Jacquelyn11
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2000
The Players: Patrick (41), Jacquelyn (41)
Ryan (8) , Jonathan (7)
5/30
We awoke to find we had arrived in St. Thomas. After bringing breakfast back to the room again (this worked well for us) we gathered our Suits and snorkel gear and headed over to Coral World and Coki Beach. At Coral World they offer another snuba type alternative called "SEA TREKKIN". Instead of a mask, you wear a weighted helmet w/ a full face shield that sits on your sholders. It has the air hose that goes to the surface. You cannot "swim" with it (the helmet weight is 70 lbs! but is lighter underwater) but they have a chain link "path" along the bottom of the bay next to the undersea observatory. The cost is $50 in addition to the admission to Coral World. Our driver up to CW was very nice and knowledgable. He rode both kids for the price of an adult ($7), so we rode for $21 plus tip. He also gave us $4.00 off coupons on adult and $2 (or $1) off a child admission. This was better than the internet coupon. The total was $94, including the Sea Trekkin. We got to see the caribbean reef encounter feeding. Actually saw a stingray 'gulp" down a chunk of fish. They had sea turtles, sharks and iguanas. My kids had never seen iguanas and were facinated by them. At 10:00 I went to the Sea Trekkin desk and said I had a ressie. The guy said "no one told us". I had made it the Saturday we left on the cruise! No matter, they had room for me. I waited a few min while a group of younger adults made the decision to go. You had to sign a release and say "I Don't take medication and am perfectly healthy!" (O.K. a white lie) but I had no problems at all. The helmet had air pumped into it so you never have any problems breathing. You also have to be at least 80 lbs to participate (No problem there!) You wear skin diving booties and gloves to protect you from the coral. He said to make sure to equalize your ears when you got down there, about 15 to 25 feet. Since "age" goes before beauty, I went down first. It was a fantastic experience! I saw sea urchins close up, all different kinds of coral, beautiful fish, and a baracuda! You couldn't "lean" over but you could keep your back straight and squat down. I also found leaning a little backwards rather than forwards keep the sea water out of your mouth! The guides were real good about pointing out interesting things to see. I had an ELF Sports camera that can be used underwater. I took 40 pics! After 30min underwater it was time to come up. Since I hate the water in the ears feeling you get trying do snorkle diving I REALLY loved this experience. If you had short hair, it would'nt even get wet! It's great for us Jacques Cousteau wanna-bes!
After that we went onto the Coki Beach. It IS fairly small but we had enough room to put down our room towel and stuff. They had the beach umbrellas and chairs for rent, but since we only expected to be there about an hour we passed. We did hit a couple of brief showers while getting our snorkle gear ready, but I did bring a set of dry clothes for everyone. My DH's swim trunks somehow got the string pulled half way out so he couldn't join us! I snorkled a while w/ my older son Ryan. He is a stronger swimmer than Jonathan, but he did take the mask and look around in the water. Ryan saw some scuba divers and got all excited. He "tried" to talk thru his snorkle tube, expecting me to understand. A few guys found a whole live sand dollar that I got to show the boys along w/ a sea cucumber. At about 12:30 we caught a cab back. We ended up with a 'religious' man who played christian music the whole way back, and never himself spoke a word to us. He also insisted on $7 a head, no exceptions, so it was $28 going back. My DH insists on tipping, even for bad service. It would have been $120 for the excursion tour, and we spent $113 w/o the tips or Sea Trekkin. Back at the ship I showered and change and met the 3 guys for lunch. They had the American Buffet and it was quite good. Very good desserts.
I went into town to do some shopping while the guys stayed on board. I went to get off and it started pouring outside. I had a collapsable umbrella so went back to the room to get it before leaving. I hit a few of the shops on the "free gift and specials" list. Got T-shirts for my brothers family and my kids for about $48. We to "Touched by the sun" another sun-color changing shop. While there I slipped on the wet step and scraped up my knee and slightly hyperextended my elbow. Hurt my pride more than anything else. They had a cute "letter in a bottle" that they guarentee would make it back home ($6 plus a 55 cent stamp) You get to write your own letter. (Mine arrived the Tues after I got back, while I was at work!). I found a ring at Cardow's I really wanted, but I'll save my pennies to buy it another time! Since the ship leaves early from St Thomas I made my way back around 3:30pm. As I got on the tram I overheard a woman talking who was sitting in front of me speak of a lady on the internet board whom she had e-mailed about the cruise. It was sbharris1 from Canton, GA! I tapped her sholder and introduced myself. "This is the lady!" she told the folks in front of her. We had a pleasant chat before reboarding the ship.
