Carnival B2B: St. Thomas

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Found our In-Transit instructions for Miami in our mailbox when I went to get coffee this morning. Hard to believe the first leg of our back-to-back was coming to a close.

St. Thomas is considered by a number of cruisers as a shopping mecca if the people returning to the ships with numerous large shopping bags in hand were any indication. Others spent quality time at Magen’s Bay. We’ve had fun in St. Thomas with both snorkeling excursions and island tours.

Today, we had another great day by the pool in the Summer Landing. It was interesting to watch the Carnival Sunshine dock right behind us. The Celebration towered over it.

Once we had enough of the sun and wind, we came back to the room to find that our Platinum reward “chocolate surprise” had been delivered.

Before dinner, we tried to get a seat at the Alchemy Bar but all the seats were taken. Seems like the secret was out. We went to the Latitudes Bar which was one deck down. We had their signature drink – The Sakura. Many guests just referred to it as “the bubble drink.” Loved sprinkling the petals to make a wish while bursting the fog bubble.

Next to the Latitude Bar, there was a spot for a musician(s). We always enjoyed the soloist. The trios were usually so loud you couldn’t carry on a conversation with the person sitting next to you.

We ate again in the main dining room. We both had the potato soup and steak. Afterwards, we were able to find seats in the Casino so that rounded out our evening.

St. Thomas, USVI

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Because of our late lunch, we had a late meal in the Lido after playing some slots. We both had the ribs with squash and asparagus. The ribs were okay but not as good as how Chuck makes them. Didn’t stop us from inhaling the whole meal before I thought to get a photo.

Chuck returned to the Casino, but I decided to go to the “Movie by the Pool.” Occasionally the ship will show family friendly movies on their big screen outside in the Lido pool area. Tonight, they were showing Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was a favorite of mine back in the day.

The NY Deli and Grill serves snacks on these movie nights, so I settled in with a Diet Coke and popcorn. Fun time.

We woke up at 7:00 so I went to the Grand Dutch Cafe for coffee. I never found another substitute excursion to replace the one that got cancelled for today so there was no reason to rush around.

At breakfast in the main dining room, we shared a table with four other people. We discovered that one couple has also signed up for the same 2024 June Alaska cruise as us. They are the not the only people that we’ve met who are planning for this cruise. It is a popular itinerary going to places in Alaska that most of the usual Alaska itineraries don’t include.

I spent the rest of the day sunning at the Sea View pool as I knew there will be no seat available tomorrow – the last sea day. It was very windy again today and there was more hat chasing.

The day went by quickly and it was soon time to get ready for dinner and the Orange Party.

Travel Trivia

St. Thomas / St. John, USVI

St. Thomas together with Saint John, and Saint Croix, form a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), located in the Caribbean Sea.

Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1493 on his second voyage to the New World.

The Dutch West India Company established a post on Saint Thomas in 1657.

In 1917, Saint Thomas was purchased (along with Saint John and Saint Croix) by the United States from the Dutch for $25 million in gold, as part of a defensive strategy to maintain control over the Caribbean and the Panama Canal during the First World War.

The actor Kelsey Grammar was born in St. Thomas.

The U.S. Virgin Islands is the only location in the United States where you drive on the left side of the road.

St. Thomas has more than 40 pristine white sand beaches with turquoise waters.

At 31 miles, St. John is the smallest of the three main US Virgin Islands

Since 1956, approximately 60% of St. John is protected as Virgin Islands National Park and administered by the US National Parks Service.

The main economic driver of Saint John used to be sugar cane. However, the island is now almost entirely reliant on tourism.

*Trivia provided by Wikipedia