St. Thomas- Part 3

Photo 1: always pretty: walking back down to the ferry dock on Water Island, with the Emerald Princess in the distance docked at Crown Bay on St. Thomas

Photo 2: the Emerald Princess at Crown Bay

Photos 3 to 5: I was very lazy with these...instead of stepping outside at Skywalkers, I took these through the streaky glass.

Photo 3: you can see another cruise ship leaving from Havensight in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Also interesting, all the moored sailboats are pointed the opposite direction for the first time all winter as the prevailing wind direction has changed.

Photo 4: the ferry dock on Water Island

Photo 5: our last glimpse of Honeymoon Beach until next winter. Sigh.

Evening- St. Thomas

Photo 1: Hassel Island, tucked in Charlotte Amalie harbor with Water Island on the right and Frenchtown, St. Thomas on the left and St. Thomas in the background

Photo 2: Honeymoon Beach, Water Island

Photo 3: Water Island in the foreground; St. Thomas in the background

Photo 4: sunset over Puerto Rico

St. Thomas- Part 2

Photo 1: this poor monkfish has the misfortune of being one of my favorite fish. He and I played hide and seek; he'd go behind a rock and then peek out from behind it to see if I was still there.

Photos 2 and 3: the local residents of the Water Island Community Association collected the colorful benches that appeared on Honeymoon Beach two winters ago and sanded and painted them today. I told them how much we appreciate those benches, and was told how they came to be...one of them had constructed all of them as a memorial to a couple who had lived in the house that used to be pink (now it's aqua) up on the hill to the right overlooking the beach. They're gone now, but they loved that beach and did a lot for Water Island while they were alive. What a nice way to be remembered. The benches are so colorful; they add a lot of beauty to Honeymoon Beach!

Photo 4: my view for the day

Photo 5: truly the prettiest beach in the US Virgin Islands!

Day 88: St. Thomas

What does my background information on this blog say? I can't see it right now, but it says something to the effect that I'm a displaced fan of warm weather, sandy beaches, ocean breezes and underwater sea life? Well, I had all of them today, and it was bliss!

With the Seaborn Legend as the only other cruise ship in St. Thomas, we knew we'd be at Crown Bay today. It was a surprise to also see the Legend at Crown Bay, but at a second pier there. We've only ever seen large yachts at that pier, but the Legend almost fits into that category.

With our scheduled 7:00am arrival in St. Thomas, we had set an alarm for 6:00am, but in what is always the way, we were awake just before it went off. I think we could tell by the sounds the Emerald Princess was making that we were approaching St. Thomas. With today's strict schedule, we grabbed cereal from the Cafe Caribe and sat outside on the Terrace area to enjoy the scenery while we ate. While we didn't notice any rain, we did spot a rainbow off the port side of the ship. Luckily, it was followed by lots of sun, which held throughout the day.

We barely made it over to the Crown Bay Marina in time to catch the 8:00am ferry to Water Island. And I mean barely...the ferry captain was releasing the lines when we hopped on. The next ferry wasn't until 10:30am; someone was looking out for us today!

Once on Water Island, we made the short walk up a bill and then down a hill to Honeymoon Beach (see my September 2012 blog post for photos). When we arrived, about 8:20am, I think there were only ten people on the beach: nine of us off the Emerald Princess and another lady walking her dog. Talk about perfection! I wasted no time in getting in the water, and was, at first, surprised by how much cooler the water was today. It had been 83 degrees ten days ago but today it was closer to 81. Once in, it was fine, and the sun soon made its way over the palm trees to warm the beach and make the water seem quite pleasant. What was most remarkable about today was the the gentle breeze. After considerable wind in Barbados and St. Kitts, it was a welcome change.

As soon as the sun was up enough to light up the rocky area on the south side of the beach, I grabbed my mask and snorkel and entered the water, snorkeling along there for nearly an hour. Just as last time, I was again thrilled to see the health of the few corals that exist there. What also exists there, in abundance, are spiny urchins. I know well enough not to step on one, but thought I was in for an urchin injection when I got too close to the rocks and had to back myself out. There were lots of urchins attached to the sides of the rocks, and I'm still amazed I didn't get nabbed.

