June 6, 2022 San Juan, Puerto Rico

We are still at sea on our way to San Juan, Puerto Rico, arrival in scheduled for 4 p.m. The ship’s location is 19°49.59N, 67°51.15W about 128 nautical miles from San Juan and the ocean in this location is 25,130 feet (7.66 km) deep. We chose to go to the Silhouette main dining room deck 3 starboard side for breakfast this morning. The temperature was 27°C, with a very thin cloud and a wind SW 15 mph. The couple at the next table were Tim and Karen from Nashville who were fun to talk to. After breakfast we walked on deck 5 beside the lifeboats on the starboard side in the shade, which sheltered us from the wind. Then we stopped at the Café al Bacio for cappuccinos to take up to our balcony. The step count was 5,255. The clouds had cleared and the sun was now on the port side and shone on the balcony.

We joined the Swing dance class in the Grand Foyer at 11:30 a.m. with about 14 other couples spilling onto the carpet. The class was taught by a different pair of ship’s dancers than the ones who taught the Salsa yesterday. We went to the Silhouette main dining room deck 3 port side for lunch. Internet connection was non-existent all afternoon. After 2:30 p.m., land could be seen through a slight haze.The ship continued on into San Juan harbour passing the fort El Morro, a common name for 16^th Spanish built forts build on headlands. We could watch planes approach the airport and land. The temperature was 33°C with a moderate breeze under a partly cloudy sky. Visible from our balcony were the two old forts as we glided into the harbour. We were docked by 3:50 p.m. but the ship had to be cleared by U.S. Border Services and Customs before passengers could leave. The location is 18°27.79’N and 66°06.62W. The ship was facing almost due north at the pier. Directly up the hill from the ship is fortified Castillo San Cristóbal. One street away from the ship was the Sheraton hotel with a Walgreens on the ground floor. There was a CVS pharmacy another street away. An announcement was made to remind passengers to take their Seapass card, government issued ID and vaccination proof plus wearing a face mask, recommended, for visiting San Juan.

We waited 30 minutes for the crowds to leave the ship as we didn’t have an excursion booked here and sail away wasn’t until 11 p.m. The temperature was 33°C. Larry took some pictures of the Castillo and Capitol building from deck 14. In all of the ports on this cruise, the ship is docked so we will not be awakened by the lowering of the tender boats which are located just on the other side of our balcony.

It was almost 5 p.m. when we walked down the gangway and onto the pier. Looking back at the ship there were two lifeboats and the runabout boat in the water on the port side of the ship. It was probably a test to be sure that the lifeboats were in working order.

For our wander, we left the ship to walk east to the Capitol, but as we crossed the street a brief sun shower made us take shelter for five minutes. We walked along Avenida de la Constituçion toward the Capitol building, which is the state Senate, passing the Casino. On the east side of the Capital, we passed the police building as we were going to Luis Muñoz Rivera where we turned west toward Castillo San Cristóbal, a fortress within the old city walls, then followed Calle Norzagaray west to Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro) on the point. It is also contained along the city walls. Spain constructed these fortresses between 1539 and 1790. There was a battle at El Morro in 1625 that lasted a month where the Dutch were trying to take the fortress. San Juan was the first large island reached from Europe that had fresh water and a good harbour. Larry took a picture of a typical old town street – Calle de la Luna. As we walked along a street built on the old inner wall, below which is the water’s edge neighbourhood of La Perle where a meat slaughterhouse used to be, a sign showed the collapse of the road in 2004. Its 1760 engineering did not take into account the 20^th century vehicles, which are a lot heavier than horses pulling wagons and carriages, would be travelling on that road. It was repaired. We saw a house on the street with a lovely filigree door and the entrance door to San Felipe. Both San Felipe and San Cristóbal are World Heritage Sites and close at 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. San Felipe has a dry moat surrounding it for military defence. As we returned back downhill toward the ship on Calle del Cristo, we passed Calle de le Fontaleza. It was cordoned off by police and there were large paper bells hanging from the roofs of the buildings in rows of eight. It was very pretty. At the end of the old city was the city wall built between 1753 and 1780 with an old chapel built into the wall called Chapel of Christ the Savior. We were back on the ship before 8 p.m. after an unsuccessful attempt to find a Wi-fi signal in the cruise terminal to upload photos.

We dropped off our hats and gear then climbed the seven flights of stairs to have dinner in the Oceanview Café. Then we walked outside on Deck 14 to the Sky Lounge for a drink – Dark & Stormy. There were only a few people there and only one bartender, no waiters, so we sat at the bar and chatted with a couple who are cruising to Bermuda in August, Larry and Barbara. When they left another couple sat at the bar and we chatted about flight cancellation and delays. The bar remained almost empty.

Final steps 22,271