Trip Report From the Glory Oct 10th-17th Lots of Pictures to Come

[TeknikDC2]

Woohoo ~ thanks for coming back. Looking forward to hearing about St Thomas.

 

haha no problem. This Trip recap will get finished. It just takes alot of time to do. St. Thomas will be a very large segment though as I took more pictures that day then any day of our cruise. I hope to have that part up tomorrow.

[phinfan63]

haha no problem. This Trip recap will get finished. It just takes alot of time to do. St. Thomas will be a very large segment though as I took more pictures that day then any day of our cruise. I hope to have that part up tomorrow.

 

I completely understand ~ I've done a few of these too. I loved St Thomas and my husband took so many snorkeling pictures there that I had to get rid of some of them...LOL

[mouche]

Great review and pics, looks like you guys had a blast can't wait to see you in St Thomas:)

[TeknikDC2]

Alright heres the latest instalement of this trip report. Its probably the longest one yet and very picture intense so Enjoy and feel free to comment or ask any questions on anything you see.

 

Day 7: St. Thomas U.S.V.I.

 

Day seven would bring us to the island of St. Thomas. And easily our favorite spot of the whole vacation. We were due to be in port at around 10am this morning. However due to the ruffness of the seas the night before the captain had to slow down our ship.

 

We still woke up early that morning though so we could get a good large breakfast before heading out. Once we heard we would be delayed with getting into port we decided to grab breakfast that morning in the main dining room instead of the typical Lido buffet. We were happy we tried the main dining room out for breakfast because it was really good. This was something we didn't try on our last cruise so i'm glad we did this time. I just wish it served breakfast tell later in the morning so when we sleep in we could still make it. If you can I recommed checking it out cause the food served there was much better then what they serve at the Lido buffets for breakfast.

 

After finishing breakfast we still weren't docked but we were pulling into the port. So we went on the top deck to watch us pull in. Here we finally got our first views of the beautiful Island of St. Thomas.

 

[TeknikDC2]

They soon announced that we had been cleared to unboard so we made our way to the gangway where eveyone on the ship seemed to be as well. So after seeming like being hurded like cattle we were off the ship. For our day in St. Thomas we would be taking a tour of the island with EEE Tours. Henry who does the tours was excellent and we would end up having an amazing day spent on the island with him. Once off the ship we made our way to the taxi areas and found Henry waiting for us. He then took us over to his truck where we could wait until the rest of the people joining us for the day got off the ship.

 

 

The rest of our group soon joined us and we were on our way for our tour of the island. My first thing I noticed here was how crazy the drivers were. Henry said you have to drive like that if you wanna stay safe while driving. And if anyone thought his driving was crazy then they could drive lol. After getting away from the pier we drove into town where he pulled over and explained what he hopes people get out of his tour.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

After explaining the tour we drove thru the main city as Henry explained some of the history of the city and the island and the politics there. Henry was in law enforcement and because of such he knew many of the promanate political figures thruout the islands history.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

After driving thru the city Henry then took us up into the mountains where we first got our overviews of the island. It was so pretty here. He pulled off where we had a nice view of the airport and many of the surrounding islands. It was also pretty cool to see the passing rain storms in the distance. Literally being able to see this has to be one of the most amazing things of nature i've ever seen. We were lucky enough though to never actually get rained on even though there were passing storms all around us.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

If I thought the drivers at the pier and city were bad then i was wrong. I couldn't belive how crazy they drove on the moutain passes. It was insain. They wouldn't slow for a corner. Instead the honk there horns and hope no one is there. It was crazy. Our next stop was off the side of the road where henry showed us some of the flowers and plant life that grows on the island. He showed us a Cinnemon bush which was really neat to see in person. He also showed us a termit nest and them eating a tree. He said that all the houses there are built out of cenderblocks due to the termites. It was also interesting to hear that they get there water from collecting the rain from there roofs. They don't have running water so if it doesn't rain they have to call people and pay for them to bring them water.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Our next stop was at the St. Peter Great House. I guess this portion of the tour use to stop at a place called Mountain Top which is at a higher point of the Island. But a few months prior that location was distroid by a fire so instead all the tours moved and started going to the St. Peter Great House for some views of the Island. The Great House is very pretty. There is an observation deck that looks out over Magens Bay and that side of the island. They also have a bitanicol garden there that you can walk thru. This is also the new home of the Banana Daquari for those of you who drink. The whole property is very pretty and we really enjoyed the views and the plant life there.

 

[TeknikDC2]

[TeknikDC2]

[TeknikDC2]

[TeknikDC2]

After leaving the great house Henry drive us back to the other side of the Island where we would get some views of Charlotte Amalie. On the drive there we passed another point looking down on Magens Bay where you could see the heart shape that the beach has.

 

 

We didn't spend much time at the viewpoint overlooking Charlotte Amalie. But the views here were amazing and probably my favorite that we stopped at. This was a very packed location though at the time we were there.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

At this point the island tour for the most part was done and it was time for the Beach portion of the tour. Henry gives you a choice of three beaches where he will drop you off at for over 2 hours. The choices are Magens Bay, Saphire Beach, and Coki Beach. We didn't want to pay the money at this time to go to Magens and my parents who have been to St. Thomas really recommend Coki cause the snorkling there they said was really good. So thats where we decided on. So we headed there first before he dropped off everyone else at the other beaches.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Once we were at Coki Beach Henry set us up with some of his friends there to take care of us. They found us a place on the beach to sit down and relax. They also grabbed our snorkling gear for us to use on the beach. It costs around 10 bucks each person to get all the necessary items you need to snorkal so keep that in mind. When we got to the beach it was very packed. I didn't realize how busy it would be but I figured that must be the really popular beach for tourist in St. Thomas. I was also suprised at how small it was. I was expecting it to be much larger. But we still had a great time there.

