Enjoying A Luxury Cruise Start In San Juan Puerto Rico
We enjoyed a luxury cruise start in San Juan in Puerto Rico. A 3 day stay at the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort before we boarded our first Ritz-Carlton Yacht cruise in San Juan set the perfect tone for our luxury Caribbean vacation.
A great upgraded suite with an ocean view provided the perfect pampering environment for our stay. We explored all the resort had to offer and still got a relaxing break. When we left San Juan for a luxury cruise to Fort Lauderdale, the bar was already set high for our expectations.
Planning A St Regis Stay in Puerto Rico
When we cruised in the Caribbean, we typically started and ended in the same ports. It made booking airfare pretty easy from Toronto during Caribbean cruise season. But our Ritz-Carlton cruise started in San Juan Puerto Rico and finished in Fort Lauderdale in Florida. We found a good option for the strange flight combination from Toronto with Air Canada. Only to have the flight to San Juan changed several times. Once we had a final flight booked, we looked at options for hotels in San Juan.
We always fly into a cruise port several days before the cruise starts so we had 3 days in San Juan. Because we got such great value from points and loyalty with Marriott Bonvoy, we looked at the many Marriott options in San Juan. We considered a stay in the downtown area close to the cruise port. There were also two Ritz-Carlton hotels on the beaches outside of town. And we do love our Ritz-Carlton splurges!
When we saw the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort, we knew it was worth checking out. We had an amazing luxury stay at the St Regis in Rome. And we wondered what a St Regis resort property would be like.
The key challenge with the St Regis was the location. Much like the Ritz-Carlton properties, the St Regis was quite a bit out of town. Since we only had 3 days, we planned no car rental. So we planned to stay on the resort and enjoyed some down time in this more isolated spot.
Heading To San Juan
We visited San Juan as a cruise port on other trips. We loved exploring Old Town San Juan. And we discovered the most amazing statue garden in the Santa MarÃa Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in San Juan. But this was our first visit flying in to stay for a few days.
Our flight to San Juan included a short hop to Chicago and then the longer flight to San Juan. We always worried about winter travel at home in Toronto and in northern cities like Chicago. But we arrived with lots of time for our connection.
We landed in San Juan and made our way through the airport. The drive we booked waited for us with his sign with our name on it. This was always a great way to start a pampering stay!
As we drove to the resort, our driver filled us in with information on the local area. We had no plans for excursions but we did listen intently to the food suggestions. As we approached the resort, we went through a small colourful village.
Passing through the resort gate, we were ready to relax on our luxury cruise start in San Juan Puerto Rico.
A Sweet Suite Upgrade On Our Luxury Cruise Start In San Juan
A cold cloth and cold drink welcomed us to the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort. After a briefing about the facilities around the resort, we were escorted to our suite.
When we arrived, we were delighted with the large oceanfront upgraded suite we got. Such upgrades were always a treat with our Marriott Bonvoy Elite status. We heard the ocean over the grassy lawn. A bottle of wine awaited our arrival.
After we settled in, we wandered around the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort. The resort had several different pools. We made sure we checked them all out on our relaxing stay.
The St Regis was the perfect spot to start on our luxury cruise start in San Juan Puerto Rico.
Colour And Art Around The Resort
As soon as we entered the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort grounds, we saw the preparations for the coming Christmas holiday season. Everywhere we went we found beautiful holiday decorations.
We also found an interesting array of sculptures around the resort. We went back at different times of day and admired the varying views.
Colour and art greeted us on our luxury cruise start in San Juan.
Exploring The Grounds On A Nature Tour
We made no plans off the resort for excursions. But when we learned about a nature tour around the resort, we booked spots one afternoon.
Our golf cart moved around the resort led by an experienced guide. We stopped and learned more about the interesting flora at different spots.
We stopped at the Rio Espiritu Santo and in the distance we saw the El Yunque National Forest. This vast biologically diverse tropical rainforest was definitely on our list for another visit to San Juan.
Our guide headed back to the resort after our quick glimpse into the local environment on our luxury cruise start in San Juan.
Good Food Options On The Resort
The downside of the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort was its location. It was far from other food venues without a car. So it was great that we had some good options on the resort for all meals.
It was always a great benefit of our Marriott Ambassador status to have breakfast included with our stays. Every day we started with a full breakfast at the Seagrapes Restaurant. And watched a fun show put on by the birds!
The Seagrapes Restaurant was our main option for lunch. We enjoyed some great local treats. And one day we got pizza and enjoyed it by the pool.
There were two main options for dinner. The St Regis Bar had a limited menu but we enjoyed dinners twice at this venue. The Paros Restaurant had more choice and was far more expensive. One dinner there was enough for us.
