Carnival Liberty B2B Eastern then Western Review

[hill6]

Great review and pictures. Your dinner the first night was Sweet and Sour Shrimp. I had it too. Yum.

[Hurricane Girl]

Paul,

We are loving you review with pics. Happy that you and your family had a fun and safe trip.

I didn't see your post on the other board until yesterday about porter 150. I'm glad that you found a good one this time. (there are a few there)

Can't wait to read the rest of your review!!!

[mageemae]

I am not trying to be hard on the guy, I know he has a life:) But I am addicted to this thread now:eek: lol

 

 

I'm with you Molly BPOE! I love the way he writes everything to go along with the pics.;) he does a great review! you feel as though you are right along with his family and enjoing the cruise. keep up the good work Paul.

[tbone81]

Thanks Paul! I'll be on the Eastern itinerary next week and hope to get your Eastern review in before I go!! It's been awesome so far! One of the best reviews I've ever read/seen!

[PaulMedik]

Thank you all for your kind comments and please accept my sincere apologies for not keeping you updated and for not advising how long there would be between my review posts. I had posted about our weekend plans, but the post didn't make it to this thread......or it's in some other thread that I've not found yet. :o

 

 

 

 

Hey Paul!

 

I am so enjoying your reviews! I was on the second leg of your trip and can't wait to hear about your opinions of that week!

 

I have a question for you.....we ate dinner in the aft dining room, and we found it to be very shaky. Did you feel any of that in your cabin? Because of you review, I am thinking of booking cat 9A for our 2010 cruise, but am concerned about the shaking that we felt.

 

We had balcony cabins near the front of the ship, and the noise was unbearable during the night. We heard loud banging noises on the outside of the ship, and was told it was because of the rough seas, and it was waves hitting us. Did you hear/feel anything on the very back?

 

 

Mysticcruiser,

 

On the night after Grand Cayman when the seas were rough, we had a slight vibration, but the most noticeable thing was the ocean spray coming up on our balcony from the rough seas. Bryson and I stood on the side balcony for a while that night and watched along the side of the ship as wave after wave was splashed through by Liberty and only slight movement was noticeable with each wave. I think it's safe to say that we were running with full stabilizers that night or it would have been really rough. We also walked down to deck three on the side balcony and walked to the forward area to see the waves close up and they were quite impressive.

 

Possible reasons why we haven't heard back from Paul...

 

Hmmm, let's see...

 

1) He had to go back to work (depressing enough)

 

2) It is 4th of July weekend -- he MIGHT have plans with his family :)

 

3) There's always a "getting back into normal life" letdown after a great cruise, to say nothing of paying bills, mowing the lawn, doing chores, etc.

 

4) I'm sure you can thing of a bunch of other reasons...

 

I'm sure he'll be back soon. ;)

 

 

seafun,

 

#2 is the answer; We had a fireworks display to go to on Friday evening then my family reunion was on Saturday. I posted a note about how long I'd be away, but I don't see where it made it to the forum. I should have checked back in to make sure the post made it through.

 

Thanks Paul for the video; I've added it to my favorities and I'm glad you got to see them a few times away. The same thing happen on the Miracle; there was a group from the Medical Department and some Officers that came in each night to see them. I've added the video to my favorites. I don't know what happened but two of them were not there. Maybe they couldn't make the cruise this year to work. It was only Enrique and Tata. I've attached the group picture of them below. I hope to catch up with them next year sometime. Can't wait.

Would you do another B2B? It really must have been hard to get off the ship at the end..... Thanks again Mary49

 

 

Mary49,

 

Yes we'd would and will do another B2B.

 

A 14 day Carnival cruise of the Caribbean with the option of taking on additional pax in San Juan or for ending in San Juan, similar to what Princess does would be AWESOME. With airfare being a major factor in many peoples cruise and vacation plans, I would think an offering like that by Carnival would sell quite well.

