Puerto Rico, Ziplines & Chibang

Puerto Rico is a destination that offers many unique opportunities for travelers. Ziplines and Chibang are two of these opportunities.

Puerto Rico is a beautiful island with many attractions. One of the most popular attractions is the longest zipline in Puerto Rico.

We arrived at San Juan, Puerto Rico, this morning, making us the first cruise ship to enter the port in 16 months. Needless to say, this was a huge event, particularly considering that they might easily see six ships in a day at regular times.

Did I mention that we arrived well ahead of schedule? Maybe it was simply because we were out so late last night that it appeared that way to me. But, no matter how you slice it, water canons and tugboat horns at 6 a.m. will ensure you don’t miss sailing into the harbor (or the sunrise that greeted us).

I completely confess that I went back to bed after taking photos and admiring the dawn. However, I was able to awaken myself in time to attend the formal plaque exchange.

Most people are probably unaware, but when a new ship arrives in port for the first time, there is usually a short ceremony with local authorities present. The governor and mayor were present in this instance, and they met with Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy, as well as the captain and other authorities from Mardi Gras.

The weather was not looking good as we made our way into town, as you can see from the clouds in the photo below, so we ducked inside a store and booked for an Uber. It was just a three-minute trip, but it was worth a few of dollars to remain dry while it was raining cats and dogs (and maybe a few rabbits).

Furthermore, our destination was uphill, and the last thing any of us wanted was to slip and fall on slick pavement. Yes, I have travel insurance, but I’d rather not use it.

We were on our way to Barrachina, which claims to be the origin of the Pina Colada (and even have a plaque saying as much).

However, there is considerable disagreement on this, since the neighboring Caribe Hilton says that one of their bartenders was the first to make a Pina Colada almost a decade before Barrachina’s date.

I only know that the Barrachina version was delicious. We also ordered chicken wings and coconut battered grouper fingers, which were some of the finest grouper I’ve ever eaten. When you consider how often we catch grouper off our coast, it is quite a feat. It’s difficult to get much fresher than that, but wow, this was incredible.

We decided to do the ropes course once we were back on board the ship. Although this may become busy at times, with so many people still visiting San Juan, it wasn’t too terrible. The Ultimate Playground Zone includes a ropes course. The zipline on this particular ropes course takes you far over the ocean, which I don’t believe gets nearly enough attention. I’ve seen and done ziplines that carry you over the deck below on other ships, which is clearly thrilling. But you’re flying out over the ocean, and it’s a touch nerve-wracking!

Puerto Rico, Ziplines & Chibang — Source: bergheimat.com

I suppose it’s worth noting that we were by far the oldest travelers on that particular day. Almost everyone other on the ropes course was a teenager who appeared unconcerned about the situation. But we had so much fun on the zipline that we did it again. (After all, there’s no fee to ride the zipline!) There are two courses available, one for experts and one for novices.

We were fortunate enough to have a buddy take photos from the deck below, so you can get a good sense of scale. I have friends who have long wanted to take a ropes course on one of the ships they’ve been on but haven’t built up the courage to do so, and I completely understand.

We intended to check out the new Street Eats section the other day, but it was closed. Street Eats is a complimentary collection of outlets that are intended to appear like food trucks and are new to the Carnival. Each of the three windows (four if you include the Seafood Shack, which isn’t free) offers a different kind of small dish or tapas.

One of the cool things about this concept is that they can easily switch things up if they decide that one particular type of food isn’t proving as popular with guests. But as of now, Steam Dreams serves up things like bao buns and potstickers; Mad Sizzle specializes in kababs and other grilled items; and Time Fries offers — as the name pretty much tells you — different varieties of fries.

The four-cheese fries, beef bao buns, and a sesame beef-style meal were our choices. This is a very delightful addition to the Mardi Gras grab-and-go cuisine… Whether you’re dying to test the windows, be sure to check the Hub App first to see if they’re open.

While we were eating, we used the Hub App to book reservations for the BOLT rollercoaster, which we’ll be riding at 4 p.m. tomorrow.

I had the opportunity to ride this incredible ride at the special event Carnival the day before the maiden sailing, but I’m excited to do it again. Bolt will be covered in depth in tomorrow’s article.

To be honest, I prefer floating by El Morro at night, when it resembles the kind of eerie castle that appears in every horror film. Because we were dining at ChiBang, I was both hungry and excited about tonight’s meal. This is yet another new-to-Carnival location that serves both Chinese and Mexican cuisine.

This appeared to perplex a few of individuals I overheard, who mistook it for a Chinese-Mexican hybrid, such as Kung Pao Nachos or something. But actually, it’s a lot more straightforward than that.

You may order Chinese cuisine, Mexican food, or both, or if one of your dining companions isn’t interested in either, they can order from the main dining room menu.

Dining has been hit or miss over the last several days, I have to admit. If you read yesterday’s post, you know that we had a hard time finding a location to have a sit-down dinner and ended up eating sandwiches. But tonight, everything went down without a hitch.

We had booked a 7:30 dinner and were promptly seated when we arrived at 7:25.

They served a delicious meal of cold chicken salad, three-bean salad, and chips as the first course. Potstickers, a basic salad, and braised pork belly served as appetizers, followed by Kung Pao Chicken for the main dish. I chose the Creama Catalana for dessert, which reminded me a lot of the rose crème brûlée served on previous Carnival ships at JiJi’s Asian Kitchen. (This is understandable, considering that ChiBang takes over the location during Mardi Gras.)

This venue is a fantastic addition to the Carnival schedule (particularly since it is free). The food was fresh and tasty, the environment was bright and vibrant, and Chinese dragons even walked around the dining area to put on a performance for us at one point. But I will say this: if you want a reservation, make it ahead of time. Otherwise, getting a table is difficult, especially when the ship is cruising at a reduced capacity.

After dinner, we met some friends at the Pig & Anchor Smokehouse/Brewhouse to listen to the house band. I’d heard them earlier in the week and really dug their sound. I’m a big fan of live music. Before the world went nuts, I was attending concerts at least a couple of times a month.

Not that I’m an expert on bands or anything, but I know what I enjoy, and this group is one of my favorites. You wouldn’t know it from the photo above, since I was obviously more interested in photographing my smokey watermelon margarita than the band, but hey, they were great.

Just June, a former U.S. marine whose adult act was mostly improvised, was the comic for tonight. She put on a good show, but once again, get there early if you want a good seat.

This has always been the case with Carnival cruise ship comedy performances, and it is also true during Mardi Gras. It was standing room only when we arrived shortly before the concert began. We took a seat near the soundboard. In the Limelight Lounge, there are poles that may obstruct your view if you don’t get a decent seat, but that’s what we get for coming so late.

Chris Williams, popularly known as The Flying Scotsman, is the cruise director on this ship. If you’ve never sailed with him, let me just say that he’s a true pro. I’m not simply referring to his ability to keep a crowd amused or the fact that he seems to be at four different events at the same time.

I’m referring to the fact that he puts on a rock show that you just must see to believe. He covers everything from Queen to Elvis to Led Zeppelin, all while taking you on a musical journey that has shaped his life and led him to this ship. During his performance, he received several standing ovations, all of which were well-deserved.

We’ll land at Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, tomorrow. We’ll be arriving early, and I want to be ready since the sail-in to this harbor is spectacular. Why? Because the ship actually turns around and backs in, which isn’t something you see every day… particularly when the ship in issue is as large as Mardi Gras.

Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island that has many natural resources to offer. The zipline san juan, puerto rico is one of the best ways to see the beauty of this island.