halloween cruise/ Magic: October 28th-nov..4th 2006

[awoltoday]

After a little bit of digging I think I have found a nice option for a day at the beach on St. Thomas. All beaches are public on St. Thomas, so you can choose any one you like. Magens looks nice, but it is going to be very popular. Coki is small and also very popular, especially with Coral World right next door. Sapphire might have been perfect, but the hotel there has had to shut down their restaurant and bar... Trunk Bay and Caneel Bay on St. John, I'm sure, are very nice. But, a taxi ride and ferry ride twice won't leave much day left to enjoy them. So, I think I found a beach that will be real nice and won't be very popular with other cruisers....

Bolongo Bay (from http://www.vinow.com/stthomas/beaches_stt/):
Swimming: Calm to Mild Surf
Beachside: Mostly Sand, some small Pebbles
Food/Drinks: Yes, Hotel Restaurant & Bar
Water Sports Center: Yes, Hotel (Scuba diving, kayaks, water bikes, etc.)
Accessibility: Taxi, Car
Snorkeling: Fair
Amenities (Hotel): Restroom, Chairs, Umbrellas, Hammocks
Taxis: Usually at hotel lobby or Call Dispatcher

At the resort, Iggies Beach Bar & Grill was voted the best beach bar in the Caribbean by Caribbean Travel & Life's readers in their May 2004 issue.

 

[LaRue]

We started back on the 14th. We are officially into week 2 & I received the principal's "Have fun" and complete support for the trip, so one less thing to worry about!!

We went to the urologist yesterday with Cody to follow-up on his surgery. Cody had an ultrasound & for the first tiem in his life, the doc told us that his kidneys are deflating and losing their swelling! So, as of right now, the surgery was a success and we don't have to go back for Cody for a year. What a relief. Using the catheters is a bit of a pain, bit not at all as difficult as I envisioned.

Great News!!!! Bring on the Big Boat because we are going to celebrate!

 

[princessh]

Timmy has 4 lbs. on Drew, and Drew turned 11 end of July. He too is one of the younger kids in the class.

Guess everyone will know who the two skinny kids are. Crazy thing is Timmy does nothing but eat! He must have really good metabolism, something he does not get from me! Is Drew tall? Timmy is finally starting to grow a little. Still shorter than most kids in his class.

 

[buckifan]

Guess everyone will know who the two skinny kids are. Crazy thing is Timmy does nothing but eat! He must have really good metabolism, something he does not get from me! Is Drew tall? Timmy is finally starting to grow a little. Still shorter than most kids in his class.

Drew has a great metabolism also. And no, he doesn't get it from me either. That was DH's contribution (thank you!). Drew is my little carnivore. His favorite meal is at a Chinese buffet.....and his plate is pure meat! Drew is one of the shorter kids in the class also. Thankfully, not the shortest! I want to say he's like 54" or something close to that.

 

[missyoh8]

Guess everyone will know who the two skinny kids are. Crazy thing is Timmy does nothing but eat! He must have really good metabolism, something he does not get from me! Is Drew tall? Timmy is finally starting to grow a little. Still shorter than most kids in his class.

Make that 3 little men! I think Bo weighed about 60 lbs at the doctor in June. He is "tiny but mighty"! A lot of attitude in one little body. He just eats about nothing.......by the looks of me, people probably think I steal it for me!

About the announcing the name thing..........when you enter the atrium on the cruise they will say something like "welcome aboard the Smith family" and then there is staff there all around greeting you.

Last year we got on and our little guys favorite (the pizza guy) was there and recognized Luke straight away. Luke had written him a thank you note and we had given him a bottle of Bailey's on the last cruise. It was kind of amazing but I suppose not a lot of people give the pizza guy a gift and have a 6 year old write them a note! He is now a kids club CM..........

Have a great weekend everyone!