 

Perhaps a Baltimore to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Bahamas, then Port Canaveral on day 7 with options to disembark or continue on to Freeport, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, then Baltimore? Such a cruise would also offer folks the opportunity to cruise to Florida and disembark or cruise from Florida to Baltimore or the entire round trip. All of the options would either eliminate air fare or cut it in half. The options would also include our favorite port of Half Moon Cay TWICE! I doubt that would ever happen, but I can always hope! I know Holland America has to use it some time, but I'm also sure that Carnival cruisers have much more fun there than the dam cruisers of Holland America. :D

[IslandToIsland]

Paul, your review is awesome. You have me itchin' over here. I have Carnival.com open in another window trying to decide what to book next! :D

[PaulMedik]

Our first day at sea began with a hearty breakfast on deck 10. This is what I chose for breakfast and I actually ate it all;

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Britt was a little more conservative than I, but he is just seven so I'm sure he will catch up with me in time;

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Spencer opted for breakfast on our balcony;

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We found Bryson on his balcony relaxing after a feast of some kind;

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Teen agers tend to eat, sleep, eat, sleep.......;

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[PaulMedik]

Karen also found it hard to move about much after ingesting the high carb offerings of the breakfast buffet. In the past we'd have spread out on the ship somewhee at this point, but with the aft wraps, we tended to gravitate back to our own deck and soak up the sun or simply relax and enjoy the scenery;

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I have learned that when you can see the wake from the ship all the way into the horizon, that he seas are calm;

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And when there's very little white water along the side, you're also in smooth seas;

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Our first sea day was uneventful. Uneventful as in very laid back and relaxing. Since it was also the first day at sea, it was also the first formal night and the sun low in the sky and relecting across the waves meant that it was about time to go eat again;

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Can you tell by this pre dinner pic that Britt is very proud that he lost his front tooth?;

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He also had to pose for a pic with his Mom;

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[PaulMedik]

Here's the first of many pics or our first week head waitress Nirmala;

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Seven year old boys have an odd way of displaying affection;

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Speaking of affection;

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I do love lobster and the sight of it has me sitting her with my mouth watering. My clothing doesn't agree with my watering mouth, because it will be a few weeks before I shed the extra baggage I wore back from our cruise.......

After dinner we returned to our room and shortly thereafter our stewardess showed up and apologized for being late and asked if we would be leaving again so she could clean up our mess. (She didn't word it that way, but that's what she meant.) We opted to step out on the balcony to get out of her way. When she was finished, this is what we had waiting for us on our bed;

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Eka, our stewardess, was working very fast, but I captured a few pics of the creation of our towel animal;

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[PaulMedik]

She was throwing the animal together so fast that I was glad I had a fresh battery in the camera;

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After our animal, she proceeded to the boys room and was too much of a blur working in their for many pics from the balcony;

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It's amazing just how well and how quickly they turn a messy room into a pristine room. Eka did a fine job for the two weeks and I never once saw her when she didn't have a smile and a pleasant greeting to offer.

We did get a few pics taken by Carnival before the formal dinner. Can you believe this is the same boy that had his tongue hanging out of his mouth earlier;

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I also spent some time on our deck that day as you can see in this pic;

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Spencer hamming it up for the dinner photogs;

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And later that night after our casino donations and a quick snack, we found our teen asleep on the deck;

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[gail811]

Another great review Paul! Off topic a bit....which aft wrap did you get on the Dream? I am waiting for May/June bookings to open and can't decide! I love the Upper deck on the Glory, but the floor plans on the Dream look like they sit right above the stage....and again, I anticipate having several cabins in a row, and some with children again. It's hard knowing since we don't have any real pictures to go by!

[dizneydawn]

Paul, how do you book the cabana on Half Moon Cay? in advance or once you are on the ship?

Thanks!

