Photo 2: Honeymoon Beach, Water Island
Photo 3: Water Island in the foreground; St. Thomas in the background
Photo 4: sunset over Puerto Rico
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Evening- St. Thomas
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
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
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
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
Friday, February 1, 2013
Day 87: St. Kitts
Today was the first time we ever did taxes on a cruise ship. And I feel fairly confident in saying that we were the only people on this entire ship doing taxes today.
Aren't we special? ;-)
We really did do taxes; at least, we started doing them. We had purchased Turbo Tax using Staples rebates in late December, and wanted to get the program downloaded before any more time passed. I noticed this morning, once most people were off the ship, that wifi was fast, and so it was the perfect opportunity to start the download. Within 15 minutes it was done, and that's another thing off our "to-do" list.
After breakfast in the buffet, we walked off the ship with the intention of finding wifi to check the webcams at home and then to walk along the waterfront to the south side of where the ship docks. Last year I had found some beautiful pieces of sea glass on the black sand next to the sea wall and wanted to try again.
Aren't we special? ;-)
We really did do taxes; at least, we started doing them. We had purchased Turbo Tax using Staples rebates in late December, and wanted to get the program downloaded before any more time passed. I noticed this morning, once most people were off the ship, that wifi was fast, and so it was the perfect opportunity to start the download. Within 15 minutes it was done, and that's another thing off our "to-do" list.
After breakfast in the buffet, we walked off the ship with the intention of finding wifi to check the webcams at home and then to walk along the waterfront to the south side of where the ship docks. Last year I had found some beautiful pieces of sea glass on the black sand next to the sea wall and wanted to try again.
I've always been fascinated by sea glass. It has an entire history wrapped up in one little piece of glass polished smooth by the ocean. Sure, the genesis of some pieces is a beer bottle littered along a beach, but it's the uncertainty about where each piece comes from that intrigues me. I have them lined up on a window sill over the kitchen sink at home, and they bring me great joy during those months when I'm NOT on a ship and I'm washing dishes 37 times a day.
On our flight down to Fort Lauderdale in November, I sat next to a lady from Islamorada in the Florida Keys who designs and sells jewelry made from sea glass. I asked where she gets her sea glass from and she said the best places were near dumps on these islands (no, thank you!) and near piers. There is a small pier near the ship on St. Kitts, and that's where I've pretty reliably found several pieces in the past. As it turned out, I had even better luck today, and found a piece of glass with some writing on it that I'll have to try to figure out.
We continued down the sidewalk along the sea wall towards that same supermarket we'd gone to last winter, the one with the shocking prices. What amazes me is that the locals, who generally appear to have almost nothing, can afford to shop there. I guess that's why so many do subsistence farming, and there is certainly a lot of locally grown food. Fish, fruits and vegetables...those are plentiful and cheap. Meat and household supplies- not so much.
We continued down the sidewalk along the sea wall towards that same supermarket we'd gone to last winter, the one with the shocking prices. What amazes me is that the locals, who generally appear to have almost nothing, can afford to shop there. I guess that's why so many do subsistence farming, and there is certainly a lot of locally grown food. Fish, fruits and vegetables...those are plentiful and cheap. Meat and household supplies- not so much.
After getting our exercise, we came back to the ship for a late lunch in the buffet. You know I'm not a fan of the buffet, but I've learned to just stick primarily with the salad bar, and I do okay. Actually, it's better than okay; the variety in the salads I eat for lunch would be difficult to replicate at home.
After that, I used the laptop and the still relatively fast ship's wifi to cancel our flights from Fort Lauderdale to home for both February 15th and 25th. You might recall that we weren't certain, when we left home, just how long we'd be staying on the Emerald Princess. We had used Southwest Rapid Rewards points to hold flights for 100 days of cruising, and 110 days. I guess there's little doubt now we're staying for the full 120 days. Again, thank you Southwest! The points we had used to book the flights are already back in our Rapid Rewards accounts- no penalty at all.
By then, the back of the ship was calling for me. Hot, sunny and uncrowded...I spent the remainder of the afternoon alternating between a lounger and the Terrace Pool. Life is good!
