SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

OLD AND NEW SAN JUAN TOUR WITH AIRPORT DROP-OFF via Celebrity
April 21, 2012
$34.75 per person

On our April cruise, our return flight was scheduled at 5:30 PM so we booked the Old and New San Juan tour with airport transfer via Celebrity. It was an easy tour and kept us occupied for a few hours before our late flight. We boarded our tour bus at 8:30 AM and left the terminal at 8:53 PM. Our large luggages were loaded into a truck to be sent directly to the airport. We had a guided ride on our way to San Cristobal Castle. We stayed there for 45 minutes.

We then drove to El Morro San Felipe Castle for a brief history while in the bus then we headed to Plaza de Colon. There was a display of sports cars around the plaza. We stayed there for another 45 minutes.

We then had a guided ride through New San Juan on our way to the airport. We arrived at the airport around noon to see our luggages lined up right outside the airport terminal. We didn’t notice anyone looking after the luggages, even on our November trip.

ARECIBO TOUR via Natural Wonders PR
November 23, 2012
$95 per person

On our November cruise, we arrived 2 days early so we stayed in San Juan for 2 nights and did the Arecibo tour with Natural Wonders PR. We’ve toured with Asha before and had fun. It was like a private tour coz it was just me and my husband, and Asha was flexible with our requests. The tour was more off the beaten path, but we enjoyed it a lot. Highly recommend Natural Wonders and the Arecibo tour for those who are physically capable, the tour required some hiking.

Asha picked us up at our hotel, Conrad Condado Plaza at 10:15 AM. We went to La Ventana cave first. It rained and the path and cave was more muddy than usual so wear appropriate footwear. Bring a flashlight too as it is very dark in the cave. Cold bottled water was provided.

We then drove around to the river you see from the cave to get a view of the cave from outside.

We proceeded to Charco Hondo falls, a smaller falls behind a private property. We went to Martin’s BBQ for lunch. The barbecue chicken was supposed to be good there, but my husband and I didn’t order chicken. Food was okay.

Last but not least, we drove to the ocean side of Arecibo to Del Indio cave and the arches. It was beautiful out there.

On the way back, we stopped to get coconut drinks on the roadside.

There was a beautiful beach across the road.

We got back to the hotel at 6 PM. It was exhausting, but very nice day. The tour was one of my favorites.

BACARDI RUM DISTILLERY WITH AIRPORT DROP-OFF via Celebrity
December 1, 2012
$32.75 per person

The Bacardi compound was beautiful. We started at the visitor’s pavilion where we got 2 free drink tickets each and rode the shuttle to their visitor center.

The center was nicely planned out just for visitors. We started at the lobby with a brief history of how Bacardi was born from one of the tour guides. We were then sent to a small theater for the full documentary of the company. After the short movie documentary, we went to an area with replica of the distillery years ago including a replica of an office. We then went to a room with videos about Bacardi. Sorry, photos were not allowed.

The next room was my favorite. The room had a few “cubicles” with little barrels hanging from the wall. The barrels contain different kinds of Bacardi rum – just shake the barrel and smell.

The next room had a bar and seating area. One of the guides demonstrated 3 drink cocktails. Then we were off to another room with displays.

We boarded the shuttle back to the pavilion for some shopping at the gift shop and for our free drinks.

ST. THOMAS / ST. JOHN, USVI

SKYRIDE via Celebrity
April 20, 2012
$21.75 per person

We decided to do a lazy relaxing day in St. Thomas. We purchased Skyride tickets via Celebrity for $21.75 pp. It was just a short walk from Havensight cruise terminal. We got there and the tickets cost $21 (I don’t know if taxes were included). The view was amazing.

There were birds, goats, ducks, etc.

ST. JOHN BEACH AND SNORKEL via Celebrity
November 30, 2012
$67.75 per person

We boarded to boat to St. John at the the end of the pier where the Summit was docked. It was a very scenic ride. USVI is beautiful.

We arrived at St. John and boarded one of the “buses” to Trunk Bay. Trunk Bay is beautiful. Snorkeling was off the beach and there were plenty of fishes.

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

COSMOPOLITAN RESTAURANT
(Main Dining Room)

APPETIZERS / SOUPS / SALADS

Baked Farm Goat Cheese Tart 2/5
- I found the balsamic vinegar too strong for the tart

Crab Stuffed Mushroom Caps 4.5/5
- DH and I loved this, even our neighbor. I ate it even though I’m allergic to crab! No, it’s not Escargot, though it looked it

Cream of Wild Forest Mushroom Soup 3.5/5

Beef Carpaccio 3.5/5
-almost the same thing as the beef carpaccio during breakfast. They didn’t have this on our November cruise though.