[PaulMedik]

[quote name='gail811']Another great review Paul! Off topic a bit....which aft wrap did you get on the Dream? I am waiting for May/June bookings to open and can't decide! I love the Upper deck on the Glory, but the floor plans on the Dream look like they sit right above the stage....and again, I anticipate having several cabins in a row, and some with children again. It's hard knowing since we don't have any real pictures to go by![/quote]


Gail,

Thank you.

Right now we're booked in the starboard aft wrap (6479) on deck 6.

[IMG]http://www.carnival.com/cms/Images/Datatemplates/Ships/Deck_Plans/DR/DRUPPER.gif[/IMG]

Given that we need an adjacent room that sleeps three, or an aft wrap that sleeps three so that all five of us will fit, we may need to choose a different room. The boys liked the interior room on Freedom so we may go with an interior nearby. Another option would be the aft wrap on deck nine because the balcony beside it sleeps three;

[IMG]http://www.carnival.com/cms/Images/Datatemplates/Ships/Deck_Plans/DR/DRVISTA.gif[/IMG]

Like you I'd love to see actual pics of both before I decide.

Convenience of location is another point to consider and they both have their benefits; Upperdeck looks like it will have easy access to the new outside promenade deck and the Vista deck has easy access to Lido. Vista would be a cheaper option for the aft wrap, but more expensive for the adjacent balcony as opposed to an interior.

I am hoping that noise from below will not be a factor on the Upper deck. I know that it was for the side aft cabins on Freedom, but not the aft wraps.

Luckily I have a little time to mull it all over, but I would bet that bookings will be selling more early than normal for our sailing since it's a new ship and a new ship class.



[B]Day 3 St Thomas[/B]

Our second day in port was St Thomas and we were close to the island as the sun came up. It was too humid for clear pics as we approached the island, but I did get a few as we approached the pier;

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The reflection from the sun was very intense and I had to delete several pics as I took them that were all white;

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As you can see the water was very smooth and that made the sun reflections just like a mirror;

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The view behind us was very clear (I guess the sun makes a very good camera flash!);

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[URL="http://www.carnival.com/cms/Images/Datatemplates/Ships/Deck_Plans/DR/DRVISTA.gif"][/URL]

[PaulMedik]

[quote name='dizneydawn']Paul, how do you book the cabana on Half Moon Cay? in advance or once you are on the ship?

Thanks![/quote]


dizneydawn,

On HAL's dam (I call them [I]'dam'[/I] because their ship names all end in [I]'dam,'[/I] and because it sounds funny) ships you can book online in advance, but on Carnival you have to wait until you're on board. Most reviewers state that the excursion's desk opens at 1:30, but the desk on Liberty was open when we boarded at noon. All reviews that I have read indicate that the cabanas sell out early on the first day so if you want one, I would recommend that you be there when they open on the first day to guarantee you'll have one. If the desk isn't open when you board, check with the pursor or any Carnival officer nearby and ask them when the desk will be opening.

Half Moon Cay would still be a great port even without the Cabanas and the blue 'half shells' they rent once you're on the island are an excellent option as well. If we were going to Half Moon Cay and missed renting a Cabana, we'd still have a great day there. The main benefit of the Cabana was that it enabled us to stay comfortable for the entire day and then not want to leave. After most people had left the island, Spencer and I were still lounging in our cabana when the crew arrived to clean out the snorkel gear and retrieve the coolers etc. On their first stop by our cabana, I advised them we'd thought it over and decided to stay on the island. They laughed and left only to return later and ask if we minded if they took the gear and cleaned. We said sure go ahead, we'll get more tomorrow when the next ship comes in! They were a little hesitant, but they finished up their work and left.

I have to admit that if I were alone or it was just Karen and I, we could become residents of Half Moon Cay..........


