As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the most interesting views you'll ever get from a cruise ship in the Caribbean.
This is the view as you enter San Juan Bay in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
I'm Jim Zim... I've been on 35 cruises, so far, and I've sailed into San Juan many times before
but I just never get tired of this view.
At the entrance to San Juan Bay stands the historic old fort known as El Morro.
At least that's what most Americans call it now. The full name is Castillo San Felipe Del Morro
named in honor of King Philip the second of Spain.
This goes way back to the 16th century... construction starting back in 1539.
It was built to defend the port of San Juan by controlling the entry to its harbor.
It's really interesting to walk through it and think about the history here.
About two million tourists visit it every year now.
If you've arrived in San Juan by cruise ship, there are a couple of ways to get to El Morro.
This ocean front walkway that you see here starts over in the old downtown area near where the cruise ships dock.
You can walk all the way down this path and end up at El Morro.
That's kind of the back way in, though.
The easier way is to grab one of the free trolleys that stops right across the street from the cruise ships
and will take you right to El Morro's front door.
Of course, there's a lot more to know about San Juan than just El Morro!
San Juan is the capital of Puerto Rico... and remember that Puerto Rico has been an American territory since 1898.
People born in Puerto Rico have full US citizenship but Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the US Congress.
In case you're wondering about this tugboat...
It's standing by in the very unlikely event that our cruise ship loses power
right as we pass through the narrow harbor entrance.
If the ship were to run into any propulsion problems and started to drift towards the fort
that tug would jump in to keep us from running aground.
There's a whole lot of history right here
and I always find myself thinking about it when I'm on a cruise ship entering the bay.
They didn't go to all the trouble of building those walls and that big fort just for show!
Over the years, many attempts have been made to invade and conquer San Juan.
Sir Francis Drake, a vice-Admiral in England, and considered a hero there was considered a pirate here.
He tried to invade in 1595 with 27 ships and 2,500 men.
Drake planned on ransacking the city and capturing a large cache of gold that was stored there.
But it didn't go well for Drake.
He never could get past the heavily defended harbor entrance
and then within, a few months, he was dead after coming down with dysentery.
El Morro's last active fight occurred in 1898 during the Spanish-American war.
The United States Navy attacked El Morro... bombarding it with over 1300 shells
The US Navy attacked for the better part of a day and had much better weapons than El Morro was equipped with.
Can you imagine what that must have been like?!?
The treaty of Paris in 1898 ended the Spanish-American war
and gave the U.S. ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands.
Now, as we get closer to our destination, you can see that we've got company.
An old friend is waiting for us there at the cruise ship dock!
That's the Carnival Splendor. My wife and I sailed on her six years ago.
It was the first time we had ever stayed in a suite on a cruise ship.
Here's the thing that I find interesting about the Carnival Splendor...
She's a full sister ship to the Costa Concordia They share a nearly identical design.
I'm sure you remember the Costa Concordia... the Italian cruise liner that ran aground off Giglio island...
Thanks to the world's worst cruise ship captain, Francesco Schettino.
He ran the Costa Concordia aground in 2012.
That was just two years after we had sailed on Carnival Splendor, the sister ship.
So, memories of exactly what it was like onboard Carnival Splendor
were still pretty fresh in my head at the time of the Concordia incident.
Trying to imagine what it must have been like for those passengers aboard Concordia was just mind-boggling for me.
Here's the US Coast Guard base at San Juan, with the cruise ship docks just a short distance away.
Our ship will be docking just on this side of the Carnival Splendor, at a smaller secondary dock.
Carnival got the better dock on this particular day.
Now, here's a pretty good look at the downtown area of Old San Juan.
If you're going to be visiting San Juan by cruise ship
the most important thing you need to know is that there's two very handy things
located right across the street from where the ships dock.
If you're tired of cruise ship food by this point in your cruise,
head across the street to Señor Frog's bar and restaurant.
Don't expect a quiet lunch there...
but they've got some nice things on the menu that you can't get on a lot of cruise ships...
like Mexican food!
Why don't cruise ships offer more Mexican food?!?
During our visit to San Juan, I made a beeline to Señor Frog's just to get a decent batch of nachos.
And just down the block from Señor Frog's is another handy little place for cruise ship passengers:
a CVS pharmacy.
If you want a can of Diet Coke on a cruise ship that's going to set you back about three bucks.
At CVS, it's about a dollar.
Need some cough syrup or some suntan lotion?
Don't pay cruise ship prices... just get it at the CVS in San Juan.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed this look at what it's like to sail into San Juan Bay on a cruise ship.
I'm Jim Zim. Visit my website at JimZim.net for lots more about cruising.