Caribbean Cruise & Puerto Rico 2019 Part 1
1/26/19 6:30pm
Flight, Orlando, Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico
I am on another trip – this has become a yearly thing, apparently, as this is the third January in a row in which I have flown somewhere and cruised the Caribbean.
I did not sleep well last night. I was overthinking things, as usual, and just couldn’t sleep. Sometimes I drifted off for a bit, but I always woke right back up.
Last year’s adventure with friends was much different than this solo trip in that the planning came really easily last year and not at all this year. When my friends and I had ideas, plans just fell into place, magically, it seemed. This year, nothing seemed to fit well scheduling-wise and it was less fun and more of a stressor.
But, here I am -- en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico fo an eleven day cruise on the Norwegian Dawn.
I left my car at the Albany Park, Ride, and Fly again (I get a real nice discount through my union) and was bussed over to the Albany Airport around 11am. I wandered around the airport for a bit and then read quietly by Starbucks. (I don’t know why I find airports so endearing… maybe it’s the prospects of adventure? If you’re at an airport, you’re going somewhere where there is something different than where you are. It’s exciting!). I had bought the newest Dan Brown Da Vinci Code sequel (don’t judge – I wanted something that didn’t require too much thought – a “beach read” if you will, since I will be spending a lot of time on beaches). While hanging out by Starbucks, I dropped my Lego minifigure’s treasure map in the heater grate along the window. There was other junk down there, too, so I wasn’t worried about it starting a fire at the airport.
My flight began boarding at 1pm and I had a poor boarding spot. Upon entering the plane, I noted an empty seat right away by an older couple (older: as in retirement age, not as in elderly). I asked them if they minded sharing their row and they did not, so I sat down quickly. We ended up talking for the entire flight from Albany to Orlando. They introduced themselves as Bill and Lynn and they are from Guilderland, New York (“Bill and Lynn from Guilderland,” I said to myself – “I can’t forget these names”). They were traveling to Orlando, Florida to visit friends for a weekend. We talked about traveling, which is something that they have done a lot of (cruises, road trips, etc). Lynn had been to San Juan and told me about the “bio bay,” which is something that I am really looking forward to experiencing. I had already booked a bio bay tour for the last day of my trip. Lynn told me about a place in Old San Juan to avoid – La Puerta? Maybe. Friends of hers were drinking and had wandered into that neighborhood. They were picked up by police and accused of being prostitutes. The one woman had to call home to have her husband vouch for her. “That’s actually a really great story,” I commented.
Bill and Lynn guessed my age to be much younger than it is and were shocked to find out my actual age (Incorrect Age Guess Count: 1). Lynn said that I must still get carded at bars and, it's true, sometimes I do.
Bill and Lynn were quite personable and it was incredibly pleasant talking with them. We talked about adventurous excursions/tours, such as, kayaking, zip lines, hiking mountains, etc. They told me about a road trip they took down the west coast and some of the parks and sights that they had seen. They talked about the time Bill lost his wallet on a plan and his frantic run across the airport to reclaim it. Lynn had left her phone at Senior Frog’s in Cozumel and did not realize it until it was too late to look for it. She had been drinking a lot that day and Senior Frogs gives free shots, so she was pretty drunk.
Lynn gave me some tips for sneaking booze on to my cruise ship. She cruised out of San Juan and stopped in a liquor store next to the pier. The employee at the liquor store showed her how to hide small bottles of rum in different parts of her bag and it worked! The crew of the ship did not find it.
When we landed in Orlando, I thanked them for sharing their row and for the wonderful conversation. It’s always awkward sitting next to strangers on planes, but – sometimes – it turns out to be quite a pleasant time.
It was four o’clock when we landed and I went in search of food – I was famished as I had only had a bowl of cereal and a breakfast sandwich from Panera Bread all day and it was approaching dinner time. I found myself at Chipotle because it was the shortest line. I ordered a steak burrito and practically inhaled it.
The Orlando airport was packed. I couldn’t find a quiet spot and eventually ended up at my gate, waiting anxiously (because of all the people everywhere) to board. At 5:35pm, boarding began. I had a better boarding position this time and picked a window seat near the front. A young (as in younger than me) couple sat down next to me.
It’s dark out (and in the plane). I am using the light above my seat to see my notebook as I write while my row mates watch separate movies on their phones. I am eating Ritz plane crackers and sipping ice water. My row mates drink a vodka and cranberry and a whiskey and seven up. According to the Southwest Flight Tracker, we are currently over the Bahamas and have an hour and twenty five minutes to go until we land in San Juan. It’s going to be seventy five degrees when we land – a huge improvement over the twenty degree weather I left behind in Albany.
-------------------
1/27 10:30am
San Juan Airport Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico
When the plane landed at the San Juan Airport and we waiting to deboard, I overheard the couple next to me talking about a boat. I asked them if they were going on a cruise and they said they were. On Norwegian Dawn. I told them that I was going to be on the same ship and we talked about cruises while we deboarded.
