary that had Puerto Rico in it and do El Yunque but had to change plans. With all of your pics and things on this review I'm really, really, really wanting to go to Old San Juan and El Yunque!

 

Thank you and welcome back!

[bigdaddyeddy]

You will not find a nicer island than St.Lucia...Ive travelled most of the islands and Ive done St.Lucia both by cruise and also staying a week at the Sandals...its truely an amazing experience.

If you go without a doubt book with Janus and Real St.Lucia tours...the communication is A! and thats important to a person going on vacation...two top priorities whil on vacation is having the best possible time you can have and your mind being at ease and if you book with Real St.Lucia Tours thats what you will get withouth a doubt and at one of the best price points around.

 

http://realstluciatours.com/

 

give them a like on facebook too...You'll be happy you did so! :D

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Real-St-Lucia-Tours/111803342194218

[Snorkel Dawg]

Lauri,

 

Nice review and pics! Thanks for bringing the memories of our trip back. We were in many of the same ports as you were the week after you on another ship

 

We did Spencers Jalouise beach tour like you & bought fruit from the same guy out of his canoe! Small world.. lol

 

Check out my video of him :)

 

 

 

Did you get his name? I bought some of each fruit for $15. A great price and a wonderful healthy treat of fresh organic island fruit!

[lah66]

Thank you everyone for the great comments! I was very thrilled with the quality of the pictures as well...and the camera fit in my pocket...even better!

 

SnorkelDawg, Loved the video..brought back lots of great memories. We cannot remember his name either! When we refer to him it's, "Get your fresh fruits " guy! The fruit was AMAZING!! I did not realize those were apricots. I would have tried one! They sure dont look like our apricots! Yummy! I really want to return to St Lucia! I have to ask, what is the Cruising Charter Perfecta on your signature?

 

Have a great week everyone! Lauri

[crusinpeg]

Breath taking photos..thanks for sharing..what kind of camera did yoy use? I'm in the market for a new one but I'm a point and shoot girl

[lah66]

Breath taking photos..thanks for sharing..what kind of camera did yoy use? I'm in the market for a new one but I'm a point and shoot girl

 

I got tired of carrying my big Canon with me wherever we went...I had to carry this huge bag...So, we bought the Canon D20 based on advice from these boards (Mitsugirly specifically). It fits in my small Coach cross body bag or in a good size pocket. The only drawback I have found is when taking it from snorkeling to land, sometimes drops of water collect on the lens and you will see a water spot on your photos if you don't get it off! Oh yeah...it's a great underwater camera too for snorkeling! I love it. I think I spent about $225 on it from Amazon.

 

hope that helps, Lauri

[Snorkel Dawg]

 

SnorkelDawg, I really want to return to St Lucia! I have to ask, what is the Cruising Charter Perfecta on your signature?

 

 

 

Lori,

 

The Trifecta Cruisers are two other couples who (we met here) and ourselves. We have become great friends. We have sailed together three consecutive years and the cool logo was born

 

 

I found our new Fuji Fine Pics XP also needed wiping off after coming out of the water or we had droplets of water in the middle of photos. Live and learn :)

 

 

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