Eating all our meals on the resort worked fine for our 3 day stay. But if we planned a return visit we would want a car to shop for some groceries and for other food options. But we sure ate well on our luxury cruise start in San Juan.
Enjoying St Regis Traditions
There were a few St Regis traditions we came to love on our visits to other St Regis hotels.
We were always happy to get a great butler and concierge team on our stays. They arranged our transportation from the airport and to the start of our first Ritz-Carlton Yacht cruise. The team booked our dinners and they arranged for our nature tour. Every morning a large pot of coffee was delivered by the butler to our room. The butler team at St Regis Bahia Beach Resort under Isaac went out of their way to ensure to pamper us on our stay.
We enjoyed our first champagne sabering experience when we had Afternoon Tea at the St Regis in Washington DC. When we stayed at the St Regis in Rome, the nightly sabrage was one of the St Regis traditions we enjoyed. So we knew we would not miss it at the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort. Isaac and the butler team put on the nightly champagne sabrage event. Always a fun and tasty treat as the sun went down.
Enjoying the St Regis traditions was the perfect way to start our luxury cruise start in San Juan Puerto Rico.
A Great Luxury Cruise Start In San Juan Puerto Rico
We planned an amazing luxury Caribbean vacation. Starting our trip with 3 days at the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort was a perfect way to relax and begin the pampering. When we boarded our Ritz-Carlton Yacht in San Juan, we were ready to continue in style.
The resort had good food and drink options. When we wanted to relax, we found lots of space on the beach or by one of the many pools. We did not play golf but there was a golf course available too!
We did not book a car for this stay and did not book offsite tours either. Next time we probably want to rent a car to explore more of the area and to have more food options. But we got the relaxing stay we wanted and found 3 days on the resort was fine.
Did you have a luxury cruise start in San Juan Puerto Rico? How much of Puerto Rico did you discover on your stay?
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Wow what an experience! A Ritz Carlton Cruise sounds like something I want to put on my bucket list! Looks so nice and the photos are great!
We were glad we found such a great luxury stay in San Juan before our Ritz-Carlton Yacht cruise.
We love visiting Puerto Rico in the weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays when everything is decorated and looks so festive. We’ve almost always stayed on the east coast near Fajardo, but the St. Regis looks intriguing.
This was the first time we actually stayed around San Juan. Much more to discover on a longer stay.
What a great way to start your luxury cruise! San Juan is on my list of places to visit, and St. Regis would be a heavenly stay! Is the Paros restaurant Mediterranean cuisine?
The Paros Restaurant is Mediterranean. And they change the menu up seasonally. A tasty spot on our stay at the St Regis Bahia Beach outside San Juan.
What an incredible start to (what I assume will be) an amazing vacation! The St Regis Bahia Beach Resort looks perfect – I love the sculptures, the fabulous food and that you both look so happy and relaxed.
I hope the whole cruise is this fab!
We sure did have a relaxing stay at the St Regis in San Juan before we did our Ritz-Carlton Yacht cruise. Good food and sunshine set the right luxury tone.
I am really interested in Puerto Rico, as I have been dreaming of visiting somewhere in the Caribbean for a long time. This article gives some good inspiration, thank you!
We have been back to San Juan a few times. Need to plan a longer visit to see more of Puerto Rico. But this stay at the St Regis Bahia Bay resort was a lovely way to start our luxury cruise vacation.
I’m not the biggest cruise fan, had a rough experience, but this looks very promising, I love all the time on land too.
It was great to start our luxury cruise with an equally luxury stay in San Juan at the St Regis Bahia Bay.
It appears that you had a wonderful experience during your stay at St Regis Bahia Beach Resort. It seems like you were treated exceptionally well during your time there. The resort’s surroundings are beautiful. I have not had the opportunity to visit Puerto Rico myself, so I appreciate hearing about your experience at the resort.
It was nice to spend a few days in San Juan before our luxury cruise. The St Regis Bahia Bay sure set the bar high.
The St. Regis beach resort in San Juan looks absolutely gorgeous! Those pools are amazing. And your room, fantastic, I could live there happily for a couple weeks. A stay here would certainly be the perfect start to a cruise.
We enjoyed all the St Regis Bahia Bay had to offer on our short stay. It was a great way to start our luxury cruise.
another great hotel review! I´ve never been to San Juan but it is definitely on my bucket list and this hotel looks incredible! the food sooo yummy and the plants so different to everything I´ve ever seen!
The St Regis Bahia Bay was a lovely spot to relax in San Juan before our cruise.
Oh this takes me back! I traveled Puerto Rico for a month, and I really want to go back! My favorite was actually San Juan, so charming the old city there!
We have been to San Juan in Puerto Rico several times on cruises. But we really need to go back for a longer stay to see more of the country. But this was a nice luxury stay before we boarded our cruise ship.