From San Juan To St. Thomas
For those of you who want to watch the video version of this post, it’s linked below:
We didn’t go over 10 knots in getting from San Juan to St. Thomas, but I felt a bit of a jiggle anyway. This was probably because I had an ocean view room fairly far forward on the ship.
This was one of the two “Evening Chic” days onboard where somewhat better dress is expected in the main dining rooms (MDRs). Since I didn’t intend to set foot in them, it didn’t apply to me. But it was nice to see everyone else put in slightly more effort to dress nice while I was out.
Just before we reached St. Thomas, I got the news that my excursion was canceled the previous evening. I mourned its loss. This wouldn’t be the last excursion that I would miss.
We reached St. Thomas by 8, our scheduled time. We docked in Crown Bay, which was a new location for me. The previous times I had been to St. Thomas, I docked in an area called Havensight.
Before I went out into the world, I went to the buffet and had a completely satisfying breakfast. Also satisfying was the fact that attendance was very light. On other ships, there’s a rush to the buffet on mornings we would dock so that early risers could go out and meet their excursions or just find one of the best spots on the beach. But this time around, even though we had several stops, the breakfast was never crowded at the times I went.
St. Thomas was partly cloudy all day for us with some ominous clouds in the area that fortunately held off their precipitation for most of our stay. I looked around for some souvenirs, but I didn’t see anything worth buying. So I headed back to the ship.
I picked up a burger, fries, and some cake from room service. The burger was good, though I didn’t appreciate all the sauce they put on it. The cake was heavenly, a definite highlight.
The horn sounded and we were on our way to St. Kitts.
That evening I stopped by the casino for some roulette lessons. It turned out to be one-on-one tutoring by the dealer, who gave me some insights into how to bet. I was happy to note that this didn’t have the 000 space that I had heard about in some other areas.
Some players stopped by with real money and real knowledge about how to play the game. We all eventually bought in and put our money down. The table was a $5 minimum. I made random inside bets and cashed out with a few more dollars than I started with. So I guess I got paid for my lessons.
After that, I stopped by the cashier to pick up my slot play. I had bought $200 in slot play before I boarded and received a 10% bonus – $220 total. The cashier gave me instructions on how to redeem it and sent me on my way. I bought in for $20 on a slot called Luau Loot and cashed out less than a dollar.
I then put that ticket and the rest of my slot play in a video poker machine. I played Super Times Pay Jacks or Better 5-play for quarters. This is what it looks like when I win, which I didn’t do a lot of:
I cashed out at $190. I then put the whole thing in a slot called Piggy Bankin’. I should have called that pig Zanz because it stole my money – well, a little bit of it. I cashed out at $185.
The night wasn’t over yet. I watched a show called Boogie Wonderland. The plot was thin (young man wants to be a rock star and a disco owner – and he’s torn between two women), but the music was great for those who are a fan of the era. Below is a video with a more detailed review of the show:
Overall I enjoyed the show and it seems that the other passengers I was with enjoyed it too, but there were fewer than 200 people that attended in a theater that held about 1000. I felt a little sorry for the entertainers, who did their best with a sparse crowd.
The day ended with me finding out the Lions somehow won their football game against the Packers and us moving towards St. Kitts.