Missy

 

[GoofyDrivesACar]

After a little bit of digging I think I have found a nice option for a day at the beach on St. Thomas. All beaches are public on St. Thomas, so you can choose any one you like. Magens looks nice, but it is going to be very popular. Coki is small and also very popular, especially with Coral World right next door. Sapphire might have been perfect, but the hotel there has had to shut down their restaurant and bar... Trunk Bay and Caneel Bay on St. John, I'm sure, are very nice. But, a taxi ride and ferry ride twice won't leave much day left to enjoy them. So, I think I found a beach that will be real nice and won't be very popular with other cruisers....

Bolongo Bay (from http://www.vinow.com/stthomas/beaches_stt/):
Swimming: Calm to Mild Surf
Beachside: Mostly Sand, some small Pebbles
Food/Drinks: Yes, Hotel Restaurant & Bar
Water Sports Center: Yes, Hotel (Scuba diving, kayaks, water bikes, etc.)
Accessibility: Taxi, Car
Snorkeling: Fair
Amenities (Hotel): Restroom, Chairs, Umbrellas, Hammocks
Taxis: Usually at hotel lobby or Call Dispatcher

At the resort, Iggies Beach Bar & Grill was voted the best beach bar in the Caribbean by Caribbean Travel & Life's readers in their May 2004 issue.

Hey - that looks like a nice spot, plus I always like a good Bar & Grill.

 

[kritter]

Good Evening,

Just came home from a massage party.... Boy it was heavenly....


Hope everyone has a nice weekend looks like rain here....


Awol,
I saw that you found the lovely Bolongo resort we have honeymooned there and went back there and renewed our vows with our friends there a few years ago..
It really is a nice spot...



I will be sending everyone an email about the t-shirt ordering..It will also be on the website next week....

 

[LaRue]

Awol,
I saw that you found the lovely Bolongo resort we have honeymooned there and went back there and renewed our vows with our friends there a few years ago..
It really is a nice spot...

Kritter,
Since you have been there before, do you think it is enough out of the way that if we went to that beach, there wouldn't be too many people?

 

[kritter]

Kritter,
Since you have been there before, do you think it is enough out of the way that if we went to that beach, there wouldn't be too many people?

It is on the way to Megan's Bay...But from what we were told when we were there ...the beach is for guests only...so I am not sure that without having a room you could just show up...It has been several years since we have been there...But to get to the beach you do need to go through the main check in area of the resort...I know that website that Awol posted said they were all public beaches there...But we never saw anyone who was not staying at the resort there..Even when we had friends staying at the Frenchmens reef hotel we had to get a special pass to go and see them at their beach and they were staying there...same thing when we went to the westin in st.JOhn's to visit friends.. I do not know...maybe email????

 

[kritter]

Chris,
Did you tell your kids about the cruise yet??If so how did htey react??????

 

[GoofyDrivesACar]

Sorry - Double post.

 

[GoofyDrivesACar]

It is on the way to Megan's Bay...But from what we were told when we were there ...the beach is for guests only...so I am not sure that without having a room you could just show up...It has been several years since we have been there...But to get to the beach you do need to go through the main check in area of the resort...I know that website that Awol posted said they were all public beaches there...But we never saw anyone who was not staying at the resort there..Even when we had friends staying at the Frenchmens reef hotel we had to get a special pass to go and see them at their beach and they were staying there...same thing when we went to the westin in st.JOhn's to visit friends.. I do not know...maybe email????

Well even if we can't get to the beach, there is still that nice "Bar & Grill" there that we can check out.

On a side note, today marks the two month dance for us, anyone with me????

 

[Big15Foot]

===========
Big15foot

 

[sjcubedofct]

*sigh*

Scott and I spent a week at Bolongo Bay for our 10th anniversary five years ago. It was wonderful!!! Iggies was casual and so much fun, everyone was wonderful, everything was yummy, the grounds are lovely, we took a sunset sail on their catamaran as well as a sail to St. John's Honeymoon beach.... *sigh* It was a wonderful week. I'm not sure if day guests may visit, you may just want to give them a phone call.