We spent the remainder of our time alternating between the beach and the water, and chatting with fellow cruisers and on our phones with friends at home. It's surprising just how many times we've been in St. Thomas on weekends this winter, making business calls impossible, but we used our Vonage app and the ship's wifi yesterday while we were docked in St. Kitts to make the calls that couldn't wait until Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale.

We were back on the ship just before 3:00pm; on board time was 3:30pm with sailaway scheduled for 4/00pm. G headed to a hot tub, I washed things out (some things never change) and then showered and went up to Skywalkers to make a last phone call to Mom. Cruise director Lee and deputy CD Frenchie were taping tomorrow's Wake Show up there. I could hear them talking about plans for tomorrow's Super Bowl related activities on the ship, and should have paid more attention, but they will all be covered in the Princess Patter we'll get tonight about 9:00pm.

There was no Elite lounge in Skywalkers tonight as the Captains Circle parties were scheduled for 5:15pm (for early diners) and 7:30pm (for late diners). It was also formal night, unusual on a port day, but we are in Grand Turk late tomorrow evening, when it would normally be held. We dressed in our formalwear and went to the early party. The Breeza Marinas I had on an empty stomach hit me hard; we hadn't eaten lunch, although G had snacked on the beach.

Dinner for me was lobster as an appetizer, then lobster as an entree with my usual spinach. Sutti informed me that the ship has run out of broccoli until next cruise. I can't help but feel personally responsible...

For the first time this winter, I had the always available creme brûlée for dessert. Delicious, but oh so rich. I'm better off sticking to the sorbets.

It was nearly 8:00pm by the time we finished dinner. The Captains Circle party had run late (probably waiting for the captain or the staff captain, neither of whom appeared), and then we'd watched a beautiful sunset over Puerto Rico. We had missed the early production show, Disco: Blame it on the Boogie in the Princess Theater and didn't feel like sitting and waiting for the 8:30pm performance. There was a second show option, juggler Aaron Bonk in the Explorers Lounge, but we've seen his show once this winter and weren't in the mood for that tonight either. I confessed to G I wouldn't be disappointed if we just got fuzzy water and went back to the cabin, and, happily, he felt the same. There is a News Year Eve-type party in the Piazza late tonight with a balloon drop, and G claims he's going to get up to go to that. He said he'd take photos, knowing full well that I'll never make it. It's been a long day!

We move clocks back an hour tonight, so it really is an early evening for us. Our tentative plan for tomorrow is to stake out two chairs near the Calypso Pool and MUTS (the big screen) and spend the day watching movies until the Super Bowl starts. Pray for no rain; it would be quite disappointing to pass up going ashore in Grand Turk just to have it start to rain about game time. We have no dog in this fight, but like Jim Harbaugh simply because he was the QB at Michigan when I went there. Besides, in the words of my sports consultants Ky and JT, the Ravens beat the Broncos, and we're still mad about that!

Photo 1: rainbow over the hills of St. Thomas

Photo 2: someone on Water Island must have gotten tired of having cruisers turning into their driveway thinking it was the road down to Honeymoon Beach!

Photos 3-6:: isn't it gorgeous?? It's like an underwater garden

Day 88: St. Thomas

What does my background information on this blog say? I can't see it right now, but it says something to the effect that I'm a displaced fan of warm weather, sandy beaches, ocean breezes and underwater sea life? Well, I had all of them today, and it was bliss!

With the Seaborn Legend as the only other cruise ship in St. Thomas, we knew we'd be at Crown Bay today. It was a surprise to also see the Legend at Crown Bay, but at a second pier there. We've only ever seen large yachts at that pier, but the Legend almost fits into that category.

With our scheduled 7:00am arrival in St. Thomas, we had set an alarm for 6:00am, but in what is always the way, we were awake just before it went off. I think we could tell by the sounds the Emerald Princess was making that we were approaching St. Thomas. With today's strict schedule, we grabbed cereal from the Cafe Caribe and sat outside on the Terrace area to enjoy the scenery while we ate. While we didn't notice any rain, we did spot a rainbow off the port side of the ship. Luckily, it was followed by lots of sun, which held throughout the day.

We barely made it over to the Crown Bay Marina in time to catch the 8:00am ferry to Water Island. And I mean barely...the ferry captain was releasing the lines when we hopped on. The next ferry wasn't until 10:30am; someone was looking out for us today!

