San Juan is Back in Business with Carnival

Welcome Back to San Juan

Puerto Rico is back in the charts for Carnival Cruise Line following Hurricane Irma. 

The 110,000gt Carnival Conquest arrived in San Juan early Thursday, Nov. 1st. This marks the first of dozens of transit calls to the island by Carnival ships in the coming weeks. During Carnival Conquest's call, the ship’s 3,200 passengers could take a range of shore excursions since the destruction of this beautiful island.

The line will resume sailing from San Juan as an embarkation port when Carnival Fascination begins its year-round seven-day southern Caribbean schedule Feb. 18 (That ship is currently on charter to the FEMA to house relief workers in St. Croix). 

This year round cruise is one of my favorites, although I have done it twice on bigger ships.  The Fascination does not have regular balcony cabins and is like the other "ation" ships in Carnival's fleet.  But I also must add, the ports are intense and you don't really need a balcony.  The journey between the islands is much shorter starting in San Juan so a larger, faster ship is not necessary.  Carnival is very smart using a smaller ship here and utilizing their larger ships for routes that need them.  I tell you all this... as you should NOT miss this itinerary!

I would like to take the opportunity to address another thing I have heard cruisers state: "The people of San Juan are rude and fill up the ship".   First of all, I want to clear up...they are not rude...it is their culture.  WE need to understand their way of life, as I could say the same thing about traveling to NY City!  They are used to being in a hurry and crowded and they expect that and do not see the need to apologize for it.  Please remember you are in their world, not yours.  

Are there a lot of Puerto Ricans on the ship?  Yes sometimes.  This can be taken as a good thing.  You are surrounded by island life your entire cruise.  Learn to observe and then sing a long.  They are fun! Learn to dance...they have got some moves!  They are very family oriented and very loving to each other...maybe we should pay attention.

The cruise from San Juan resumes soon.  There is no better way to see all these islands at once.  You can even bring back more booze than normal...lol.  Don't even get me started on St. Lucia!  (let me take the opportunity to add that Carnival has awesome ports).  I hope that you will see for yourself.  Make sure you go to Puerto Rico at least a day early as there is so much beauty to see.  I have been there at least 10 times in recent years and I love it for something new each time.