Cruzan Rum
November 10 is Alex's birthday and we'd be spending it today on the island of St. Croix. We picked up a birthday pin for him at the front desk which Janie made him wear and then we boarded our bus for our St. Croix tour. We had selected the West End Highlights tour, which included stops at the Cruzan Rum Distillery, Botanical Gardens and Whim Plantation. The tour was very disorganized as there wasn't enough space for all of the people taking it so some people had to be driven around it a taxi. Then those people tried to get on our bus after the first stop and our driver had to escort them off.
Our first stop was the Cruzan Rum Factory, an old rum distillery that dates back to 1760. We were given a guided tour of the distillery where they showed us how rum was made. Then we were given a free sample of Cruzan rum which prompted us to buy some small sample bottles at the gift shop before boarding the bus.
St. Croix Botanical Gardens
Our next stop was at the St. George Village Botanical Gardens, where we walked through tropical fauna amid the ruins of a Danish-run sugar plantation.
Whim Plantation
Our final stop was at the Whim Plantation Museum where costumed performers showed us what life was like in the 18th century on a sugar plantation. Sugar cane cultivation began on the estate in 1754 with slaved African labor doing most of the harvesting. We toured the estate's greathouse and windmill and grounds before boarding the bus for the ride back to port.
St. Croix
We spent some time strolling the dock at St. Croix before getting back on the Magic.
Twice Charmed Again
The evening show was an encore of Twice Charmed, which Rebecca had to see again.
Pirate Night
After dinner, it was 'pirate night' aboard the Magic so we dressed up in our pirate togs for dinner in Lumiere's, which isn't the most 'pirately' of restaurants. Only Janie and Rebecca chose to be in costume for this cruise, with Rebecca opting for "Punk Pirate Princess". Thomas did wear a Pirates of the Caribbean t-shirt while J. R opted for "Pittsburgh Pirate" with a batting practice shirt and ball cap from his hometown team.
Pirate Party
After dinner, it was time to go up to deck 9 for the pirate party and fireworks at sea, a Disney exclusive.
Night on the Magic
We retired to our room after the pirate party to be greeted by a towel monkey, courtesy of our stateroom host.