As for 11 year old boy talk, Steven is on the other side of the scale, lol. He's 5'2" and 130lbs- he takes after my husband, tall, solid and a total sweetie. He just started school on the 25th, new school in a new town in a new state, so I was thanking God that in this district, junior high is grades 7-8, so he'll get to remain in elementary school one more year. He had a great first day.

We start working on the house we've bought and are renovating soon! I'm headed over to start cutting back some of the plantings, it's so overgrown. We hope to move in between the cruise and Christmas time...we're praying! And we'll take any prayers we can get!

So the cruise will be a lovely break in all the work we'll be doing!!

Can't wait to meet y'all in person!!!

Sherry

 

[kritter]

*sigh*

Scott and I spent a week at Bolongo Bay for our 10th anniversary five years ago. It was wonderful!!! Iggies was casual and so much fun, everyone was wonderful, everything was yummy, the grounds are lovely, we took a sunset sail on their catamaran as well as a sail to St. John's Honeymoon beach.... *sigh* It was a wonderful week. I'm not sure if day guests may visit, you may just want to give them a phone call.

As for 11 year old boy talk, Steven is on the other side of the scale, lol. He's 5'2" and 130lbs- he takes after my husband, tall, solid and a total sweetie. He just started school on the 25th, new school in a new town in a new state, so I was thanking God that in this district, junior high is grades 7-8, so he'll get to remain in elementary school one more year. He had a great first day.

We start working on the house we've bought and are renovating soon! I'm headed over to start cutting back some of the plantings, it's so overgrown. We hope to move in between the cruise and Christmas time...we're praying! And we'll take any prayers we can get!

So the cruise will be a lovely break in all the work we'll be doing!!

Can't wait to meet y'all in person!!!

Sherry

Sherry,

We loved Bolongo and the Duams family who runs it is great.....

Sounds like you have a ton on your plate with the house and all..the cruise will be a well deserved rest for you and much needed...Show us some pictures of the house if you get a chance.....

 

[awoltoday]

It is on the way to Megan's Bay...But from what we were told when we were there ...the beach is for guests only...so I am not sure that without having a room you could just show up...It has been several years since we have been there...But to get to the beach you do need to go through the main check in area of the resort...I know that website that Awol posted said they were all public beaches there...But we never saw anyone who was not staying at the resort there..Even when we had friends staying at the Frenchmens reef hotel we had to get a special pass to go and see them at their beach and they were staying there...same thing when we went to the westin in st.JOhn's to visit friends.. I do not know...maybe email????

Yes, you can show up to ANY beach in the virgin islands. You may NOT be able to use the hotel pool, toys, etc. But they can NOT deny you access to the beach. I really doubt that any hotel would deny access to their dining facilities, either. And how EXACTLY do you identify a hotel guest on the beach from a NON-hotel guest? Are they tattooed?

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=usvi@161&cur_section=fea&feature=30004

All 44 St. Thomas beaches are open to the public, although you can reach some of them only by walking through a resort. Hotel guests frequently have access to lounge chairs and floats that are off-limits to nonguests; for this reason you may feel more comfortable at one of the beaches not associated with a resort, such as Magens Bay (which charges an entrance fee to cover beach maintenance) or Coki.

http://www.virginisles.com/activities/beaches.html

All the beaches in the Virgin Islands are open to the public. Along the many miles of shoreline, you will find a wide variety of beaches for swimming and snorkeling.

http://www.viplayground.com/st.thomas/home.shtml

Public access to any beach on St. Thomas and all| three U.S. Virgin Islands is protected by law.

I guess on an island every place is on the way to everywhere?

 

[kritter]

Yes, you can show up to ANY beach in the virgin islands. You may NOT be able to use the hotel pool, toys, etc. But they can NOT deny you access to the beach. I really doubt that any hotel would deny access to their dining facilities, either. And how EXACTLY do you identify a hotel guest on the beach from a NON-hotel guest? Are they tattooed?

