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Explosion in San Juan, power outages


Suzanne

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55 minutes ago, ericreev said:

Flying in there next Friday, hope there won't be problems with the airport or cruise terminal. The people of Puerto Rico have sure been through quite a bit these past 5 months. 

 

Eric Reeves

I'll be flying in on 2/22 - if you are able to check in, I'd be interested to hear of any updates (or recommendations) you might have! 

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3 minutes ago, princevaliantus said:

I'm glad I cancelled my cruise leaving out of San Juan. There is too much work that needs to be done in Puerto Rico which is not getting done.

On the other side of that, I'm actually quite happy to be going in a couple weeks. A big part of San Juan's economy is tourism, and I'm happy to go there and spend money. Old San Juan and major tourist areas have largely bounced back, it's the areas outside the cities and in the suburbs and towns that still appear to be lacking the power and need the most assistance in rebuilding.

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43 minutes ago, KLAconQueso said:

On the other side of that, I'm actually quite happy to be going in a couple weeks. A big part of San Juan's economy is tourism, and I'm happy to go there and spend money. Old San Juan and major tourist areas have largely bounced back, it's the areas outside the cities and in the suburbs and towns that still appear to be lacking the power and need the most assistance in rebuilding.

Couldn't agree more.  Going to Puerto Rico isn't hindering their progress, it is helping it.  

Of course this incident is only adding to the issues the island faces, but it's expected that power will be restored from this plant by this evening.

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2 hours ago, princevaliantus said:

I'm glad I cancelled my cruise leaving out of San Juan. There is too much work that needs to be done in Puerto Rico which is not getting done.

I was actually looking at booking a cruise departing from San Juan and then I learned that Air Canada and WestJet cancelled flights until spring 2018 :(

Looking forward to visiting San Juan in December on my Adventure cruise as I've never been before and heard wonderful things about the old city. I really feel for those poor people though and everything that they have been through these past six months. 

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I am also sure that the major places like the port and airport will have some type of backup power source even if not everything is functional enough will be. I remember in 2004 we had hurricane Ivan that destroyed our island. It's crazy how fast you can get back on your feet when everyone pulls together. Some of the issues could be that the system is probably not 100% operational so some systems overwork or are on spare parts just to get them working while supplies arrive and that can put stress on the systems. The one problem with living in the Caribbean is getting supplies. It can take up to 3 weeks from the time I order something till it gets here due to logistics. 

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Sounds like it wasn't a long drawn out issue. Could happen anywhwere really. But after what they have been through its tough I am sure. I think there are still some major issues and problems in PR from the hurricane. And they had many issues before it even hit.

 

I was supposed to cruise in April out of San Juan and cancelled it. Glad I did. Flights are now a nightmare to get in and out(limited options) and pricewise(over $1000 per ticket). I will be there in the future at some point to cruise, but not in 2018 for sure.

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4 hours ago, KLAconQueso said:

On the other side of that, I'm actually quite happy to be going in a couple weeks. A big part of San Juan's economy is tourism, and I'm happy to go there and spend money. Old San Juan and major tourist areas have largely bounced back, it's the areas outside the cities and in the suburbs and towns that still appear to be lacking the power and need the most assistance in rebuilding.

+1 on this, it's a double edged sword, but I prefer to think my tourism dollars will eventually help out in the long run. Positive mental attitude...

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Avoiding San Juan (or St Thomas and St Maarten) only makes it worst. Even those still without power they still have to pay rent, buy gas and groceries, feed children.  FEMA doesn't pay all your bills. 

For these regions that rely on tourism as their number one industry they want tourists back.  I've been to San Juan twice in December and had a great time on both trips.  Going again in April I think, plus in May. I'm not staying away!

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Just now, twangster said:

Avoiding San Juan (or St Thomas and St Maarten) only makes it worst. Even those still without power they still have to pay rent, buy gas and groceries, feed children.  FEMA doesn't pay all your bills. 

For these regions that rely on tourism as their number one industry they want tourists back.  I've been to San Juan twice in December and had a great time on both trips.  Going again in April I think, plus in May. I'm not staying away!

Any destination recommendations with regard to restaurants and drinks?

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On 2/12/2018 at 6:44 AM, ericreev said:

Flying in there next Friday, hope there won't be problems with the airport or cruise terminal. The people of Puerto Rico have sure been through quite a bit these past 5 months. 

 

Eric Reeves

I’m also flying in next Friday. You sailing on Jewel or Adventure ?

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On 2/12/2018 at 7:44 AM, ericreev said:

Flying in there next Friday, hope there won't be problems with the airport or cruise terminal. The people of Puerto Rico have sure been through quite a bit these past 5 months. 

 

Eric Reeves

 

1 hour ago, Michael Vitale said:

I’m also flying in next Friday. You sailing on Jewel or Adventure ?

Thursday arrival checking in - sailing Adventure!

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I think there's a non-monetary aspect to visiting Puerto Rico and the other islands hit by the storms too.  People need to get back to work to pay their bills, but it's also important to be able to get up out of bed and get their lives back to something resembling normalcy.  Having lived through many hurricanes, once the storm has passed and the critical life-safety stuff is taken care of, I really just want to get back to work and have normal days again.

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14 minutes ago, Orange Crush said:

I think there's a non-monetary aspect to visiting Puerto Rico and the other islands hit by the storms too.  People need to get back to work to pay their bills, but it's also important to be able to get up out of bed and get their lives back to something resembling normalcy.  Having lived through many hurricanes, once the storm has passed and the critical life-safety stuff is taken care of, I really just want to get back to work and have normal days again.

150% agree.  I call it a sense of purpose.  It does wonders for one's self esteem being able to support and provide for their loved ones.

In days immediately after Irma and St Thomas I talked to friends there who were under curfew even during parts of daylight hours.  Lying in bed with little to do is torture.

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22 hours ago, monctonguy said:

I was supposed to cruise in April out of San Juan and cancelled it. Glad I did. Flights are now a nightmare to get in and out(limited options) and pricewise(over $1000 per ticket). I will be there in the future at some point to cruise, but not in 2018 for sure.

Wow...there almost certainly is a US airport you can drive to to save money...fares from my part of the world range $178 to $183 US to San Juan. I have been tracking fares for the month of May for a few weeks, and they have stayed steady.

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Well.......if you have noticed a theme in my threads and posts...air travel is VERY expensive for me in the area of Canada I live in....

 

IF I am willing to drive 4-6 hrs to an airport in the US, then yes..I could probably find a flight for $700ish.....but add on the drive and gas and hotel stay...it still end up being close to $1000 per person.

 

Now I have taken another look and it appears that recently prices have dropped and if I drove to Halifax I could prob get it for around $500 Cad each which is reasonable, but it was not that at the time I had to decide whether or not to cancel the cruise.

 

Or maybe it has to do with it being around that 90 day window that flight fares are supposed to be the best/lowest at?!..ha

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21 hours ago, DunkelBierJay said:

Wow...there almost certainly is a US airport you can drive to to save money...fares from my part of the world range $178 to $183 US to San Juan. I have been tracking fares for the month of May for a few weeks, and they have stayed steady.

I agree, we just purchased ours to San Juan on Southwest from Houston $152 PP

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