Once on Water Island, we made the short walk up a bill and then down a hill to Honeymoon Beach (see my September 2012 blog post for photos). When we arrived, about 8:20am, I think there were only ten people on the beach: nine of us off the Emerald Princess and another lady walking her dog. Talk about perfection! I wasted no time in getting in the water, and was, at first, surprised by how much cooler the water was today. It had been 83 degrees ten days ago but today it was closer to 81. Once in, it was fine, and the sun soon made its way over the palm trees to warm the beach and make the water seem quite pleasant. What was most remarkable about today was the the gentle breeze. After considerable wind in Barbados and St. Kitts, it was a welcome change.

As soon as the sun was up enough to light up the rocky area on the south side of the beach, I grabbed my mask and snorkel and entered the water, snorkeling along there for nearly an hour. Just as last time, I was again thrilled to see the health of the few corals that exist there. What also exists there, in abundance, are spiny urchins. I know well enough not to step on one, but thought I was in for an urchin injection when I got too close to the rocks and had to back myself out. There were lots of urchins attached to the sides of the rocks, and I'm still amazed I didn't get nabbed.

We spent the remainder of our time alternating between the beach and the water, and chatting with fellow cruisers and on our phones with friends at home. It's surprising just how many times we've been in St. Thomas on weekends this winter, making business calls impossible, but we used our Vonage app and the ship's wifi yesterday while we were docked in St. Kitts to make the calls that couldn't wait until Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale.

We were back on the ship just before 3:00pm; on board time was 3:30pm with sailaway scheduled for 4/00pm. G headed to a hot tub, I washed things out (some things never change) and then showered and went up to Skywalkers to make a last phone call to Mom. Cruise director Lee and deputy CD Frenchie were taping tomorrow's Wake Show up there. I could hear them talking about plans for tomorrow's Super Bowl related activities on the ship, and should have paid more attention, but they will all be covered in the Princess Patter we'll get tonight about 9:00pm.

There was no Elite lounge in Skywalkers tonight as the Captains Circle parties were scheduled for 5:15pm (for early diners) and 7:30pm (for late diners). It was also formal night, unusual on a port day, but we are in Grand Turk late tomorrow evening, when it would normally be held. We dressed in our formalwear and went to the early party. The Breeza Marinas I had on an empty stomach hit me hard; we hadn't eaten lunch, although G had snacked on the beach.

Dinner for me was lobster as an appetizer, then lobster as an entree with my usual spinach. Sutti informed me that the ship has run out of broccoli until next cruise. I can't help but feel personally responsible...

For the first time this winter, I had the always available creme brûlée for dessert. Delicious, but oh so rich. I'm better off sticking to the sorbets.

It was nearly 8:00pm by the time we finished dinner. The Captains Circle party had run late (probably waiting for the captain or the staff captain, neither of whom appeared), and then we'd watched a beautiful sunset over Puerto Rico. We had missed the early production show, Disco: Blame it on the Boogie in the Princess Theater and didn't feel like sitting and waiting for the 8:30pm performance. There was a second show option, juggler Aaron Bonk in the Explorers Lounge, but we've seen his show once this winter and weren't in the mood for that tonight either. I confessed to G I wouldn't be disappointed if we just got fuzzy water and went back to the cabin, and, happily, he felt the same. There is a News Year Eve-type party in the Piazza late tonight with a balloon drop, and G claims he's going to get up to go to that. He said he'd take photos, knowing full well that I'll never make it. It's been a long day!

We move clocks back an hour tonight, so it really is an early evening for us. Our tentative plan for tomorrow is to stake out two chairs near the Calypso Pool and MUTS (the big screen) and spend the day watching movies until the Super Bowl starts. Pray for no rain; it would be quite disappointing to pass up going ashore in Grand Turk just to have it start to rain about game time. We have no dog in this fight, but like Jim Harbaugh simply because he was the QB at Michigan when I went there. Besides, in the words of my sports consultants Ky and JT, the Ravens beat the Broncos, and we're still mad about that!

Photo 1: rainbow over the hills of St. Thomas

Photo 2: someone on Water Island must have gotten tired of having cruisers turning into their driveway thinking it was the road down to Honeymoon Beach!

