2013 Christmas Eastern Caribbean Cruise

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Wednesday, December 25, 2013 (Christmas Day, St. Thomas)

Merry Christmas! It does not feel like Christmas today, however what is most important to me, and I am sure everyone else, we together as a family. That is really one of the most the important things about the holiday season, being together. I was up early, as usual, so I was able to walk around and observe the beautiful port of St. Thomas, of course from the cruise ship. The surrounding was mountainous and very green. There were homes built on the side of the mountains. The port was full of other cruise ships and very very large private yachts. I included some photos of the area around the harbor.

A little about St. Thomas. This island was initially occupied by prehistoric Ciboney people from South America as early as 1500 BC. Later on St. Thomas was established as a trading post by The Dutch West India Company in 1657. St. Thomas is a part of the US Virgin Islands and it is locating in the eastern Caribbean, east of Puerto Rico. It is 13 miles long and 4 miles wide. They say the island is about the same size a Manhattan. The population is 51,181. The weather is mostly perfect here. temperatures range from 73 to 89 degrees.

Today was an awesome day on the island of St. Thomas (US Virgin Island). Our tour was early this morning, so we were all up by 7:15 am. We ate breakfast (at the Symphony dining room) and then disembarked our cruise ship and meet our tour group on shore. Today all four of us are taking a tour snorkel and riding an under water scooter called the BOSS. When our group was altogether we walked to a boarding area at the harbor and entered that transport boat. Once our entire tour group was on board, the boat crew had a safety discussion with all of us. The captain of the boat was Bob. He was absolutely great in making jokes about each of us, however getting his point across as it relates to safety.

We left the harbor and moved towards our area where we will snorkel and ride the BOSS. BOSS stands for “Breathing Observation Submersible Scooter.” Michael and I sat that front of the boat; we had a great view of the entire area. Cindy and Jennifer sat in the back of the boat. Cindy and Jennifer had the right idea sitting in the back. The ride to the island was really rough and kept riding into very high swells and heavy winds. The combination of both of these was a ton or seawater coming into the front of the boat. Within 10 minutes into the ride, Michael and I were soaked with seawater on our clothing. We ended up moving closer to Cindy and Jennifer, attempting to dry out.

During the boat ride the deck hands gave us life jackets and then demonstrated the correct usage of the underwater scooter, BOSS. He also paired us out, by numbered wrist bands to make sure we were able to pose for photos under the water when riding our BOSS.

We finally arrived at our island for the morning activities. There were other tour groups in the surrounding area which caused a little congestion. Before getting in the water, the captain gave us instruction, by colored wrist bands, when we needed to be back at the boat to then to get into our BOSS. Our group was the third group to go so all four us jumped into the semi-warm water and did some snorkeling. I am not sure if the large number of people and boats; however there was very little fish; however the kids and Cindy said they saw a turtle.

About one hour after we arrived at the island our color wrist band was called. We needed to return back to the boat for more instruction on the BOSS. The entire BOSS was already submerged under the water; however it would be drop to the sea floor because there was buoy with a number on top preventing it from getting to far off track. To enter the BOSS you had to hold your breath for about one second and push your head into the oxygen filled bubble. To get into the bubble you need to grab the bubble to force yourself in. It was absolutely amazing that no water got into the bubble once your head was in. In addition to the bubble, the rest of the BOSS was just like a regular scooter. The only difference was there is an underwater motor on your BOSS. While waiting to explore the sea bottom, I initially got a little anxious because I was trying to figure out breathing. Thank goodness we started to move around and explore the ocean floor. This took my mind of my anxiety. I rode my BOSS for ten minutes and then the drivers from the boat put all four of us together so we can pose for photos. To stay together, we all held hands to make sure we did not float apart. Prior to getting into the water I bought a disposal underwater camera. It was so awesome to see everyone on their BOSS. Because the bubbles were so large and thick, everyone looked super small. This was quite funny.

