We flew on a non stop Delta flight from MSP to SJU arriving at 3pm the day before the cruise. There were no issues with the flight or arrival in SJU. There were tons of people waiting for taxis outside the airport. It seemed as if there was a line for taxis which they were trying to get people to stand in, but it was more of a free for all. We waited less than 20 minutes, got to our hotel quickly. Taxi from the airport to the Comfort Inn Condado was 20$. Comfort Inn is just a few blocks off the beach and was a nice hotel to stay in.

For the evening we took the bus into Old San Juan. (OSJ) It is 75 cents and you need to have change. There are several bus stops in Condado, just pay attention to which one you need to go back to. The city busses stop running out of OSJ at 9pm, sp plan to be back by then or catch a taxi back. We walked around OSJ for awhile and decided to have supper at Vaca Brava. It was recommended to us by someone local my husband met on a photography forum. Vaca Brava was excellent! The atmosphere was great, there was no wait for seating or food. The only thing I would change is to go there with a bigger group than the 2 of us. They had a lot of entrees that were set up to serve groups, and they looked great! We got burgers and fries for about $10 each. Very good food.

We got up Sunday morning and met some CC people at the free breakfast then went to walk on the beach for a few hours. The surf was pretty high which was fun to watch. Check out time was noon so just before that, we met up with another CC couple to share a taxi to embarkation. Taxi from the hotel to the port was $15 plus $1 per bag, shared, that was a good deal. There were no lines on the road for taxis dropping off. So; our time line thru this embarkation was leave the hotel at noon and were in the buffet line by 1:15. Embarkation was pretty bad from an organizational viewpoint, at least the outside part. First our taxi mates got in the short line, they were suite people and had been on many RCCL cruises so that was nice for them. We got in line to drop off our luggage, then got in another line to get in the building, then got in another line to check in. I really didn't understand that. Carnival takes your luggage pretty much right from the taxi. Made no sense to me to stand in line to drop off luggage that is already tagged. RCCL sells soda and water reasonably priced, Carnival gives free water in line. Oh well. We didn't need it in any case. After getting thru the lines to get in the building, we got in a pretty short line for check in since we were Gold members, only about 2 couples ahead of us. Check in was short, sweet, and the guy was fast and efficient. Helps when all the paperwork is in order. Read more