~*~ May 17th Cruise from Puerto Rico to NYC ~*~

[Positivek22]

Hi Cruiser-

My Boyfriend and I are taking the Caribbean Princess on May 17th, leaving from Puerto Rico- stopping in St. Thomas, Antigua, Bermuda, and then back home to NYC. I have cruised once before, but not on Princess. My boyfriend has never cruised before. Does anyone have any suggestions / comments about the Caribbean Princess? Any good shore excursion ideas? Anyone also going on this trip?

So excited! Can't wait for May!

Happy Cruising

[Trip]

Nice reverse itinerary on that cruise...have fun!

[C-Tiger]

My wife and I will be on the Caribbean Princess the week before you. If you fly into Puetro Rico early enough you can tour Old San Juan on your own, visting El Morro and Fort San Cristobal. Both are run the US Park Commission and the admission ($5. p/p) is good at both locations. If you arrive a day early you may also want to visit El Yunque Rainforest or the Bacardi Rum Distillery. (Liquor can be cheaper in San Juan then St Thomas but some will disagree. I guess it depends on what type you are looking for and since you are from NY you won't have to worry about the airline restrictions.)

St Thomas is know for two things: shopping and beaches. You can take a cab ride (rates are posted) to Magens Bay, Sapphire Beach, Coki Beach, or any other one of its magnificent beaches. Also Trunk Bay on St. Johns in rated one of the 10 best beaches in the world.

In Antigua we took the Nelson's Dockyard National Park Tour, which was interesting. In the afternoon we went to the beach on our own. They also had a casino at the foot of the pier where you dock.

Have never been to Bermuda so cannot comment.

A couple of years ago we took a repostioning cruise on the Grand from PR back to NY. It's a real sight when you come back to NY harbor under the Verezano Bridge at 4:00 in the morning! We docked in Red Hook Brooklyn (How youuuu dooin).

My wife and I both LOVE Princess, especially any time dining. If you are celebrating a special ocassion you may want to eat in Sabatini's which specializes in Italian cuisine. Make your reservations as soon as you can to insure you get the day and time you want.

I'm sure after this cruise this will not be your boyfriend's last. Cruising is like a drug, once you start, you always keep coming back for more.

Have fun and let us know how you make out.

[Annie4ct]

My BF and I are also taking this cruise. It is his first cruise and my 2nd. Our plan is to have a great time, relax a little, party a little and just have fun!

I haven't booked our flights yet, but I am thinking we might fly in on Saturday night and spend some time in San Juan before getting on the ship. Are you flying in that day? Out of New York? I think we are going to fly out of Boston or Hartford.

[C-Tiger]

We have done both, flew in the day before and flown in the day of the cruise. I've been watching the airfares and they have been remaining pretty steady over the past few weeks. Alot also depends on the departure time from NY, a Sunday moring flight can cost as much as $100. p/p more than the cost of an afternoon flight or a Saturday flight. So if it cost $200 more to leave on Sunday morning I would consider going down the day (morning) before. This way you have a complete day and most of Sunday in San Juan. Besides this way you get a head start on your vacation and won't feel rushed on Sunday.

We can leave out of Newark (Liberty) or Stewart (Newburgh, NY), but again, alot depends on the departure times and flight cost. One time we flew out of Stewart to Fort Lauderdale because the departure time was what we wanted and the cost was about the same as Newark. Stewart is only about 30 minutes away while Newark is 1hr 20 min.

Check out your departure cities and fight time options on Expedia to get an idea on flight cost. Farecompare.com also gives you an idea on pricing trends.

Have a great time.