"Live" from Adventure of the Seas - January 15 - 25

[BuyReallyLow]

After completing your tour of the fort, cross the long yard and continue straight into the Plaza de Ballaja (an old Barracks). If your looking for some air conditioning, there are a number of museums in this building on folk arts and a study of African influence. Today it was full of Crafters showing off their wares. After your visit, cross the Plaza de Beneficial and Casa Blanca will be on your right, at the end of San Sebastian Street. Casa Blanca was built in 1521 as a “strong house” for Ponce-de Leon, but he died before it was completed. Today it is a National Historic Monument.

Once you leave Casa Blanca, go down San Sabestain a little, then turn right and go down the steps to Calle Sol. Turn right on Calle Sol. This street has beautiful painted houses.

 

At the end of Calle Sol, turn to the left and you will see La Rogativa plaza. Take a look at the statue. On the night of April 30. 1797, when British troops were besieging San Juan, Puerto Rico, the townswomen formed a Rogativa, or Prayer Procession, to march through the streets with their Bishop praying for the deliverance of the City. Outside the walls, the invaders mistook the torchlit movement for the arrival of Spanish reinforcements; when morning came, they were gone from the island.

By this time, some people are reading for some shopping. I know I needed some new Sunglasses (although it was still overcast with low clouds). If so, continue up Las Monjas Street to Cristo Street. Here you’ve got the major shopping district for Old San Juan. If you turn right on Cristo Street, take your time doing some shopping until you get to Fortaleza Street. Turning right, you’ll see a pretty blue building – La Fortaleza. It was built in the early 1500’s as the first fort to protect the city from sea invaders. It was soon realized that it was inadequate to guard the entrance to the harbor. So in 1846, the building was remodeled from a fort to a mansion. Now it is the official Governor’s Residence, and a World Heritage Site.

[Debde]

Like everyone else has said-I am loving your reviews complete with pictures!!! Thank You!!! And of course looking forward to more..........:)

[BuyReallyLow]

Back on Cristo Street, turn right and go to the end of the street. You will see a beautiful old chapel called Capilla del Cristo. Cristo Chapel was built to commemorate what legend says was a miracle. In 1753 a young rider lost control of his horse in a race down this very street during the fiesta of St. John's Day and plunged over the precipice. Moved by the accident, the secretary of the city, Don Mateo Pratts, invoked Christ to save the youth, and he had the chapel built when his prayers were answered. Today it's a landmark in the old city and one of its best-known historical monuments. The chapel's gold and silver altar can be seen through its glass doors. Because the chapel is open only 2 days a week, most of us have to settle for a view of its exterior.

If you turn to your right, you’ll find Parque de las Palomas. Never have birds had it so good. The small, shaded park bordering Old San Juan's Capilla del Cristo has a large stone wall with pigeonholes cut into it. Hundreds of palomas (pigeons) roost here, and the park is full of cooing local children chasing the well-fed birds. There's a small kiosk where you can buy refreshments and bags of seed to feed the birds. Stop to enjoy the wide views over the bay. Here a poor grandson of a local gets attacked by the Pigeons!

 

Turning left at the chapel, you can wander down to La Crista plaza.. Now instead of going down the Paseo de la Princesa, turn left (the Yellow Castita is at your back), cross the street to the right of the horse carriage rides) and continue along the waterfront (water on your RIGHT) just a bit. On your left you will find Casa Don Q. Interested in Rum? Here’s a place with a “Museum” providing a brief history of rum making as well as some free samples!!

 

Once done, head back toward the La Crista plaza and turn right onto San Justo Street. Go up 3 blocks and you will be on Fortaleza Street. This is another big shopping streets. Satisfy your desires if you must! J Also as you turn right (east) on Fortaleza Street, you will see many great places to eat. Depending on what time you are walking, you may want to target this area for lunch or dinner. Check out the menus that are posted outside each restaurant. I was starving so I decided to eat at a well known institution – The Parrot Club!

 

At the end of Forteleza, bear to the left and walk through Plaza de Colon. Here you’ll find a statue of Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colon in Spanish).

 

Walk diagonally to the left through the plaza so that you are on the next street (San Francisco). From this end of the plaza, you’ll be able to see the San Cristobal Fort. You can get into the fort by walking up to the doors through the parking lot, or by walking up the hill on Norzagaray Street.