Pics of the ship tie in at St Thomas;

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Karen with St Thomas behind her after she comes out of the boys' cabin having woken them up for the day;

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We all had breakfast up on deck 10 after we got the boys awake;

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While we waited for HOURS for US immigration to clear our ship, we watched our fellow cruisers disembarking and heading out to explore St Thomas;

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[PaulMedik]

US Immigration in St Thomas takes all of ten seconds for the five of us once our deck was finally called (our deck was called last) and once we made our way in line from the forward steps on deck five to the aft lounges where we present our passports and are then free to disembark. We were up at 6:00AM and not off the ship until after 10:00AM all because US Immigration is slow / undermanned. Five or six officers for a ship carrying almost five thousand people is absolute nonsense on the part of our government.

I knew from reading on CC, that we could go down and through immigration earlier than when our deck was called, but Karen listened to the instructions and wouldn't budge on her decision that we all should wait and not go until we were supposed to. I have learned not to bother with a woman who has her mind set on something, so we waited when we could have already been relaxing on St John's Trunk Bay......My apologies to any wives who may be offended by reading the above statement, and I suggest that all husband who read it simply follow my lead and obey in such circumstances; it makes life better in the long run.

After passing through ship's security as we exited, the pirates, Karen, and I were greeted by Carnival's photogs;


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And then we had a quick pic from our camera;

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I'm not sure why we chose to pose with this background;

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We were making our way through Havensight and the pier area to the taxi area to catch a cab to the ferry to St John;

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We weren't real specific with our taxi driver so we ended up taking a taxi to Red Hook instead of Charlotte Amelie for the Ferry to St John. The ferry from Red Hook is cheaper and a shorter ferry ride to St John, but it takes a much longer taxi ride (and more expensive) to get to Red Hook instead of the down town Charlotte Amelie (sp?) which is in sight of where our ship docks. The view to Red Hook is scenic so it wasn't too bad of a mistake.

Upon boarding the ferry at Red Hook to St John, we made the mistake of getting inside the ferry instead of on top;

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The boys got to experience a ride similar to one of their favorite TV shows; Deadliest Catch. It was a rough ride on the inside where all we could really see was each other and the spray from the waves we were catching the tops of. We didn't get to feel the spray, only see it through windows.

[PaulMedik]

After reaching land in St John, we exited the ferry and were glad we made it with our breakfast still in our stomachs;

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We briefly checked out a few areas near the port in St John;

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Then we loaded up in an open air truck taxi for the ride to Trunk Bay;

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The ride was very scenic, but again we were happy to be stepping back on terra firma;

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Like many other US parks, Trunk Bay has the usual rustic US Park Service buildings at the entrance and US Park Service personnel wandering around offering advice and instructions about what is allowed in Trunk Bay. The folks that rode the taxi with us were staying on the island and had a cooler of beer in glass bottles they had to discard before entering. The requested my assistance in emptying the bottles and I had to decline as I wished to remain sober for the experience. I noticed this appeared to be common, so those of you who wish to partake in distilled spirits for free may find the entrance to Trunk Bay to be quite inviting.

Our first view of Trunk Bay;

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After we walked out on the beach we roamed around a little to explore for a nice place to sit and to enjoy the soft cool sand;

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I had read that chair were available at Trunk Bay, but as walked around I didn't see any, nor did I see a rental area on the beach.........

[PaulMedik]

Once we had looked the beach over and found a perfect [I]bush cabana[/I] to stow our personal items under and stretch out on our lounge chairs we were set for the day;

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Our Trunk Bay cabana misting station was fully stocked with very refreshing warm clear water;

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We brought our own snorkel masks, but the water was so clear that we really didn't need them;

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Karen and I kicked back in our natural cabana lounge chairs (carnival towels) and enjoyed the day relaxing while our boys tried to splash the Caribbean dry;

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Our boys enjoyed the Trunk Bay spa sand wraps;

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[gail811]

Thanks Paul....I have a feeling we will move up a deck or two on the Dream. Not so worried about us on the corner, but do worry about the others! We loved Trunk Bay when we went years ago....did you and Karen or boys see the underwater snorkel trail?

