Life with Mrs C

Second port we stopped at was San Juan, Puerto Rico! We didn’t have an excursion booked here as we wanted to just explore the old town of the city and do our own thing, as we love doing that anyway!

We woke up to the captains announcement telling us we had docked safely, the gangway was down and open and we had to return by a certain time. We got ourselves up and dressed and down to Islands for breakfast as this was a good option for us with Mr C being able to pick and choose what he wanted from the full English section. The port area as we were leaving the ship was huge, with a lively walkway down to the main entrance with the I heart PR sign (obvious photo op!)

After this we headed out, in search of the typical tourist item – a Starbucks!!We did manage to locate this very easily actually, however the WiFi was a little awkward and we ended up with nothing here so decided to go for a wander and see where we got to. We generally walked around the brightly coloured streets until we spotted a castle, so we wandered over that way.

The Castillo San Cristobal was gorgeous! Originally built by the Spanish to protect against land-based attacks on the city of San Juan, it’s part of San Juan National Historic Site and is the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the New World. There was a charge to enter, but this also covered entry to its sister fortress up the coast – Castillo San Felipe del Morro.

We didn’t go in, but we did have a good wander around the grounds in the areas we could visit, and spent some time by the walls looking out at the views before walking the coastal road up to the other castle. Along the way we found a really interesting museum – Museo de San Juan – which had two exhibits which will rotate regularly. The museum was free, and was really interesting to walk around to see the local culture and history. This also gave us a little break from the heat, and some time out of the sun as it was starting to reach the middle of the day.

We then kept walking till we reached the other castle, and again spent some time in the grounds and taking in the views, however if you wanted to go in there was plenty to do and see inside!

After this we headed back into the city and found the city walls and the coastal path heading back to the dock, so just wandered back this way slowly stopping every now and then for photos and to take in the experience of the vibrant city!

Once we were back at the ship we decided to do the glass house for lunch, and to grab a sun lounger for the rest of the afternoon – top tip, this seemed to be a lot quieter than the main pool deck, still hot and access to a pool. It just meant for us I wasn’t sat in direct sunlight. The food was also incredible! You could get panini’s, pizza slices, or freshly cooked pasta in a variety of sauces all with fries and different side options.

We also spent this evening in the Live Room – the main “club bar” on the ship as they had live music all evening. The stand out this night though was Abbie, who in her own words was a proper northern lass from Bradford. She had a belting voice, a wicked sense of humour and banter to match! Each show we watched of hers was brilliant and we ended up spending most nights of the cruise in this bar.

When we eventually made it back to the cabin for bed, we also had a little towel puppy waiting for us, which was adorable!

Have you ever been to Puerto Rico? Or is it on your wishlist?

Let me know below!

XOXO