Left DC on Thursday am on US Airways to the San Juan Marriott at Condado Beach for 2 nights prior to the cruise. Upon arrival the airport was deserted--a nice change from the usual crowd on the weekend. This is a resort Marriott with beautiful pools, beach, casino, activities, several restaurants and very friendly staff. The hotel is located in a great neighborhood for walking, shops, and restaurants. There's even a Starbuck's right across the street.

We headed to the pier around 11:30am on Saturday. The cab ride was $20, which is cheaper than the Princess transfers. Embarkation was over in 10 minutes!! WOW!! We checked out our balcony cabin on the Baja Deck and then went to have lunch. The Horizon Court (ship buffet) was open, but we decided on pizza and burgers. We next went for a walk around Old San Juan and bought bottled water and wine. There's a Super Max (grocery store) a few blocks from the ship across the street from Marshall's. We found it with the help of our Garmin GPS. Back to the ship, met our cabin steward, Rodgie, and explored the ship. Ship shops and casino are never open while in port. We opted for the seafood buffet for dinner in the Horizon Court. It was great--lobster claws, king crab legs, shrimp, yummy!! Sailing was delayed a bit due to flight delays, but we finally sailed close to midnight. Goodbye San Juan!!

ST. THOMAS--We have visited St. Thomas a few times so we decided to walk around the downtown area and shop. We prefer the Havensight dock, but we docked at the Crown Bay pier instead. Open trolly cabs were $4 per person to the downtown area. It was an on and off cloudy day with a few quick showers--typical tropics! Recommend Magen Bay beach, ferry @ Red Hook to St. John's for snorkeling, Morningstar Beach @ Marriott and shopping. Great deals on watches, designer jewelry, booze, etc. Read more