Since I am a game show addict (and my Disney Dream is to qualify and be on Millionaire, or any game show, one day) we decided to go to BOTH sessions of "Who want's to be a Mouseketter?" We thought this would be a good opportunity to try out the casual dining at Topsiders, so I skipped the Lumiers night.(bummer, cause I LOVE the sea bass!) We dressed and went to the 6:30 show. I also took my note book and jotted down a lot of the questions that were asked. Mind you, since as a pharmacist and I read MD's handwritting all day that I tend to WRITE like one! I had trouble reading some of my notes! I'll post the question on a seperate post. We sat high and to the left (facing the stage) in the "T" row without many to the right of us. They had about 6 contestants go up, but our row was never called. One of our DIS board members was called (sbharris1), the folks I met from Canton, GA just that afternoon!!
We went up to Topsiders and gave them our cabin number and they sat us and gave us menus. You order your entree and pick up your appetizer and dessert. It was on the port side of Topsiders, but the restaurant was at least 3/4 full. A lot of familes with under 2 kids. I did inquire about ordering from our 'base' restaurant and having it brought up. IF I had requested it ahead of time (during our regular dinner time) they could have accomadated. At 7:30 the main kitchens were not preparing entrees. Oh well, lesson learned! We ordered rib eyes and a HD for RYAN! The steak was overcooked but we ate it anyway, due to the time. I REALLY like the idea of the casual dining, but they need to improve the selection and service.
Jonathan wasn't interested in doing the 2nd show so after stopping by the kids club we went to the Walt Disney theater and again sat high and to the left, but this time in seperated rows. I was in "W" with about 15 seats between me and the folks to my right. Of course, the "T" row and seat we sat in the previous show was called! Another DIS member (rcdisneyfam) friends made it on stage, John and his daughter. They won $400 in ship credit. They has some techinical difficulties and "hand picked" a row and seat number once. They had about 7 constant pairs this game. The last pick of the game they started out w/ ROW W, but was seat 13, not 33. No one won a cruise on either show.
Since Ryan had seen "Agent Magic and Wonder" we decided to go to the Family Spy Party. This was good fun and we are able to be one on one w/ Ryan. We did catch Match your Mate and ate chocolate covered strawberries. After all the days activites we were beat and went onto bed. In my Disney Dreams they DID call W 33, I answered the questions but was asleep before I won the cruise!
Ryan (8) , Jonathan (7)
5/30
We awoke to find we had arrived in St. Thomas. After bringing breakfast back to the room again (this worked well for us) we gathered our Suits and snorkel gear and headed over to Coral World and Coki Beach. At Coral World they offer another snuba type alternative called "SEA TREKKIN". Instead of a mask, you wear a weighted helmet w/ a full face shield that sits on your sholders. It has the air hose that goes to the surface. You cannot "swim" with it (the helmet weight is 70 lbs! but is lighter underwater) but they have a chain link "path" along the bottom of the bay next to the undersea observatory. The cost is $50 in addition to the admission to Coral World. Our driver up to CW was very nice and knowledgable. He rode both kids for the price of an adult ($7), so we rode for $21 plus tip. He also gave us $4.00 off coupons on adult and $2 (or $1) off a child admission. This was better than the internet coupon. The total was $94, including the Sea Trekkin. We got to see the caribbean reef encounter feeding. Actually saw a stingray 'gulp" down a chunk of fish. They had sea turtles, sharks and iguanas. My kids had never seen iguanas and were facinated by them. At 10:00 I went to the Sea Trekkin desk and said I had a ressie. The guy said "no one told us". I had made it the Saturday we left on the cruise! No matter, they had room for me. I waited a few min while a group of younger adults made the decision to go. You had to sign a release and say "I Don't take medication and am perfectly healthy!" (O.K. a white lie) but I had no problems at all. The helmet had air pumped into it so you never have any problems breathing. You also have to be at least 80 lbs to participate (No problem there!) You wear skin diving booties and gloves to protect you from the coral. He said to make sure to equalize your ears when you got down there, about 15 to 25 feet. Since "age" goes before beauty, I went down first. It was a fantastic experience! I saw sea urchins close up, all different kinds of coral, beautiful fish, and a baracuda! You couldn't "lean" over but you could keep your back straight and squat down. I also found leaning a little backwards rather than forwards keep the sea water out of your mouth! The guides were real good about pointing out interesting things to see. I had an ELF Sports camera that can be used underwater. I took 40 pics! After 30min underwater it was time to come up. Since I hate the water in the ears feeling you get trying do snorkle diving I REALLY loved this experience. If you had short hair, it would'nt even get wet! It's great for us Jacques Cousteau wanna-bes!
