OK, Ngaire, I am finally posting. To everyone else, just let me say that I am terribly shy so don’t expect much of a contribution to the community here from me. To all, thanks for all the information that you have posted here, it has been very useful.

My husband and I are sailing on Tuesday, on Diamond, San Juan to San Juan. This will be our first time on RSSC. We are happy to get the chance to sail on Diamond, but sad that with Diamond leaving the fleet so soon it is not an experience that we will have an opportunity to repeat. Wondering if anyone has any suggestions for us on luggage storage on the day of boarding or the day of disembarking? We hate to have to cab around or back and forth in our limited time there to store our bags. Surely with the number of cruisers that come through San Juan, they must have some kind of luggage check/storage available at the port in Old San Juan, but I have not discovered it yet. If anyone has been and knows, we would appreciate hearing about it. Thanks.

We booked the Diamond cruise above in order to save some money when we also booked the Voyager World Cruise, FLL-FLL, 12/27/05 – 04/28/06. This is a long way off so hopefully everything will work out and we will go and have the time of our lives.

By now, you are probably wondering who the heck is this. OK, my name is Debbie and my husband is Clay. We are both pretty quiet people and hope you will be patient with us and let us move at our own cautious pace here on the board. You have a wonderful community here and with packing underway for our first RSSC cruise, we are pleased to finally be joining it.

Debbie, welcome!! Don't worry, we all were shy when we first started posting.

You are so lucky to be sailing on my favorite ship before she sails off into the horizon! I hope you will tell us about your experience when you get back home!

Debbie - I'll add my welcome to LCT to Karen's. I would agree with her, everyone will be happy to just let you move and post and stuff at your own pace. How exciting that you've planned the World Cruise for next year and I'm sure it will be the trip of a lifetime.
Have a wonderful time on the Diamond next week. Oh, I don't know the answer to your question, we've sailed from San Juan twice, both times from different piers, first time was the pier right down in Old San Juan, and my vague recollection is that there were some kind(s) of lockers on the ground level, but it was a really long time ago. The 2nd more recent sailing was from a pier quite away from town and I honestly don't remember any lockers or such. You might contact Radisson to see which pier they sail from and ask them if they have somewhere you can temporarily store your luggage.

Welcome, Debbie! So glad you've posted, and especially happy for your upcoming cruise on the Diamond. I'm confident you'll love every minute! And as for your World Cruise....I'm already turning green with envy! ;)

I'm not so confident, however of my ability to locate some previous posts of mine . Somewhere back in the cyberspace of LCT I posted about a luggage storage place in San Juan. It's called Audiogia or something like that. I promise to repost when I find the exact info. Anyway, it's a reputable and very reasonably priced company that will store your luggage for the day and then take you to the ship or airport, whatever transportation you need.

And another suggestion. If you're walking around Old San Juan and want to just mellow out for a while, may I suggest the Hotel El Convento. It's right in OSJ and has a lovely lobby/atrium/courtyard where you can relax and have a drink.

Have a wonderful cruise, and again, welcome! :lct:

Debbie~ I found the info on luggage storage. Go to the site, www.audioguiapr.com. This is a company located right near the pier. They offer audio guided walking tours which may or may not be of interest to you. We had them pick us up at the pier, store our 3 pieces of luggage, take us to OSJ for a few hours, then pick us up in a prearranged place in OSJ and take us and our luggage to the airport. Total cost was $22. Yup! Fantastic price and dependable service! Hope this helps! Bonnie

Welcome Debbie.
Have a great cruise!
To bad we are not on the same one.
We are on the 02/15/05 cruise.
Because of our "can't get there from here" we are flying in the night before and have lined up a 5 hour private tour with Debbie from Legends of Puerto Rico. www.legendsofpr.com What is neat about it is they pick us,(and our luggage),up at the hotel and then drop us off at the ship.

Debbie and Clay welcome to LCT..glad to see your posting..and what thrills for you both to look forward to the Diamond first, and then next year's World Cruise..r/wes

Debbie, welcome to LCT. I'm shy too. Well, I used to be. ;) Haven't been on the Diamond or sailed from San Juan so I can't offer any info. Just wanted to say hi.