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=usvi@161&cur_section=fea&feature=30004


http://www.virginisles.com/activities/beaches.html


http://www.viplayground.com/st.thomas/home.shtml


I guess on an island every place is on the way to everywhere?

Sounds good...Frenchmens reef is also beautiful and so is the hotel there..I think it is a Marriott.....

 

[Princess Olivia]

Hey all! Just catching up. Looks like everyone is well. Glad to hear that. Had the kids yearly physical yesterday. Cameron is only 8 but he is so thin he worries me. He needs to go for weight checks every three months (yesterday he weighed 47lbs). His stomach always hurts and he refuses to swallow food sometimes. It's really awful. Childrens Hospital is trying to figure it all out.

School starts on the 30th. Need to do a bit of shopping tomorrow for sneakers etc.. I am not going all out for clothes this year. I've bought a lot for the cruise and it's silly to just let those things sit unopened until the cruise. It's hot here almost all of September.

On the St. Thomas resort talk. We like to vacation in Aruba. Usually the Radisson or the Hyatt. Lots of cruise ships come while we are there (we have done this as well). If you don't have the hotel issued towels and can't provide your room number to staff, they ask you to leave their area and move to the small section designated for non resort guests. It's annoying when I'm a cruiser but I'm grateful when I'm a guest. I'm not sure exactly how the resort owners will handle the influx of cruisers but I'm sure it's all been done before!

I'm still annoyed at the thought of having to combine Halloween and pirate night. They have two sets of costumes for the occasions. I'm going to start calling about the schedule again in a couple of weeks. Did you all know they changed the original pirate show? I hear it seriously pales in comparison to the old show. Bummer. The first show was fantastic.

 

[tchrmom]

Forgot to sign DW out!!!

Did you all know they changed the original pirate show? I hear it seriously pales in comparison to the old show. Bummer.

When did this happen? We saw it in June and it was better than ever! It was really nice to see a lot of the action on the dumbotron! Do you know what they have changed?

Dave

 

[princessh]

Hey all! Just catching up. Looks like everyone is well. Glad to hear that. Had the kids yearly physical yesterday. Cameron is only 8 but he is so thin he worries me. He needs to go for weight checks every three months (yesterday he weighed 47lbs). His stomach always hurts and he refuses to swallow food sometimes. It's really awful. Childrens Hospital is trying to figure it all out.

School starts on the 30th. Need to do a bit of shopping tomorrow for sneakers etc.. I am not going all out for clothes this year. I've bought a lot for the cruise and it's silly to just let those things sit unopened until the cruise. It's hot here almost all of September.

On the St. Thomas resort talk. We like to vacation in Aruba. Usually the Radisson or the Hyatt. Lots of cruise ships come while we are there (we have done this as well). If you don't have the hotel issued towels and can't provide your room number to staff, they ask you to leave their area and move to the small section designated for non resort guests. It's annoying when I'm a cruiser but I'm grateful when I'm a guest. I'm not sure exactly how the resort owners will handle the influx of cruisers but I'm sure it's all been done before!

I'm still annoyed at the thought of having to combine Halloween and pirate night. They have two sets of costumes for the occasions. I'm going to start calling about the schedule again in a couple of weeks. Did you all know they changed the original pirate show? I hear it seriously pales in comparison to the old show. Bummer. The first show was fantastic.

I had not hear about the pirate show. We saw the pirate show last fall, and loved it. Do you know what they changed?

I too was worried about pirate night falling on Halloween. I have contacted DCL several times and they keep telling me to wait till the documents comes out. That is why we are doing the DIS trick or treat on a sea day. I figure my kids can do the DIS trick or treat and will be pleased. From the looks of last years DCL trick or treat map, there was only 7 stops http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/cruise/photos/personal-navigator/pages/scan0016.htm Personally, I am not going to cut my time short in St. Maarten, for my kids to go to the DCL trick or treat. Hopefully they will have their trick or treating a day early. If not I am sure they will get more than enough candy from the DIS trick or treat. The DIS trick or treat will be a lot less crowded too!