Half day sail St. Thomas

[osuzycruz]

My family and I just returned from our first ever cruise, and we can't wait
to go again. The highlight of the trip was the island of St Thomas, thanks
to Interlinesail.com
We booked a half day sail with them, and it was without doubt the best day
of our entire shore excursions. The crew ( Captain Larry and First Mate
Betty) met us at Red Hook exactly as planned (we were apprehensive but
should not have been). We sailed from St Thomas to a wonderful secluded
cove where we swam and snorkled for almost 3 hours. Fish were everywhere,
and we even saw a Ray! We then took a gentle scenic sail around the area,
as Betty pointed out the sights, including a sailboat beached on a small
island! We saw the new Ritz Carlton club, and some beautiful island resort
homes (out of our price range, but beautiful to dream) as we enjoyed our rum
punch and fruit snack. Then we had another tour of the Red Hook harbour via
the dingy ride into the dock- there were yachts from every corner of the
world just bobbing in the water.

Our only complaint is that the day was too short, but the half-day sail did
give us plenty of time to do some shopping at the dock stores- I think I
bought a Tee shirt at every store.

Plan to post our pictures soon, if anyone would like to see our day by day
journal of the entire cruise.

[The Islander]

Which cruise were you on? Which other ports? Which port was your favorite?

--Islander

[osuzycruz]

We sailed on the Carnival Triumph, out of Miami. Ports were San Juan, Puerto Rico, St Thomas and St. Maarten. Being our first cruise, I can't really compare the ship with others, butI can tell you I felt like we had too many "fun days @ sea", which weren't so much fun mainly due to the weather.

We did enjoy the ship shore excursion in San Juan- the Flamenco Show, which was excellent.
A large group from the ship went, and we felt the price was worth it.
While we did have rain(not typical to have that much, I was told), St Thomas was definitely our favorite port. At this port, we booked our own shore excursion, which turned out to be a great day in spite of off/on rain. We all felt the islanders were very friendly and everyone, especially the taxi driver, talked to us and gave us history and information about the island. We shopped at the stores on the dock, finding many bargains. For the next port, St Maarten, we had booked one of the ships shore excursions, taking the St Maarten Island Tour. Perhaps we selected the wrong tour, but we didn't enjoy it very much, although looking at the pictures, I have to say the restaurants on both the French and Dutch side were great- it appears we are eating in every picture. There are some fine restaurants there, and it is a pretty island, but the shopping was also not as good as St Thomas.
All in all, for our first time cruising, it was a wonderful trip, and we are now hooked on cruising. Our travel agent has already sent us details for an upcoming theme cruise for 2005, and we're ready to go. Think we might do the Western Caribbean this next trip, so will have to read up on the postings for tips, and also to pick another cruise line to try.

[The Islander]

Thanks for the review. Many of the posters here seem to be seasoned cruisers so was interested in what a first time cruisers thoughts were. Sounds like you are hooked and will be a seasoned cruiser soon. Enjoy planning the next one!!

--Islander

[amu]

My husband and I are doing the same Triumph cruise to SJ, ST and SM. We have been thinking aboutdoing that half day sail, I will keep an eye out for your pictures. How much was it for a half day per person? And can you walk to red hook or do you need to take a cab? Thanks!

[osuzycruz]

Hope you enjoy your cruise on the Triumph– when are you leaving? Sure hope your weather is better- we had lots of rain, but still enjoyed the cruise.



Re price of the 3 ½ hour snorkel trip in St Thomas: We paid $65.00 per person. My travel agent told me it would run around $80 per person, but when I sent the email to Interlinesail requesting the daysail, we got an email from them saying they had a special half day rate for $65 each. We took a taxi (a van) from the cruise dock to American Yacht Harbor, and it cost us $8.00 each. The taxi driver arranged a pickup time and place and was there waiting for us when we returned, and then he took us back to the ship. ($8 each returning, plus tip) The ride to/from the cruise ship was like a tour of the island; we went one route, and came back another, so saw lots of the island. It was about a 15-20 minute taxi ride, so you could not walk. Hope this is the info you needed?



I am busy working on next year’s cruise. We are checking out Western Caribbean cruises. Have you cruised there? If you have, would appreciate any advice/tips as to which ship/itinerary you might suggest. Another place we are considering is Aruba, which I’ve heard so much about. Am reading the boards and Aruba sounds like fun.

[osuzycruz]

Has anyone sailed on Carnival Victory Western Caribbean? Ports of call are Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica. We are considering this but would like to hear from someone who has done the trip before. Any info is appreciated.
Thanks!

[tef43]

Perhaps you may wish to pop over to the Carnival board and ask about the other itineraries. Doubtless you will receive more responses than here on the STT-specific board.

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[I]Dance like it hurts, love like you need money, and work when somebody's watching.[/I]

[osuzycruz]

Ouch. Sorry- new to these boards and also new to cruising. Was having a conversation with Amu, I thought; but guess not.
Will check other boards for my info. Thanks for your advice.