I have been seeing a few comments on travel boards and hearing some from my friends that they perfer not to sail out of San Juan, that there are too many "problems". I just want to get your opinion.<BR><BR>Have any of you experienced problems sailing out of San Juan? My main problem is the outrageously high airfares to get there.

<BR>Hi Cathy,<BR><BR>I fly into San Juan at least once a year (last in October 2001) and have never experienced a problem. Years ago in the old terminals, yes.<BR><BR>Paul

Last April we went on a Celebrity 7 day Southern out of San Juan. We took TWA from Ft Lauderdale and had absolutely no problems at all. After the cruise, our taxi from the port to the airport almost didn't make it. The car literally died just as we reached the entrance of the very first terminal!! All the airfares have jumped up tremendously over the past few weeks. Hopefully it's just temporary! Have fun.

I have heard that some cruises out of San Juan, particularly Celebrity, were predominately Puerto Rican because they gave them low cost fares. The problems this caused were varied. many people said all the movies were in Spanish, the music was all Spanish, & some of the people were rowdy & wore jeans to dinner. Recently, that does not seem to be the case. I feel that as spring break arrives more & more Americans will be on the ship. I have read great reviews from recent cruises. I wouldn't let it bother you. A cruise is what we make of it.

The problems that people have recently experienced is that the ships were not very full (people reluctant to fly so far to catch a cruise) so the cruiselines gave excellent rates to locals (Puerto Ricans) and the ships were more than 50% Puerto Ricans.<BR><BR>Most Puerto Ricans speak Spanish as their native langauge so it appeared that English was a "second language". Also - people of Puerto Rico have a different culture then those that live in the continental US and this may have changed the average cruise experience into something else. <BR><BR>I had heard several complaints concerning Adventure of the Seas, RCCL Nordic Empress and Celebrity Galaxy. I am guessing that once the ships fill up - the situation will change to be "normal again."<BR><BR>Please do not take this as a negative comment about any nationality or group of people. One of my friends is from Puerto Rico and she explained to me that their idea of a good time and how they celebrate things is different then how we do things. Not wrong - just different.

If anyone is interested - there is a huge thread on this topic on RCCL section of cruisecritic.com

Thanks all and special thanks to Theresa. I sailed out of San Juan last year on the Destiny and before I sailed I had heard the same comments. Seems that the Spanish custom of the "Sweet 15" party was carried over to the cruise ships. Having a ship with a lot of teen agers on it is never easy. There were complaints about teens running around all hours of the night, inappropriate behavior in the dinning rooms and entire sections of the ship being shut down for the coming out parties. I didn't have any problems on my sailing. I had heard from a friend who had been on the Adventure of the Seas that there had been problems similar to the ones mentioned in the Cruise Critic board.<BR><BR>I stayed in Puerto Rico for several days before my cruise and really enjoyed the people there. But it is a different culture.<BR><BR>I hate flying in to the International airport. The place is expensiv and inconvenient and the flights last year were expensive as they are now. If I didn't have an air voucher, my flight to San Juan would have been more than my cruise!

Question for Paul and any other travel agents:<BR><BR>Do you think the cruises will continue the 10 and 11 day summer cruises from Florida to the deep Caribbean? If my sister - n- law didn't pick the Pride, I would have booked either the Paradise or the Millenium. It is so much more convenient to drive or get a cheap flight to Florida.<BR><BR>How can one let the cruise companies know to keep this good idea?