[PaulMedik]

I don't think I'll offer an explanation for this picture;

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Still proud of that missing tooth;

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The object of this game was to run from the water and dive in the sand and roll around until covered from head to toe, then sprint back into the water and repeat over and over and over. They all three participated to the cheers of nearby Trunk Bay visitors and the bull horn encouragement of the life guard from his tower;

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Afterwards they dug holes until hitting water;

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This game was to try and dunk Mom. They didn't succeed;

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[Mysticcruiser]

Paul-

You write the best reviews, and are quite the photographer. You must have ended up with thousands of pictures by end of your B2B! My family hates when I take so much pictures! Your family looks like they enjoy it.....can't wait to read/see more!!!

[PaulMedik]

[quote name='gail811']Thanks Paul....I have a feeling we will move up a deck or two on the Dream. Not so worried about us on the corner, but do worry about the others! We loved Trunk Bay when we went years ago....did you and Karen or boys see the underwater snorkel trail?[/quote]


Gail,

Yes, we saw portions of the trail and later listened as the tour guide from Carnival's excursion was giving additional details of the trail back on the beach. We'll definately be traveling the complete trail on our next trip to St Thomas / St John.





A few random pics of Trunk Bay;

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I located a table up behind our cabana and stocked it with snacks and refreshments for Karen and I;

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After leaving our cabana, we explored a little more around the area up from the beach;

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[PaulMedik]

[quote name='Mysticcruiser']Paul-

You write the best reviews, and are quite the photographer. You must have ended up with thousands of pictures by end of your B2B! My family hates when I take so much pictures! Your family looks like they enjoy it.....can't wait to read/see more!!![/quote]


Mysticcruiser,

Thank you.

I think my final tally of pictures was in the thousands and took 8.72 GB of storage space on my laptop. I delete quite a few after I snap them and then weed them out more after uploading to my laptop. I only upload a small portion of them to webshots. We also purchased 64 Carnival pictures which is about average for us....or should I say average for Karen. The boys do real well for action photos, but they do grow tired of posing for pics on the ship if they have to wait in lines.



Our return trip from Trunk Bay to the St John port area was very interesting. We rode with a group of locals who offered all kinds of insight into their island home and some ideas for future trips to St John. One of the best things about venturing out on your own on the islands is the opportunity to interact with locals and hear their comments about cruise ships and cruise vactioners habits as well as advice about which beaches are the best and which are better for whatever activity you plan for your day;

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When we got to the ferry port we bought some drinks at a local restaurant then the boys and I sat at the ferry waiting area while Karen went shopping;

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We opted to wait for the Ferry to Charlotte Amelie instead of Red Hook and we also opted for the top deck instead of inside. The top deck is MUCH better and much more scenic;

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The top deck is windy and open to the sun, but much better than being sardined inside;

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[TakeMeAway1001]

That review was so good :) I had to postpone feeding the family dinner until I could get through all 5 pages, DD finally just pointed out the fact it was nearly 8pm and we hadn't eaten yet. Thanks so much for taking the time to post, seeing the pictures makes it so much nicer. Paul you have a beautiful family :)

[PaulMedik]

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Spencer enjoyed the view, then he fell asleep.;

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He missed some great views of Carnival Liberty as we were approaching the dock;

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I guess he needed the nap, but......;

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This pic is from the Ferry port;

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As you can tell, Spencer wasn't the only one we had to wake up when we were getting off the ferry. I can't imagine why they were so tired;

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[PaulMedik]

Our original plan was to take the boys up the tram to Paradise Point after we returned to the ship. That plan was based on leaving the ship early so we were out of time when we made it back to the ship. Karen had to show Bryson her watch so he would believe it was as late as it was when we got back;

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As we were walking up the gangway the discussion was about how we'd be off early on our next trip to St Thomas so we'd not miss anything;

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Once back on board we showered and took a quick swim in the aft pool to wake up then headed out on our deck for the sail away. Our sail away included an aerial escort by St Thomas residents;

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We sailed away from St Thomas in to the calm clear blue waters of the Caribbean;

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