AOS 14 Nov 04 Review - Very Long Review (PART ONE Journey to San Juan)

[bobbyd6363]

Hello Folks! I am going to be posting my review of our AIS voyage on 14 November 04. I am going to do it diary style so if you have any question feel free to let me hear them! I will answer what I can!

 

Pre-Cruise Arrival in San Juan - Friday 12-13 November 2004

 

Since I don’t take credit for being a very smart person when it comes to scheduling things, I want to make it clear here that I am an idiot!! LOL!! As a rule we always book our flights so that we are in our port of departure a day prior and a day after a cruise. So this trip I totally screwed up and booked my flight from San Diego to San Juan two days prior – oh well I needed the time off anyway!

 

 

The limo picked me up at 0500 and took me to the San Diego international airport. My American Airlines flight left at 0730 and arrived in San Juan around 2030PM. After what seemed like forever (20 minutes actually) my bags arrived at Baggage Claim “A”. I grabbed my bags and queued up at the taxi line and got a cab ($9) to the Embassy Suites and Casino. Taxis are really controlled here and there is a dispatcher that will set the price prior to you getting in the car as well as add a per bag fee (tip is not included). The Embassy Suites is literally a mile from the air terminal and after driving the short distance in what could only be described as a MONSOON, I was at my hotel. Here is another point I would like to make, PUT YOUR CLOTHES IN PLASTIC BAGS!! My suitcase was soaked and if I had not used Space Bags, everything inside would have been soaked. I guarantee they leave the luggage on those carts until ALL the luggage is off the plane so they just sat out there in the rain.

 

 

Now I do travel a lot for my job and have stayed in many hotels around the world. The Embassy Suites was ok but definitely not 5 stars. I used my Hilton Honors points (30,000 per night) to book this room for two nights. There is no special check in desk for Hilton Honors Members and after a short wait I was greeted and checked in. You need to use your room key to activate the elevator and select the floor from the keypad. I found my room to be big and clean but the carpets were filthy and proven by my now brown on the bottom white socks. The room was non-smoking and this is a really good respite after walking through the lobby and the casino where EVERYBODY smokes! Also since I got in too late, I missed the free happy hour and settled for dinner at the Outback Steak House in the hotel atrium. I had the 12 ounce Outback Special which turned out to be tough due to the fact the meat had probably been frozen and cooked that way.

 

 

The Embassy has four computers set up in the lobby near the check in desk which are open to anyone (15 minute time limit) to which I logged in to post a weather update to our Cruise Critic friends yet to arrive in San Juan. I checked with the front desk and had actually watched the weather channel in my room so I was aware of the weather conditions for the rest of the week and they did not look good!!! RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY!

 

 

Due to my severe jet lag I had crashed early and woke up to the sound of rain on the window of my room. With it now daylight outside I could see literally we were adjacent to the San Juan International Airport runway. I also saw that the rain from the MONSOON was now running down and off the highway above the pool and directly into the pool! I also noticed that the wind had blown every single pool chair into the pool. I would not get in that pool at gun point after seeing the highway runoff dumping into it.

 

 

I needed to stock up on sundries so I waited for a break in the rain and asked the Valet out front where I could find a store. He pointed me to the Pueblo which is basically a grocery store almost directly behind the hotel. There I purchased some simple things like a toothbrush, room deodorizer, and some soda. No sooner did I trundle back to the hotel before the bottom fell out and the monsoon continued!

 

 

Well through the rain my friends finally started arriving and the greetings were great because I had not seen many of them in almost a year. However, my boyfriend had yet to arrive. Ron had attempted to leave Providence, Rhode Island this morning at 0730 and had been bumped through two different flights to Philadelphia. It turns out that it had snowed in New England the night before and ALL flights out of Providence were a mess! He eventually left Providence with a new arrival point of Charlotte. Mind you I had again use frequent flier miles to fly him (first class) to San Juan but he arrived too late into Charlotte to make his connection to San Juan so USAIR moved him to American Airlines through Miami to San Juan (coach). At each point along the journey I spoke to him and made it very clear that he inquire about his luggage to which he was assured it was being taken care of. Well when Ron finally arrived in San Juan at midnight – HIS LUGGAGE DID NOT!

 

 

Here is something I want to make very clear – BUY TRIP INSURANCE! Or at least book everything with American Express! I have the premium baggage protection through American Express so I immediately called them and they jumped into action to track the missing luggage and authorized us to buy what was needed up to $500.

 

 

While we were awaiting Ron to arrive (sans luggage), my friend Dee had arranged a group meeting of about 25 of our new friends from Cruise Critic to meet for drinks and then dinner at the Outback Steak House. Dinner was good and the service was decent so I have no complaints.

[mammallama]

Thanks, very well written. :D (And thanks for the larger font.)

[DMorris]

Can't wait for the rest of your review.

[DMorris]

Bobby where is the rest of your review??? :)