After that we went onto the Coki Beach. It IS fairly small but we had enough room to put down our room towel and stuff. They had the beach umbrellas and chairs for rent, but since we only expected to be there about an hour we passed. We did hit a couple of brief showers while getting our snorkle gear ready, but I did bring a set of dry clothes for everyone. My DH's swim trunks somehow got the string pulled half way out so he couldn't join us! I snorkled a while w/ my older son Ryan. He is a stronger swimmer than Jonathan, but he did take the mask and look around in the water. Ryan saw some scuba divers and got all excited. He "tried" to talk thru his snorkle tube, expecting me to understand. A few guys found a whole live sand dollar that I got to show the boys along w/ a sea cucumber. At about 12:30 we caught a cab back. We ended up with a 'religious' man who played christian music the whole way back, and never himself spoke a word to us. He also insisted on $7 a head, no exceptions, so it was $28 going back. My DH insists on tipping, even for bad service. It would have been $120 for the excursion tour, and we spent $113 w/o the tips or Sea Trekkin. Back at the ship I showered and change and met the 3 guys for lunch. They had the American Buffet and it was quite good. Very good desserts.
I went into town to do some shopping while the guys stayed on board. I went to get off and it started pouring outside. I had a collapsable umbrella so went back to the room to get it before leaving. I hit a few of the shops on the "free gift and specials" list. Got T-shirts for my brothers family and my kids for about $48. We to "Touched by the sun" another sun-color changing shop. While there I slipped on the wet step and scraped up my knee and slightly hyperextended my elbow. Hurt my pride more than anything else. They had a cute "letter in a bottle" that they guarentee would make it back home ($6 plus a 55 cent stamp) You get to write your own letter. (Mine arrived the Tues after I got back, while I was at work!). I found a ring at Cardow's I really wanted, but I'll save my pennies to buy it another time! Since the ship leaves early from St Thomas I made my way back around 3:30pm. As I got on the tram I overheard a woman talking who was sitting in front of me speak of a lady on the internet board whom she had e-mailed about the cruise. It was sbharris1 from Canton, GA! I tapped her sholder and introduced myself. "This is the lady!" she told the folks in front of her. We had a pleasant chat before reboarding the ship.
Since I am a game show addict (and my Disney Dream is to qualify and be on Millionaire, or any game show, one day) we decided to go to BOTH sessions of "Who want's to be a Mouseketter?" We thought this would be a good opportunity to try out the casual dining at Topsiders, so I skipped the Lumiers night.(bummer, cause I LOVE the sea bass!) We dressed and went to the 6:30 show. I also took my note book and jotted down a lot of the questions that were asked. Mind you, since as a pharmacist and I read MD's handwritting all day that I tend to WRITE like one! I had trouble reading some of my notes! I'll post the question on a seperate post. We sat high and to the left (facing the stage) in the "T" row without many to the right of us. They had about 6 contestants go up, but our row was never called. One of our DIS board members was called (sbharris1), the folks I met from Canton, GA just that afternoon!!
We went up to Topsiders and gave them our cabin number and they sat us and gave us menus. You order your entree and pick up your appetizer and dessert. It was on the port side of Topsiders, but the restaurant was at least 3/4 full. A lot of familes with under 2 kids. I did inquire about ordering from our 'base' restaurant and having it brought up. IF I had requested it ahead of time (during our regular dinner time) they could have accomadated. At 7:30 the main kitchens were not preparing entrees. Oh well, lesson learned! We ordered rib eyes and a HD for RYAN! The steak was overcooked but we ate it anyway, due to the time. I REALLY like the idea of the casual dining, but they need to improve the selection and service.
Jonathan wasn't interested in doing the 2nd show so after stopping by the kids club we went to the Walt Disney theater and again sat high and to the left, but this time in seperated rows. I was in "W" with about 15 seats between me and the folks to my right. Of course, the "T" row and seat we sat in the previous show was called! Another DIS member (rcdisneyfam) friends made it on stage, John and his daughter. They won $400 in ship credit. They has some techinical difficulties and "hand picked" a row and seat number once. They had about 7 constant pairs this game. The last pick of the game they started out w/ ROW W, but was seat 13, not 33. No one won a cruise on either show.
Since Ryan had seen "Agent Magic and Wonder" we decided to go to the Family Spy Party. This was good fun and we are able to be one on one w/ Ryan. We did catch Match your Mate and ate chocolate covered strawberries. After all the days activites we were beat and went onto bed. In my Disney Dreams they DID call W 33, I answered the questions but was asleep before I won the cruise!