I don't know why I bothered to shower before going to Leesh's party line dance class in Club Fusion at 4:15pm, because I needed another one afterwards. I met G up in Skywalkers but didn't have any of tonight's sushi hors doerve...I was hungry and wanted to go to dinner that way (it was Italian night).
Sutti has a lot of tables to serve (the waitstaff is spread much too thin), and most of his first diners arrive right at 5:30pm. If we arrive at 6:00pm or 6:15pm, he's in the heat of serving the others' entree course, and we have had a bit of a wait this cruise having our order taken when we arrive after everyone else. We hadn't said a thing about it...Sutti is the best and we know it. But Sutti himself must have been bothered by it. Tonight he had the appetizers he knew we'd order to us almost immediately, and then took the rest of our order when his other tables were eating their main course.
A good waiter can adapt to whatever a situation demands, and Sutti is a very good waiter.
I take back all the good things I've been saying about the improvement in entertainment choices on the ship. I don't know what's going on tonight, but we don't have two show options tonight; we barely have one. For the first time I've ever seen, the crew talent show, which is usually scheduled at 10:15pm one of the last nights of a cruise, is scheduled tonight. At 7:15pm and 8:30pm. And that's it as far as shows tonight. This puzzles me...most crew members can't even begin to get away from their jobs during the early evening, and especially not for two shows. Maybe an entertainer didn't show up? I don't know. G said it best...where's (comedian) Rollin Jay Moore when you need him? At any rate, we've seen the crew talent show already this winter and are waiting until Sutti, Surasit and Nicky finish making new costumes for their Thai dance to see it again. Hopefully next cruise...Sutti says he's getting tired of drinking Fanta soda, but he needs the cans for the costumes!
Also tonight is the Tropical Deck party. It's a beautiful evening for it. The distance from St. Kitts to St. Thomas is short, just over 100 miles. We're cruising at a slow 14 mph, and this ship is as stable as it gets. I was just out on the Terrace Deck to get fuzzy water from Outriggers Bar, and the lights of some island (St. Eustatius? Saba?) are off the back of the ship. Gorgeous!
I want to go the party tonight. I really do. But we arrive early in St. Thomas tomorrow, at 7am, and our alarm is set for 6:00am and our bags are already packed for a day on Honeymoon Beach on Water Island. Our plan is to catch the 8:00am ferry over, and perhaps the 2:15pm ferry back, giving us a nice long day on the water.
It's 9:00pm and my contacts are out. Does anyone really think I'll make it to the party? Of course I won't.
And, two other items of note for today. Friend Martha had sent us a box of first class mail at the port agent's address in Fort Lauderdale. She timed the mailing so that we'd have the box on the last turnaround day. Well, it didn't show up. We really weren't concerned...after chasing after my Drugstore.com shipment last year, we know that these things do generally eventually show up. Finally, two days ago, we stopped by the Passenger Services Desk to inquire, and were told that the box was not on board and we should check again next turnaround day. No problem.
Then this afternoon, we received a phone message from the hotel clerk: were we expecting a package, because he had one for us. We haven't opened it yet, but it's heavy! I'm hoping for Christmas and birthday cards and no bad surprises.
Also, on the Steward Nazi front, relations are continuing to thaw, if only the slightest bit. Still, we know our place. Our laundry has been getting slower and slower to be returned. It's supposed to be that laundry turned in by 9:00am will be returned the following evening, but that's been stretching to the morning after that and sometimes the following evening. We just turn in our dirties and wonder if (and hope that) we'll ever see them returned. We don't question...we're better trained than that.
G was looking at the Princess Patter this morning when I asked, "I wonder if we'll get laundry back tonight?" Without looking up he remarked that it said in the Patter that we would. Huh? "It's right here" he said..."LGBT get together in Adagio at 5:30pm". At my questioning look, he explained. "LGBT: laundry gets back today. They're having a party for us to celebrate".
That's my guy!
:-)
Photo 1: G's work for today: helping to raise the Bermuda (where the ship is registered) at the back of the ship
Photo 2: an egret we saw on our walk
Photo 3: today's sea glass finds
Photo 4: this salad from the buffet was so pretty, I'm going to have the photo printed, so when we're home and I'm hungry, I can eat it.
;-)
Photo 5: the Wind Star Wind Surf was in St. Kitts today. Photo taken at sailaway through our dining room window.
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