Debbie - welcome! You will have a wonderful time on the Diamond. Captain Jeremy is the best! Unfortunately, the staff Captain - Magnus - may still be on vacation.
We spent way too many hours in San Juan airport. Hope it works out for you to store your luggage! And if you didn't get transfers from the ship - don't worry. San Juan may be the EASIEST place to cab it to/from pier. (and only about $20 for however many are in the cab - total!)

Debbie & Clay

Welcome to LCT. You are going to love the Diamond. We enjoyed two wonderful cruises on her and we are so sad

YEAH - Debbie posted. This is a really lovely lady and I am so glad she posted. Debbie has been reading the boards for a while and I know once she gets started she will enjoy the boards. It is so much fun to share the excitement of an upcoming cruise.

I told her you all are a wealth of information and know things I dont know and Behop Bonnie was right there with the information she needed.

That is what the board is all about - sharing information and helping each other.

WELCOME Debbie!!!!

Welcome Debbie and Clay! You will enjoy the banter here.

Ngaire,
Thank you for making a place for us to exchange ideas and have fun!

Debbie and Clay!
Welcome! I am so jealous as I will never get to sail on the Diamond and I hear how special she is! Can't answer your questions, either, but wanted to say hello. And don't worry - there are many of us here who are quite shy! Glad you enjoy the board - and have a wonderful cruise!

Debbie and Clay

Let me add my welcome to you also. The Diamond is my favorite ship. My best cruise ever was the 3 weeks I got to spend on her doing Spain and a crossing. It is so sad to see her go, but you are so lucky to get the priviledge of cruising on her.
My husband's name is also Clay so if you ever read something from me with the word Clay in it - just remember I am speaking of my love. My Clay doesn't like to travel so I have to go as a single. But one of these days I hope to drag him on board.
Have a great cruise.

Debbie and Clay: I, too, feel about the Diamond as Betty does. You will have a wonderful time and welcome to LCT! It is hard to "jump in" but you did it and don't hesitate to post again with any questions. Joanna

Welcome, Debbie, and I do hope you overcome your shyness before that world cruise. I am having so much fun reading about this year's world cruisers I can't wait to do it again.

By the way, we'd like to hear about the Diamond, too, especially those of us who will never get to travel with Radisson on it.

Debbie, just want to add another WELCOME to you. So glad you've decided to join the LCT family. We have alot of fun sharing our cruise experiences with each other. Can't wait to hear about yours!

Debbie and Clay, welcome to the LCT family. I hope you have a great time on the Diamond. It's so exciting that you have a World Cruise in your immediate future! I hope that you become comfortable enough to let us share that experience as Marcie is doing right now.

Wow, thanks everyone for the welcome!
Bonnie thanks for the link. (I had seen several boards where people had tried to post that website, but it never worked until today, so thanks again.)
Jim, sorry we will miss you, but if I remember correctly you are traveling with friends anyway, so you won’t miss us! We “can’t get there from here” either and all the flights were inconvenient and we too will be spending a night before boarding, but that was mostly our prudence, winter weather being so unpredictable. I am sure you and your group will have a great time, like us at least it will get you out of the freezing weather! Bobbi thanks for the recent reports from Diamond and San Juan. Did you have a problem checking in for your flight out of San Juan? We fly out on Sunday evening and I have been reading horror stories of people trying to get through security on Sundays and spending hours waiting in lines. Do you have any particular advice for me other than to get there 2-3 hours early?
Betty, my Clay did not want to travel either, for years. But he changed, and if my Clay can change maybe yours can too. Once I got him on his first cruise he wanted another and another. He loves to travel now, even more than I do, probably because he is much more flexible than I am. He is a much better cruiser than I am, he doesn’t get seasick. And, I hate surprises, not a good traveler trait! Maybe you will be surprised by your Clay one of these days, you never know.
I don’t think the shyness thing will pass. I am pretty ok with posting on message boards, but I am not good in crowds. I get a stomachache with more than 3 people in a room. Crowds are all a matter of perception and judgment, and I guess my idea of a crowd is waaaayy smaller than most people’s idea of one. So, that is all I meant, all of you all at once can be pretty intimidating for someone like me. I really appreciate the warm welcome though, thanks all. I hope that after we have cruised RSSC that we will have something to contribute here.
MarnaLou, I think we will probably be able to do that. Clay is a great documenter, because he has a terrible memory, I think. Anyway, he takes tons of photos (not very well, but…) and he keeps trip journals, menus, ticket stubs, receipts, etc. You name it. So, I think he will be very good at keeping LCT posted while we cruise the world. Keeping our fingers crossed that it happens, I am a worrywart, it is 11 months from now and a lot can happen. That said, we are really looking forward to it.

