CRUISE 2014 - DAY 3 - ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS

We woke up to another gorgeous, sunny morning.  Our plan for this cruise was quite different than past cruises.  We had no real schedule or excursions planned and were open to whatever tickled our fancy for each day.  We wanted to relax, recharge and enjoy the sun and sand!

The view from the ship - Charlotte Amalie is almost directly across the harbour

After some breakfast at the Windjammer, we caught a safari cab into Charlotte Amalie, the main town on St. Thomas.  We usually take the time to walk to and from town but were feeling lazy.  The walk takes around 20 minutes at a steady pace and, if you take the path through the yacht club, you pass by lots of boutiques that are nice for window shopping but whose prices are well out of our range.

One of the alleyways in the AH Riise shopping complex downtown

There is lots of shopping to be had ranging from the Vendor’s Market right up to high-end designer fare and tons of jewelry stores to choose from.  We didn’t have anything major on our shopping list so we wandered the tents at the Vendor’s Market looking for some sunglasses for Dave but the price was not right and we kept moving.  Bargaining is the norm but when they start way higher than we want, we just walk away.  There are lots of cab drivers around that area and a driver named Tim approached us offering rides to Magen’s Bay and other beaches, if we wanted.  When he found out that we had been there several times and were thinking of going to our favorite beach on Water Island (Honeymoon Beach), he turned into a real source of local information for us.  We had heard that Honeymoon Beach had been ‘discovered’ and was now often very populated and not the quiet, relaxing spot we have loved in the past and he confirmed that for us.  The Kon Tiki party boats have started making a stop there around lunch and they carry a lot of people. 

We asked him about Sapphire Beach, which was the other spot we had read some great reviews on and from his perspective, he said it was the best beach on the island.  There has been some drama going on between the owner and some others so access to the beach was restricted to pedestrians…no cabs allowed on the property and there were no facilities.  We told him that we were planning on taking the dollar taxi there and he pointed us to where the dollar taxi stand was.  He also told us that he was taking a group there and would be returning around 3:30pm if we decided we wanted to cab it back instead of the ‘bus’.  Dollar taxi’s look somewhat similar to the safari cabs…perhaps a bit more worn looking. 

travel with the locals on the dollar taxi

They are actually local bus transportation and way cheaper than cabs.  There are few tourists that use them or are even aware of them but they are the best deal going!  They only pick up at specific bus stops.  One of the stops is close to the Havensight pier where most ships dock.  There are no close stops to the Crown Bay pier on the opposite side of the island.  You walk through Havensight, turn left at the exit and walk down to where you see a gas station on the other side of the road.  The bus stop is on the road that runs beside the station (not the main road).  There is also a spot right beside the Vendors’ Market.  It cost us $2 each to get from Charlotte Amalie to the Sapphire Beach Resort & Marina.  If you ask a local, they will let you know when to ring the bell to make a stop or they may even take care of that for you.  The ride probably took around 40 minutes or so.  By cab, it would have been around $10 per person each way.

 

We had a bit of a walk (perhaps 7 or 8 minutes) down the hill to an absolutely gorgeous beach.  You have to love it when you walk around the corner and gasp because the colour of the water is just so stupendous…there are no words!  We spent several hours there, floating in the water, chatting with people that we met, laying under a tropical tree…the ultimate in relaxation!  We decided that if we paid a bit more and went back with Tim, we could spend longer on the beach… so we paid $10 per person to return to the ship via cab.

Since we had late sitting dinner, we had lots of time to shower, nap and take it easy before our 8:30pm dining time.  We had a very quiet evening and were in bed early.  All of the sun, exercise and fresh air makes us tired very early but makes for some incredible sleeps.  Our next stop would be St. Croix, USVI and we had never been to that island before and were looking forward to checking it out.

Cruise Jan 2011 - Day 2 - ST THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS

View of the harbour area near Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas

The first full day of our cruise was blessed with a delightful sunny day and warm temperatures. I couldn’t sleep in because I was too excited to get going so I quietly crawled over Dave, got dressed and made my way up to the Mediterranean Buffet for some Rooibos tea (from my own special stash). I also grabbed a bowl of yogurt and a banana for a breakfast ‘snack’. I found an empty table near the aft pool which is for adults only and is generally very quiet.  St. Thomas is the busiest port in the Caribbean so we were fortunate that there were only two ships in port that day.  I did some reading and enjoyed the view of the Charlotte Amalie harbour for awhile and then headed up to the sports deck to do some yoga. There was Ms. Rebecca, all athletic and energetic, making her way around the jogging track. I do well enough to put one foot in front of the other without tripping at that time of the morning so kudos to her for her motivation…and coordination!  I took a few photos of the harbour and pier area and then went back to the cabin to wake up Dave and to get our gear together for the day.


Havensight pier area with the "Skyride to Paradise Point" at the top left of photo

Our next stop was the Pacific Dining Room for breakfast. The French Toast with Cinnamon was totally delish and I paired it with a glass of pineapple juice.

