Today was a whirlwind tour of St. Thomas, an island I’d like to come back to. Our morning trip was called “Coral Land and Coral Sea,” and it began with a jitney ride to Coral World, a “Marine Park and Underwater Observatory” - that is, a really cool aquarium complex. We started in the Nautilus semi-submarine, which looks like a normal ferry on top but has a very cool underwater bubble with big viewing windows. We spent about 45 minutes cruising around Smith Bay, but most of the pictures didn’t come out so we just paid attention to the views (including a diver feeding fish ). When we were finished on the reef, we climbed back on deck and returned to the dock.

When we entered the Coral World area, A and I headed for the gift shop first. After buying a few souvenirs, we toured the exhibits: the Caribbean Reef Experience, the Underwater Observatory (I mailed a postcard in the underwater mailbox), the turtle and ray pools, and the Marine Gardens. By the time we finished, we had to hightail it back to the bus. The trip back to the pier was a more direct route than the scenic trip we had on the way out, but I still got a good picture of a roadside stand.

After lunch on board the boat (free, as opposed to paying on land), we went out to the Havensight Shopping Mall. This is actually a collection of eight strip malls, filled with a mixture of touristy stuff and expensive jewelry. I did note that the crap in St. Thomas seems to be higher quality than the crap in St. Maarten! I happened to spot a set of St. Thomas pieces for the Cat’s Meow Village, and I picked one out for my collection. We also stopped in at the Sanrio store, where I picked up an adult-size pair of peacock slippers that actually fit me! We investigated the Paradise Peak skyride, but decided $16/person was much too expensive. After visiting a few more stores, I was tired and went back to the ship.

Our last dinner was reasonably pleasant; we ordered two rounds of drinks and got a bit tips. We struggled to deliver a gratuity envelope to the bar server we dubbed “Soda Guy” - he always had sodas ready for me before I asked for them - because he disappeared just before we gave the envelopes to our waiters! We visited the photo gallery to pick up our two formal portraits (at $25 per 8×10, we will be making color copies for family!) and then returned to our room to pack. One of the TV channels is airing a preview of the “Cruise in Review” video - and we’re in it! It’s a very brief shot, but now I really want the video. I’m hoping we’ll be able to put in an order for it after the cruise is over, so I don’t have to decide right now if I want to cough up the $25.