The next morning, we woke up during our docking alongside Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.
We had our breakfast brought to our room. We do this every morning during our cruise because of the convenience and quiet. Who doesn't enjoy breakfast in bed?
We had some extra onboard credit, so we decided to book one of the ship’s tours to St. John. We really wanted to see Trunk Bay. I read on Cruise Critic that it might be an easier way to get to St. John for the first time. At least we wouldn’t have to coordinate taking a taxi and taking the ferry on our own. Because we wanted to use OBC, I waited until we were on the ship to book our tour. I actually booked this on the embarkation day, when I was taking pics of the ship. This was the first excursion we've ever booked through the ship, and we had a good experience overall. Here’s a pic of our tickets:
The first thing we noticed upon exiting the ship was the HEAT. It was soooo hot! Wesley’s initial reaction to the heat, lol:
We had our breakfast brought to our room. We do this every morning during our cruise because of the convenience and quiet. Who doesn't enjoy breakfast in bed?
We had some extra onboard credit, so we decided to book one of the ship’s tours to St. John. We really wanted to see Trunk Bay. I read on Cruise Critic that it might be an easier way to get to St. John for the first time. At least we wouldn’t have to coordinate taking a taxi and taking the ferry on our own. Because we wanted to use OBC, I waited until we were on the ship to book our tour. I actually booked this on the embarkation day, when I was taking pics of the ship. This was the first excursion we've ever booked through the ship, and we had a good experience overall. Here’s a pic of our tickets:
The first thing we noticed upon exiting the ship was the HEAT. It was soooo hot! Wesley’s initial reaction to the heat, lol:
We met up with these two ladies who were holding signs for our tour. It was nice because the ferry was right at the pier.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day in St. Thomas. The ferry stopped at the Marriott nearby before heading out to sea:
The ride was about 40 minutes long, and it was pretty choppy. We thought it was fun. The boat kicked up a spray every few seconds.
The captain gave a nice commentary on the history of the area. We really enjoyed our ride. Our first glimpses of St. John:
It was an absolutely gorgeous day in St. Thomas. The ferry stopped at the Marriott nearby before heading out to sea:
The ride was about 40 minutes long, and it was pretty choppy. We thought it was fun. The boat kicked up a spray every few seconds.
The captain gave a nice commentary on the history of the area. We really enjoyed our ride. Our first glimpses of St. John:
As soon as we got off the ferry, the captain let us know that he was aware that some people take the RCCL excursion just as a means of transportation to St. John. He asked if anyone had plans to go straight to the beach rather than taking a tour…we were the only ones to raise our hands! I don't think many people are aware that they can do this. Felt kind of smart because of all the Cruise Critic folks
.
The captain had arranged for a local taxi driver to pick up travelers like us, which I thought was awesome. Seems like he does this every day. The ride to Trunk Bay was $6 per person. It was about a 15-minute ride, and the taxi driver stopped two or three times to let us take photos at some scenic spots.
. The captain had arranged for a local taxi driver to pick up travelers like us, which I thought was awesome. Seems like he does this every day. The ride to Trunk Bay was $6 per person. It was about a 15-minute ride, and the taxi driver stopped two or three times to let us take photos at some scenic spots.
He dropped us off in the parking lot. There were lots of taxi drivers hanging out there, making themselves available to the tourists. He told us to tell the next driver that we wanted to go back downtown to get to the ferry pier area.
After paying him, we went to the booth to pay for access to the beach. The cost for Trunk Bay is $4 pp. It’s a National Park, and they keep the area beautiful.
We walked along the paved path that leads to the beach, and we entered the prettiest, most peaceful beach we’ve ever seen.
A picture is worth 1,000 words, so I'll let these tell most of the story:
Best. Beach. Ever!!! If you’re not sure what to do when you stop in St. Thomas, and love relaxing at the beach, please do yourself a favor and get to Trunk Bay. We decided to rent chairs for $7 each. You have to put a deposit down of $25 pp on top of the $7pp (to make sure they get their chairs back). Wes went to get the chairs got a receipt that stated how much cash we put down for the chairs. No problem at all.
The beach was so wonderfully quiet. There are no water sports, but there is an underwater snorkel trail available that many people enjoyed. Snorkle equipment was available for rent, I'm not sure how much it cost though. A refreshment stand was available near the chair rentals, so you could get beverages and snacks. There were a couple children there, but we mostly saw adults.
The sand was powdery white, and the water was so crystal clear. We even saw some fish swimming around our feet near the shoreline. It was just a perfect place. Just perfect.
After a few hours at the beach, we decided to head back to Charlotte Amalie, since I heard on CC about some must-buy chocolate rum. The ship’s tour would have gotten us back to the port around 4:30, which wouldn’t have given us time to explore the shopping area. Looking back, I think we would have had time to shop before the tour, but the tickets said to meet at 9:15 for a 9:30 departure. Some people actually arrived around 9:25, so now we know that we can pay more attention to the departure time rather than the actual meeting time. Another example of me being a "by-the-rules, type A," person. But I digress…we decided to go back to the port area early.
We returned the chairs and got our deposit back. As soon as we entered the parking lot, a taxi driver asked us if we needed to go back downtown. He had two other couples waiting in his taxi (they’re more like open-air vans), and we all had a nice conversation as we rode to the ferry terminal. Tickets for the ferry cost $6 per person. The ferry ride was pretty smooth compared to the one we took in the morning, which I actually read about here on CC. There was some pretty loud engine noise on that ferry, though.
