Anthem of the Seas FlyCruise - Day 4: San Juan, Puerto Rico | Journeys
Flexible Plans are always important when travelling
Arrival into San Juan, Puerto Rico PHOTO: SINGAPORE CRUISE SOCIETY
In an instant, we have travelled over 1,000 nautical miles down south, and are scheduled to arrive in San Juan, Puerto Rico today. The weather for the past two days was manageable, though the winds are shaking the ship up a bit.
Windjammer Breakfast
We kickstarted the day with a heavy breakfast at the Windjammer, where other than the usual breakfast offerings, we managed to hunt down the breakfast congee at the side of the buffet line. With classic condiments and soy sauce offered, we couldn't wait to grab a serving! It was a pleasant surprise to see an Asian favorite breakfast item available halfway across the world, hence, you should not be afraid that you can’t get used to the food here!
Slightly Delayed
It was around 1pm when we learned that our arrival into San Juan will be delayed by 45 minutes, apparently due to our late departure from Cape Liberty. Though I thought that the weather had its part to play in our delayed arrival as well.
We were up on deck to watch the arrival until the ship suddenly made a left turn, breaking away from the approach path to avoid what the Captain said was a ‘vessel not making position reports’. We retired the approach after circling around, and this took another 25 minutes.
After securing the moorings and waiting for port clearances, we finally disembarked at 6pm, 2 hours behind schedule. We understand that due to the late arrival, some of the tours operated by Royal Caribbean were cancelled, leaving guests up to their own planning of how they were going to spend the shortened 4 hours in San Juan.
Arrival
On our arrival into San Juan, in port was the Celebrity Reflection and Nieuw Amsterdam was in port next to us, ready for their departure. Here are some shots of them preparing for their journeys onwards.
Shopping Fix
Since we originally already did not have shore excursions for this port, we simply cancelled our trip down to Old San Juan, and took a taxi directly to the Plaza Las Americas, which our taxi driver told us was the largest shopping mall throughout the Caribbean.
Masks were required in San Juan, and almost everyone that we saw was wearing masks, both indoors and outdoors. At the mall, there were signs that were reminding people to wear their masks, or face fines.
The Plaza Las Americas features lots of international brands, from Foot Locker to L’Occitane. I went to pick up some gifts for friends back home at Sephora and Tiffany and Co, while they were not any cheaper, were still at a good rate after conversion.
Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory
We managed to get a table at The Cheesecake Factory (after learning about it from Sheldon Cooper!). Just like in New York, they checked our vaccination certificates from Singapore, and allowed us entry. Portions here are huge as compared to what we are normally used to. It was fairly well-priced, and was overall a great meal.
We then ended our short evening trip to San Juan, and returned back to the ship.
Health & Safety
At first we were pretty afraid of how such independent tours will play out post-COVID. However, we learned that it wasn’t that complicated and we noticed that many mitigation measures were in place. On the taxi ride, the driver required us to sanitize our hands and wear masks the whole trip and ensured we were agreeable before letting us board. During the ride, the windows were rolled down to help with ventilation.
In the mall, everyone from visitors to staff were all masked up, and though it was crowded, I never felt social distancing was compromised at any time.
Tomorrow is Day 5 and the Anthem of the Seas will arrive in Philipsburg, St. Maarten in the late morning.
Preamble: Anthem of the Seas 12 Night Southern Caribbean FlyCruise
A Note on Pandemic Travel
All international travels conducted by the Singapore Cruise Society will be done in accordance with prevailing health and border control measures of our home & the destination country. Our admins and staff have been advised and will follow a strict set of health guidelines set out based on current measures published by the cruise lines and local authorities.
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