My wife and I just finished sailing with Celebrity on a Southern Caribbean cruise. We have previously sailed with Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean and the now bankrupt Windjammer.

We traveled from Kansas City and had an uneventful couple of flights, arriving at San Juan early Friday evening. After a short taxi to the Embassy Suites we were provided a great room overlooking the pool. With relatively little surrounding the hotel in the way of restaurants, and the fact that we did not arrive a the hotel until after 8 p.m., we decided to eat at the Outback Steak House inside the hotel. Long wait on a Friday night. However the food was familiar and good. Walgreen's was a few blocks away to get last minute or forgotten items.

Breakfast the next morning was typical and I then hit the pool while my wife finished some last minute e-mail in the business center. The pool area is very nice with both sunny and shaded areas. Read more