Port and Not Really a Tour Review - St Thomas - May 2018 - Coral World

Date: May 2018

Ship: Carnival Magic

Venue: Coral World

Admission: $10 pp (reduced due to limited capabilities - see below)

Weather: Hot and Humid

Time In Port: 11-6

Intro:

We've been to St. Thomas before and are not really beach people so were looking for something to do for a few hours. It was either the Cable car (been there done that) or CW so we chose the latter. Good call too.

Transport:

Taxi was $9 pp each way, it's the same stop for Coki Beach and Coral World (tip - ask the folks at the gate to call and a taxi will stop at the CW entrance to get back rather than over to the Coki stop). Drivers were nice each way.

Coral World:

I noted above that the price is currently halved. The facility took a lot of damage during the storms and some facilities are still unusable or limited (the ampitheatre is closed, the aviary is gone (being rebuilt now), the roof on half of the Marine gardens is gone, being replaced for now with sail tarps, even the benches in there were destroyed and temp ones in use. It's important to note that no animals were harmed at all, they have a secure holding facility that even the staff rode the storm out in.

Still, there's enough to fill a couple of hours. There's an airconditioned aquarium, an undersea viewing platform, turtle (and duck) area, sea turtle pool. They also offer some activities like a sea lion swim and snuba, and some other activities we did not partake of but might next time. There is a small snack bar (I would stick to the fruit bars and drinks for now), a little walking trail, etc.

The crowd was fairly small, so we had the chance to interact with the staff, which was great. We talked with the turtle keeper for quite a while and also caught the sea lion demo and just chatted with the other staff. It's a small facility, but the staff really cares for their animals.

They are also in the process of building a new dolphin interaction facility due next year.

If you are used to the big Aquariums like Baltimore, its nothing, but if you are looking for a low impact and relaxing activity, head over there, put a few bucks towards rebuilding and maybe grab something in the gift shop, maybe watch Raymond the ray play a bit (he's a trip).

Photos:

Turtle feeding and checkin:

View from near the turtle pond:

Ray being, well, Ray (cuter on video)...

Romulo doing a demo...

Full vacation photo set here:

Any questions, please ask...

LOL. Those are red-footed tortoises- land creatures. There are also sea turtles, which are bigger and live in the water. Glad you enjoyed your day!

Thanks for the review. I really enjoyed Coral World & Coki Beach a few years ago. Hopefully they'll return to their former selves soon, and I agree that tourist money is sure to help! :)

Correct, I should have said tortoise.. Too late to edit now :(. I was originally going to link a picture of the sea turtle but changed my mind.

LOL. Those are red-footed tortoises- land creatures. There are also sea turtles, which are bigger and live in the water. Glad you enjoyed your day!

Please don’t support coral world keeping dolphins and sea lions in captivity is just plain wrong.

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Given the use captive bred animals that cannot be released into the wild and use them in a conservation message, I have no issues with it as long as they have proper space and care - the Dolphin facility they are building will be an open water facility with a dedicated medical area that can also be used to treat stranded or injured dolphins in the area.

There is a distinct difference between responsible care organizations and ones that mistreat animals for entertainment. From what I saw, Coral World is the former.

Please don’t support coral world keeping dolphins and sea lions in captivity is just plain wrong.

 

 

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Given the use captive bred animals that cannot be released into the wild and use them in a conservation message, I have no issues with it as long as they have proper space and care - the Dolphin facility they are building will be an open water facility with a dedicated medical area that can also be used to treat stranded or injured dolphins in the area.

 

 

 

There is a distinct difference between responsible care organizations and ones that mistreat animals for entertainment. From what I saw, Coral World is the former.

Sadly that is not accurate and most STT residents do not support this

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/04/08/debunking-captivity-3-reasons-not-to-keep-dolphins-in-a-tank/

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160426-dolphins-oceans-science-animals-captivity/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20160427news-freedolphin&utm_campaign=Content&sf25116470=1

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So you would prefer they release captive bred dolphins to die in the wild because they don't have the necessary immunities, etc? There's a big difference between re-releasing a caught one (which I wholly support AND I object to the capture of wild dolphins for display - only capitve bred and rehabs who cannot return to the wild should ever be in an aquarium facility - or any animal that matter which some minor exceptions for genetic diversity in breeding heavily threatened or functionally extinct species) and one who has never been in the wild. And I say this being someone who volunteers and works with a zoo, so I have a pretty good understanding of a complex issue.

I'm not saying its a great solution, just best of several bad ones at this point, and if done well at least has a more minimal impact.

Also, your article is an opinion piece and doesn't reference STT at all in terms of opinion..

Sadly that is not accurate and most STT residents do not support this

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/04/08/debunking-captivity-3-reasons-not-to-keep-dolphins-in-a-tank/

 

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160426-dolphins-oceans-science-animals-captivity/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20160427news-freedolphin&utm_campaign=Content&sf25116470=1

 

 

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So you would prefer they release captive bred dolphins to die in the wild because they don't have the necessary immunities, etc? There's a big difference between re-releasing a caught one (which I wholly support AND I object to the capture of wild dolphins for display - only capitve bred and rehabs who cannot return to the wild should ever be in an aquarium facility - or any animal that matter which some minor exceptions for genetic diversity in breeding heavily threatened or functionally extinct species) and one who has never been in the wild. And I say this being someone who volunteers and works with a zoo, so I have a pretty good understanding of a complex issue.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not saying its a great solution, just best of several bad ones at this point, and if done well at least has a more minimal impact.

 

 

 

 

 

Also, your article is an opinion piece and doesn't reference STT at all in terms of opinion..

What I am saying is there should not be captive breeding at all.

Go on what’s up St Thomas FB and search dolphins. You will see this is not supported with most residents here.

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Laudable goal, but not realistic for a number of reasons. But this is not the right venue for this discussion, so I am going to refrain from this here, as its not travel related and I don't want the thread killed.

What I am saying is there should not be captive breeding at all.

 

Go on what’s up St Thomas FB and search dolphins. You will see this is not supported with most residents here.

 

 

 

 

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Great info and awesome pix thanx

No article, blog, or post reflects the opinions of most locals, because most people who post are a tiny fraction of the population and they are expressing their opinion.

The people at Coki who sell dog biscuits probably don't care if Coral World brings in dolphins.

Coral World rescued the sea lions they currently have. In some places they're considered a nuisance and are being slaughtered. Coral World is a better option for them, I think.

Again, this being a travel forum, not the right place for this debate, strong opinions aside.

Again, this being a travel forum, not the right place for this debate, strong opinions aside.

Agree, this is not the forum for that discussion.

On topic: I have been to St. Thomas a few times and have gone to Coki beach right besides CW some of those times. I love to snorkel and Coki is a great place to do it. You might want to do CW and a few hours at Coki beach. TIP: take a dog biscuit with you to feed the fish or ask the locals in the area. They literally eat off your hand. It's quite an experience!