RCVoyager

Thanks for that review. It is on my list. It really is the heart of OSJ.

For us, if it is a 1 night stay, the Sheraton Old San Juan is the choice. If 2 or more nights, the Caribe Hilton or one of the other resort hotels. We also want to try the El Convento Hotel but haven't yet. What a premier location in the heart of OSJ. Adjacent from that beautiful Church and right up the hill from the San Juan gate. We had breakfast there once, but have not stayed. Has anyone stayed there?

One other note with regard to NCL taking chances with things like 'bomb cyclones'. From my bio, you may see that I have sailed NCL just once. There were some things my family and I didn't like about their operation, and we have not booked them since. One of our concerns was that while on inside passage day, the other cruise lines we saw cruised much closer to the shore line than we did. The passengers on those ships got really nice looks at the wildlife on shore. We were so far away, we couldn't really see anything. so that trip went from overly cautious to bomb cyclone being too risky. Seems weird.

I'm not going to defend NCL other than to say that I keep a fairly close eye on weather, and I had to look up the term 'bomb cyclone'. By definition, it is a rapidly developing storm. Maybe there wasn't enough notice or there was no notice at all. Just a thought. Even if the bomb cyclone wasn't their fault, this thing with Hurrincane Dorien was not handled well.

I would agree the Pride trip is questionable, but it can go East then South and stay 200 to 300 miles away from the storm. At this point, there are no watches or warnings that far North that I know of. Coming out of Charleston today, with the main interstate in contraflow away from your site, is really taking a chance.

I would also hope Carnival would offer a 100% refund for any passengers who can't get to Charleston, don't want to leave their car with possible on shore flooding, or who don't want to be subject to the rough seas they will encounter, but I don't see any mention of it on their website. When people come on here with complaints, I'm usually one of the first to say "the cruise line did the best they could" in a given situation. This one has me scratching my head.

I'm a little surprised Carnival is still planning to go forward with it's 5 night trip, on the Sunshine, from Charleston this afternoon. They have cancelled the Half Moon Cay stop but currently still plan to stop at Nassau on Thursday. I guess they will try to dart out a couple of hundred miles directly East and then come back in behind the storm. It will probably be a bumpy ride.

For the most part, once on board, the cruise line can adjust pretty quickly to a storm to stay away. It seems the big impacts involve the port of origination. If it hits there on turn around day, it would impact a lot of people which appears to be the case this weekend.

I see the Freedom of the Seas is out of service from January 12th to March 8th of 2020. We've been thinking of scheduling a cruise for a group of couples (March 8th), and I am interested in what is being done to her while she is laid up. It would be nice to have some cool new features, but also I have concerns the work won't be done or most importantly, the cruise be cancelled after a lot of planning has been done by your's truly. Looking for some thoughts. Thanks. As a side note, the group of 20 includes some seasoned cruisers all the way to one person who has never seen the ocean, so making a good impression is important to us. As another side note, a four night pre-cruise stay is in order in San Juan complete with sailing, zip lining in the rain forest, and a walking tour of Old San Juan. So San Juan will be the port. It's a matter of whether March 8 will work, wait til the 22nd (like the Aruba intinerary)... or possibly jump the fence to the Norwegian Epic in February or March.

It seems there is a Northern cruise (HI to Vancouver) and a Southern cruise (San Diego to HI). We purposely chose the Southern cruise because of the potential for better weather. I would not hesitate to do the Northern cruise, but would choose the Southern route given the choice.

We did a 12 night repositioning cruise from Ensenada, MX (just south of San Diego) to the islands. It was remarkable and a really good value. The 5 days across the ocean were wonderful sea days. Then there was 7 days in the islands. The cost was not much more than a typical 7 night cruise. We did it on the Carnival Spirit. I'm guessing there are many choices. April and October would be the months. I will say some things didn't go perfectly smooth. We think it was because most of the trips most of us go on are done by the cruise line every week. A repositioning cruise is out of the norm, and it showed itself a couple of times.

Always go a day ahead. It's not just the insurance/money. It's about your vacation.

For ease, you can water taxi right to the beach that is in the center of town. It's right in front of the ship. It's a little worn because it's so easy to get to. There are many other beaches on the island. Orient Beach is on the French side and is a world famous beach. You will see some topless beachers there. The last time we were at Orient Beach, there was a ton of sea weed. I don't know if that's still the case.

It was you who introduced the cost into the conversation in your original post. There was no hi-jacking of this topic. Just experienced posters with material information to add.

Actually everything I stated is factually correct. NCL did extend two ships in the 1990s. There were massive overruns on the Empress refurb, and the refurb did not involve an extension. And yes, extensions seem to have dried up. I only tried to add to the conversation by pointing out that NCL did it 20 years ago. Not sure why you say I 'readily admit I don't know if any of it is true'. I do know it's true. Peace.

NCL extended two ships in the 1990s. I don't think they were all that thrilled with the outcome. Don't know if it was the cost or the result, but ship extensions seem to have dried up as an option. Think of the cost overruns on the Empress and that didn't involve cutting the ship into two pieces to add a third.

For us, the Sheraton Old San Juan is perfect for 1 night. If doing two or more, I would look at one of the resorts.

Probably because of Allure's current propulsion issue. There are beaches along the Condado. They would be easy to get to. I might suggest spending some time in Old San Juan if you haven't before. Incredible history there.

Let's not forget to cross the river and have some Hofbraeuhaus.

I showed the 'turkey drop' episode to my son a few weeks ago. Les's description of the turkeys falling to the Earth is some funny tv for sure. Not much worth watching on tv today though.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I agree on the beauty of the sail away from Miami. I love sailing by South Beach. On a sad note, the jetty as you leave the harbor (I think the one on the North side) is the one hit by the Marlins pitcher, Jose Fernandez, and his friends a couple of years ago.

The Oasis is 5 times the size of the Titanic (in displacement).

The topic on the News and Rumor page about Holland charging for a second entree begs a question. Some swear by Royal. Some by Princess, Carnival, Celebrity, ect. Here's the question: If you could take all branding out of the ships, is there that much difference going from Royal to Carnival to Princess to NCL and on down the line of the mainstream lines? I think there is a notable difference in the ships, but really from line to line, I think the experience is about 90% the same. I'm specifically asking about the on board experience.. not itineraries. Thoughts?

Not sure you will find lobster tails or prime rib at the lido, but a good thought.