We made our way off the ship around 10am with plans to catch a cab from the Havensight pier, where we were docked, over to the Crown Bay pier on the other side of Charlotte Amalie (the main town) in order to catch the ferry to Water Island. Unfortunately, we discovered that we couldn’t just hop in one of the cabs sitting at the pier and we had to walk all of the way through Havensight to the taxi stand to get one. Needless to say, it wasn’t a quick walk as they direct you on a path through all of the shops to get where you’re going. We did get a cab relatively quickly but our cab driver gave us a snort when we said we were trying to make the 10:30am ferry to Water Island. He then proceeded to lecture us about waiting until the last minute : - ) Traffic downtown was slow and it seemed that we crept along by inches at times.

We pulled up outside Tickles Dockside Pub, at the Crown Bay Marina, just in time to see the ferry pulling away from the dock. Our hearts sank with the thought that we would have to miss this much anticipated outing.  The cabbie honked his horn furiously but the ferry captain just ignored him and kept on going (FYI -  cab fare was $6 each).  We stopped and talked to the waitress at the restaurant and she suggested that we may be able to convince the ferry captain to take us over on a special trip for a bit more money than the regular $10 per person round trip fare. Since we wanted to get some snacks and drinks, we walked down the road to a local Pueblo grocery store and picked up some fruit, chips and juice for the day. We got back to the dock and had a very short wait before the ferry returned.  Dave was easily able to make a deal with the captain to take us over for $45 for the four of us and $5 each for the return trip so we only ended up spending an extra $6.25 each over what we originally would have paid…and we had our very own private ferry ride.

Water Island Ferry

We arrived on Water Island, which is a small island off the coast of St. Thomas and is considered the fourth US Virgin Island (along with St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix). The island is only accessible by boat/ferry and it is just under 500 acres in size. There are about 200 full-time residents during the winter and they get around the island on golf carts.

We walked up the steep hill from the dock and down the other side and in about 5 minutes, we had arrived at Honeymoon Beach.

This beach is incredibly picturesque and isolated so there aren’t many people that make the trip there.  A couple of ship’s excursions stopped in during the day however, the peace and tranquility of the beach was not disturbed. There is a small food kiosk run by a lady named Heidi - who can be somewhat cranky but she makes incredible burgers. A burger and some coleslaw will set you back about $9.50 US but it sure tastes good!! There is also a beach bar at the far end of the beach and some 'rustic' washrooms halfway down the beach. The washrooms boast a side for “Buoys” and the other for “Gulls” and usually open when the beach bar opens.

We spent an indulgent morning stretched out on the beach in the shade of the palm trees, swimming in the crystal blue Caribbean water, walking the beach and taking lots of photos. There was a local dog that kept running up and down the beach with a stick in his mouth. He would spot someone who looked like they had a good arm and head right for him. Funny, he mostly headed for guys, not girls?  I guess he thinks that girls...throw like girls : - )

There were also three little kids who were a source of constant amusement. They were probably 4, 5 and 7 years old and they were completely at home in the water. They spent the entire time trolling around the swimming area on a surfboard. The little guy would paddle over to people and then stand up and wait for the applause. Too cute!

We headed back to the dock with a good 10 minutes to spare before the 2:15pm ferry back to Crown Bay Marina. We all gathered on the dock when we saw the ferry coming but a few people slipped past us and when everyone got loaded on the ferry, it was topped out at its maximum capacity of 25 people and the four of us had to be left behind. We didn’t stew much because the operator said he would come right back and we weren’t on a tight schedule so we went to the little stand where the mailboxes and a small ‘put-and-take’ library were located and waited about 20 minutes. Everything happens for a reason and we had another private ferry ride back and got to have a good chat with the operator who was from Maine and spent half his year in Maine and half on St. Thomas.  Sounds appealing, no??

We caught a cab to downtown Charlotte Amalie ($4 each) and while the guys went to the internet café, Rebecca and I went to A.H. Riise at the waterfront. They have an entire mall made up of different little stores for cosmetics, crystal, clothing, jewelry, etc. Great prices on Clinique products! Then we went over to the vendor’s market nearby.  It is an entire square of tents with vendors that sell all of the touristy stuff that people look for (sunglasses, jewelry, watches, dresses, shirts, hats, knock-off purses, etc). Bargaining is expected so never take the first price that you’re quoted. All you have to do is hum and they start knocking off a few dollars….”just for you”!! Rebecca found a dress she liked and took a bit of time to get the price down. She liked it enough that even though she didn’t get it as low as she wanted, she still bought it.


Vendor's Market

We walked back through town and along the highway back to the Havensight pier. There is a shortcut through the yacht club so we took that and dropped in to a couple of shops in the shopping area. If you like pricey gear, there are shops for Gucci, D&G, etc.

We got back on the ship with just a few minutes to spare before the 4:30pm ‘all aboard’ call.  Rebecca and I immediately hit the frozen yogurt stand and picked up a big glass of lemonade and went out on deck for the sail-away from St. Thomas...the guys went for naps!!



Farewell St. Thomas

That evening after supper, we went up on deck to watch "Iron Man 2" on the huge outdoor screen at the central pool area.  The others didn't think it was that good so they took off to check out karaoke and I stayed and watched the movie!

What a stupendous day on one of my favorite islands! This is one island I would definitely return to for a week’s vacation. You can catch ferries from St. Thomas to St. Croix, St. John and Water Island so you would never run out of new things to see. If you want more detail about local transportation, excursions, beaches, etc on St. Thomas, check out my detailed St Thomas posting under 2010 posts on this blog!