Day Four – St. Thomas
Day four at Sea was our day to stop at St. Thomas, USVI. And once again, it was rainy and windy. Not sure why we’ve had such bad weather this cruise. But still, when you’re on a cruise, it doesn’t matter. My idea of cruising is time to relax, and that’s easy if you make time for it. Or, if you’d rather, you can stay busy every minute of every day.
Johnny Rockets for Breakfast
So, we got up early and decided to go to Johnny Rockets on the Boardwalk for breakfast. Breakfast at Johnny Rockets is complimentary, but lunch and dinner are an extra charge. We were seated promptly, and Sergio was over to get our order very quickly. I got the two eggs My Way, along with bacon, wheat toast, and country potatoes. Also, I got orange juice and coffee.
The coffee on this ship is very strong, and I think it’s starting to bother me, so I’m going to get tea instead. They have a nice selection of different teas in most of the a la carte eateries. He got french toast, along with bacon, and orange juice and coffee also. The servings weren’t large, so we ended up stopping at the Park Cafe for a yogurt parfait also.
Crown Bay, St. Thomas
After that we got off of the ship at the Crown Bay port in St. Thomas. I could see some damage to the shops right at the port, and they were using a large generator. But most of the shops were open. They do have a clean restroom in the Crown Bay shopping area. We walked along the small straw market (like a flea market with local wares) for a few minutes, and then the skies opened up.
It rained for maybe 15 minutes, then slowed down to a drizzle, so we decided to get an open air taxi to Downtown St. Thomas, Charlotte Amalie. The cost is $4 per person each way, and most busses have room for 12-16 or so. Along the way I did see some damage to some buildings, but we never got past Charlotte Amalie, so I didn’t see most of the hurricane damage in the area. Be aware that traffic is crazy in St. Thomas. Your driver is either driving like crazy, or stuck in traffic that is not moving at all. There is no rhyme or reason to driving in St. Thomas, and I would not want to be driving there. I’m really not sure of the system, except that you blow your horn when you’re wanting to get into the flow of traffic. You hear a lot of horns beeping.
Exploring St. Thomas
Once in St. Thomas we just walked around. First we went to a bigger straw market with plenty of souvenirs for sale. You can bargain. I saw one thing that I wanted and the salesman said $15. That was more than it was worth so I said I’d think about it. In less than a minute the cost was down to $10, which I paid.
We then walked around town for a while. The streets are very narrow and one way, and the sidewalks are narrow also. There are some cute shops, and you can go down little alleyways for more shops and restaurants. There are a lot of jewelry stores, and they’ll stand outside and try to get you to come in. One guy had a really good pitch. He stopped me and said that he noticed that I was wearing Sketchers, and did I see the special on 60 Minutes over the weekend about them? I said no, and he said that people who wear Sketchers need to wear jewelry. But, I’m not a big jewelry person, so that didn’t work on me.
We were just about to walk around to find the 99 Steps, and the heavens opened up yet again. We found shelter under the roof outside the post office and tried to wait it out. But it was not stopping. It slowed down and we walked down the street for a few minutes, and it started up again. Of course I didn’t bring an umbrella, because if I had, it would not have rained, right? Murphy’s Law at work. We tried waiting in a doorway for a taxi, but they all kept turning just before the store. So, we walked in the rain to a waiting taxi, and had to walk through a puddle about 4 inches deep to get onto it. But at least we had a taxi back to Crown Bay.
Back to the ship
So, I never really got to see what I wanted to see in St. Thomas, but we did see a lot of Caribbean rain. Once we got back to Crown Bay we were already soaked, so we got onto the ship. Remember that when you go to a town at port, you will need whatever identification you use to travel (such as a passport), and your ship card to get back onto the ship. On a side note, make sure that you take or buy plenty of water. We buy the squirt type of Gatorade to put in water and use that. Or we buy Gatorade in the shops. I just think it’s better to replenish your electrolytes when it’s so hot out. And don’t forget the sunscreen. We put ours on before we got out for the day, and I always have extra with me.
Boardwalk Hotdogs
After we dried off a bit I decided to try and get a hot dog at the Boardwalk Hot Dog Shop, and he decided to go to the Windjammer. I got to the Boardwalk and discovered that the Hot Dog Shop was closed, so I just stopped at the Park Cafe and got an egg salad sandwich, a chef salad, and something to drink and took them back to the room. It was still raining, so the balcony wasn’t dry. So, I relaxed and ate up eating on the sofa in the room.
I discovered that channel 39 on the TV was showing a Yule Log and playing Christmas music, so I put that on. I wasn’t fond of the egg salad sandwich, so I only ate a bit of that, but the salad was good. After that, I went to the computer room to work on my blog, and then ran to the windjammer for some dessert, chocolate mousse cake again. I love that stuff!
Dinner
After showering and getting ready for dinner, we went to the main dining room. Another couple sat by us this time, but they came in pretty late. We talked to them a bit, but by then we were almost done with our meal. I had French Onion Soup, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and a Dark Chocolate cookie with ice cream on top. The soup was good, the Chicken Cordon Bleu was okay, and the cookie was good but too rich. I guess that the servers have too many tables to wait on, because it took forever from the time we finished our meal till we got our dessert. They are good waiters, but I wish it didn’t take quite so long between courses.
Trying again to see the High Dive Act…with no luck
We walked around a while after that and ended up on the Boardwalk. Since we had missed our Oasis of Dreams show the night before, the high diving act we walked back there and saw that there was a show at 7:30. We thought we could catch a few minutes of it before we had to go to our other show, so we sat down. But guess what? It started raining. So, we went and got in line for the oldies song show. That show was really good. It had a group that had been together for 27 years, and they did a really good job. I liked it better than Cats. The songs were mostly from the 70’s and 80’s, and people were encouraged to get up and dance. That’s not my thing, but there were people enjoying themselves and dancing to the music. As for me, I just sat back and listened and enjoyed.
And that was the end of another day on Oasis of the Seas. There are only a few days left, and I’m not ready for it to end.
The Quiet Cruiser 