Magic San Juan cruises November/December

[Jen B.]

http://puertoriconow.seepuertorico.com/ This is a site I've been following to get updates on airport/hotel/port status. They reported today that RCCL will begin homeporting operations on October 7th. "San Juan Harbor is open and expected to resume homeporting operations by Saturday, October 7, with the departure of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Adventure of the Seas. "

 

[mhconley]

http://puertoriconow.seepuertorico.com/ This is a site I've been following to get updates on airport/hotel/port status. They reported today that RCCL will begin homeporting operations on October 7th. "San Juan Harbor is open and expected to resume homeporting operations by Saturday, October 7, with the departure of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Adventure of the Seas. "

I’d wager that ship will sail with a lot of open staterooms.

Martin

 

[Michele Nicole]

http://puertoriconow.seepuertorico.com/ This is a site I've been following to get updates on airport/hotel/port status. They reported today that RCCL will begin homeporting operations on October 7th. "San Juan Harbor is open and expected to resume homeporting operations by Saturday, October 7, with the departure of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Adventure of the Seas. "

Thank you so much for posting this!! This is very informative.

 

[Madelyn Gonzalez]

This is the cruise that I am going on from November 26-December 1st 2017. I called Disney Cruise line and was told as of yet the Magic has not made any changes. However, I wish that they would let us know sooner than later so that arrangement to buy plane tickets and hotel reservations can be made in advance.

i feel exactly the same way... just tried calling an airport in PR and the call was unable to connect, for obvious reasons.... i dont want to get stuck with my 5 yr old. im nervous. disney rerouted a cruise that sails on december 2nd... why are we left wondering to close to our date.

 

[Cliffside]

Yes, I was hoping we would now something by now. It seems like Royal has been able to get passengers to the airport and back and some were even able to find hotel rooms. The airport still lacks air conditioning in many places. It seems like things are at a bare minimum. There are still have been no port stops. I wonder if people who booked pre and post hotel stays through Disney will have their reservations honored. At minimum it would be nice to now where we would go instead of Tortola since they deemed it not viable for the Fantasy cruise in. December.

 

[Michele Nicole]

i feel exactly the same way... just tried calling an airport in PR and the call was unable to connect, for obvious reasons.... i dont want to get stuck with my 5 yr old. im nervous. disney rerouted a cruise that sails on december 2nd... why are we left wondering to close to our date.

Just received an email and phone call from Disney Cruise Line and we are now going to St. John's, Antigua instead of Tortola however we are still disembarking in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I'm looking for an affordable hotel for the weekend that my children will enjoy. The hotels that Disney affiliates themselves with Caribe Hilton is currently closed and not taking any reservations. The other hotel Marriot Stillaris is expensive for me as I can not justify $1,174.99 for a three night stay. Any suggestions ?

 

[RedSox68]

I am confused -- there are people trying to leave San Juan in droves, many still without electricity or water or places to live. How can a cruise ship even think of stopping there? I would think it would be dangerous for both the passengers and the citizens in trying to "entertain" people getting off the ships in port. Just wondering.

 

[msec]

Just received E-mail regarding 12/1/17 cruise from San Jusn to Miami - our departure is delayed until 7:00pm to accommodate rescheduled flights. We are also either visiting Tortila or will have a sea day if that is not possible - no port substitutions for us ...

Per E-mail :
We will continue to monitor hurricane recovery efforts and conditions in Tortola and we will notify guests if any change in cruise itinerary will be needed - if necessary we are prepared to spend an additional day at sea...

 

[msec]

Here is copy of E-mail for 12/1/17 cruise San Juan to Miami :

Important Information About Your Cruise

10/16/17

We are looking forward to sailing with you and want to provide you with some information about your cruise itinerary.

We are adjusting the all aboard time for your sailing to 7:00 p.m. to allow for any rescheduled flights into Puerto Rico and recommend Guests arrive at the airport in San Juan no later than 5:00 p.m.

In addition, many of the ports in the Eastern Caribbean continue to recover from the effects of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. While it is still too early to tell, we are hopeful that Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, will complete their hurricane recovery efforts in time for your sailing. We will continue to monitor the conditions in Tortola and will notify Guests should any changes in the cruise itinerary be needed. If necessary, we are prepared to spend an additional day at sea where Guests can enjoy unique entertainment that only Disney can provide.

Should you have any questions related to a future reservation, please contact your original booking agent.

We look forward to providing you with an enjoyable sailing .

