Oasis of the Seas -- Trunk Bay St. John

Today's post contains many pics of some Island people I found interesting 

at Trunk Bay on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands

One of my top 10 places I've had the opportunity to visit...

Grandmother and Grand Daughter.

I think they both are just Grand!

My wonderful parents:

Always ready for a wordily adventure.

Always ready to take care of family and one another.

Being in their mid 70s has not slowed them to keep up with this wild world.

My greatest model.

All aboard the cattle bus to go back and meet the ship. 

--sad this day came to a close but who knows what lies ahead!

Of course he's "waitin on a woman" as the song goes...

The woman happens to be Island Girl our transport boat

 from our cruise ship to the island of St. John.

Always available with a smile.  

Those smiles can do almost anything!

Certified Island Girl!

Back on board The Island Girl!

Oasis of the Seas -- Trunk Bay Blue

Please accept my apologies for blinding you with blue!

Snorkel heaven.  

I snorkeled  the underwater water trail from the time I arrived until we were beckoned back to the taxi.

No matter where you turned your eyes were filled with great things to look at!

Bliss!

Can you spot the One horn butt fish?

The blue ball and the red one in the distance mark some of the underwater trail.  

--

I must admit my own personal adventure...

While snorkeling I was blissfully unaware of anything but my personal space.  

All of a sudden I smacked into something hard and was taken back quite a bit.  I popped up out of the water and there was this big (little) yellow kayak!   I ran into the life guard in the middle of the ocean!   He was sitting still watching all the other snorkelers and I came up from behind and SMACK!   My thoughts were 'only me' !  Of course the life guard apologized and inquired if I was okay but I could only laugh and wave.  Off I swam hoping he would never see me again!    -the end!

Oasis of the Seas -- Trunk Bay @ St. John, USVI

Excursion to St. John, USVI

Trunk Bay

Waaay back in 1982 I had the privilege of traveling

 to the island of St. John, United States Virgin Island.

29 years later...

The various shades of blue are still sparkling at some

of the most beautiful beaches on this ole globe.

I was somewhat excited to venture back here and I waited and waited until

the time was just right.

We spent the day at Trunk Bay and couldn't ask for more beautiful pristine conditions.

Unfortunately I didn't get to lay back in the sand and relax.  Who could close their

eyes when you're here!  I snorkeled the underwater trail the entire time we were here.

Needless to say I was quite content and happy to be there.  

When it came time to choose a picture of this tranquil place I couldn't decide what

I liked the best!  Hope you enjoy the pictures and I hope you get to visit here too!

Oasis of the Seas -- On the way to St. John

Home Sweet Home?

Come Sail away with me!

On the way to St. John USVI...

Oasis of the Seas -- Crown Bay Port

As the ship docks the shops are making sure everything is stocked up.

My favorite find?  - A Philip Stein ceramic watch.

This is the stopping spot and starting spot of the St. Thomas USVI adventure.  

The windmill would make you think this is a dutch island but it belongs to the 

good ole U.S. of A.

This charming lady was part of the welcoming committee complete with a little reggae music.

Care to dance?

This fellow was willing to indulge in a little island rhumba!

Oasis of the Seas -- Ports

It's amazing how the port can be jammed with folks scrambling to get back on the ship, scrambling to restock what needs to be restocked, scrambling to get rid of the 'stuff' that needs to be gotten rid of...., scrambling to get that last passenger who is late back on the ship.  Scramble Scramble Scramble.  

Then:

We're off and it's a ghost port.

Kudos to Royal Caribbean Cruise Line for having strict but efficient security measures.  

At each port these little shacks are set up to process all the passengers back on the ship after going through these security check points.  Other cruise lines weren't as stringent on their security.  

Yes it could possibly be a pain to wait an extra 5 - 10 minutes but when visiting other countries who wish to do crazy things to others the added security just makes you feel good.  

Ahoy down there!

16 stories down.

It was time to remove the gang-ways and prepare to sail!

Oasis of the Seas -- Frozen in Time Ice Show

The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling and Friends!

The Emperor before he received his 'new clothes'!

The Ice Show in Studio B on the Oasis of the Seas was spectacular!

The show included stories by Hans Christen Anderson. 

-The Snow Queen

-The Red Shoes

-The Ugly Duckling

-The Little Mermaid

-The Emperor's New Clothes

I snuck in a few pictures when the skaters were somewhat still.  It's a little dangerous to be snapping pictures with a flash when the skaters are being flung across the ice and are expected to land in an upright position!  The skaters did not disappoint.  The show was mesmerizing from start to finish.

Oasis of the Seas -- Richard Spacey

Meet our Cruise Director:

Richard Spacey

The cruise director is the most recognizable employee you'll remember on a cruise vacation.

Your Waiter and Room Steward definitely affect you in a more personal way but the Cruise Director is responsible for making you laugh, cry, sing, dance, tap your toe, and just enjoy yourself.  

Richard Spacey and his team delivered on every level during our cruise.  

To our enjoyment we enjoyed Richard on a previous cruise and were happy to come across him again.

Check out his Evolution of Dance on Youtube by clicking HERE!

Oasis of the Seas -- Dining

 The Dining Club arriving at their nightly meeting...

 One Hot Couple!

 Another Hot Couple

 Dessert anyone?

 Head Chef, Head Baker, Dining Director, Dining Room Director.

Everyone plays a part to bring together a fine tuned ship.

 Our Waiter -  Richard!  

Serving -  Samantha!

Richard hailed from Peru.  We enjoyed his service and conversation each evening.  

Many of the workers on the ship are from every corner of the Earth and sign up to work 

months at a time away from their families.

Nothing?

She really wanted Nothing for dessert?  

On the Oasis of the Seas you get what you want!

Oasis of the Seas -- Belly Flop Competition

 

 .

The Competition this year was dominated by the United States.
Six men entered the game but only one would be declared the winner.

It was a tight race and many aspects were judged with the utmost detail.

In the end a winner was declared for his skill in the belly touching before any other body part and for the biggest splash.  It was close but what a match!

Oasis of the Seas -- Splish Splash

High Dives, Silly Dives, Side Dives, Upside down Dives.

You name the dive and the Oasis of the Seas Dive Team delivered.

The team consisted of Olympic Medal winners, NCAA athletes and Professional divers.

I was unable to snap any pictures of the full high dive show since it happened under the stars and any flash would've been a little dangerous for the divers diving from 30 - 60 feet on a swaying ship.  The Splish Splash show was down at dusk and we were able to get some great shots of this talented group.

Oasis of the Seas -- Embarkation

Terry, Holly Harold, Ginny, Rick, Samantha, Anita

--A good time was had by all--

Oasis of the Seas -- Ms Samantha

My daughter was born in the wrong era.  

Audrey Hepburn is her mentor.

The Beatles is her band.

The flapper 20's and dapper 30's is her clothing.

She lights up my life no matter what era she is currently portraying.

Oasis of the Seas -- All decked out!

Cruising is a good vacation choice for us.

Unpack once but have adventures in many places.

Choices abound for everyone.

We had a great time with friends and family.  Each evening we met just prior to dinner looking just dapper.  This was the time to let one another know what they saw, what they did, and what they were going to do the next day.  After the meal then it was off to a show or some more all time favorite --

 people watching!

Rick and Anita

Harold and Ginny

Terry and Holly

Ms. Samantha