Photos 3-6:: isn't it gorgeous?? It's like an underwater garden

St. Thomas- Part 3

Photo 1: Honeymoon Beach as seen from the catamaran

Photo 2: Jordan and Tony ;-)

Photo 3: Water island on the right, Hassel island straight ahead with St. Thomas on the left and in the distance

Photo 4: Water Island. The ferry dock is on the left and Honeymoon Beach is around the smaller point on the right

Photo 5: :-)

St. Thomas- Part 3

Photo 1: Honeymoon Beach as seen from the catamaran

Photo 2: Jordan and Tony ;-)

Photo 3: Water island on the right, Hassel island straight ahead with St. Thomas on the left and in the distance

Photo 4: Water Island. The ferry dock is on the left and Honeymoon Beach is around the smaller point on the right

Photo 5: :-)

St. Thomas- Part 2

Photos 1-6: snorkeling at Honeymoon Beach on Water Island

Photo 5: Vickie spotted the fish in this photo when she got close and it swam to a new spot. Don't see it?

Photo 6: it's flat as a piece of paper and blends in with the rocks

Day 74: St. Thomas

We had the BEST day in St. Thomas today!!

We were awakened by the Emerald Princess backing into her berth at Crown Bay. I'm telling you, we could lie in bed in our inside cabin, and simply by listening to the ship know whether we were docking at Crown Bay or Havensight. There's a world of difference in how much noise the ship makes, with Crown Bay being the louder one due to all the thruster use required. We had a quick breakfast in the dining room, internetting away as we ate. Internet! We had Internet today, and it was my first day utilizing the 4G network in St. Thomas as compared to the 3G network my old phone and G's phone use. Yes, there definitely is a difference in speed. So, in the end, drowning my original phone was probably not a bad thing. Not to mention the better camera I have now (wait until you see my photos of the coral).

We walked over to the Crown Bay marina to catch the 10:30am ferry to Water Island, and were thrilled to see cruise friends Vickie and Bernie and Anita and Richard and Alice also going over. We've cruised together for as many Januarys as we can remember (we floated at the beach today trying to remember how many years it's been). Once we arrived at the dock on Water Island, my not-shy husband asked a couple with a golf cart and an empty back seat for a ride to the top of the hill above Honeymoon Beach, and in typical Water Island fashion, they readily agreed. Lucky us!

Water Island was as pretty as it always is, and G entered the water first, wearing a shorty wetsuit to stay warm in the 83 degree water (really). I stayed on shore for awhile, phoning Mom and friends and getting caught up with emails, but finally spent quite a bit of time floating and talking. Eventually, Vickie and I went snorkeling along the rocks on the far side of the beach; Bernie had gone first and said it was great, and it was. I was thrilled to see the corals, not numerous but gorgeous and very colorful.

It began to rain while I was out there, just lightly, and I made my way back to G, thinking he'd want to take the earlier ferry at 2:15pm instead of the one we'd originally planned to take at 3:30pm. But G, in typical fashion, had something else up his sleeve, and the next thing I knew he was motioning me over to a large catamaran that had anchored offshore as part of a ship's excursion. Sure enough, like so many times in the past (Antigua, Barbados, St. Thomas, St. Thomas again) we hitched a ride, right back to Crown Bay, and were drinking rum drinks before we even sailed away. (Carol, Grant, Jan and Phil, it was the pirate ship all over again, but without the tattoo on a normally unseen body part).

I was only able to get a few photos from the catamaran (but did take a most important one...FINALLY I was being served drinks by bare chested young men) before my phone battery was totally exhausted, leaving me momentarily concerned that its salt water bath had been too much and I'd once again drowned a phone. Not to worry; once we were back on the ship and I'd plugged it in, it sprang to life and I heaved a sigh of relief.

Rinsing everything out was a chore today. The tarp which I thought was good for the duration of our cruise got wet in the rain, so the sand stuck to it. We know now not to put it away wet, so it needed another shower with some Cheer detergent and is now strung on a clothesline across our cabin (and it's nearly as wide as the cabin is, making our cabin seem the size of a refrigerator box). G's wetsuit is hanging on the line in the shower, our swimsuits are on hangers in the closet and literally every inch of wall space has something- water sandals, floats, mask, snorkel, backpack or beach bag leaning up against it to dry. This is luxury living! ;-)

On a slightly related note, our too-short shower curtain was finally getting stinky and G asked our Steward Nazi to change it out with a fresh one. (I warned G that he was tugging on Superman's cape, but he was not deterred). SN did as asked (!) and the replacement not only smells fresh, but it's long enough to fit inside the shower pan. No more flooding the bathroom with every shower. Now that really is luxury living!

