Explore Under the Sea in St. Thomas

St. Thomas U.S.V.I.

Exquisite Above 

or Under the Sea

This image captured by us on one of our past trips to St. Thomas was taken from the world famous Mountain Top.   From there you can see all of the surrounding area and really get the true sense of how blue the waters really are.

St. Thomas is truly a Caribbean paradise which is featured on many Eastern Caribbean cruise itineraries.  On our most recent visit, during our Carnival Conquest cruise, we decided to explore under the sea, without even getting wet.

Coral World

Coral World (click for more pictures)

After a short cab ride from the pier, we arrived at Coral World St. Thomas.  It is the second marine park developed by Coral World International and incorporates the following attractions: Marine Museum, Shark, Stingray and Turtle Pools, Touch Pools, and naturally - The Underwater Observatory.   Now you know how we could explore under the sea without getting wet.

The park has been damaged by several hurricanes in the past.  The Underwater Observatory was undergoing some renovation when we were there this February.  

The cruise lines offer this as one of their excursions or you can take a cab there on your own.  The prices are pretty comparable but the difference is with a group you are set to a schedule while when on your own you can set your own pace and possibly include one of the optional activities, such as the SNUBA® adventure pictured here.

SNUBA® gives you complete freedom of movement and ease of breathing under water as the air tanks are located at the surface being carried on a raft.

After a short orientation a certified SNUBA guide will lead you and a group of no more than 4 people on your adventure to the shores of Coki Point where a beautiful coral reef thrives with a wide variety of sea life.

Planning on Visiting USVI?

If you are flying directly to St. Thomas you won't need a passport if you are a U.S. Citizen. Of course, if you plan to also visit other islands that aren't U.S. Territories, or if you are on a cruise, you will still need your passport.

There are plenty of things to do from dining, shopping, relaxing on a beach, to exploring the wonderful world under the sea as we have discussed here. Visit the U.S. Virgin Islands tourism page to learn more about the islands and what they have to offer.

Click for Mini-Series Articles / Images

Tip: There are several attractions near the ship's pier in St. Thomas.  You can venture off on your own if you prefer.

We'll continue with San Juan  and more about the ship in our next installments.   If you are just joining us, we have several articles in this mini-series already.   You can either page backwards or check our main article (click image).

Tropical Storm Rafael Aims for Lesser Antilles

Click (here) for Interactive Map

Tropical Storm Rafael

Forms in Atlantic

U.S. Warnings Posted

1100 PM AST SAT OCT 13 2012

...CENTER OF RAFAEL PASSES WEST OF ST. MARTIN...

Tropical Storm Rafael, which formed earlier this evening near the Lesser Antilles, is dumping heavy rain on the region, prompting the United States to issue Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings.

Cruise Ship Impact    Current Watches & Warnings

Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

SUMMARY OF 1100 PM AST...0300 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...18.4N 63.6W
ABOUT 40 MI...60 KM WNW OF ST. MARTIN
ABOUT 95 MI...150 KM ENE OF ST. CROIX
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...50 MPH...85 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...N OR 355 DEGREES AT 14 MPH...22 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1004 MB...29.65 INCHES

NHC ACTIVE STORMS (CLICK HERE)
Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking 

Cruise Impact 

Carnival swapped out two Caribbean island stops (Grand Cayman and Montego Bay) from Valor's six-night sailing, replacing them with Costa Maya (October 24) and Cozumel (October 25) in Mexico.

Carnival Pride also will forgo two stops, both in the Bahamas (Half Moon Cay and Freeport) in favor of a day at sea (October 25) and Port Canaveral (October 26).

Carnival Glory will call on Nassau (October 24) as scheduled but will not overnight or spend a second day in port, instead departing the Bahamas and spending a day at sea (October 25). Glory will then visit Port Canaveral (October 26) instead of Freeport.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas will replace a call on Falmouth, Jamaica (October 24) with a day at sea.

Norwegian Cruise Line also is making changes to some of its itineraries, with Norwegian Pearl visiting Cozumel (October 24) and Costa Maya (October 25) rather than Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.

Norwegian Jewel is stopping at Freeport in the Bahamas (October 24) instead of Great Stirrup Cay, and Charleston, South Carolina (October 26) instead of Nassau in the Bahamas.
Norwegian Sky will skip its stop at Great Stirrup Cay (October 25) and will instead spend an extra day at sea.

Disney Dream will depart Port Canaveral as scheduled on October 25 but will spend October 26 at sea, rather than stop at Castaway Cay. If weather permits the ship will call on Nassau on October 26 as scheduled.

Disney Fantasy, which is currently sailing a seven-night cruise will replace its Castaway Cay visit (October 25) with a day at sea.

Carnival: Tropical Storm Isaac Update
Disney Travel Advisories

Norwegian Cruise Line Alert

Royal Caribbean Important Updates 

 

WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------

CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY...

NONE.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* CULEBRA AND VIEQUES
* U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
* BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
* ANGUILLA...BARBUDA...ST. KITTS... NEVIS...ANTIGUA...AND MONTSERRAT
* SABA...ST. EUSTATIUS...AND ST. MAARTIN
* ST. MARTIN
* GUADELOUPE...DESIRADE...LES SAINTES...MARIE GALANTE

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* PUERTO RICO

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA...IN THIS CASE WITHIN THE
NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA.

INTERESTS IN BERMUDA SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF RAFAEL.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 50 MPH...85 KM/H...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS.  SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS...
AND RAFAEL COULD BECOME A HURRICANE BY MONDAY.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
RAINFALL...RAFAEL IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3
TO 5 INCHES...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 10 INCHES...OVER THE
LESSER ANTILLES AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.  THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE
LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES...ESPECIALLY IN AREAS
OF MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.  1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN IS EXPECTED IN
CULEBRA AND VIEQUES.

WIND...TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD ACROSS THE
WARNING AREA TONIGHT. TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE OVER
PUERTO RICO TONIGHT AND SUNDAY.

SURF...DANGEROUS SURF CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE LESSER ANTILLES
AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS THROUGH SUNDAY.

STORM SURGE...A STORM SURGE OF 1 TO 2 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS
IS POSSIBLE IN AREAS OF ONSHORE FLOW IN THE WARNING AREA. 

HISTORICAL DATA:      Storm Archive         Graphics Archive                       

730 PM AST FRI OCT 12 2012
 
...LOW PRESSURE AREA OVER THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA BECOMES TROPICAL
STORM RAFAEL...