NYDisneyMom
I need to have a vacation planned at all times...
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2003
- Messages
- 1,122
Ohhhhh..the pain...the early rise for immigration!! LOL! We had to be at "immigration" between 6:45 and 7:30, so I ordered our Champagne Breakfast in Bed (REAS) for 7:30. 
We got to 'immigration' around 7:00 and we were out of there in about 10 minutes. Really, by the time they get you seated in the theater, it's time to get up and walk in line. I guess it's a necessity but it's pretty silly, since 'immigration' is just a guy who looks at your photo id, and you then get your hand stamped.
Okay...so breakfast in the room (pancakes for the kids, omlettes for DH and I, bacon, muffins, juices, coffee, tea!!) it was very nice. We ate and got dressed for the beach at the same time. I wanted to get to Coki early, because the snorkeling is best early in the morning.
We got off the ship and walked to the taxis. Make sure you ASK how much it is before you get in the cab. Apparently some people were told that kids are half price, others weren't and the drivers weren't happy. My DH wasn't budging, though, we paid $21 to get to Coki.
Remember, they drive on the left in St. Thomas, which is pretty scary until you get used to seeing trucks and cars cutting right across in front of you. The island is very hilly and we liked it much more than St. Maarten. We passed several very nice resort areas, some people in the cab got off at Sapphire Beach, which is not just a beach, it's a hotel/resort! It looked beautiful. I'm sure they had a great day!
We got to Coki, which was smaller than I expected, but it was still beautiful. There's a little truck right on the beach where you rent snorkel gear if you don't have any, as well as chairs, umbrellas and there's lockers for rent also. We rented one chair, one umbrella and vests for all of us -- the vests make snorkeling much easier, you just float along the top of the water.
We were also given four milk bone dog treats to feed the fish with! this was pretty funny...but it works!! we snorkeled for probably two hours. the water was warm, the beach wasn't crowded -- you can get a great smoothie from the little truck right on the beach, which also sells food, but I couldn't really see eating a hamburger from a truck.
After snorkeling we walked over to Coral World. There is an area to eat right outside of CW, as well as one inside CW. They both sell the same exact food, same prices, so it doesn't matter which one you choose. (hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, etc.)
I think it cost about $50 for two kids and two adults to get into CW. (okay...we're on vacation, but it seemed like a lot to me for what we did there.) The kids were more excited by the iguanas running around everywhere than the fish!! LOL!
It's a cool place, if you or the kids like tropical fish, turtles, sting rays, etc. We spent a little more than an hour here, including the gift shop.
Oh...almost forgot!! Don't forget the SafeSea!! I did!!
I really just figured we'd need it at Castaway. When we sat down for lunch my son started saying his legs hurt, a few minutes later he was just about crying and said they 'burned' really bad. I took him to the bathroom and sure enough, he was stung by something!! poor kid!!! I asked the girl at the front entrance of CW if they sold anything for it and she gave me some burn cream. I put it on him and within 20 minutes he was back to normal. so, next time I'll either bring SafeSea or a burn cream!!
There were plenty of cabs there at CW ready to take you back. Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get to the port, though. If there are several cruise ships docked, they're all leaving around the same time...it adds up to lots and lots of TRAFFIC. We left CW around 2:00, it took us about 45 minutes to get back to the ship. After 3:00 it only gets worse!
Once back on the ship the kids laid down for a nap. they were exhausted!! we got them dinner from room service and they ate while DH and I got showered and dressed. We then all went to see Who Wants to be a Mousketeer!! Fun show! And I missed getting picked by TWO seats!!
We dropped the kids in the club after the show and DH and I went to get our nice clothes on. Tonight's dinner...Palo!!
We got to Palo a few minutes early and Steve and Kelly were also there (our new DIS friends!) So the waiter asked if we'd like to be seated together. What a fun night! Salvatore from Italy (where else??) was our waiter, and by the end of the night he had us literally rolling with his stories!! The food was fabulous, we ALL had the filet mignon. And Salvatore brought us each our own chocolate souffle (w/ chocolate and vanilla sauce. OMG. Heaven.) and as if that weren't enough, he brought out four other desserts as well.
It was a great night....up until we got back to find "The Snake" and the plastic bag. LOL!!!!!! If you missed that thread, well...it's just history now but needless to say our 'romantic turn down service' was a bit disappointing, to say the least.