Debbie: You are adorable....we'll get you into a room of 10 shortly with NO stomach problems!!! Trust me...Joanna

Welcome Debbie!

Don't worry, no one here will make any demands of you.

The food on RSSC is worth any trip with them. Please do us a favor and let us know what you think. Have a great cruise!

Just wanted to welcome you to LCT as well. Look how well you're doing today...you're up to 4 posts already!

Debbie - welcome to LCT!! :)

Masaki

You are a very welcome addition to LCT, Debbie!

We hope you will post often and enjoy participating in this great board!

Debbie

I am really looking forward to traveling with you and with 2 Clays it will probably be better if mine stays at home. I feel like my only hope of ever getting him on a cruise would be the Panama Canal. He loves engineering type things, but so far no luck. I can't make him understand how nice it is. The other night at dinner when I was babbling on and on about what was happening on LCT that day, he just had to make some crack about why all of us enjoying "steerage" so much. He was just giving me a hard time, but this is the "humor" I have to deal with when it comes to my travels. One of these days he will realize how much he has missed. But I am not holding my breath - yet.
We will probably have lots of growing up with an ethnic relative stories to tell having a cocktail each night.
So glad you are on the board now.

Debbie, welcome to LCT! Can't wait to hear about your Diamond trip. We won't ever get to experience that ship because of its sale, which resulted in the cancellation of our scheduled October cruise. So I am just a bit jealous! Seriously, though, I hope your first RSSC cruise goes wonderfully, and my expectation is that it will. By the way, I'm a little quiet too and was slow to start posting on LCT, and guess what? Now I can't stop!

Bon voyage and all the best!

Hi Debbie,
It's nice to have another North Carolinian on the board. I also welcome you to LCT. Enjoy the Diamond. My family and I traveled on her this past summer and we really loved the wonderful dining room and small size of the ship. Hope you have a great cruise and look forward to hearing about it on your return. Glad you are able to escape this cold weather.

Debbie - a very, very warm welcome to you!! I agree, most of us (me too!) were shy at the beginning. Just post when you feel like it - we'll love to hear from you.

Enjoy your Diamond cruise!!!! I'm so sorry I'll never get the chance to sail on her. Tell us all about it when you get home. Have a safe & happy trip!!!

Hi Debbie - I've found everyone on this site so friendly and helpful, especially as originally I thought it was only for people from the USA. I understand what it's like to have a husband who doesn't want to travel with me (well anywhere there aren't fire stations or oil refineries - not too obvious on a cruise) but I envy you as you are so much braver than me because I find the thought of going by myself too daunting. So next time you find yourself nervous in a crowd (whatever the size) think of me and pat yourself on the back for being there in the first place!

Thanks for all the additional welcomes! We are all packed and ready to go. We'll leave the house in less than 24 hours now. Very excited to be off for our first RSSC cruise! <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />

Hope your trip is nothing but fun and positive excitment.
Don't forget to report when you get back.

A very warm welcome and have a great tome. Bon Voyage!

Debbie,

Welcome to LCT! I also tend to be quite shy. That's one of the best things about this board. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. You'll feel at home in no time.

Enjoy the Diamond. The ship has a very special feeling about her. The size, the crew, that amazing dining room, a bridge you are welcome to visit for breakfast... I could go on and on. You'll have a wonderful trip.

And we'll be here anxiously waiting to hear all about it! We all adore cruising and eagerly devour every word. :)

Again, welcome, and I wish you an absolutely incredible trip.

Kathy