San Juan - flew in a day early and stayed at the Caribe Hilton. Booked through priceline and got a great deal. Had a villa room with a view of the bridge that goes over to condado. Nice clean newly renovated room set off from the main corridor so it was nice and quiet! Beautiful grounds and lovely hotel. Drinks and food a little pricey, and not a lot of places within walking distance, but we enjoyed time laying on the hammocks and sitting by the pool! On the day of Embarkation we stayed at the hotel until 2pm - checked our luggage for a few hours and enjoyed the hammocks and a drink before catching a taxi to the pier.

Embarkation - very smooth. Arrived close to 3pm. No lines, very simple. Stopped at the duty free shop to buy some rum, but the line was taking forever and we heard that you can not bring rum on-board only wine and champagne, so we just skipped it. Although I hear some people did get by with bringing rum and other hard liquors on-board it wasn't worth the bother for us. Our room was ready for us when we boarded and we have just carryons so no need to worry about luggage. Pre ordered flowers that were already in the room and a voucher for preordered champagne. Called room service and had sandwiches and champagne delivered within 15 mins! Egg crate was not on the bed as requested ahead but the room steward provided it immediately even though we told him to take his time. I also noticed the shower curtain was sour so he also changed it for a fresh one without any hesitation. Day 1 at sea - had a great day at sea. Slept in, watched a movie and relaxed!

Day 2 Aruba - we pre arranged a private fishing charter with Teaser Charters. It was oustanding. They are a 10 minute walk from the pier and we found them with no problems. After catching 2 nice tuna and having a blast we walked around downtown a bit before returning to the ship. I hear the beaches in Aruba are beautiful - next time we hope to see them also! Read more