St. Thomas

February 8, 2023

My iPhone health app showed I was within a few steps of having 11,000 total yeseterday (4.6 miles) and most of it was done in the heat. You would have thought I would have slept well, but I had trouble drifting off. My theory? The ship was still docked and I have gotten to the point where I can't sleep without the rocking of the ship. I was aware when we sailed and after that I slept much better.

The Nieuw Statendam covered the short distance to St. Thomas overnight and we were already docked when we woke up this morning. When I looked out the balcony door I felt like I was living amongst the lifestyles of the rich and famous!

I had made up my mind that I wasn't getting off the ship today. With six ships scheduled to be in St. Thomas, I knew any beach we went to would be crazy crowded. Shopping isn't my thing so I will just stay onboard and pretend that the Nieuw Statendam is my private luxury yacht while everyone else is on shore.

My original plan for this port was to take the gondola up to the top of Paradise Point. Once I decided to not get off, Bob left to "go for a walk". I could track his location on my iPhone and it didn't take me long to see where he was headed...up the mountain to the top of Paradise Point! He at least sent a video from the top so I could see the view.

This is the way "most" people get to the top of Paradise Point.

This is the way Bob got to the top of Paradise Point...walking up this steep road.

His reward for the long strenuous hike.

This was also a view he had while at Paradise Point. 😲

I couldn't believe how quickly he made the walk UP and then back DOWN the mountain and back on the ship again. Since a strenuous hike wasn't enough exercise, he went to the gym to lift weights. Me? I was perfectly happy sitting on the balcony. Great weather, good cell phone service and a million dollar view.

And speaking of a million dollar view...I actually had a three hundred million dollar view.
This yacht, owned by Nancy Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune, was purchased for $300 million!

Going to the NY Deli & Pizza seemed like a good option for lunch while so many passengers were off the ship. I tried a Bronx Pizza (lots of meat) and Bob got a Rueben sandwich...and we both got salads. For dessert we walked back through the buffet and Bob had a pineapple soft serve ice cream cone and I got a sugar free almond cake.

I thought Bob might be ready to relax, but he left the ship again and walked along the shoreline of the marina. I changed into my swimsuit and relocated to the sea view pool with a view of the Disney Fantasy. Several times I went into the pool, but the water was very chilly so I didn't stay long. Bob showed up about 2 pm to say he was back from his walk but was going to play pickleball on the Sport's Deck. That man can't eat enough calories in a day to keep his body fueled!

This time Bob's walk took him in the opposite direction.

No shortage of available chairs by the pool today!

A little after 3 pm the pool area was getting more crowded and I knew I had been in the sun long enough. Our balcony was in the shade and an interesting place to be with all of the boat traffic coming and going. We follow several YouTube channels of people who live full time on sailboats and catamarans and I wondered how many of the boats moored in the bay were full timers? There were lots of dinghies coming and going with people shuttling between their boats and the shore.

Dinghy dock was a busy place.

Sail away from St. Thomas is always beautiful and we were able to enjoy it from the balcony. The Norwegian Encore was still tied to the dock as we left. Once we were out to sea, we showered and got ready for our 6:30 pm dinner reservation at the Asian specialty restaurant, Tamarind. Things looked hopeful for a good sunset, but then the sun disappeared into a bank of clouds and that was that.

We had eaten at Tamarind when we were on the Eurodam in Alaska last year and like it enough to repeat. Having a nice sum of onboard credit made the decision even easier. 

After we finished eating, it was too late to make the early show at the World Stage so we went back to the cabin and sat on the balcony. Off in the distance we could see lights on land and from looking at our location on Google Maps, we decided it was probably San Juan. With Bob's binoculars we could also see four other ships in the distance. One was definitely a cruise ship, but the other three were too far away to distinguish.

For starters, Bob had the Satay Sampler and I had the Lobster & Shrimp Potstickers

Main course: Bob had the Szechuan Shrimp and I had the Wasabi & Soy Crusted Beef Tenderloin. 

For dessert we both had the sorbet assortment.

It had been several years since we had last seen the "Seven Worlds One Planet" BBC Earth Show and much of it I had forgotten. The Lincoln Center Stage quartet provided the accompaniment to the video and it was so much better than on the Zaandam when only the violin and piano duo played.

Tomorrow would be the last sea day of the cruise. Seven day cruises just seem to fly by!!