As we walked to the baggage claim, we talked about the islands that we’ll be visiting and the excursions that we have planned for each one. My bags were already on the carousel when we reached it, so I grabbed my bags and introduced myself to the couple. They introduced themselves as Katie and Jared (I think) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Apparently, it’s supposed to be ten to twenty degrees below zero in Milwaukee this week!
Katie and Jared said they’d see me at the bars on the ship and I wheeled my luggage off towards the San Juan Airport Hotel. It turned out that I went the wrong way. I asked a security person for directions and, between her broken English and my broken Spanish, learned which way I needed to go. However, I got lost following the directions. There were no signs and I turned too soon. Eventually, I found the hotel and it was a long walk from the baggage claim. There were two pitchers of ice water (and cups) on counter at the front desk and I drink half of one pitcher while I waited to check in.
The hotel room is less than basic. It actually feels like an institution room, not than I’ve ever been in an institution room, mind you, but it feels like what I would imagine one to feel like. Tiny room. Plain white walls. Bed. Desk. Nothing else.
Despite not getting much the night before, and traveling all day, it took me hours to fall asleep.
I woke up to my alarm at 8am, put on shorts and a short sleeve shirt, donned my straw hat, and went to the complimentary hot breakfast, which consisted of an omelet station, ham, orange slices, toast, oatmeal, and various drinks. I ordered an omelet and filled a cup with orange juice. I got a few slices of ham because the wait for omelets was twenty to thirty minutes. The breakfast room was packed. There was no place to sit and then a small group left together, so I took one of their seats. I barely nibbled my ham because it was incredibly salty.
A guy asked if he could sit across from me. I said, “sure.” He was probably mid to late twenties. Maybe thirty. He said that he was going to be taking a Disney cruise with his wife and kids. He said he doesn’t like the ports because “they’re all the same.” He was pretty crass and, when he learned that I was traveling solo, suggested that I would be “looking for pussy” on the ship. I changed the subject.
An older couple (approaching elderly, but not quite there yet) were sitting next to me and overheard that I was going to be cruising on the Norwegian Dawn. They said that they are going to be on the ship as well. We talked about cruises and excursions. They introduced themselves as Carol and Bill from Baltimore, Maryland. They take several cruises a year because they are retired. They will be doing back to back cruises on the Dawn for twenty one days total. The longest that they’ve gone for is twenty five days. The crass twenty-something guy said that seven days is too long and that I’d probably be on my eleven day cruise. I won’t be bored. I have a book and a pen and two notebooks.
My omelet was finally ready and I ate while Carol and Bill talked about their cruise adventures. They mentioned wanting to sell their Baltimore Ravens season tickets because a football player took a knee during the national anthem. “I’m a patriot,” Carol said and I began looking for an exit. I changed the subject and soon after an employee began cleaning the tables and asked us to leave because breakfast was over.
I told Carol and Bill that I’d see them on the ship and then took an elevator back up to my institution room. I read for about an hour and then sat down to write. I’m going to ship showering this morning as my plan is to walk around Old San Juan for a few hours after dropping my luggage off at the cruise terminal.
PS – I think I called the villain of this Da Vinci Code sequel – it’s the artificial intelligence, Winston. I hope I’m wrong, because there is a lot of book to go… maybe I should have gotten a book that would require me to think at least a little bit…
-----------
1/27 4:30pm
Starbucks, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
I checked out of my hotel at 11:30am and walked in the general direction of where I thought taxis would be and, after about a ten minute walk, I found the taxi stand. I was the only passenger in a taxi van. The driver spoke little English, so we didn’t really talk. She drove like a mad person. I felt G-forces multiple times and wondered if she was trying to take flight because the cruise port was located on the moon. I took some pictures of the scenery and held on for dear life. The pictures came out blurry.
The port was a mad house – so many people not knowing what to do with themselves. I found a long line and queued up. Eventually, someone took my bags and directed me into a building where there was a shorter line and metal detectors. I passed through them and followed the flow of people, which led out the back of the building and into a ginormous (and somewhat crowded) tent. There was a weird, sparkly, black carpet that covered the entirety of the tent. To the left was a line of tables with computers and people checking in cruisers. The line to the tables was roped off into a maze through the tent. To my right was a table with water coolers and plastic cups. I poured myself an ice water because it was very hot out and my upstate New York body was not accepting the heat very well.
I found the entrance to the check in line maze and entered. I ducked under a couple ropes since there was no one directly ahead of me and I didn’t see any reason to walk the length of the tent and back.
The line was long, but it moved quickly. In no time, I was standing at a table checking in. The employee that was checking me in asked me to remove my “very awesome hat” so that she could take my picture. Checking in only took a moment, because I did most of it online. Once I was good go, I left the tent with the weird carpet and had to get in another line to get on the ship. I skipped a photo op and walked up the gangplank on to the ship.
