My boyfriend and I flew to Puerto Rico from Sacramento. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express which was a perfect location near great upscale shopping and an awesome beach within five minutes of our hotel. We normally spend more on hotels but we were hardly there. The La Concha Hotel was nice and right on the beach for a great second choice. Great restaurants and perfect location for a little bit more money. We spent a couple extra days in Puerto Rico so we could sight see and relax prior to our cruise. On our last night after the cruise we went to Jazz Festival right across the street near the beach. It was great! Loved the local food. We went to Cafe Angel for authentic Puerto Rican dishes that were great. We didn't experience any of the previous complaints about Puerto Rico or the locals there. We had a great experience and everyone we encountered were polite. We visited Old San Juan, El Morro Fort,San Cristobal Fort and a couple of the local beaches. You can find anything you need if you forgot anything from home. It was awesome. A photographer's dream. I took over a thousand pictures on our trip. We chose the Carnival Victory because of the itinerary and overall were very pleased. We had VIP check in so after we checked out of our hotel we got right on board, no problem. I would recommend that I felt Carnival could have a separate entrance for VIP check in. It didn't feel right for us to bypass the long line of people already waiting in line so we could cut in the front of everyone. We weren't happy about how that was handled. We had an ocean suite, cabin 7271 with a private balcony on the Empress deck. It was perfect! Our room stewards Mark & Renee were awesome. The service we received from them was excellent. It was a quiet mid ship suite near the elevators for easy access in and out. The jet tub in our suite was wonderful. Great cruise. great way to spend our Christmas vacation.