My husband and I arrived at San Juan a day early and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. Upon arrival at the hotel we were upgraded to a suite. - nice surprise! The hotel itself was very clean and staff extremely friendly and helpful. Our room was LARGE with 2 baths and a view of the beach. The only downside is the location. It costs $15 one way for taxi to Old San Juan. We could have gotten a room closer for what we spent on taxi. Also the choices for eating are limited and may require walking through some questionable areas. The breakfast buffet offered at hotel is a joke. There were TONs of children using all the seats and pushing to get the food. We left and walked to Subway.

Saturday evening we joined our Roll Call friends for dinner at the Old Harbor Brewery. One of our members made arrangements for a private room and tour of the brewery. We had a great time getting to know each other. The food and service at this restaurant is fantastic. After dinner the nightlife in San Juan was starting. We walked to the local park area where there were bands playing, people dancing, all kinds of vendor food carts and locals. We walked around awhile and listened to the music. Then back to hotel.

We arrived at the ship around 12. Taxi was $17 for ride to pier. Our baggage was collected and we were given the speech about how you should tip us now for this great service. Check in with Carnival took about 15 minutes. Then off to the Duty Free shop where we purchased wine, rum and some Coke. We were allowed on board around 1:30, and rooms weren't to be ready until 2:30. So off to Lido for lunch. We love the Deli sandwiches and shared lunch with our new CC friends. We decided to try the room to dump carry on stuff. It was ready. We had been upgraded to Spa deck room 1112. This is the first we've been so high. Room was great for location to Lido and pool areas. Only downside is folks stand on deck above the balcony. People really should be careful about what they say. We overheard a lot of personal information !!! On one night there was a problem with young people partying above us. All it took was a call to Guest Services and quiet again. Read more