[BuyReallyLow]

Rising almost 150 feet above sea level, the Castillo de San Cristóbal is a massive structure that occupies most of the northeast edge of Old San Juan. Built mainly over a 20-year period (1765-1785), San Cristóbal was over 200 years newer than El Morro, Puerto Rico's military stalwart at the time.

Yet it was a much-needed addition to the city's defenses. While El Morro guarded the bay, San Cristóbal watched over the land east of Old San Juan. Building a fortification that protected the city from a land invasion proved to be a wise move. In 1797, the fort helped repel an invasion by Sir Ralph Abercrombie.

From an architectural perspective, San Cristóbal's design was ingenious, and followed a model known as "defense-in-depth." The castle is comprised of several layers, each walled and stoutly fortified to frustrate and slow an enemy not once, but several times. A walk through the fort today will show you its unusual but effective layout.

The fort has seen its share of battles. It fired the first Spanish shot of the Spanish-American War. During World War II, the U.S. added fortifications to its outer walls. Through it all, it has stood the tests of time and war.

 

After I finished at Fort San Cristobal, I was faced with a choice – walk back down into the city, or take a cab back to the Hotel. Guess what I did……..

If you would like to see the entire day in pictures in Old San Juan, visit my Old San Juan Album at http://s496.photobucket.com/albums/rr330/BuyReallyLow/Old%20San%20Juan%20PR/

Next Up - my review of our dinner this evening at Pamela's

[BuyReallyLow]

It's 9:47 PM - just time for a mini-review of our dinner this evening.

 

Location: Pamela's

 

 

Menu - Fresh fish/seafood is the specialty here. Especially fish (instead of shrimp/crab). Menu is limited to approximately 15 main dishes with approximately 8 specials each day. Appetizers and salads are separately priced. So like last night, each course is priced separately. DW had Chicken Spring Rolls as an Appetizer, with a main course of of Mahi-Mahi seved on a mash of root salted Root Vegetables. I had Tiger Shrimp Tempura as an Appetizer with Black Cod with Green-Lipped Mussells served on a mash of salted Root Vegetables. We both had desert as well - DW had Carmel Ice Cream, mine was Mango Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream.

 

Setting: Meals are served under thatch umbrellas on the beach. Lighting is low - the sound of the surf is close by.... It is about as good as you can get to be served Caribbean style food.

 

 

Overall: OUTSTANDING!! Last nights food was very good (excellent in fact) - tonight blew it away. The surroundings were fantastic, the food quality was excellent, the presentation was wonderful, the service (provided by Reuben) was without par. Pamela's has something going here - the place is very small but very trendy - Hollywood's elite have been utilizing this as their Puerto Rico getaway (Benicio De Toro, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey among others). It is attached to a small boutique guest house complex (14 guesthouses - all very high end), so Pamela's gives the impression of being a very private restaurant for a select audience. We WILL be coming back here again - it is the best we have had in San Juan, and it paralells anything we've had in the world.

Price: $169.00 for two. Gratuity of 15% was automatically included. Price includes 1/2 a bottle of Pinot Grigio ($55 a bottle).

 

Another excellent evening - our last before getting on board Adventure of the Seas. I put in some serious walking today - over 7 miles and 20,000 steps. But as the picture shows - it was a day to lock into your mind - not to forget - and always to remember.

 

 

Tomorrow - Embarkation on Adventure of the Seas!!

[Tropical Traveler]

BRL - Really enjoying your narrative and photos so far. Thank you for taking the time and effort to provide it for our benefit. We did the Barbados route on the AOS in April of last year, and will be doing the Aruba route in Oct. of this year. We have stayed twice at the Marriott Stellaris and just love the place. Most comfortable nights sleep we've had at a hotel. If I may make a small request, both times we have forgotten to check what brand or type of mattresses they use. Might you be able to check that before you depart and advise if you can? Thanks.

 

Happy Birthday, Bon Voyage, looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

 

Jack

[TennisLover]

Loving your review so far, and you haven't even gotten on the ship yet! Reliving our last trip to San Juan (Feb 08), especially our visit to Old San Juan, and looking forward to our next trip there for AOS in April. It will be our first stay at the Stellaris. Love those hotel beach pics!

 

Can't wait to read about your cruise! Please tell us about embarkation -- especially what is a good time to head to the port. We will have a JS so VIP boarding, but don't want to rush if we will end up being stuck in traffic. Afterall, we can always enjoy the Marriott for a couple extra hours!