After posing for photos, we were free to start exploring the sea bottom and surrounding areas. There were drivers all around us to make sure we did not sway away from the tour group. Initially trying to drive the BOSS was tricky; however I finally got the hang of it. I have never tried to dive, however this is super close to what diving would be. The surrounding area was absolutely incredible and for the first time, we are all able to go down 8 feet to explore areas we could never see just snorkeling. We all looked like space ships or aliens cruising under water. This was one of the most incredible experiences we have encountered in our life time. We all consider ourselves very lucky they we were able to ride the BOSS underwater and all healthy enough to do this. If you are interested in exploring more about what the BOSS are like, here is a link to the company that ran our tour. http://www.bossusvi.com/. Riding the BOSS really makes you want to go out and buy one to use at home. Yes, we are close to the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, the cruise ship no longer develops film so we have to wait until we get home to post pictures of us on our BOSS.

Three hours into the tour, everyone needed to re-board the boat and return to the harbor. Once again an incredible experience. I highly recommend others trying this adventure.

I guess somewhere along the way we missed the announcement that in addition to our cruise cards we also need a government issued picture ID. The security guard at the part gave us a hard time not having a picture ID. Since Michael was under 18, they let him through security. Since he was able to get through, we told him to go back to the room to get our passports and then bring them back to us. Thank goodness we saw a representative from Princess Cruises and they were able to let us re-board the ship. Just a little stressful.

We were back at the ship for lunch. We ate lunch in the Horizon court area again. After lunch we went back to our rooms to get our drivers license so we could disembark the ship to go into town for shopping.

The shopping area close to the harbor was certainly full of all types of shopping. The kids bought a few gifts for friends; Cindy and I just observed and paid. Cindy’s Dad also came along; it was fun having him along. After our shopping adventure, we made our way over to Senor Frogs bar and restaurant. This is a Caribbean chain of restaurants. We secured a table next to the pool and ordered a round of frozen margarita’s and chips/salsa. Inside the restaurant they had a DJ playing the top hits and organizing drinking games. It was quite fun just observing all the activities around the bar/restaurant. The restaurant also had free Wi-Fi. This was a welcomed site since the cruise ships Internet connection was slow and expensive.

We all heading back to the ship. This time we all had our ID’s, no hassles this time. When I got back on the ship, I really need to finish up some school work. So Jennifer and I left the ship and searched out free Wi-Fi so I can wrap up my school work. We ended back at the Senor Frogs. We spent 45 minutes on the free Wi-Fi just trying to catch up on miscellaneous things.

We needed to be back on the ship before 5:30 pm. Jennifer and I made that deadline, thank goodness. Everyone in our family went on to our balconies and sat watched the cruise departure from the port of St. Thomas. When we started setting sail to our next island, the cruise played the Love Boat songs using the cruise ships horns. The sounds were awesome bouncing off the mountains. What a really neat sound to hear.

While back on the ship, it was a smart dress code this evening. After cleaning up and getting dressed, we headed the 5^th floor for our evening cocktails before dinner. Jennifer and I had a Paradise Punch with vodka. Dinner this evening, for me at least, was the following. (I am eating too much food this week, just sayin’)

Melon appetizer

Butternut Squash soup

Tiger Shrimp as a main course

2013 Christmas Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Cindy’s Dad had pre-ordered a bottle of red wine, so we were able celebrate the season with a great bottle. Dinner was complete around 9:30 pm so we had plenty of time to attend a show. The show this evening had a Christmas theme. The show was Holiday Wishes preformed by the Royal Princess Singers & Dances and the magician David Cats. Before the show ended we all sung a few Christmas carols. The show was short, but what a lot of fun.

All four of us retired for the evening around 11:30ish, Cindy and Jennifer had to wake up early for early tour in St. Maarten.



That is about it for today. Our next and last stop on our cruise is St. Maarten. Stay tuned for my blog update for Thursday. It would be a great day for everyone.

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