Buffalo Style Frog Legs 3/5
-a little dry, our neighbor loved it tho

Spanish Seafood Soup 3.5/5

Caribbean Cod Fritters 3.5/5

Classic Vitello Tonnato 3/5
-dry

Asian Consomme 3.5/5

Sweet Yellow Corn Soup 2.5/5
-nothing special, tasted like corn

Shellfish and Saffron Risotto 4/5

Caprese Salad 3.5/5

Celebrity’s Signature Maryland Crab Cake 3.5/5

Our Signature Lobster Bisque 2/5
-it didn’t taste like lobster bisque that we were used to

Wild Mushroom Vol-au-Vent 3.5/5

Shrimp Cocktail 3.5/5

Porcini Mushroom Risotto 3/5

ENTREES

Aged Prim Rib of Beef (medium rare) 4/5
- I had better. It was a little chewy and needed more sauce. But I liked it anyway. However, it was better on our November cruise.

“Momma’s” Pork Chops 4/5
- DH and our neighbor loved it.

Roasted Colorado Rack of Lamb (medium) 4/5
-loved it that I ordered another. Our neighbors loved it as well.

Celebrity’s Signature Tournedos Rossini (Filet Mignon) 4/5

Mediterranean Seafood Orzo 3.5/5
-Orzo was good, scallops were bland. It was better on our November cruise.

Chicken “Wellington” 4/5

Seared Pork Medallions 4.5/5

Rigatoni Bistecca 3/5

Osso Buco alla Milanese 4/5

Classic Seafood Fettuccine 3.5/5

Mozzarella Meatballs 3/5

Petit Filet Mignon 4/5

Lamb Shank “Tagine Style” 3.5/5
-huge portion, but a little bland

Classic Chateaubriand Brillat-Savarin 3.5/5

Broiled Caribbean Lobster Tail 3/5
-it was bigger than the tails we’ve had on other cruise lines, but it was overcooked

Veal Cordon Bleu “Our Way” 4/5

DESSERTS

Apple Pie a la Mode 3/5

Warm Banana-Blueberry Crepe 3/5
- the crepe itself was chewy

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake 4/5

Cherries Jubilee 3.5/5

Chocolate Souffle 3/5

Flambeed Crepes Suzette 2/5
-too sweet

Chocolate Marquise 3.5/5

Panna Cotta alla Romana 3.5/5

Celebrity Signature Baked Alaska 3.5/5
- my husband ordered this, but it was too sweet for me

New York Cheesecake 4/5

Sacher Torte 3/5

Cannoli “Tutti Frutti” 3.5/5

BISTRO ON FIVE

Cover:  $5 per person

Italian Crepe – Nutella, Banana and Pistachio (special request: strawberries) 4/5

Chicken Panini 4/5

Beef Panini (requested no sides) 4/5

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

We went on a Southern Caribbean cruise in April and November 2012 aboard Celebrity Summit. Instead of doing my usual daily trip log, I’ll just combine both cruises and post my reviews here.

I will divide the reviews into several posts, but I will start with little details and tips I have gotten from other cruisers and I learned myself.

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

CRUISE DETAIL

We booked a Category 9 inside (7051) on the Summit Southern Caribbean cruise that went to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

We booked a Category 2A balcony (7154) on the Summit Southern Caribbean cruise that went to St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada and St. Thomas.

LITTLE DETAILS / TIPS

Overall, I would rate the cruise 4 stars.  Here are some little details/tips:

• Look out for their Tuesday specials before booking.
• They offer free seasickness meds at the Guest Services desk.
• There are mattress pads available if you prefer.  Ask your room steward.
• When you booked a guarantee, Celebrity is usually open to changing cabins in the same category after being assigned a cabin.
• Register for a Cruise Critic Connections party and join your roll call at Cruise Critic boards. However, Celebrity scheduled the party on a port day early morning on both our cruises. So if your roll call wants to meet, it’s better to plan one yourself.
• You must order your luggage tags, they don’t automatically mail it to you.  However, if you don’t have it, the porters have them at the pier.
• If you have select dining (no set dining time) and want to make reservations, make your reservations online before your trip or as soon as you board.  The slots get booked up very quickly.  But don’t worry, you can just walk in.  There was no wait when we did walk in.
  1. To make a reservation online, log in to My Celebrity.
  2. Select View Reservation from the Manage Reservation drop-down menu.
  3. Click on Shore & Land Excursion tab.
  4. On the right, click Your Excursions – Awaiting Payment, Purchased.
  5. Under My Cruise Extras, select Celebrity Select Dining from the Add More drop-down menu.
• I could barely get signal on my cellphone, even with the ship’s signal in our inside cabin (7051), but didn’t have problems in our balcony cabin (7154).
• If you’re in an inside cabin or a cabin that has the bed facing the door, bring something to cover the peephole on the door. Light from the hallway was hitting my eyes when I was sleeping. I only had a band-aid. The peephole in our balcony cabin did have a cover.
  