[mex25]

Were on AOS this June

[ken_nyc]

BRL, Thanks for the great photos and descriptions. I am really enjoying them all! We are going on the Adventure of the Seas in August and we are doing a 1 day pre-stay at the Marriott Stellaris Hotel and Casino also. Cannot wait!

[BuyReallyLow]

BRL,

 

Could you give me an idea of the amount of time it took for your day trip from hotel to rain forest & back. We will be there June for the first time flying in on Friday before cruise on Sunday. We would like to the Vieques Bio Bay on Saturday evening and had planned to do the OSJ walking tour described on puertoricodaytrips.com that morning. However after reading your review and seeing pictures of the rain forest I think it may be a must do. We are mid to late 40s traveling with our 3 adult children and spouses so a total of 8 of us. Do you think it would be possible to do the rain forest & biobay in one day? Also if we fly in around 2:30pm on Friday, would that give us enough time to tour OSJ on Friday instead? Thanks for all your help. Your pictures are wonderful and are really getting me excited about our trip! We are trying to find things to do that don't cost a small fortune every single day.

 

P.S.

Happy Birthday!

 

 

I think it would be possible. We walked the longer of the trail. There are numerous shorter trails. The trail to La Mina falls is about 1/2 hour in both directions. You could combine that trail with several others to get a 2-3 hour adventure.

 

Good Luck!!

[BuyReallyLow]

BRL - Really enjoying your narrative and photos so far. Thank you for taking the time and effort to provide it for our benefit. We did the Barbados route on the AOS in April of last year, and will be doing the Aruba route in Oct. of this year. We have stayed twice at the Marriott Stellaris and just love the place. Most comfortable nights sleep we've had at a hotel. If I may make a small request, both times we have forgotten to check what brand or type of mattresses they use. Might you be able to check that before you depart and advise if you can? Thanks.

 

Happy Birthday, Bon Voyage, looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

 

Jack

 

Jack,

 

It is a Serta "Fireblocker". They also have a 1" foam top on that (when I saw foam, I'm not really sure - but I can say it is not feathers). I agree with you that the beds are very comfortable!!

 

Hope this helps,

 

BRL

[BuyReallyLow]

Good Morning Cruisecritic!! We wake this fine Sunday morning with a sight that has not been seen much the past few days - SUN!! Nice clouds far out on the Horizon - but overhead..... Nothing!! Plan for this morning is to pack up (a small (very small) negative of coming in three days early), grab some breakfast at around 10:15, and then catch a cab at around 11 AM to head to the Pier. I will report later on the embarkation procedure, as I have received your concerns about the traffic into the pier, etc.

 

I beg your indulgences as I board the ship - those of you that have cruised RCCL before know the Internet can be a bit spotty, and it is certainly slower than the wireless High Speed we have enjoyed the past few days. So I will make every effort to continue to post my thoughts, pictures and experiences while on board, as well as answering your questions and sending out hellos to various staff members.

 

Funny.... it's hard to believe we have 7 days left on our adventure. This first part has been so enjoyable, it does feel like a very extended adventure!!

 

Until later today,

 

BRL

[Kikkycat]

Have a wonderful day! I particularly thank you for doing this so immediately in front of our voyage as it's raised my anticipation levels that much higher. If they get much higher than this, I may not need an airplane to get there! :D

[Jan_In_Maine]

Have a wonderful adventure! Again, thanks so much for the review. Jan

[maggieq]

Thanks for doing this.....live post.

 

 

Our first cruise on the Adventure was the best weather we have ever had in all of our cruises. Not one drop of rain the whole time.

 

We also stayed at the Marriott back in May and I think they have done a terrific job with the rennovation there.....a neg, if any was too much shade over the pool area.

 

Have a great cruise!!!!

[BuyReallyLow]

Give to my Scallop shell of quiet,

My staffe of Faith to walke upon,

My Script of Joy, Immortall diet,

My bottle of salvation:

My Gowne of Glory, hopes true gage,

And thus Ile take my pilgrimage.