 

[bumbershoot]

Rccl has AOS scheduled to sail closed loop from San Juan this Saturday. Yes, it is insane. I will never book rccl after seeing how they operated this season.
Y'all should read any reports that come back from those cruisers to get a sense of what to expect.

Reports have been fine.

You won't sail with royal but you'll go with the line that took a ship right into Sandy?

Every line goofs sometimes, and every line does things right sometimes.

That cruise should be cancelled or home ported elsewhere if possible until San Juan is in better condition. A bunch of cruise passengers on a nice vacation, using up gas, food, water, while passing by the locals who are struggling to survive is not ok with me. Not to mention the logistics of getting there and back for the passengers. I wouldn't take my family down there this weekend...guarantee you that.

Not sure people on a cruise are taking up resources from locals at all. I don't think the ship runs on normal gas. Food that a restaurant has is meant for people going to a restaurant. Etc.

The cruise industry likely knows that they are a huge huge part of the recovery.

Exactly.

But I do believe that NOT contributing to their economy is not going to help them either.

True.

there are people trying to leave San Juan in droves

Are there? Maybe people trying to get home, but those arriving for the 7th and 14th cruises on the most part didn't mention big crowds at the airport.

And we have to remember that San Juan is not the same as Ponce, Arecibo, etc.

 

[jdb in AZ]

That cruise should be cancelled or home ported elsewhere if possible until San Juan is in better condition. A bunch of cruise passengers on a nice vacation, using up gas, food, water, while passing by the locals who are struggling to survive is not ok with me. Not to mention the logistics of getting there and back for the passengers. I wouldn't take my family down there this weekend...guarantee you that.

The ships do not use the gas from Puerto Rico. They use diesel and fill up in Orlando before the cruise begins. They have trusted food suppliers in Orlando and take enough food for the whole cruise; they don't restock in Puerto Rico. They also use reverse osmosis to treat sea water so they're not using the drinking water in Puerto Rico.

 

[Madelyn Gonzalez]

Just received an email and phone call from Disney Cruise Line and we are now going to St. John's, Antigua instead of Tortola however we are still disembarking in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I'm looking for an affordable hotel for the weekend that my children will enjoy. The hotels that Disney affiliates themselves with Caribe Hilton is currently closed and not taking any reservations. The other hotel Marriot Stillaris is expensive for me as I can not justify $1,174.99 for a three night stay. Any suggestions ?

i was going to stay at the sandy beach hotel, i you tubed hotels when i was planning to extend my stay but that changed, the prices are great but not really a fancy establishment. just a place to lay your head down, the bonus is that its right on the beach. as bad as puerto rico sounds right now i just want to leave as soon as we disembark. i dont want to take any chances with my son. im a paranoid mom :/

 

[Michele Nicole]

i was going to stay at the sandy beach hotel, i you tubed hotels when i was planning to extend my stay but that changed, the prices are great but not really a fancy establishment. just a place to lay your head down, the bonus is that its right on the beach. as bad as puerto rico sounds right now i just want to leave as soon as we disembark. i dont want to take any chances with my son. im a paranoid mom :/

I agree I wanted to stay the weekend as my children are of Puerto Rican decent and wanted them to explore the island a bit but Im thinking I may contact Jetblue and change my flight from the 4th to the first.

 

[bumbershoot]

just tried calling an airport in PR and the call was unable to connect, for obvious reasons....

I've literally never heard of someone trying to call an airport. What was your question?

i was going to stay at the sandy beach hotel, i you tubed hotels when i was planning to extend my stay but that changed, the prices are great but not really a fancy establishment. just a place to lay your head down, the bonus is that its right on the beach. as bad as puerto rico sounds right now i just want to leave as soon as we disembark. i dont want to take any chances with my son. im a paranoid mom :/

What are you paranoid of? What do you feel the chances you're worried about are?

I agree I wanted to stay the weekend as my children are of Puerto Rican decent and wanted them to explore the island a bit but Im thinking I may contact Jetblue and change my flight from the 4th to the first.

Were you going to explore the whole island or just Old San Juan over the weekend? I'd totally still hang out in osj. If it's good enough for the people to live there then it's good enough for me. I'm no better than they are. And I'm not even of PR descent.

I wouldn't start exploring the whole island though.

 

[RedSox68]

Reports have been fine.

You won't sail with royal but you'll go with the line that took a ship right into Sandy?

Every line goofs sometimes, and every line does things right sometimes.


Are there? Maybe people trying to get home, but those arriving for the 7th and 14th cruises on the most part didn't mention big crowds at the airport.

And we have to remember that San Juan is not the same as Ponce, Arecibo, etc.

