A quick report on the 1/03/09 Magic to St. Croix (Now with links to pictures)

[tinytink]

ACD is Darren

 

[mumom95]

for your information Buck Island at St. Croix is NOT, I repeat IS NOT the same buck island at St. Thomas. They are at least 50 miles apart. But I have heard that the snorkeling @ Buck Island/St. Thomas is very good too.

Thanks, I had no idea they weren't the same island. Now I'm positive we made the right choice with excursions.

 

[jrabbit]

Thanks, I had no idea they weren't the same island. Now I'm positive we made the right choice with excursions.

when we first booked this cruise, I started checking out St. Croix and Buck Island came up as a really cool place for snorkeling.

I have been to St Thomas before on DCL and remembered the excursion(s) to buck island being listed. Reading DCL's descriptions and the description of the features of St. Croix's Buck Island - they could be the same place. But not with the distance involved with the timeframes the St. Thomas Buck Island excursions were listing. You can see St. Johns from St. Thomas - and the boat ride over there is about 40 minutes. You can't see St. Croix from St. Thomas (at least from sea level) and for a 2 hour boat ride you would have to be doing 25 knots, and in a boat that would NOT be enjoyable.

Also, is there any beach time at all? Or does the boat just stay far out by the reefs for snorkelling only?

Sorry I did not answer this earlier - NOPE, no beach time, there are minimal sandy beaches from the looks of it. Where we entered the reef, there was a very nice looking beach on the SW side of island and we snorkeled more toward the NE side.

 

[tinytink]

For those of you on this first cruise to St. Croix did you all get new memory foam pillows in your room? I was walking in the hallways and noticed boxes of those memory foam pillows but we didn't get one so DH asked our room attendant and he said they were going to put those in the rooms for Castaway Club members. He also mentioned that there was a plastic storage container under the bed that they were going to put them in. He did give us one but I think it's because we asked for it. Just wondering if they are replacing the pillows onboard or if it was for a select few. I'm going to post this on the main board as well.

 

[fatrabbit]