-Sir Walter Raleigh, The Pilgrimage (1604)

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

-Lao Tzu

All journeys should be marked by a ritual ceremony. The departing pilgrims were celebrated with a mass in which they took confession and communion, then the rites of the blessing by their walking staffs, satchels, and drinking gourds. Psalms were sung to “infuse courage into the hearts” of the pilgrims, then they put on their long cloaks and hats, recited the prayers of the Pilgrim’s Itinerarium, and set out with their fellow marchers down the long road. We decided to take a cab instead.

Embarkation day is one that we have all looked forward to for months, in some cases, years. Our ritual begins by arriving early to our location. Normally it is the day before, but as the faithful reader knows, in our case we arrived in San Juan 3 days ago. So today we are relaxed – we have “peeled the onion” of our work cares, home concerns, stress that comes from just “existing” in our modern environment. We have shucked off the weight on the shoulders, and today awake rested, ready for breakfast, and the departure to Adventure of the Seas.

We normally aim to arrive at our ships by about noon. In the past, that has allowed us to board comfortably. Only once did we run into any delay, and that was Freedom when I’m convinced they had not completely figured out what they are doing. We like many have read the threads and were aware of the construction in the area of the cruise terminal, and how this can slow people down. So we approach with eyes open.

We left the Marriott Stellaris at 11 AM. It took 13 minutes to leave the front door and to arrive at Pier and drop off our luggage. No construction on the way in. No problems at all. The two lane road does not cause any backups. The only bottle neck is the taxi cab lineup – those waiting for taking people back off the ship and those dropping people off. This is most likely not a problem later in the day when there would be no one to pick up leaving the ship.

The line was back approximately 50 yards. They were not allowing people to board the ship until noon. The line began to approximately move at around 11:50. Once the line was moving, it moved very quickly – we were able to move into the Platinum/Diamond/Diamond Plus line and were quickly on-board by noon. So from cab to pool deck was approximately one hour. Not bad at all!

Let’s get some of the basics out of the way.

The Captain is: Per Arne Kjonso

The Cruise Director is: Mike Szwajkowski (appears to be pretty new looking at the Cruise News)

The Loyalty Embassador is: Tricia Thompson (new as of 2006)

The Concierge is: Robert

We have been assigned main dining (first seating) – we are found at table 324 – Vivaldi Dining Room.

The drink of the day is Mai Tiki for $6.95

 

More to come.....

[dacsmom]

What a great review. I love the pictures. I can't wait for more.

[ckrobyn]

BRL - Excellent review so far!!! I look forward to more installments :D

The CD - Mike S, is not new. He was the CD last year too.

DeDe - The regular Concierge is on vacation with her family in Turkey and will return to the AOS for the Feb 15th sailing.

Have a wonderful cruise!!!!!! :) I'm right behind you in 34 more sleeps!!!!

[Kikkycat]

I call dibs, one week from today for that seat at the pool bar, 4th from the left.

[ckrobyn]

I call dibs, one week from today for that seat at the pool bar, 4th from the left.

 

 

LOL!!!! Lucky you!!!!!

 

Get in that seat next Sunday and post a pic, ok??? :D

Have a great cruise!!!!

[Debde]

OMG Those pics make we want to be back there!!!!

 

I leave in one week for a land based vacation this year and am not half as excited as I was last year to be going on AOS.

[pb&j23]

My wife and I are also currently on adventure with a couple of friends. We left Marriot Stellaris at 11:45 and arrived at the pier at about 12. No backups at all! No cabs had to wait as Buyreallylow had... Only took us 15 minutes from cab to stepping on Ship! Everything is great!

[ginger2000]

I call dibs, one week from today for that seat at the pool bar, 4th from the left.

 

I'll race you there!!!!! Loser buys!

[ckrobyn]

My wife and I are also currently on adventure with a couple of friends. We left Marriot Stellaris at 11:45 and arrived at the pier at about 12. No backups at all! No cabs had to wait as Buyreallylow had... Only took us 15 minutes from cab to stepping on Ship! Everything is great!

 

I see this is your first cruise! You picked an amazing ship :D

 

Have a great time!!!!! You will be hooked on cruising in no time!!!!:p

[1stCruiser2008]

I'm very much looking forward to your updates.

 

I'm sailing AOS in April with my parents and my boyfriend.

It will be my first cruise so I'm trying to learn as much as I can ahead of time.

 

Safe travels and enjoy the warm weather!

 

Ta ta from Canada

-Chiara

 

You will love the AOS. I went last year (first cruise, too) on 3-1-08. It is a fantastic way to travel!! Have fun!