Back to today (and sorry for the sidebar)...

After showers, we grabbed our phone chargers and plugged in in the back of the buffet on the quiet side where no one was sitting, and finished up whatever we needed to do. Since we had just been in Fort Lauderdale three days ago, and it wasn't a business day today, there wasn't much left to get done. After a few more phone calls, we were up in Skywalkers for my favorite night of the cruise: Breeza Marina and herbed goat cheese night. Gosh, Breeza Marinas and a St. Thomas sailaway (one of our prettiest)...what a great way to start our evening.

Sunset wasn't until 6:05pm tonight, and it was so beautiful that we watched it from the Promenade Deck before heading to the Michelangelo dining room. I had something new for dinner tonight. Yes, I had the usual deep fried sushi, which I don't think is deep fried at all, just coated with a crunchy topping, but then I had a chili shrimp entree with a yogurt dip, kind of Middle Eastern in flavor, and it was wonderful. 74 days into our winter at sea, and we're still not bored with the menus. Headwaiter Robert had offered to have anything we wanted made for us if we got bored, a very kind offer, but we haven't needed anything special yet. I mean, compared to our limited menus at home, even if we ate the same ten things every 10-night cruise, what's to get bored with?

Pianoman Kory Simon, who usually plays in Crooners martini bar every night, did three shows in the Explorers Lounge tonight, as he did last cruise, backed by the full Emerald Princess orchestra. (There was also a comedy impressionist in the Princess Theater, another two entertainment option night, the second of the cruise). We enjoyed Kory's show so much last cruise that we saw him again at 8pm tonight, and then we enjoyed that so much that we stayed for the 9:15pm show. We know what we like and what we like is being entertained by talented musicians.

Afterwards, we stopped by the Piazza where band Accent was playing party songs, and did just a bit of dancing (because we had just a bit of energy left). Popcorn, fuzzy water, blog post and bed, in that order, will finish out this wonderful day.

Photo 1: it wouldn't be a day on Crown Bay without G feeding brioche to the iguanas

Photo 2: Vickie, Bernie and Alice on the Water Island ferry

Photos 3 and 4: now THIS is the best beach on (near) St. Thomas, Honeymoon Beach on Water Island

Photo 5: the plaque on the palapa we used today. What a nice way to be remembered.

Day 74: St. Thomas

We had the BEST day in St. Thomas today!!

We were awakened by the Emerald Princess backing into her berth at Crown Bay. I'm telling you, we could lie in bed in our inside cabin, and simply by listening to the ship know whether we were docking at Crown Bay or Havensight. There's a world of difference in how much noise the ship makes, with Crown Bay being the louder one due to all the thruster use required. We had a quick breakfast in the dining room, internetting away as we ate. Internet! We had Internet today, and it was my first day utilizing the 4G network in St. Thomas as compared to the 3G network my old phone and G's phone use. Yes, there definitely is a difference in speed. So, in the end, drowning my original phone was probably not a bad thing. Not to mention the better camera I have now (wait until you see my photos of the coral).

We walked over to the Crown Bay marina to catch the 10:30am ferry to Water Island, and were thrilled to see cruise friends Vickie and Bernie and Anita and Richard and Alice also going over. We've cruised together for as many Januarys as we can remember (we floated at the beach today trying to remember how many years it's been). Once we arrived at the dock on Water Island, my not-shy husband asked a couple with a golf cart and an empty back seat for a ride to the top of the hill above Honeymoon Beach, and in typical Water Island fashion, they readily agreed. Lucky us!

Water Island was as pretty as it always is, and G entered the water first, wearing a shorty wetsuit to stay warm in the 83 degree water (really). I stayed on shore for awhile, phoning Mom and friends and getting caught up with emails, but finally spent quite a bit of time floating and talking. Eventually, Vickie and I went snorkeling along the rocks on the far side of the beach; Bernie had gone first and said it was great, and it was. I was thrilled to see the corals, not numerous but gorgeous and very colorful.