A pic of the terminal at Red Hook from the ferry:
Once we arrived at the terminal, we caught a taxi back to the pier ($20 total). It was about a 25 minute ride, and Wes adn I were surprised at how winding the roads were to get back to Charlotte Amalie. It wasn't as bad as in St. Lucia, but for some reason I assumed that the ride was mostly flat. Not so at all. Just a heads up
I’m actually glad we took the chance to take the ferry back to Red Hook, and take the taxi back to Charlotte Amalie. We were able to compare the ship’s tour experience to going on our own. Now I know what to expect when we come back to St. Thomas, and I’m more confident that we could do the day trip on our own.
Back in the shopping area, we headed to A.H. Riise, which was literally straight down the street from the ship’s entrance. We got there around 3:00 (all-aboard was 4:30). The shop is immaculate, and the sales people were very nice and helpful. I let him know I was looking for the chocolate rum, and he asked if I wanted to taste it before I made my purchase. How could I turn that down? The rum is delicious by the way! I bought two bottles of the chocolate, and one each of coconut and banana rum. All for $26. I didn’t even have to carry the rum to the ship. A.H. Riise will pack your bottles so they won’t break when you put them in your suitcase, and they’ll deliver everything to the ship. You get your items delivered to your stateroom the last night of the cruise. Here's a pic of the package I received on the last night of the cruise. Everything made it home in one piece too. Very nice!
We made our way back to the ship, enjoyed a quick lunch in the Windjammer, and watched sailaway from our balcony. We were in no hurry, since we planned to skip the first formal night. We always wondered what it was like for those who chose to forego dressing up for dinner on formal night, and it was great to only have to worry about one of those nights. Our anniversary fell on the second formal night so we thought it would be nice to dress up for that.
After a nap, we went to the Windjammer for dinner. It was WONDERFUL. Quiet with the lights dimmed, and really good food. I tried some sushi and confirmed (again) that it's just not a food that I enjoy. Can't do it. The chicken was great. Every day, I noticed that they featured a different type of roast chicken, and it was always really good. Make a note to check it out!
The Windjammer wasn’t crowded at all, and a much more relaxed atmosphere than the craziness that was happening on the lower decks, lol. Since our room was on deck 9, and the Windjammer on 11, we never really experienced any crowds that night. I think we’ll do just one formal night on a 7-night cruise from now on.
I don’t remember what we did the rest of the evening. Here’s the little buddy we found on our bed when we got back to our room:
We returned the chairs and got our deposit back. As soon as we entered the parking lot, a taxi driver asked us if we needed to go back downtown. He had two other couples waiting in his taxi (they’re more like open-air vans), and we all had a nice conversation as we rode to the ferry terminal. Tickets for the ferry cost $6 per person. The ferry ride was pretty smooth compared to the one we took in the morning, which I actually read about here on CC. There was some pretty loud engine noise on that ferry, though.
A pic of the terminal at Red Hook from the ferry:
Once we arrived at the terminal, we caught a taxi back to the pier ($20 total). It was about a 25 minute ride, and Wes adn I were surprised at how winding the roads were to get back to Charlotte Amalie. It wasn't as bad as in St. Lucia, but for some reason I assumed that the ride was mostly flat. Not so at all. Just a heads up
I’m actually glad we took the chance to take the ferry back to Red Hook, and take the taxi back to Charlotte Amalie. We were able to compare the ship’s tour experience to going on our own. Now I know what to expect when we come back to St. Thomas, and I’m more confident that we could do the day trip on our own.
Back in the shopping area, we headed to A.H. Riise, which was literally straight down the street from the ship’s entrance. We got there around 3:00 (all-aboard was 4:30). The shop is immaculate, and the sales people were very nice and helpful. I let him know I was looking for the chocolate rum, and he asked if I wanted to taste it before I made my purchase. How could I turn that down? The rum is delicious by the way! I bought two bottles of the chocolate, and one each of coconut and banana rum. All for $26. I didn’t even have to carry the rum to the ship. A.H. Riise will pack your bottles so they won’t break when you put them in your suitcase, and they’ll deliver everything to the ship. You get your items delivered to your stateroom the last night of the cruise. Here's a pic of the package I received on the last night of the cruise. Everything made it home in one piece too. Very nice!
We made our way back to the ship, enjoyed a quick lunch in the Windjammer, and watched sailaway from our balcony. We were in no hurry, since we planned to skip the first formal night. We always wondered what it was like for those who chose to forego dressing up for dinner on formal night, and it was great to only have to worry about one of those nights. Our anniversary fell on the second formal night so we thought it would be nice to dress up for that.
After a nap, we went to the Windjammer for dinner. It was WONDERFUL. Quiet with the lights dimmed, and really good food. I tried some sushi and confirmed (again) that it's just not a food that I enjoy. Can't do it. The chicken was great. Every day, I noticed that they featured a different type of roast chicken, and it was always really good. Make a note to check it out!
The Windjammer wasn’t crowded at all, and a much more relaxed atmosphere than the craziness that was happening on the lower decks, lol. Since our room was on deck 9, and the Windjammer on 11, we never really experienced any crowds that night. I think we’ll do just one formal night on a 7-night cruise from now on.
I don’t remember what we did the rest of the evening. Here’s the little buddy we found on our bed when we got back to our room:
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