• Don’t miss the Buffet Brunch at the main dining room (Cosmopolitan Restaurant).  It’s usually held only once and on a sea day at 10am. You will find the info under dining hours in Celebrity Today. Don’t eat breakfast if you can on the day the brunch is being held. There was a lot of food at the brunch.
  
• There are only 2 US electric outlets and 2 European electric outlets in our inside cabin (7051) and balcony cabin (7154); they’re all by the desk. No outlets in the bathroom.
  
• The “refrigerator” in the cabin is more like a cooler.  And the drawer right above the “refrigerator” gets hot so be careful on what you put in there.
  
• The hairdryer on the Summit has an ON button that you need to press continuously to keep it on.  Bring a duct tape or something similar to tape the button down.
  
• Laundry is not cheap.  Summit has no self-serve laundry facilities.  If you plan to get laundry done onboard, budget for it. I saw one laundry promotion – fill the paper laundry bag without tearing the bag for $20+. Beware the laundry bag is tiny and made of paper. When I used laundry bag, my 2 cocktail dresses and 1 shirt already filled the bag!
  
• Pastries and other munchies at Cafe Al Bacio are complimentary.  You don’t have to purchase coffee or drinks to get them.
• Most of the time, the mid gangway was used.  So if you don’t want to walk far when visiting ports, book a cabin midship.
• When eating at the Oceanview Cafe, make sure to go all the way aft.  There are additional selections there as well.
• Internet was slow. I was getting an average of 0.6 Mbps upload and 0.35 Mbps download.
  

STAY DETAILS
November 22-24, 2012
1 king room
Rate: $98/night at Hotwire.com

I would recommend Conrad Condado Plaza for the location and cleanliness.

We booked the hotel via Hotwire without knowing the hotel name before booking. It was listed as a 4-star hotel in San Juan with the following amenities: Near Beach, Oceanfront Property, Casino, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service), Golf Nearby, Tennis Nearby, Spa Services, Accessible for the blind and deaf, Free internet, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Handicapped parking, Roll-in shower.

The total cost at Hotwire came up to $115.64 / night. We had to pay a resort fee of $13.43 / night at the hotel upon check-out.

LOCATION
The location is convenient. It is close to Old San Juan and Pan-Am cruise terminal ($12 taxi ride + $1/luggage). Restaurants are a walk away, tho there were 4 restaurants on site and Starbucks.

PREMISES
The place was modern and clean. There were two towers – Ocean and Lagoon tower. As the name states, the Ocean tower overlooks the ocean, while the Lagoon tower across the street overlooks the bay. A bridge connects the two towers on the Mezzanine (2nd) floor.

The grounds were maintained beautifully.

STAFF
The staff were friendly and very willing to help. One of the pool concierge was about to leave to get something, but when she saw me a little confused (but I didn’t really need her), she came running back with a big smile to ask if she could help me. We couldn’t open our room door and asked for help from one of the housekeeping staff. Apparently, we just needed to push the door harder. But the staff didn’t stop there. He proceeded to help us with our luggage.

ROOM
We were given a room (774) in the Lagoon tower overlooking the bay. It was one room away from the elevator. The room was very clean except for the chair that had a couple of faint stains on it. The room was nicely decorated with modern fixtures.

The TV was 27″, quite small for the size of the room. The bed was comfortable and I love how big the night tables were. I had my laptop and other gadgets charging on the night table by my side.

The bathroom was nice, but tiny. It had a nice shower head with a couple of settings. Hairdryer wasn’t very powerful.

The balcony was a good size furnished with 2 chairs and a table and had a nice view of the bay.

DINING
They had 4+ restaurants on-site including Cafe Caribe, Pikayo, Eight Noodle Bar and Denny’s. Cafe Caribe and Pikayo were pretty pricey. We ate at Denny’s for breakfast and it was your typical Denny’s, food was okay. We ate at Eight Noodle Bar for dinner and food was pretty good. Service was a little slow.