I too was on this recent cruise. I miss it terribly. We had the most fabulous time. It was my first cruise ever as well as my first Disney cruise. My sister who cruised with me had cruised before on Royal Caribbean and Carnival. It is very hard for me to be disappointed with anything Disney anyway, so I guess I am bias, however, everything went excellent for us from the time we arrived in Orlando. Enterprise sent a driver to pick us up from the Amtrak train station within minutes of our arrival, we were given a vehicle upgrade (packed way more than we thought & needed more luggage space). Since we had a day to spare, we visited Downtown Disney, shopped and had lunch at Earl of Sandwich, then leisurely drove to Port Canaveral---everything still going swimmingly. The Doubletree was a very pleasant stay. We had a well-maintained room with great balcony views of the ocean. We enjoyed complimentary breakfast (eggs, breakfast sausage, pastries, coffee, yogurt, juice, cereal) the next morning before heading off to return our rental car and board the ship. We were driven to the port by a pleasant and friendly driver compliments of Enterprise. Our excitement was building and I could hardly contain myself when I saw the ship docked there to our left. I noticed even the little things like the beautiful hibiscus flowers lining the walkway, trying to take it all in. Cast members waiting at the top of the escalator wave with "Mickey hand" gloves to welcome you. YIPPEE! The port wasn't terribly crowded and checking in was smooth sailing, taking less than 15 minutes. The characters were there to greet us (we saw Mickey and Minnie). We walked around a bit, enjoyed the art displayed in the waiting area, and were boarding shortly after that. I loved being announced and applauded onto the ship! We headed right up to Topsiders for the buffet lunch and chose to sit at an outside table near the kiddy pool. Donald Duck walks right up to our table and my nephew loved it!! So much seemed to happen before we even set sail--we knew it was going to be a great cruise. And it was. The shows were all excellent (true Disney lover, whimpy type like me will well up during the shows--they really pull at your heart strings) We saw three movies in the Buena Vista Theater -- Beverly Hills Chihuaha, Bedtime Stories, and Bolt which was shown in 3D---all very very funny. I did see the adult entertainment, which was great. The adult scavenger hunt was hilarious--and our team won!! The ventriloquist act the first night was one of my favorite! Did anyone else see the volunteer 10-year-old h turned into a puppet? Gut-busting! We loved our server and assistant server! They were super nice and attentive to our every need. We loved St. Croix!! We were greeted by Carribean music and steel drums, costumed stilt walkers, and it seemed to me that (even though they were celebrating Three Kings Day) they were also celebrating our arrival into St. Croix. It was absolutely gorgeous. I'm not sure why others were disappointed with this island---but I loved it. We took a van tour for $15 pp in a 15 passenger to Christiansted. Our guide was very nice, knowledgeable, and friendly. He made sure to point out areas of interest to us (a bar where we could feed beer to a pig--no thanks), saw all the beautiful mahogany tree lined streets. We saw mongoose while driving through the rainforest--what a highlight, then walked around Christensted, and then we were driven back to Fredriksted where we dipped in the beach. (It was a little rough with the stroller, but still beautiful). St. Thomas was also gorgeous, but no musical welcome this time. I actually liked St. Croix better because we didn't have to use the tenders at the St. Croix dock. Probably my three least favorite parts of the entire cruise were waiting for the tender back on board the ship when leaving St. Thomas, the El Grande Show (not great and I almost felt uncomfortable for him--like watching someone's bad family videos, you smile but you really don't want to see it and the whole time you're hoping it will get better) His show didn't get better. My third least favorite part was the morning we had to leave--hated it. I actually saw teenagers crying on the last day. I'm sure there were sad adults the ship over. Castaway Cay was super--there were no natives asking us for our business--St. Thomas gets the award for that. On St. Thomas, we hired a driver with an open air truck to take us to the Best Western public beach. Very impressive--although you can't sit in the lounge chairs with umbrellas on their beach without paying--so we used our own beach blanket. The water was superb and the view spectacular. The barbecue on Castaway Cay was great--excellent ribs and buy one get one free Bahamaian drinks. I relaxed in a hammock while my daughter went scuba diving, unworried because there were excellent lifeguard posts stationed throughout the beach and even into the water. She saw so many fish and the Mickey statue!! We had the package offering the inner tube and scuba gear and it was well worth it. The water was cold, but warmed up ever so slightly the more you stayed in it. I hated knowing that we only had one more night on the cruise. I ended my night, most nights, by visiting Sessions (the Jazz club) and thoroughly enjoyed the pianist Daryl Lockhart, (his voice is like butter), while sipping on my 151 and cranberry. The bar server knew my name and drink each night and I was welcomed into the lounge by the server and Daryl Lockhart---I loved the personal feeling and decided to take off my sandals and curl up on the couch as I was serenaded. I felt as if he was singing only to me. There is no place like that in my "real world". If I could feel that comfortable and welcome in a jazz club anywhere in the "real world" I would go there weekly. I miss everything and everyone from that 7 night cruise. The food was superb. How can you complain about the food????? Creme brulee, Lobster, Caviar---come on people. Cooked to pefection, beautifully plated. I loved the desserts, the breakfasts, the dinners, the pizzas, the all you can drink sodas, the mahi mahi, the everything!!! Even though I plan to do it all over again by 2010 with more family members, the first time will most likely always be my favorite. Everything was new to me & we didn't miss anything that we wanted to see. My personal opinion about those who complain about their waitstaff is that they are so spoiled to the disney way, they are tough on cast members and may expect them to bend over backwards while holding their noses, on one hand, while singing Whistling Dixie. I witnessed people upset that they had to clean their hands with the hand wipes that are passed out multiple times onboard --- come on people! I witnessed just a few snooty people with very little manners -- so I can see where people demand greatness and are not satisfied with dessert, I guess. I though, once again, had a excellent cruise and can hardly wait to do it all again.

 

[jbuckent]

Can anyone comment more on the beach within walking distance of port?

 

[giljr]

Can anyone comment more on the beach within walking distance of port?

I didn't go there, but it looked like it left a lot to be desired.

 

[jrabbit]

I relaxed in a hammock while my daughter went scuba diving, unworried because there were excellent lifeguard posts stationed throughout the beach and even into the water. She saw so many fish and the Mickey statue!! We had the package offering the inner tube and scuba gear and it was well worth it.

Just to clarify for people that have NOT been to Castaway Cay - I don't believe they allow SCUBA in the SNORKELING area (where they lifeguards are). I think the prior trip report should have said Snorkel where ever Scuba was mentioned.

 

[frdeb1999]

Thanks for your TR and pics!! They turned out great! Like all the info on St Croix...we have been debating on doing this one and now will be even more so. Glad you enjoyed your trip!

 

[SueEllen]

We found out that the reason so much at St. Croix was not available was because it was a holiday for them (Three Kings Day) so many things were closed (including the Cruzan Rum factory.)