It began to rain while I was out there, just lightly, and I made my way back to G, thinking he'd want to take the earlier ferry at 2:15pm instead of the one we'd originally planned to take at 3:30pm. But G, in typical fashion, had something else up his sleeve, and the next thing I knew he was motioning me over to a large catamaran that had anchored offshore as part of a ship's excursion. Sure enough, like so many times in the past (Antigua, Barbados, St. Thomas, St. Thomas again) we hitched a ride, right back to Crown Bay, and were drinking rum drinks before we even sailed away. (Carol, Grant, Jan and Phil, it was the pirate ship all over again, but without the tattoo on a normally unseen body part).

I was only able to get a few photos from the catamaran (but did take a most important one...FINALLY I was being served drinks by bare chested young men) before my phone battery was totally exhausted, leaving me momentarily concerned that its salt water bath had been too much and I'd once again drowned a phone. Not to worry; once we were back on the ship and I'd plugged it in, it sprang to life and I heaved a sigh of relief.

Rinsing everything out was a chore today. The tarp which I thought was good for the duration of our cruise got wet in the rain, so the sand stuck to it. We know now not to put it away wet, so it needed another shower with some Cheer detergent and is now strung on a clothesline across our cabin (and it's nearly as wide as the cabin is, making our cabin seem the size of a refrigerator box). G's wetsuit is hanging on the line in the shower, our swimsuits are on hangers in the closet and literally every inch of wall space has something- water sandals, floats, mask, snorkel, backpack or beach bag leaning up against it to dry. This is luxury living! ;-)

On a slightly related note, our too-short shower curtain was finally getting stinky and G asked our Steward Nazi to change it out with a fresh one. (I warned G that he was tugging on Superman's cape, but he was not deterred). SN did as asked (!) and the replacement not only smells fresh, but it's long enough to fit inside the shower pan. No more flooding the bathroom with every shower. Now that really is luxury living!

Back to today (and sorry for the sidebar)...

After showers, we grabbed our phone chargers and plugged in in the back of the buffet on the quiet side where no one was sitting, and finished up whatever we needed to do. Since we had just been in Fort Lauderdale three days ago, and it wasn't a business day today, there wasn't much left to get done. After a few more phone calls, we were up in Skywalkers for my favorite night of the cruise: Breeza Marina and herbed goat cheese night. Gosh, Breeza Marinas and a St. Thomas sailaway (one of our prettiest)...what a great way to start our evening.

Sunset wasn't until 6:05pm tonight, and it was so beautiful that we watched it from the Promenade Deck before heading to the Michelangelo dining room. I had something new for dinner tonight. Yes, I had the usual deep fried sushi, which I don't think is deep fried at all, just coated with a crunchy topping, but then I had a chili shrimp entree with a yogurt dip, kind of Middle Eastern in flavor, and it was wonderful. 74 days into our winter at sea, and we're still not bored with the menus. Headwaiter Robert had offered to have anything we wanted made for us if we got bored, a very kind offer, but we haven't needed anything special yet. I mean, compared to our limited menus at home, even if we ate the same ten things every 10-night cruise, what's to get bored with?

Pianoman Kory Simon, who usually plays in Crooners martini bar every night, did three shows in the Explorers Lounge tonight, as he did last cruise, backed by the full Emerald Princess orchestra. (There was also a comedy impressionist in the Princess Theater, another two entertainment option night, the second of the cruise). We enjoyed Kory's show so much last cruise that we saw him again at 8pm tonight, and then we enjoyed that so much that we stayed for the 9:15pm show. We know what we like and what we like is being entertained by talented musicians.

Afterwards, we stopped by the Piazza where band Accent was playing party songs, and did just a bit of dancing (because we had just a bit of energy left). Popcorn, fuzzy water, blog post and bed, in that order, will finish out this wonderful day.

Photo 1: it wouldn't be a day on Crown Bay without G feeding brioche to the iguanas

Photo 2: Vickie, Bernie and Alice on the Water Island ferry

Photos 3 and 4: now THIS is the best beach on (near) St. Thomas, Honeymoon Beach on Water Island

Photo 5: the plaque on the palapa we used today. What a nice way to be remembered.