Chris and I were actually able to check in online, which was nice (we’ve had problems in the past due to someone with Chris’ same name being flagged). We boarded the red-eye to Atlanta and caught a connecting flight to Puerto Rico. Arrived to find 85 degree weather and sunshine! We hired a cab and headed for the ship. Spent a couple hours eating and getting acquainted with our new surroundings, then took a short and much-needed nap. We got off the ship for a little while to explore San Juan, then made our way back onboard. We ate dinner in the dining room with two Puerto Rican couples and an American couple. Participated in the mandatory muster drill as required by the US Coast Guard and set sail at 10pm. We returned to our cabin and went over our Frommer's Guides, then fell asleep.
Oct 10, 2010, St. Thomas, US Vigrin Islands - When we woke up, our ship was already docked in St Thomas. We didn't have anything planned other than wandering and perhaps some snorkeling. We set off on foot and headed toward the small town of Charlotte Amalie. Wandered through the narrow alleys and peeked in a couple of shops. Honestly, it wasn't really doing much for me. Chris and I aren't big into shopping. Charlotte Amalie has over 300 jewelry stores. I knew I wanted to see the Government Building and 99 Steps so we started in that direction. We were stopped by a gentleman named Joe who was selling tours: "I drive you around (yeah yeah), we'll stop at a couple of view points (sure, okay), you can sample and buy a banana daiquiri (blah blah blah), I w
ill point out all of the islands to you (whatever), I'll drive you to the beach and you will have the option of staying for two hours before I pick you up (okay, now you have my attention) and it's only $25/person (alright where do we sign?)." I knew that we'd pay at least $25 for a cab to a decent beach, so I told Chris this was a good deal. We told Joe that we'd run back to the ship to grab our snorkel gear and that we'd be back. Met up with the small group of mostly-not-annnoying people (except for Long Island Woman) and went on a fantastic tour in an open-air cab. Joe took us to several beautiful lookout points. Magen's Beach which is on National Geographic’s Top 10 Beaches list, stopped for banana daiquiris (they let you pour your own liquor so it’s as strong or weak as you want), stopped at a couple of view points, and headed to Sapphire Beach. Joe gave everyone the option of staying 20 min or 2 hours. We of course chose the 2 hour option. We couldn't get into the water fast enough. I bought an underwater case for our Nikon and we were able to get some pictures. The snorkeling wasn't the most spectacular we've seen but we also knew not to expect that at Sapphire Beach (I do tons of research before we leave on cruises to familiarize myself with the area). We saw a school of about 200 blue tangs, yellow tail snappers, lots of sergeant majors, and many others that we couldn't identify. Chris found a conch. I took Rice Krispies to feed the fish and you could hear them popping underwater! 
As promised, Joe met us after two glorious hours and took us back to the port. Boarded, showered, and had dinner on the Lido deck. Returned to our room for a quick nap and went to see the Welcome Aboard Show. Saw a little bit of singing and dancing (more of that tomorrow) and a hilarious stand-up comedian named Al Romero. If we can stay up, we'll go see his R-rated show late tomorrow night. All in all it was a great day, sunny and very humid, and tiring. Tomorrow we have a busy day planned on the island of Dominica!
Oct 10, 2010, St. Thomas, US Vigrin Islands - When we woke up, our ship was already docked in St Thomas. We didn't have anything planned other than wandering and perhaps some snorkeling. We set off on foot and headed toward the small town of Charlotte Amalie. Wandered through the narrow alleys and peeked in a couple of shops. Honestly, it wasn't really doing much for me. Chris and I aren't big into shopping. Charlotte Amalie has over 300 jewelry stores. I knew I wanted to see the Government Building and 99 Steps so we started in that direction. We were stopped by a gentleman named Joe who was selling tours: "I drive you around (yeah yeah), we'll stop at a couple of view points (sure, okay), you can sample and buy a banana daiquiri (blah blah blah), I w
ill point out all of the islands to you (whatever), I'll drive you to the beach and you will have the option of staying for two hours before I pick you up (okay, now you have my attention) and it's only $25/person (alright where do we sign?)." I knew that we'd pay at least $25 for a cab to a decent beach, so I told Chris this was a good deal. We told Joe that we'd run back to the ship to grab our snorkel gear and that we'd be back. Met up with the small group of mostly-not-annnoying people (except for Long Island Woman) and went on a fantastic tour in an open-air cab. Joe took us to several beautiful lookout points. Magen's Beach which is on National Geographic’s Top 10 Beaches list, stopped for banana daiquiris (they let you pour your own liquor so it’s as strong or weak as you want), stopped at a couple of view points, and headed to Sapphire Beach. Joe gave everyone the option of staying 20 min or 2 hours. We of course chose the 2 hour option. We couldn't get into the water fast enough. I bought an underwater case for our Nikon and we were able to get some pictures. The snorkeling wasn't the most spectacular we've seen but we also knew not to expect that at Sapphire Beach (I do tons of research before we leave on cruises to familiarize myself with the area). We saw a school of about 200 blue tangs, yellow tail snappers, lots of sergeant majors, and many others that we couldn't identify. Chris found a conch. I took Rice Krispies to feed the fish and you could hear them popping underwater! 
As promised, Joe met us after two glorious hours and took us back to the port. Boarded, showered, and had dinner on the Lido deck. Returned to our room for a quick nap and went to see the Welcome Aboard Show. Saw a little bit of singing and dancing (more of that tomorrow) and a hilarious stand-up comedian named Al Romero. If we can stay up, we'll go see his R-rated show late tomorrow night. All in all it was a great day, sunny and very humid, and tiring. Tomorrow we have a busy day planned on the island of Dominica!
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