DAY 5 ST THOMAS WEDNESDAY NOV 16 7AM-2PM

The port info:

I was REALLY looking forward to this day. We decided we were going to do something brand new...never experienced before. So, I was super excited, but yet very nervous for this day to arrive. I knew that it was going to either be the best day on the cruise...or possibly the biggest let down. Only time would tell.

I had my alarm set for 5:30 am and jumped in the shower to attempt to wake up a little more. Man I was tired. The night before I had read in the dailies that the buffet didn't open until 6:30am, which would be too late, since we had to be off the ship at 7am. We started thinking about other options, such as O'Sheehans or the MDR. But that meant we couldn't just eat and go. We would be at the mercy of slow service if it was anything like the other times. We headed up to the buffet just to check things out...and it was open. Thank goodness! Maybe they decided to open earlier than normal due to an early port day. Either way, I was happy.

I had my usual, other than the scrambled eggs. I have to say that I have never had a problem in the past with the "powdered" scrambled eggs, but this time...they were icky. You could tell they were not "real" and they just wasn't good. Oh well, I had my waffle still.

Taken with my already foggy camera lens...ugh

Kolin discovered that they had a new type of chocolate milk and he was really in love. He must have had about 5 of them with breakfast. He just kept talking about how good they were.

He said they were the best thing he had ever had. Later in the week I would try one and I didn't care for it. Remember I don't like chocolate, but I will drink chocolate milk. This stuff was injected with steroid chocolates and was just too much for me.

We headed back to the room and hung out on the balcony because we knew that we were still moving for some reason.

Beautiful St Thomas. 

Sakari was super excited to get this day going as well.

Announcements were made that we were coming in late, so we wouldn't be able to get off the ship until 7:30am. Yikes. No, let me off now, I'll swim. hehe

They said due to the late arrival, our new "on board" time would now be 2pm. Ok, I guess that makes up for it. I'm good with that.

It was looking like a very cloudy morning.

A view of the port from our balcony:

I can see the sky ride from here.

At 7:30am, we headed down to Deck 5 in order to get off. But, we soon discovered that we still had not fully docked yet. Grrr.

We decided to hang out and wait there at the art gallery area. There were maybe around 25 people or so there. It's a big open area that's basically part of the hall that goes back and forth to the atrium. For some reason, the lady in uniform there approached us (we were standing along the wall) and told us "You can't wait here. You need to go somewhere else until they call for everyone to get off. Go have breakfast or a cup of coffee". Seriously? Do you think we are standing down here because we haven't had breakfast yet? Also, is there a reason that you signaled US out? Not a single other sole was approached and told to leave. We watched her the entire time, pace back and forth, and she did not say anything to any of the other people waiting in the same area as us. I thought that was rude. So...I did my usual style and plopped down on the floor and leaned against the wall and WAITED, just like everyone else. We were not in anyone's way, we were not doing anything wrong, we were quiet. So therefore, we were also waiting! Unless she wanted to clear the entire room, what she had just told us to do was completely invalid to me. I'm not a rule breaker, but I'm also not a pushover. Don't signal me out and not tell anyone else.

We were unable to get off the ship until 8am, so 1 hour past the time that we were supposed to get off. They made one last announcement, reminding us that we were getting off late (like we didn't know) and the new time to come back would be........drum roll.....still 2pm. Ugh. They could have at least changed it to 2:30pm....or 3, or even 6pm. Once again, I will double check any port times on my next cruise to make sure there's not a stupid 7-2pm port day. I just hate this.

We headed off the ship for the paparazzi to be waiting outside for us.

Today we are going SCUBA DIVING!! It would be our very first time trying this and we were super excited...and this was all Sakari's fault.

To read our experience, how we felt about it, if we did good (or not) click the following tab:

It was time to head back home...

Well somebody did a complete 360 from the day before. I guess she can accomplish scuba diving but not climbing rocks. Go figure.

This was the guy selling pop along the road right down from Coki.

Along the way back to the ship...I spotted her sitting pretty there in port.

Coming back into port...

We would get to port and the kids decided to do a little shopping. Since I was just here (and Kendra), there really wasn't anything that I needed to get. I have my tee shirt from St Thomas and also my magnet. So, I would just kind of walk with the kids and follow them around while they shopped. And I'm glad I did....

It took us approximately 15 minutes exactly according to my times on my pictures. That's not bad considering there were 3 ships in port that day, with the Oasis being one of the other ships, and how many people, estimated almost 14,000. (I know they can handle more, but just saying...)

