Saint Thomas, USVI

Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping

by and

This was the second port of call on our family cruise aboard the "Oasis of the Seas" for Christmas 2018 (Click here to view that blog page). St. Thomas is the gateway isle of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It's known for its beaches and snorkeling spots. Territorial capital is Charlotte Amalie, founded by the Danish in the 1600s, is a busy cruise-ship port.

Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping Image Property of U.S. National Park Service via Wikimedia Commons

Useful Info for Saint Thomas 

  • Tree Limin' Extreme Zipline Tour
  • Google Search Results list for "Horseback Riding on Saint Thomas"
  • Google Search Results list for "SCUBA Diving on Saint Thomas"
  • Things to do from the "Get Your Guide" site
  • Google Search Results list for "things to do on Saint Thomas"
  • Best Hiking Trails on Saint Thomas from the "All Trails" site
  • Google Search Results list for "accommodations on Saint Thomas island"
  • Google Search Results list for "restaurants on Saint Thomas island"
Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping

The above image is Sapphire Beach, and you can easily see how pretty it is! This is where most of our group went to prior to the snorkel cruise.

Celeste and I decided to skip the morning excursions, because we wanted to be ready for the afternoon/evening catamaran cruise & snorkeling trip. So we did some minor shopping and then hung out on the ship and relaxed till our Sapphire Beach group returned and met us on the cruise ship dock.

Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping
Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping
Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping
Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping
Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping
Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping
Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping
Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping
Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping

The first snorkeling event was to see the turtles swimming in Turtle Cove on Buck Island. There were a number of turtles swimming about or searching the sandy bottom, so most everyone got a chance to see at least one turtle.

NOTE: The second snorkeling event was in Shipwreck Cove on Buck Island. Click here to view a very good video of the wreck. The video is the property of lifeinusvi.com via YouTube.

Our Traveler Icon Warning: The sun went down as the wreck snorkeling event concluded, and it began to cool down quickly. If you take this excursion in late fall or early spring, bring some warm clothes!

Oasis Cruise: Ports of Call 

Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping

 Cruise Overview

A Christmas present to our immediate family !

Come and read about our experiences on one of the largest cruise ships in the world, we documented all of our onboard & ashore adventures.

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Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping

 Paradise Island Bahamas

Our goal was to visit the Atlantis Water Park - however, you might want to investigate going there on your own. If you take the ship's excursion, you will have to get up very early and then it will get you there before the water park opens and when you depart the ship you will have to wait in lines with everyone for a long time to get on a bus to get to Paradise Island.

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Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping

 Saint Thomas, USVI

We did the Catamaran sail and snorkel to Buck’s island. The boat was nice and boat staff was great however there wasn’t much to see in the water and our trip was scheduled for 2 in the afternoon so we got back after dark. Other members of our group went to Sapphire beach prior to our excursion and enjoyed the beach and swimming.

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Caribbean Paradise with Duty-Free Shopping

 St. Maarten, Netherlands

Some of us went to the Flying Dutchman zipline and ate lunch after that at Karakter beach. We took a taxi and the driver gave us his card so we could call when we needed him. Other members of our party went to a beach and fell in love with St. Maarten. They want to go back one day.

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