My first impression of the Norwegian Dawn: the ship feels ‘close,’ for lack of a better word. The corridors seem smaller than other ships that I’ve been on. The atrium is not nearly as grand as the atriums on other ships that I’ve been on. Even so, it’s not my cubicle at work… it’s a cruise ship and it’s awesome to be on it!
I went to O’Sheehan’s, which is an Irish bar on the ship, for lunch. The bar is one floor up from the main deck and overlooks the atrium bar below. I had grilled chicken fajitas and water – a lot of water. The fajitas were really good. Kinda spicey, but not overwhelmingly so.
After lunch, I decided to walk up to the top deck to take a look around from a higher vantage point. It took some time to find the right way to go. In reviews that I had read about this ship, people commented on “dead ends” causing difficulty in getting around the ship. I concur with those reviews, but it’s really a minor inconvenience.
Eventually, I found the top deck and took a quick look at the sights around me. An announcement came on, stating that state rooms were ready already. I decided to swing by my room and freshen up, put on sunscreen before heading out to explore Old San Juan. My room is on lowest deck that has staterooms. There is a porthole, which is nice. The room is small, of course, but it feels incredibly clean and comfy. I found the bottles of water that I had ordered and a bottle of sparkling wine for being a bronze level member of the Latitudes rewards program.
I lathered up in sunscreen and left my room, with my man bag over my shoulder. I asked for directions to get off the ship and it was the same gangplank that was used to get on the ship. It was incredibly awkward being the only person going in the opposite direction of so many people who were boarding.
Once off the ship, I ordered an uber and was taken to Old San Juan. The driver was listening to what I’m certain is the Spanish Maroon 5 – club beats and autotune.
The first thing that I found when I was dropped off was the umbrellas! I was looking forward to seeing them. The street was packed and a couple photobombed my selfie. I liked the charm of the cobblestone streets in this area.
After taking some pics and hanging out by the umbrellas, I wandered down the first side street that I saw. There was a restaurant that was open to the street and I saw a display of free Old San Juan maps. So, I grabbed and used it to get my bearings. I decided to walk up the hill towards the fort, which is something that many people suggested online as a touristy thing to do in San Juan. As I made my way up the hill, I came across a small park with a fountain. There was a guy with an acoustic guitar and small amplifier playing Beatles songs.
I rested here for a bit and drank lots of water. From the umbrellas to fort is only about eight blocks (two of which are long blocks), but I needed the rest because of the heat.
The fort itself isn’t really that exciting, but the expansive lawn and paved pathway leading up the fort is wonderful! It felt so open and huge!
There was a wicked wind coming in off of the sea, which looked rough. Several kites were in the air and there were hundreds of people about, but it was not crowded.
Suddenly, a kite blew across the ground about ten feet in front of me. It came to rest on the grass just off the paved pathway, its thin string laid across the pathway. I stepped on the string so that it wouldn’t continue to be blow away. I looked around for a kid or someone running after it, but there was no one. I scanned the expanse of the lawn for any indication that someone lost their kite. Nothing.
So, I picked up the string and found the spool at the end of it. And I flew the kite.
“So, now I’m flying a kite that I just stole, apparently,” I thought to myself as the wind whipped it about. The wind brought the kite crashing to the ground a couple of times. After crashing, a little girl came over and I asked if it was her kite. She didn’t understand English. She had two adults with her and a baby in a stroller. The adults didn’t understand me either, but they spoke in Spanish as the man picked the kite up and sort of tossed it up into the air. The kite flew higher and I gave him a thumbs up and a smile. He did the same back to me.
Not long after, the kite tore where the string met the plastic and it crashed to the ground. I ran over and scooped it up quickly. Since it was broken at this point, I deposited it in a trash can as I walked back toward the city (I didn’t want it to end up the ocean).
After walking back down the pathway, I came across an icee vender (I don’t know what they called them here, but the ice cream man back home calls them Italian Ices or Icees). I ordered coconut flavor from the Spanish speaking vender by asking for coconut, hearing him say something that may have been ‘coconut’ in Spanish, and then pointing at the picture of the coconut one. Then, I sat in the shade to eat it. (Have I mentioned that it’s hot?)
I sat on the curb near the free trolley stop enjoying my icee for like twenty minutes. Traffic was practically at a standstill – Old San Juan is all one way streets and they are packed with cars. It must take people hours to get from one end to the other. I suspected that the trolley would be a waste of time and a pointless mode of transportation, so I started walking.
I stopped off at a few spots to take pictures. There were a few small parks and water fountains along the way. Old San Juan is really pretty. Many of the streets are cobblestones and there are these little parks and water fountains sprinkled about.
I came across Starbucks and needed to use the bathroom and charge my phone. So, I bought a water, used the restroom and sat down to write. My phone is charged and I’m caught up on writing about my adventure thus far, so I’m off for more!