So we shopped for about an hour and somehow we all got split up. However, I managed to find ANOTHER magnet and I just HAD TO HAVE IT!!!!

We couldn't locate the kids after getting split up, so we decided to go ahead and head back to the ship.

My legs were aching so bad and it was hot and I just wanted to get to the room and shower and have a "light" lunch because I was starving.

So remember, we have our latitudes platinum free dinner and wine booked for 5:30pm toDAY, which I wish was toNIGHT.

After our shower, we headed to the buffet and I decided to get a salad or something to tie me over and let Sakari eat.

The buffet was PACKED and we couldn't find any seats. Well, I know from previous cruises that La Cucina is usually open so that you can take your meal down there to eat and that's exactly what I was going to do! I might not be able to go there and get my platinum meal, but I was going to eat there one way or the other.

I swear Sakari lived on Pizza and bread the entire week...I kid you not. She was addicted to that bread and butter and I can't say I blamed her. It was so yummy.

Our view:

After lunch we took Sakari to the Splash kids club for awhile, but you see, having our dinner booked for 5:30pm is completely off for us as well because the kids club closes at 5pm. So now what???

The ship pulled out...goodbye St Thomas. We love you!

So I did a quick time lapse coming in to St Thomas. I haven't read up on them yet and was just playing. The camera only seems to take so many of them and then stops (which it isn't long). We were following another ship in and remember the delay? It was because of this ship.

After dropping her off, we really didn't know what to do to kill time until we had to pick her back up, find a sitter, then go to dinner.

We headed to the Atrium bar and decided instead of just grabbing a drink to go, we'd just sit and hang out for awhile. So that's what we did. When they seen we weren't leaving, they put some snacks in front of us. Oh just great. I must have had the "I'm starving still" look on my face. The snacks were yummy! I know in the past, people have made comments about them putting snacks (nuts and stuff) out at the bars and some said this is unsanitary and so on. Well, they give you your OWN glass container of snacks. No worries about others dipping their hands in it.

We hung out there for quite some time, then it was time to pick up the munchkin and find a sitter. We elected Courtney and Kolin! Lucky them!

We headed over to their "pad" and they were sleeping. Well, she said she had a movie on and Sakari could lay on their bed and watch it. She's a very good kid and as long as someone (an adult) is in the same place with her, she really don't need watched. She usually won't move, and she'll draw, or watch t.v. and you don't even know she's there. She's not one of those kids you can't trust when out of sight or a kid that will get in to things...like Brayden. Just saying.

So off we went to dinner. We were the second ones in line and were there when they opened.

We were immediately seated.

I have never ate here before. We always go to La Cucina, so this would be a new experience for me. I had really hoped they had something that I would like because I won't eat steak or any of the red meat.

I ended up ordering the Soupe A L'oignon Gratinee, which was basically onion soup with cheese spruced up and given a fancy name. The hubs ordered the same thing.

For dinner, I found a safe option: Crevette Roti Au Beurre, which was basically shrimp in butter with some type of fancy sauce over it.

The hubby ordered Coq Au Vin, which was chicken not done the KFC way.

Then the dreaded wine list...ugh. Everyone knows my wine dilemma. Well, we tried to remember what we had picked out the time and it wasn't half bad and went with that. We ended up getting the White Zinfandel.

The yummy bread came out. I swear I could make a meal of this stuff.

We had a nice view from our table.

Our wine came and it was hubby approved. Me, I could stand it for the night I suppose. It's still bitter, but not as bitter as most of the rest.

Our appetizer onion soup came out. Not only did it have a fancy name I couldn't pronounce, but it came in a fancy bowl as well.

It looked absolutely yummy!

It was really good. The hubby thought that the "stuff" inside the soup was really weird and had a weird texture. The more he tried it, the less he could stomach it and pulled it out.

It looked like a chunk of fat or something.

I told him I believed it was a chunk of our bread we were eating and since it had been sitting in there, it soaked up the soup and that was the result. He didn't want to believe me. I had no problem with it. It just wasn't appealing to the eyes.

When the waiter came around to collect our dishes, I had to ask him. I didn't care if the hubby got embarrassed or not because I wasn't the one with a huge chunk of something laying on the side of my plate. I had to find out...or either make a point that I was right...and I was. Go ahead, pat me on the back now and say with me "Kim's right".

Then our meal came. MINE WAS TO DIE FOR. So good and the sauce was so yummy!!! 

