Returning from our short little “exploratory” cruise that you previously read about, we quickly decided that cruising was the way to travel and we quickly booked our next trip for October 26, 2013. This time we were a little more ambitious. In fact our second cruise started in San Juan, Puerto Rico! This trip would take us to St Thomas, St Kitts, Aruba, Curacao and back to San Juan onboard Royal Caribbeans Jewell of the Seas. We booked a flight to San Juan via Jet Blue to arrive in San Juan the afternoon before departure and stayed that night at the Caribe Hilton.

At the airport we hailed a taxi to take us to the Caribe Hilton. We quickly discovered that the Caribe Hilton was a destination paradise in its own right! Huge open-air lobby (see below), gorgeous grounds and rooms, and superb dining. We didn’t have a lot of time to spend in San Juan so we decided to just enjoy the Caribe Hilton grounds and amenities.

We quickly discovered that many cruisers stayed here at the Hilton and we were in awe as some of them told us stories of how this was their 90-something cruise, all the places they had been and were quick to give us tips and pointers. The next morning our bags were taken from our room to the open-air lobby area where we, along with many other cruisers, were taken by bus to the cruiseport. When we got to the cruiseport we were excited to see not only the Jewell of the Seas but also the Celebrity Summit where we had already booked a trip for May 2014.

Here are some pictures in and around the Caribe Hilton.