Yes, this is a cruise. We’re flying in to New York and then down to SJ to jump ship. Time is tight on the way down, but on the way back plan to spend a few days in SJ/NYC. Wedding is on the 12th of May, ship sails out of SJ 10:00pm on the 14th. Cruise is booked, flights are not. We are back in SJ 7:00am on the following Sunday, and have a week before we need to back home. I’ve been to NYC, St. Thomas & St. Maarten, Fiancee has not.
Recommendations on San Juan, port calls, and NYC most welcome.
On a training note - I have a marathon about 3 weeks after we get back. Should I try to get my runs in on the ship’s outdoor track, or hit the treadmill in the am? My recollection is that they don’t alternate direction day to day, and the track itself is pretty small…
Unless you just love the treadmill, you should be able to get your runs in at the ports. Also, the ships usually have pretty good options for activities at the various islands. Or, you can rent a car or hire a taxi and just drive around. I’ve been to all of these places; the islands are very small and it’s pretty easy to see what you want to see in a day. If you guys like to snorkel or dive, be sure to take at least one day to take a boat out and do this. Again, the ship should have a good list of reputable operators. I’m not a big fan of San Juan and if it were me, I’d spend the week after in NYC.
I love the treadmill for specific workouts such as doing hill repeats at a constant velocity, doing tempo runs, threshold runs or mixing a multitude of variables into one run. I think the treadmill is one of the most misused and under utlized tools for runners/du/triathletes.
Yeah, I’d love to get the runs in while at port, and hope to at least once. Thing is, I want training to take a back seat to everything else on this trip. I’m planning to get the training out of the way before KT is even out of bed, so that we can spend ALL of our time together for this week…
Thanks Brian. I’m thinking that if the tmills on the ship are anything like the clubs around here, i’m not going to be able to book one for the amount of time I’ll want to spend on one…
Do you think there is much risk in doing a big volume week on a track that is probably 1/10 mile in the same direction every day? (for 1 week)
That’s some very good thinking. I just celebrated my 15th wedding anniversary in Hawaii with my husband. We spent all of our time together and it was as good as it was when we spent a week together on our honeymoon cruise.
When you get to St Marteen, leave that side of the island immediately and head over to the French side. Go to Orient Bay. It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous nude beach. Take your goggles with you and swim out to the island. It’s maybe a 3/4 mile swim to the island. Nothing much on the island, but it’s an amazing swim. Beautiful clear water the whole way. After the return swim back to the beach, go to the grocery store at the resort there and grab a nice bottle of French wine and some bread. They have a good selection. Take your wine and bread and grab a couple of chairs back at the beach, rent an umbrella, hang out for a bit, and enjoy the day.
I have found it difficult to run in the ports with the exception of St. Thomas where you can run about 2 miles from the cruise ships to town on a sidewalk. Barbados has a sidewalk also but it is only about 3/4 mile until you get downtown.
I usually alternate between the running track and the treadmills. The treadmills usually face the water and get pretty boring after awhile. The running track usually has a lot of traffic (and clueless people). Have a great time!
I spent a week in Puerto Rico a few years ago. It is a fantastic place. What I did:
Hiked the El Yunque Rainforest.
Kayaked in biophosphorescent laggon one night.
Visited the Arecibo radio telescope.
Rode the ferry to Vieques Island.
Spent an afternoon on a catamaram cruise (Great!).
Visited several beaches.
Toured Old San Juan.
We stayed in Fajardo, a small fishing village on the east side of the island. I loved it and will go back. Do be careful, the traffic there makes Atlanta traffic seem like child’s play. On an interstate with two lanes of traffic in each direction, there will be four lanes of traffic in each direction. If you visit a beach, do not leave your stuff alone. It will be stolen. Unemplyment is high and petty theft abounds. The island is very beautiful, but areas are completely trashed. If nothing else, and you only have a short time, do a walking tour of Old San Juan. There are several on the internet you can print out for free. I think I did the one from Frommers site. Of course the worst time to do one of these is when several cruise ships are in! If you do the walking tour, be sure to see the graveyard overlooking the ocean. It is a veryinteresting sight.
Like wind training? If so, then the track is for you. Assuming it’s on the top deck as it was on the ship I cruised–it can be quite gusty up there…I found it quite difficult to get into a rhythm. Maybe we just had abnormally windy days…who knows. So, I would vote for the treadmill. Enjoy the honeymoon!
On Barbados, go to Sandy Beach. The Carib beach bar if you want to chill. Accra beach has a really cool man-made reef a couple of hundred yards off-shore. It’s really cool to get in some open water swimming there.
Agree. You are only in port for a short time anyway, and if you want to do “honeymoon” stuff on the beach, take excursions, do shopping, etc., there is no time for a run. As others have said, running on the deck is gusty. You are limited on the treadmills to 20 minutes, usually, so hitting them during an off-peak period (very, very early in the a.m. or late in the afternoon) may be your best option.
I have never been able to go on a cruise and keep my fitness level up. Just enjoy your honeymoon. Hopefully, it will be your one and only.
Ask this guy.