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March Carnival Victory Cruise: Raices

Written by T.I. Cruiser on April 28, 2010 · 1 Comment

Now for those of you not familiar with Raices, let me warn you that you will get vastly different opinions on what people think of the place. I hear the phrases touristy and tourist trap thrown around. Although I can understand why people think Raices is a tourist trip the reality is Raices is authentic Puerto Rican.

While the decor of the restaurant definitely looks as if it was played up for tourists, this place is the real deal. In fact, this is actually the second location of the restaurant. The first location is in Caguas, Puerto Rico which isn’t the most touristy place on the island. Furthermore I would say there were no more than a half dozen non-locals in the restaurant on that night.

The reason I say I can understand someone thinking it was a tourist trap is because the staff wears what I guess would be historically traditional Puerto Rican clothing. Also the walls are painted with murals and the place does have a certain cheesy appeal.

Onto the food

I ordered a steak and seafood dish and my girlfriend ordered chicken and Mofongo. I am no expert on Puerto Rican food so I am unqualified to determine how well prepared the food was, but I will say that I was definitely satisfied with what I had. While my steak was clearly inferior quality (was expected) to what I am used to eating the seafood was spot on. When the two were married together it became a winning combination. I also had the pleasure of ingesting what may have been the best Pina Colada I have ever drank. All in all I would say Raices was a hit and would recommend it for anyone looking for a place to have a moderately priced sit down dinner in Old San Juan.

After dinner we walked around Old San Juan for a bit including our customary walk along the waters edge. I love the sight of cruise ships at night not to mention its a good way to burn off some of the one billion calories that Pina Colada undoubtedbly contained. Next we headed back to the hotel, walked around the grounds for a bit and then headed to bed.

March Carnival Victory Cruise: Heading Into Old San Juan

Written by T.I. Cruiser on April 28, 2010 · Leave a Comment

After we got our fill of playing in the water we decided it was time to get showered up for a night out on the town. Although we had been out in Old San Juan plenty of times we didn’t have any set destination when we hopped in the taxi at the hotel. So, once we arrived in town we wandered around a bit until we ended up at a restaurant called Raices.

Raices is an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant that has been visited by a lot of famous personalities, most recently it was profiled on Anthony Bourdain’s show “No Reservations”. Being a bit of a foodie I am a sucker for any place that is world renowned. The only problem is the wait was going to be at least an hour, a little long for my tastes. However, we had nothing but time so I gave them my name and we went to find a pitcher of Sangria.

I figure with at least an hour until dinner we could walk back up into the main part of town to grab a drink at a sidewalk cafe. After a few minutes we ended up at a place called Makarios. They had tables set up outside and no wait so it looked like the perfect place to have a pitcher of Sangria. Puerto Rico has many places that make delicious Sangria, this was not one of them. Although it was better than most of the stuff I get at home it wasn’t nearly as good as I’ve had in Puerto Rico on other trips. Then again that’s what I get for ordering Sangria from a Middle Eastern restaurant (an oversight on my part).

When we finished our pitcher, approximately 45 minutes had passed so we headed back down to Raices. Of course when we got to the door we found out they had called our name about 30 minutes ago. Thankfully it wasn’t a problem, the hostess simply apologized and had us sat right away.

March Carnival Victory Cruise: The Caribe Hilton Pool Area and Grill

Written by T.I. Cruiser on April 28, 2010 · Leave a Comment

The hotel itself is simply beautiful and the grounds are fantastic. After settling in we walked back over to the main area of the hotel to enjoy the pool and grab a quick bite to eat. This time instead of walking around the perimeter of the hotel we took the elevator down a couple of floors and walked across the bridge which connects the two sections of the hotel (a much more pleasant experience).

When you enter the pool area there is sometimes a guard there asking to see your room key. Off to the left is a station where you sign out towels so there is no need to bring your own. I have no idea how they really track the towels since when we returned the towels they just had us throw them in a laundry bin (but we weren’t charged so whatever). The pool area has several pools and hot tubs as well as a grill where you can buy food. There is also a private beach area that hotel guests can use.

We didn’t really view the beach area as a big deal since we were headed on a cruise anyway but did take full advantage of both the pool and the hot tubs. There is a bar in the center of the large pool which features a swim up bar which makes delicious drinks. It is also a great place to strike up a conversation with random people. I didn’t meet anyone particularly interesting on that day (they probablys aid the same thing about me). However, I did overhear an interesting conversation some spring breakers were having that had something to do with dressing up in drag and a midget stripper (figured I wouldn’t try to join that conversation).

We had lunch at the grill which is tucked off to one side. If you would allow me to give you a word of advice it would be to eat elsewhere. Although I can’t say the “food” was bad, it was only adequate at best. We had been on the road since about 4 a.m. without eating so it did suit our purposes but if you are looking for anything rated higher than basic sustenance look elsewhere. I have been out of high school for a while but to me it was reminiscent of the lunches they served, definitely not worth thirty plus dollars for nachos (bulk chips and nacho cheese), a hamburger (barely average), chicken tenders (average), and two cans of sprite. If I had to do it all over again I would head across the street to subway for a five dollar foot long. Although I hate to waste money on things that give me no enjoyment, I filled my belly and chalked it up to a learning experience and ordered a Dos Equis.

I will say that there are many other dining establishments throughout the hotel which offer a far better dining experience. If you are looking for a sit down meal I can wholeheartedly recommend any of those restaurants butthe Caribe Hilton really dropped the ball when it comes to the pool food.