But there really wasn't much of it at all. You see those small little potatoes it comes with? They were the size (roundness) of a finger. Like really? Seven shrimps=the main course. This is supposed to be a meal? I'm certainly glad we did decide to stop and eat at the buffet. If I hadn't had that salad, I would probably have to order a second dish of it and told them to use my second dinner coupon up. (Maaaannnnn, why didn't I think of that???)

Now think about this...they charge $24.99 for this plate. I can't even imagine. That's JUST for the above plate. That didn't include the onion soup with the chunk of not-so-pleasing-to-the-eye bread in it, but was yummy. That was offered at an additional $3.99.

So the hubby's plate comes out...with a lid on it. They put it in front of him and open it...wallah, there's your meal. The plate was empty. The waiter laughed. He gots jokes. Then he turned around to his lovely assistant Vanna and presented a covered bowl. He would then scoop out various pieces of the pot and create this little eye-pleasing sculpture on his empty plate. I didn't know if I was supposed to applaud or not at that point. Um, "Can I buy a vowel?" was all I could think of.

Hey wait, he has bigger potatoes. Not fair.

Round 2 of the wine drinking commencement would take place and we were getting a little happy.

I can not drink anything hot. That's probably one of the reasons I don't care for red wine. Well, wait...let's be honest, I don't care for red wine for the same reason I don't care for white wine...it's bitter. But red wine is even worse than the white (or rose).

So...I did what anyone would do...I ask for a glass of ice.

That was all fine and dandy. No harm done. Everything was normal at our table....until I started pouring the ice into my wine glass. You would have thought I just committed a sin. The lady at the table over from us was giving me some looks that's for sure. So either I was totally out of line or was it someone on these boards on my cruise that was afraid to stop and say hi to me again? I'm going to go with the earlier part of that statement. 

Yep, we finished off the entire bottle. I honestly can't tell you at this point if it was good or not. I was going to need to be carried out of there. I'm such a lightweight. I hardly ever drink and honestly, you could give me a wine cooler and I would be tipsy before the entire thing is empty. I'm just not a drinker. I don't like the feeling of being drunk, so I usually drink very slowly and when I get that tingly feeling that turns my entire body hot, I usually start to slow down. But you know what? It was an awesome day in St Thomas. I got to scuba dive....now what! I'm officially and unofficial scuba diver. I was celebrating. Plus I was tired. Plus I was still a little ticked that this was my choice of a free dinner instead of La Cucina, which is what I really wanted. So I.was.drinking. And drink I did. All of it!!!

I was going to order desert but at that point, I wasn't sure I would be able to lift my hand back up to my mouth, so we decided to attempt to leave the building. Waddle waddle quack quack. "Yea, dats white, I'm da lady dat put da ice in her rose wine" I slurred to the lady that was starring at me as I walked out. (j/k of course...I actually waited until she wasn't looking and slipped out the back door for fear of further embarrassment.) Our entire dinner took 1 1/2 minutes of our time and well worth it. I don't mind if it takes a few hours for a nice restaurant. That's totally acceptable to me. However, not for a place like O'Sheehans...over even the MDR. I don't know why I feel like that. I just do.

We headed out to the pool bar and I was going to attempt some more night pictures, well, that was my excuse for needing some night air to help with my sudden off balance brain syndrome. But, there was a very loud group of drunks (no, I was not included in that group, I came on my own) and they were seriously acting crazy. The lady decided to go jump in the pool...with the pool closed...WITH the net across it. Oooookkkkkk, I'm outta here because I don't want the crew to think I'm associated with these guys just because I had a bit of a side step going on. I swear it was the ship.

We headed back to the room to pick up sis after multiple text to Courtney's phone with no answer and multiple phone calls to their room with no answer. Kendra said "Psshh, I'd just leave her in there"...of course you would Kendra, that's what you are good at. But not me. I want my kid.

I would proceed to their room and bang on the door several times. Courtney finally answered, wiping her eyes and yawning, and they were all asleep. We woke Sakari up and all headed back to the room at 7:30pm.

This very cute little foggy frog was waiting for Sakari and I swear the fog in my lens on this picture is probably a carbon copy of what I was actually seeing at that point.

WE WENT STRAIGHT TO BED! LOL We had our bellies full, our minds were blank from wine, it was dark out, we got up early, my body was starting to ache, my legs hurt from scuba diving...and I was beat. We all went to bed FOR THE NIGHT! Yes, you read that right...for the night AT 7:30pm!

I would wake up once that night at 2am, due to the (TMI) burp that resulted in the "almost" vomit in my mouth. You know how sometimes that happens and it comes up half way and then goes back down? Yea that. So I decided to get up and take a nice hot shower...then back to bed I went until that morning. :D