Let me start off by saying that we are partial to RCCL. We were looking forward to a Southern Caribbean cruise and had gotten a real good deal for this cruise and had decided to leave Pittsburgh and stay one day early in San Juan. We had opted for a stay the Hilton Caribbe and had made reservations months in advance, what a mistake. After having been up since 3 AM and flying for 6 plus hours, we finally arrived at the Hilton at 4:30 PM. Normal check in time is at 4PM but we were told that our room would not be available until at least 630 PM and to check back in a few hours, meanwhile, those checking in after us were given their rooms directly. After confronting a manager, my wife let him know that being a HHonors member for some time, she was quite upset with the check in process and our situation was soon rectified. When it came time to eat, all restaurants on the site closed at 6 PM to ready for a Halloween party that drew supposedly 7000 locals. Things were not starting off smoothly.

The next morning, we took a cab to the port rate and arrived at the ship around noon. Check in here was a little confusing due to the congestion of passengers checking in and a definite lack of direction by the staff. After receiving our sea passes, we were told to proceed to the right and board the ship, while those who had been sitting to the left had been waiting for a much longer time were told to wait. Good for me and bad for them as I still don't understand their boarding process.

We proceeded to our stateroom which was ready and we met our room attendant, Kerry Lee. She was very personable, friendly and attentive to all of our needs, the best stateroom attendant we have had on any cruise. Then, off to the Windjammer for lunch and then out to the pool deck to relax. The muster drill actually went real smooth now that they do not require you to take life vests. Read more