 

 

After getting our towels laid out we grabbed our snorkal gear and headed into the water. I had never snorkeled before so this would be interesting for me lol. We also borrowed a underwater digital camera from Kieras parents that all the following pictures in the water were taken with. They also give you dog treats to feed the fish once in the water. I don't recommend putting these in you pocket because thats what I did and I lost them. Snorkling was very fun and worth doing if your in St. Thomas. I couldn't belive how the fish were all around us and how beautiful the water is. I also didn't do too bad with the snorkling while taking pictures.

 

[TeknikDC2]

[TeknikDC2]

[TeknikDC2]

[TeknikDC2]

 

After being in the water for just over an hour Kiera and I decided to get out for a minute so the camera could dry off. We got out of the water and started walking back to our spot on the beach when Kiera just started screaming Ouch!!!! it Burns!!!!! It Burns!!!!! I didn't know what happend i'm like what burns. She said her toe is burning badly. We walked back into the water to see if the would help but it didn't. She pulled her foot up and we pulled out what looked like a black sliver. We think she stepped on a Sea Urchin. I helped her hop back over to our towels so she could sit down. Luckly it did stop hurting before we left. But the swelling and itching would bug her untill after we were home.

 

Needless to say after her sting we were done with snorkling and just relaxed on the beach. By this time the beach was really clearing out of people. It became a hidden gem once the majority of the people were gone and only a few of us were left. The beach became absolutly beautiful.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

This following picture can only be discribbed as the Most Epic Photo of the trip. We love it. This was one of those pictures where it great that one of our traveling companions was a professional photographer.

 

[TeknikDC2]

The time soon quickly came for us to meet back up with Henry. We turned all of our snorkling gear back in and then made our way back to the parking lot to meet back up. We had a great time at Coki Beach and other then the Kieras sea urchin sting everything turned out great there. Especially after all the crowds left and you could see the true beauty of this beach. If we ever make it back to St. Thomas though we want to check out some of the other beaches though.

 

 

After loading back up into Henrys truck we were on our way to Magens Beach to pick up the rest of the people in our group. We enjoyed some more lovely scenery on the way there. Man St. Thomas is such a beautiful Island.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

When I originally booked our tour with Henry I just chose his Site Seeing and Beach package. But we were having such a great time that we decided to change and do the shopping package as well. Yeah it costs more but it was worth it to spend more time with Henry and to do some shopping in St. Thomas. Henry took us to downtown where all the small shops are. We also found the flee market which is where the great bargins were. Kiera found herself quite a few jewlery items that she picked up. We found it pretty funny as well that chickens just roam freely all thruout the city. Sorry but there arn't really any pictures from our shopping.

 

 

After shopping in Downtown Henry then took us back to the port where we could continue to do some shopping of we pleased to. So we loaded back up into the truck and started heading back that way. Traffic seemed to be horrible at this time of day though. I guess all the tourest trying to get back to the three ships in St. Thomas that day. In adition to the Glory the Carnival Freedom and one of the Norwigein ships was also docked.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We were soon back to the Pier shops but we were so tired at this point after our long and eventful day in St. Thomas that we just decided to be dropped off back at the ship so we could reboard and get ready for the evening. We said our goodbyes to Henry and then headed back to the ship. I must say Henry was AMAZING. I highly recommend him to anyone looking into taking a tour of St. Thomas. He was extremly curtious and cattered to our every needs. He is very knowladgable and made sure we were taken care of and that we walked away from his tour with a little bit of knowladge to take home with us about the Island of St. Thomas. Thanks for the great time Henry. You rocked and if we ever make it back to St. Thomas we will be booking a tour with you once again.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We boarded back on the ship at around 6:15pm. Because we had early dinner we missed it. Theres noway we would be able to get ready in time. So we just decided to grab dinner at the Lido buffet. I was actually suprised that they had some pretty good items to choose from for dinner there. After which we returned to our rooms so we could shower and change and get ready for the night. Kiera and I finished getting ready before Tyler and Rachael so we decided to go to the top deck to look at the city at night. In one of the photos below you can see the Freedom and Norwigeon ships already heading back out to sea.

 

[TeknikDC2]

We weren't gone for long but when we came back to our room it had already been turned down for the night and we had our new towel animal.

 

 

Tyler and Rachael were finally finished so we headed down to the Amber Palace so we could get some decent seating for the main show this evening. This show was easily the best one of the week in my opinion. It was an illusionist show and this guy was great. He was very good at what he did and left us all in awe with almost every trick he performed. You can't tell in the picture below how swelled Kieras foot was at the point of the show. We also took some goofy pictures of ourselves lol.

 

 

After the show we didn't know what we were going to do for the rest of the night. There was no Comedy Club this evening so we had no prior plans. We went out onto the side decks for a little bit. To my suprise we could see some citys on the Islands we were passing.