There were reports on the news for a week showing hundreds crowded into the airport trying to get flights to the States -- many interviewed said they didn't want to stay there anymore. These were all local residents they were showing, not people from the States trying to get home. I'm sure that has all died down by the time the people arrived on the 7th!

We are sailing Royal next year to Cuba - our first time. Every single cruise line we have done so far has had a snafu of some sort (NCL getting stuck on a sandbar in Bermuda years go, Carnival with many problems in the past, Disney has had some snafus also, etc.). When we sail on them, we have always had a good time and made the most of it. Not sure what terrible reviews the PP was referring to about Royal, but the ones I found have been positive. The negativity is (for the most part) someone nitpicking every little thing

 

[bumbershoot]

These were all local residents they were showing, not people from the States trying to get home.

But does it actually make sense that someone who lives in a hurricane-hit area would just leave like that? It doesn't to me. The people I saw were former PR residents or relatives visiting and now wanting to go home to the mainland.

There was some sketchy reporting imo. Even the stuff about Royal helping evacuees. YES they were evacuees, but they weren't PR residents. They were some tourists and family of Royal employees and those with contacts. It was very very useful. But it's not like they were taking residents like Adventure Antigua used their boats to rescue actual Barbudans from their island.

I respect Royal for doing all they have done AND wish more accurate wording was being used by everyone.

 

[Dug720]

But does it actually make sense that someone who lives in a hurricane-hit area would just leave like that? It doesn't to me. The people I saw were former PR residents or relatives visiting and now wanting to go home to the mainland.

There was some sketchy reporting imo. Even the stuff about Royal helping evacuees. YES they were evacuees, but they weren't PR residents. They were some tourists and family of Royal employees and those with contacts. It was very very useful. But it's not like they were taking residents like Adventure Antigua used their boats to rescue actual Barbudans from their island.

I respect Royal for doing all they have done AND wish more accurate wording was being used by everyone.

I do have a good friend who lives in Miami but is from Puerto Rico. Her father has never left PR except to visit D and return...until today. Today he was boarding a plane for Miami with no return ticket. His words are "I just want to leave this god forsaken place and not look back" (her translation from Spanish).

So I know that is just one, but yes, there are people wanting to leave and not return.

 

[RedSox68]

But does it actually make sense that someone who lives in a hurricane-hit area would just leave like that? It doesn't to me. The people I saw were former PR residents or relatives visiting and now wanting to go home to the mainland.

There was some sketchy reporting imo. Even the stuff about Royal helping evacuees. YES they were evacuees, but they weren't PR residents. They were some tourists and family of Royal employees and those with contacts. It was very very useful. But it's not like they were taking residents like Adventure Antigua used their boats to rescue actual Barbudans from their island.

I respect Royal for doing all they have done AND wish more accurate wording was being used by everyone.

I think this hurricane revealed what a poor financial base they were skidding by on and now the damage is overwhelming and I don't think many want to rebuild or stay for anymore. They may have lived through many hurricanes, but I think for many this year did them in. All I know is the three reports I saw during that first week were all current residents who were born there or have lived there most their lives and they were leaving with whatever was left they could carry.

 

[cruiser21]

i was going to stay at the sandy beach hotel, i you tubed hotels when i was planning to extend my stay but that changed, the prices are great but not really a fancy establishment. just a place to lay your head down, the bonus is that its right on the beach. as bad as puerto rico sounds right now i just want to leave as soon as we disembark. i dont want to take any chances with my son. im a paranoid mom :/

I agree I wanted to stay the weekend as my children are of Puerto Rican decent and wanted them to explore the island a bit but Im thinking I may contact Jetblue and change my flight from the 4th to the first.

I think this is understable. Places where where people are desperate tend not to be the safest. Every time I've been to San Juan I've noticed a pretty big police presence on the streets. I'm sure their resources are spread thin as far as police, fire and medical.
I would not go to San Juan right now. I've done a lot of traveling around the world. I'm pretty comfortable going about anywhere. I would not go to to a city where people are desperate for basic things like food and water. I don't see the point in taking that chance.

 

[RedSox68]

I think this is understable. Places where where people are desperate tend not to be the safest. Every time I've been to San Juan I've noticed a pretty big police presence on the streets. I'm sure their resources are spread thin as far as police, fire and medical.
I would not go to San Juan right now. I've done a lot of traveling around the world. I'm pretty comfortable going about anywhere. I would not go to to a city where people are desperate for basic things like food and water. I don't see the point in taking that chance.

Agreed.