AMENITIES
Internet
Internet was complimentary and provided by AT&T. Connection was slow. I preferred using my phone’s LTE connection.

Pool
The hotel had 2 pools and a waterslide by the Ocean tower and one pool by the Lagoon tower. The beach was by the Ocean tower and it was tiny. It was a public beach as well.

Self-serve Laundromat
They had a self-serve laundromat by the Ocean tower with 4 washers and 4 dryers. It cost $2 per wash and $2 per dry. Laundry and softener is included in the price and is dispensed by just pressing on a button.

Beach
Beach was small and public, but well-maintained.

MY RATING:

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Image from Hotels.com

I would recommend Yotel for the location and modern ambience.

We were able to book using a Travelzoo promotion and paid a total of $415.45 for one night at a spacious “first cabin” which is similar to a suite in other hotels.

LOCATION
The hotel is a walk away from Times Square, but not a short walk. It is a 10-minute walk from the closest subway station. Regardless, the area is pretty convenient with a CVS right across the street and restaurants everywhere.

PREMISES
The hotel was clean and decorated accordingly with the technological amenities the hotel offered. First floor lobby is practically manned by technology. Kiosks lined the left wall for checking in and out. A robot on the right side of the lobby holds your luggage for you. There were a couple of hotel staff in the lobby to help out the technologically-challenged. The main front desk manned by humans was on the 4th floor. You have to go to the 4th floor to get to the elevators that service the cabin floors.

STAFF
We haven’t had much interaction with the staff except when housekeeping came to drop off extra towels I requested. He was quite friendly.

ROOMS
We were given cabin 814, a first cabin with terrace and hot tub. It was a very nice room and very spacious especially for a NY hotel.

The big space however wasn’t fully utilized. The closet was tiny when it could have been bigger.

There was really no night stand. The desk is tiny which is situated on one side of the bed serving as a night stand on one side. A bed table is tucked in on the other side of the bed which was nice. The king bed wasn’t soft, but I found it fine.

The TV wasn’t small, but watching all the way from the bed (too far) makes the size inadequate. The room was pretty clean except for one feminine wash packet I found between the couches.

The bathroom was pretty spacious with a huge shower. The bathroom walls were glass and curtain and blinds covered the walls for privacy. I like that there was a door in the bathroom that opens into the terrace.

The shower head was nice. The heated towel rack wasn’t working.

There was not a lot of counter space in the bathroom. There were 2 bath towels, 2 beach towels, 3 hand towels and a very soft bathrobe. Instead of the boxed facial tissues you usually find in hotels, there were 2 travel-size facial tissues which I hated. There was only one very tiny trash can located in the bathroom which I found insufficient.

The terrace was huge, but there was no view. The sides were covered with metal fences and tall greeneries. I hate that there were no lights in the terrace except for the small spotlights lighting the greeneries.

The hot tub was a 2-person tub, though 4 of my girlfriends and I did fit in there. The plug for the drain didn’t work very well in covering the drain. Sometimes we had to let the water flow while we were in the tub to keep the water at level.

AMENITIES

Galley
Each cabin floor had a “mini kitchen” galley and the 8th floor galley was right across our room. Your room key card is needed to access the galley. The galley was equipped with ice, water and coffee machine, microwave, small fridge, and a soft drink vending machine. There were complimentary coffee, tea, latte, espresso and hot chocolate which was a plus.

MY RATING:

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The Lewis N Clark Hanging Toiletry Case is just the perfect size for me.  It holds quite a lot of stuff.  It has three compartments.  And I love how the compartments are different and can serve different purposes.

One compartment is mesh where I keep my after-bath amenities that usually remain dry.  The middle compartment is transparent plastic where I keep toiletries that may spill.  The third compartment is opaque and opens on all three sides to reveal another mesh compartment inside.  I use this compartment for items that may get wet.

The third compartment opened to reveal the mesh compartment inside.

On my last trip, I was able to fit the following items with still more room to spare:

• Mesh compartment:  Swabs, 0.5 oz deodorant, 8 oz lotion, nail clipper, emery board, small sewing kit and feminine hygiene products
  
• Middle plastic compartment:  Ziploc bag with 6.75 fl oz shampoo, 1.7 fl oz conditioner, 10 fl oz shower gel, and 6 oz apricot scrub
  
• Bottom opaque compartment:  Loofa in a Ziploc bag.
  Inside mesh compartment:  2 0.8oz toothpaste, 2 toothbrushes, floss, 1.49 fl oz mouthwash, and 2 disposable razors.
  