Unfortunately someone on this cruise decided to steal my camera from Rockin Bar D during Thursday night's show It was sitting behind me on the table, and someone felt the need to take it (complete with my room key, and some cash I had in the case as well.) You know, it wouldnt' bother me as much if I had have just been able to recoup my pictures from the camera. I'm just disgusted that someone felt the need to take it (WHILE I WAS SITTING RIGHT THERE!!!) Because of this I lost all of my pictures (and what stinks is that this was my daughter's 18th birthday celebration trip...all gone!) Too bad the person that felt the need to do this didn't at least have enough of a conscious to turn in the memory card with my name on it (no questions would have been asked.) I'm still just sick over this and very, very sad.

We enjoyed St. Croix (well, part of it) and had a magnificent lunch at Rum Runners (in Christiansted) You MUST head to a different area of the island rather than the port area. The port city of Fredricksted was not very pretty, and didn't have much to offer. Other parts of the island were much prettier. I still like St. Thomas/St. John the best of the islands.

I was glad they brought John Charles on board for the final night. It was awesome to see him again.

 

[SandieT]

Would anyone be able to post their navigators from the trip. I can't tell you how much this would be appreciated. The last one's I can find are on ***************** from a year ago.

 

[Cusefan44]

Hello to all and a question to anyone who can answer:

How much should I budget for an upcoming 7 day trip on the Magic (presuming good service of course)? We want to treat the staff fairly, and I would like to have a range budgeted.

Thanks

 

[SandieT]

Did anyone do this excursion? We were just going to wing it in St. Croix but after reviews of the island I think we are better off booking something. We are doing a private all day sail and snorkel trip in St. Thomas so I did not want to book anything too big. This seemed to fit the bill.
Thanks!

 

[mumom95]

Did anyone do this excursion? We were just going to wing it in St. Croix but after reviews of the island I think we are better off booking something. We are doing a private all day sail and snorkel trip in St. Thomas so I did not want to book anything too big. This seemed to fit the bill.
Thanks!

I read one review somewhere (I think it was for this excursion), it wasn't good. They said the snorkeling at Sprat Reef was terrible, and that the operators were so far behind schedule that they didn't even stop at the beach. If I can find the link I will post it.

 

[SandieT]

I read one review somewhere (I think it was for this excursion), it wasn't good. They said the snorkeling at Sprat Reef was terrible, and that the operators were so far behind schedule that they didn't even stop at the beach. If I can find the link I will post it.

From what I have found this excursion was cancelled so I will try again when then next group comes back next week. As most of the excursions have booked up at this point. We do have some great plans for St. Thomas so if we change our minds and just go to an average beach in St. Croix, it sure beats doing grocery shopping, cooking, laundry and picking up after two kids when it is 30 degrees outside!

 

[GoofyTraci]

Buck Island Sail and Snorkel on St. Croix

Boat - pretty good condition - we have been on "nicer" snorkeling boats - and have been on much worse!
Crew - Best we have ever had on 10+ snorkeling excursions
Equipment Provided - very, very good
Ride Over to Christanstead - just OK - in 15 passenger vans, our driver pointed out the obvious things like grocery stores and chruchs and schools - at least he talked!
Ride back to Fredricksburg - 15 passenger van - our driver appeared to not know how to get to Fredricksburg - we took a very long route back but we got to see some other stuff - like the oil / gas refinery
General - St. Croix is not the poorest island we have visited, but it's not St. Thomas either

Now for the snorkeling itself - some of the best we have experienced.
* You snorkel from the boat - NO touching bottom, NO touching the coral!
*Water depth - if you were in the reef - could be shallow - couple of feet to 30 feet; inside the reef boundry - 10 to 25 feet. You could see the bottom very easily - the water was very clear. Remember the deeper the water the bigger the fish.
* There were lots of different fish, corals and other critters -- like lobsters. There can be sea turtles too (my family did not see any of them). We did end up in a large school of angel fish (well over a hundred of them - how cool was that!).
* There is a snorkeling trail like at Trunk Bay on St. Johns - however no one has cleaned them up for a while so you could not see what most of them said. "ALL" snorkelers must be shown the trail before going off on their own.
* The crew took us off of the boat in 3 groups - "Expert Snorkelers", "Swimmers but not so good @ snorkeling" and the 3rd group - total beginers. They took the experts out first so we could clear out of the way. The second group got together and did the course then the beginners. THe crew worked with the smaller kids - they took them out on life rings so they could experience the water, etc.
* Bring some extra cash to tip the crew at the end - they deserve it!

Sorry to be a bother but I have a? What is the exact name on dcl website for this excursion? The reason I ask is bc I see the buck island snorkel excursion no info posted like Buck island sail and snorkel..and then I see the sail and snorkel but to a different location than buck island.
NOt really sure what to make of ST Croix yet with the mixed reviews. Is there time before or after this excursion to visit the rum factory?

TIA