You can see "the snake" pics (and the ST. Thomas pics also) on the website: http://community.webshots.com/user/phylliskelly
We got to 'immigration' around 7:00 and we were out of there in about 10 minutes. Really, by the time they get you seated in the theater, it's time to get up and walk in line. I guess it's a necessity but it's pretty silly, since 'immigration' is just a guy who looks at your photo id, and you then get your hand stamped. Okay...so breakfast in the room (pancakes for the kids, omlettes for DH and I, bacon, muffins, juices, coffee, tea!!) it was very nice. We ate and got dressed for the beach at the same time. I wanted to get to Coki early, because the snorkeling is best early in the morning.
We got off the ship and walked to the taxis. Make sure you ASK how much it is before you get in the cab. Apparently some people were told that kids are half price, others weren't and the drivers weren't happy. My DH wasn't budging, though, we paid $21 to get to Coki.
Remember, they drive on the left in St. Thomas, which is pretty scary until you get used to seeing trucks and cars cutting right across in front of you. The island is very hilly and we liked it much more than St. Maarten. We passed several very nice resort areas, some people in the cab got off at Sapphire Beach, which is not just a beach, it's a hotel/resort! It looked beautiful. I'm sure they had a great day!
We got to Coki, which was smaller than I expected, but it was still beautiful. There's a little truck right on the beach where you rent snorkel gear if you don't have any, as well as chairs, umbrellas and there's lockers for rent also. We rented one chair, one umbrella and vests for all of us -- the vests make snorkeling much easier, you just float along the top of the water.
We were also given four milk bone dog treats to feed the fish with! this was pretty funny...but it works!! we snorkeled for probably two hours. the water was warm, the beach wasn't crowded -- you can get a great smoothie from the little truck right on the beach, which also sells food, but I couldn't really see eating a hamburger from a truck.
After snorkeling we walked over to Coral World. There is an area to eat right outside of CW, as well as one inside CW. They both sell the same exact food, same prices, so it doesn't matter which one you choose.
(hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, etc.) I think it cost about $50 for two kids and two adults to get into CW. (okay...we're on vacation, but it seemed like a lot to me for what we did there.) The kids were more excited by the iguanas running around everywhere than the fish!! LOL!
It's a cool place, if you or the kids like tropical fish, turtles, sting rays, etc. We spent a little more than an hour here, including the gift shop.
Oh...almost forgot!! Don't forget the SafeSea!! I did!!
I really just figured we'd need it at Castaway. When we sat down for lunch my son started saying his legs hurt, a few minutes later he was just about crying and said they 'burned' really bad. I took him to the bathroom and sure enough, he was stung by something!! poor kid!!! I asked the girl at the front entrance of CW if they sold anything for it and she gave me some burn cream. I put it on him and within 20 minutes he was back to normal. so, next time I'll either bring SafeSea or a burn cream!! There were plenty of cabs there at CW ready to take you back. Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get to the port, though. If there are several cruise ships docked, they're all leaving around the same time...it adds up to lots and lots of TRAFFIC. We left CW around 2:00, it took us about 45 minutes to get back to the ship. After 3:00 it only gets worse!
Once back on the ship the kids laid down for a nap. they were exhausted!! we got them dinner from room service and they ate while DH and I got showered and dressed. We then all went to see Who Wants to be a Mousketeer!! Fun show! And I missed getting picked by TWO seats!!
We dropped the kids in the club after the show and DH and I went to get our nice clothes on. Tonight's dinner...Palo!!
We got to Palo a few minutes early and Steve and Kelly were also there (our new DIS friends!) So the waiter asked if we'd like to be seated together. What a fun night! Salvatore from Italy (where else??) was our waiter, and by the end of the night he had us literally rolling with his stories!! The food was fabulous, we ALL had the filet mignon. And Salvatore brought us each our own chocolate souffle (w/ chocolate and vanilla sauce. OMG. Heaven.) and as if that weren't enough, he brought out four other desserts as well.
It was a great night....up until we got back to find "The Snake" and the plastic bag. LOL!!!!!! If you missed that thread, well...it's just history now but needless to say our 'romantic turn down service' was a bit disappointing, to say the least.
You can see "the snake" pics (and the ST. Thomas pics also) on the website: http://community.webshots.com/user/phylliskelly