<BR>Hi Cathy,<BR><BR>After 9/11 the cruise lines have pulled most of their ships out of the Med. Since the regular eastern and western Carib. ports are stacked up with ships the only other alternative is to reposition ships to other states and to do other itineraries. If these itineraries prove popular I am sure the lines will continue the practice. Just look at Baltimore where Celebrity repositioned the Galaxy in the Spring. The ships booked so quickly they added additional sailings. The cruises are not so reasonable therefore the profit margin will prove that other lines will be placing ships in the area next year, possibly sailing all summer.<BR><BR>There are 11 new ships arriving the rest of this year and 13 for 2003. <BR><BR>There is a valid reason that the cruise lines will continue to operate 10 and 11 day cruises since they can operate these cruises more effectively and at a higher profit.<BR>Passenger turnover expenses are quite high.<BR><BR>As per the amount of Puerto Rican passengers on ships sailing out of San Juan, it just stands to reason. The Puerto Ricans are earning quite a bit of money these last few years therefore vacationing more extensively. The cruise lines are not catering exclusively to the Puerto Ricans but do have native big-band music every night in one large lounge (late show) that attracts a very large crowd. This is certainly not "in-your-face" Cuban music all over the ship. The music is so entertaining that it also attracts many native americans.<BR>As an example one can look at the many popular singers and bands now famous in the U.S. that sing and play Cuban/Spanish music.<BR><BR>Another positive point is that most Puerto Ricans speak fluent English and are a pleasure to meet and talk with. They are warm and pleasant people. I have met many prestigious business owners, attorneys and doctors from Puerto Rico sailing to the southern Caribbean. They also dress a heck of a lot better than the Americans and the Europeans.<BR><BR>Enjoy,<BR><BR>Paul<BR><BR>

Was on Galaxy in march of last year, what a shock! While waiting to board we were surrounded by hundreds of loud, unruly spanish speaking people. IT got worse on board . Formal night we saw women in flip flops & house dresses. When i turned on tv in cabin the movie was Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan & they were speaking in SPANISH ? I was getting more disgusted every second as our luxury high cost cruise felt more like a lost week in the ghetto!! I found out from crew member that (CELEBRITY ) sells blocks of cabins to locals for $ 300 if ship isn't fully booked ! Needless to say we will NEVER sail out of P.R. again.

I sailed on Adventure of the Seas recently.<BR><BR>Yes, Puerto Ricans can speak fluent English but on my cruise - they chose not to. Also, I heard from several Puerto Ricans that the same cruise that I paid $900 for, they got for $200 at the last minute when the ship did not fill. Our ship had 60% Puerto Ricans and the language on the ship was predominately Spanish. We were the only people speaking English at our table for 10. We asked to move and had this same problem at our next table.<BR><BR>We will be sailing our of Florida next time.<BR><BR>After reading Cruise Critic - we are not the only ones - this experience has been the norm recently on several ships from Puerto Rico.

This is an interesting thread. My husband and I just arrived back this past Saturday from San Juan and Celebrity's Infinity and we observed NONE of the antics being described above. In fact, the ship was by and large comprised of Americans and Europeans. While in port at St. Thomas with RCCL's Radiance, Crystal's Symphony (which tendered in of all things), Celebrity's Summit and Dawn Princess, we observed that the people, at least at Havensight Mall, were mostly American or European. Also, we were to sail on Galaxy last March but had to cancel but our friends went ahead and said NOTHING of what was described. I'm not saying anyone is exaggerating but do you think the truth is being stretched a bit?<BR><BR>Our only problem is that the airport in San Juan is totally inadequate to handle the amount of cruise passengers it receives. Specifically, not enough restrooms, restaurants or sitting areas. Or gates for that matter.<BR><BR>These are just my opinions. I would travel from San Juan again mostly because I like the Southern Caribbean and that is the quickest way to get to the heart of it.

Does anyone know where the NCL Majesty docks in San Juan? Has anyone been on this ship Lately?

I hate when those Puerto Ricans try to speak their native tongue and enjoy themselves on their vacation on cruises that are sold to the general public. Why can't they act more American?

<BR>Here we go again. The people that love to complain. I presume we are forgetting all our ancestors came from a foreign country and very few spoke English. And for the person that watched the movie in Spanish should have had enough sense to get off the Spanish channel.<BR><BR>Paul

Bravo, Paul! Excellent points. Let's all take heed. By the way, have you noticed that the whiners and complainers NEVER seem to have real email addresses?