WELCOME TO ST. THOMAS

Monday, January 26, 2009
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas (Crown Bay Pier)
Sunny, a little rain, 84 F
We have traveled 2,427 miles from Fort Lauderdale in the past 10 days.

I always look forward to shopping in St. Thomas so I was up early and ready to disembark by 8 a.m. We noticed our room safe had a message on the face, “Low Battery.” I called the purser and it took ½ hour for a man to bring a battery. We did not feel comfortable leaving our passports and cash in the safe, so this slowed us down a little. We have not been asked for our passport or driver’s license at any port during this cruise, but I certainly feel like security is strong. Our room cards provide a photo id and other information as we get on and off the ship. A passport is certainly required to book such a cruise though.

St. Thomas is 40 miles east of Puerto Rico. Its area is 32 square miles and has a population of about 56,000. It is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. dollar is the official currency and we can use U.S. postal stamps.

Princess offered a water taxi option to the downtown area for $10 per person/unlimited rides. Ship personnel said that traffic would be heavy and the water taxi would take less time. I am so glad we went on the regular taxi/open air bus ($4 per person one way), because that ride was only 7 minutes each way and we did not have to wait. Crown Bay is not as enhanced as the Havensight port area.

We were downtown by 8:30 a.m. and most stores were open. There were four cruise ships in port, but we were the only ship at Crown Bay. I love to go in and out of the stores on the narrow main street—we look at jewelry, watches, cameras, art glass, linens, the marketplace, and the perfume stores. Tim had the option of going to a beach with CC friends, but he chose to shop with me today. I made a few small purchases for gifts. We will be back in St. Thomas in two weeks so I have time to make some decisions! This is the only port we repeat in our four-week cruise triathlon. There were a lot of cruise people on the streets, but I don’t think the stores are faring well economically.

We returned to the ship by 2 p.m. for lunch and the pool. There was a CC sailaway party at 5:30 at the Oasis Bar and we admired Donna’s new ring (more details later) and Lawrence’s silver scorpion pendant. Others spent time on Coki Beach, Water Island, and an eco hike.

Tonight’s dinner choices were the best yet as far as I was concerned. We had the heartiest fried mozzarella I’ve ever had (because Brian has become such a celebrity on the ship we are treated almost every night to a special appetizer). I also had gnocchi pasta, pineapple and strawberry plate, tomato and mozzarella salad, Chateaubriand steak, with Princess Love Boat Dream Cake (chocolate). We admired Sue’s emerald and diamond ring that she purchased today.

This was an early evening—we are tired from having so much fun. I cannot emphasize enough how enjoyable the cruise has been because we had become acquainted online with so many passengers (about 75). I truly believe our lives are richer for knowing these friends, just as we became friends with so many on our NCL Spirit cruise in November 2007. Our friends at dinner range in age from probably early 40s to early 60s, but the age difference certainly does not interfere with our fun!

Despite the warm temperatures on the islands, we really do not get hot—there is always a sea breeze wherever we go. I know we are lucky to be away from Lake Erie’s bitter cold winds. Today’s temperature in Erie was reported as 19 F and severe weather compared to our 84 F and sun sun sun on the Caribbean. We will soak in all the sun we can before we head north in late February.

Culinary Delight of the Day: fried mozzarella, Chateaubriand, Princess Love Boat Dream Cake

TK’s Takes: He happily pointed out that I am the oldest at the dinner table. He needed a 2 hour nap after shopping today.

A Note to our Granddaughters B and B: This ship has a basketball court, putt putt, ping pong, arcade games, a children’s pool, and children’s movies, among other activities for children. As I said before there are only about 13 children on this cruise, but we were told there were 400 children on the cruise during Christmas break.