The toiletry kit is three-fold and has an adjustable strap with buckle to keep it closed.  I find velcro straps easier and quicker to use, and still as effective.

The kit also uses adjustable straps with buckle for hanging.  Using the straps to hang the kit is a little awkward as the buckle is in the middle and the straps are thick.  A simple swivel hook is less awkward, but may be more limited to where they could be hung.

The toiletry kit in a 27-inch luggage

Overall, I rate the Lewis N Clark Hanging Toiletry Case (4.5) stars.

We went to a clinic and my dad was indeed having a heart attack.  He was rushed to the ER at Celebration.  He was stabilized, then admitted.

Admitted at Florida Hospital Celebration

If you remember from my previous post, we were supposed to go on a Disney cruise that day.  I decided to take my mom, brother and nephew to the cruise terminal so they can proceed with the cruise and I stayed with my dad.

Dropping them off at the Disney cruise terminal

Dad stayed at the Celebration hospital for two more days.  Thankfully, my timeshare accommodation lasted til then.

Floridal Hospital Celebration

Dad was then transferred to the Orlando hospital for a heart catheterization.  After the procedure, they kept him for observation overnight.  Since I had no place to stay, I slept on the couch of his hospital room.

At Florida Hospital Orlando

Dad was told not to fly until four days after the procedure.  So while he was recovering from the anesthesia, I started making a lot of calls.  I called Delta to reschedule our flights and went on Hotwire to find us some last-minute accommodations after dad was discharged.

Three days after he was discharged, we were headed for home to celebrate his 67th birthday.  Dad is doing great!

Happy birthday daddy, we love you!

I went back to work full-force working 50+ hours for the week of the roll-out of our electronic medical records system.

Exhausted?  You bet!  Challenges over?  Not a chance…

5/16/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 1
5/17/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 2
5/19/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 4

The plane landed and we were in Orlando.

Orlando Intl Airport

We proceeded to the Budget counter to pick up our rental car (used BCD code Y937800 for a discount).

Waiting for our turn at the rental counter

We got the Discovery Cove Ultimate Package that allows us one day all-inclusive access to Discovery Cove and 14-day access to Sea World and Aquatica.  We definitely enjoyed ourselves.

Snorkeling at Discovery Cove

Enjoying Sea World

Tubing at Aquatica

Five days into our trip, we were supposed to board the Disney Dream.  I woke up early to prepare when I saw my father on the couch not looking too well.  I’ve never seen him like that.  My brother and I went to the nearest pharmacy to get a sphygmomanometer, glucometer and thermometer so we could do a home assessment.  I tried to take his blood pressure, but got confused coz his pulse seemed very erratic.  I asked my brother to do it himself and he noticed the same thing.  My father then said he was having chest pains and cold sweats.

My dad was having a heart attack.

5/16/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 1
5/18/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 3
5/19/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 4

It all started with booking two vacations back to back.  The first one was a Southern Caribbean cruise for just my husband and me.  Right after that was a family vacation with only my parents, brother and nephew.  I was very excited!

My husband and I went on our vacation all ready for adventure.

Celebrity Summit

When I say adventure, I really meant ADVENTURE…

Shark Dive

A wild dolphin decided to swim with us on our first dive

Zip Line

Then the last day of our cruise came and it was time to go home.  It’s always sad to end a vacation.  But I wasn’t.  I was ready for my next adventure.  Until I realized the cards have a different kind of adventure planned for me for the next days.

Our flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico got delayed for 3 hours and the earliest time they could get us back to NY was 11:05am the following day.  I got worried coz the flight for my next trip was at 1:30pm that same day we were now arriving in NY!  So here were the events that followed:

• I called my parents to take with them an empty carry-on and my portable hard drive (you’ll understand later).
• My parents picked us up at the airport.
• At the “pick-up” area, I transferred my dirty laundry from my previous trip to the empty carry-on.
• A lot of the photos my husband took from our trip were for his project that was due in a few days.  They were all saved in my laptop.  I started copying the photos to the portable hard drive so my husband can take it with him.
• My husband took over the car and dropped the family at the other terminal for our 1:30pm flight to Orlando.
• My husband parked the car as we wait for all the photos to get copied to the portable hard drive.  There were 70+gb of photos!
• After all photos were copied, my husband took the car, portable hard drive and the rest of our luggage from the first trip and went home.
• My family and I checked in, went through Security and waited to board our plane.  I breathed a sigh of relief looking forward to the vacation that was about to start.

But wait!  It got worse…

5/17/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 2
5/18/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 3
5/19/12: A month filled with a whole lot of emotions, part 4