Charlotte Amalie Archives

November 18, 2015May 29, 2019

Rum Island Pub, an Island Oasis in the Middle of Charlotte Amalie

Looking for a bar with a good beach vibe to sit and enjoy a cold drink while exploring Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas? You might want to try Rum Island Pub – a bar in the middle of Drake’s Passage that feels like a little island oasis in the middle of a bustling town.

We visited Rum Island Pub a few weeks ago as we wanted to find out more about this bar that has “rum” in its name. It had to be good with rum in its name, right? Well it was.

Trish and Doug (CeeBass), some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, are the owners of this unique bar that sits in a passageway of Charlotte Amalie called Drake’s Passage.

Rum Island Pub consists of a covered open air bar with additional outdoor seating and a great gift shop with lots of locally made items including apparel, jewelry, art, photos, lotions and even hot sauce.

Rum Island Pub is also the location of the one and only Husband Day Care. This is one place guys surely won’t mind hanging out while their ladies shop. Enjoy a few rum drinks or St. John Brewers beers, listen to some good music, chat with other day care patrons and enjoy the warm Rum Island breeze while you wait. Be sure to get a picture in front of the Husband Day Care sign to show your friends how you got to spend the day.

Rum Island Pub was under a different name when Trish and CeeBass took it over a few years ago. The location has a pretty long bar history in fact, as it was formerly the site of the first Duffy’s Love Shack (now in Red Hook) until Hurricane Marilyn came along in 1995 and deposited a large boat on top of it. The building was re-built and is now the perfect spot for Rum Island Pub.

What drinks to try? We each sampled (ok, drained) a signature drink called the RIP – Rum Island Punch. The RIP comes with instructions from the bartender (order one to find out what they are!) and they’re delicious. A mixture of Cruzan rums and fruit juices with a floater of 151 to finish the job; these babies are tasty and potent.

We also sampled one of their Famous Nutwackers – a bushwacker with peanut butter & chocolate…needless to say it was also a hit.

Stop by the island – Rum Island that is, and say hi to Trish and CeeBass on your next visit to St. Thomas. Pull up a chair at the bar, try a delicious Rum Island Pub rum drink, check out the local VI crafts in their shop, and be sure to tell them cheers from Rum Therapy!

Have you been to Rum Island Pub? Tell us about it!

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Find Rum Island Pub on our St. Thomas Map

To see more St. Thomas and other island posts, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

July 8, 2013June 6, 2019

Magic Ice, St. Thomas

We don’t usually associate freezing temperatures with a tropical vacation, but on our recent trip to St. Thomas we experienced just that – and enjoyed it!

Located on the Waterfront in downtown Charlotte Amalie (just down from Bones Rum and Big Kahuna Rum Shack), Magic Ice might be a fun way to escape the tropical heat while checking out some intricate ice sculptures and an ice bar!

Once you enter the lobby of Magic Ice, you are given a huge parka with a fur rimmed hood, velcro leg warmers in case you show up in shorts and mittens.

After suiting up in our arctic gear, our guide led us into the “cold room” filled with magical ice sculptures backlit with a variety of beautiful colors.

When we visited, the sculptures included a myriad of sea creatures, an ice throne that you could sit in, an ice slide for the young or young at heart and various island and pirate themed pieces, such as this skull and crossbones.

New ice sculptures are created every six months, when ice artists from all over the globe are flown in to create a new gallery of ice art.

At the end of the ice room we came across the ice bar complete with a great variety of Cruzan Rums and were treated to our choice of a VERY COLD shot of rum…yum…

After about 20 minutes, we exited the ice room, got back in to our tropical attire and left cooler and refreshed to go explore more of the waterfront in Charlotte Amalie.

Visit their website to find out more about Magic Ice, St. Thomas

Find Magic Ice on our St. Thomas Map

To see more posts on St. Thomas and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

June 5, 2013June 6, 2019

Big Kahuna Rum Shack

Big Kahuna Rum Shack, a bar with funky beach and surf decor is located right on the downtown waterfront in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

Big Kahuna is a great place to stop and cool off after a day of shopping or exploring Charlotte Amalie.

Choose from a selection of a rums,

Ice cold beer,

or a variety of cold or frozen island drinks.

We tried a Frozen Rum Runner with a Float the Boat – an extra shot of rum for a buck.

In addition, Big Kahuna offers a good selection of eats as well as their exclusive and homemade Love Juice – an infusion of blueberries, strawberries and pineapple in vodka, that they “promise” will be the best shot or drink you’ve ever tried.

Order a cold one and sit on the patio under an umbrella while watching the activity in beautiful Charlotte Amalie Harbor. We’ll be back Big Kahuna and next time we’ll have to give that Love Juice a try…

Find Big Kahuna Rum Shack on our St. Thomas Map

To see more posts on St. Thomas and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

April 2, 2011September 22, 2019

Seaplane Adventure

Years ago, sitting in the sun at Paradise Point at the top of the St. Thomas tram drinking my very first Bushwhacker (certainly not my last!) I saw a seaplane curve around Charlotte Amalie and gently splash down in the water. Quite cool, I thought – must put that one on the list.

Fast forward 10-15 years (wow, where does the time go?) and we find ourselves in St. Croix needing to get to St. Thomas. The two choices: 1. Ferry, cost $50.00, time 90 minutes 2. Seaplane, cost $80.00 (plus $1.00 per pound of luggage over 30 pds), time 20 minutes. A little more costly, but much shorter travel time and hey – it was on THE LIST.

We called and booked our flight on Seaborne Airlines for early the next morning and packed our suitcases. Unfortunately, both suitcases were over the 30 pd. limit (just the snorkeling equipment, I’m sure…), so there was an additional charge of about $10.00 each.

The next morning we headed down to the Seaplane Terminal in Christiansted. There were just a few clouds in the sky, but it looked like a beautiful morning. We were quite early, so we checked in and then headed over to Angry Nates for a warm cup o’ joe. The clouds began building and we had a quick 5 minute resulting in a beautiful rainbow over the harbor!

Sipping our coffee, we watched as our plane landed in the harbor and taxied over to the terminal. We headed over to the waiting area to board. It appeared that there were only 4 other people on our flight.

The pilots opened the doors and let the previous passengers out, then welcomed us on. All luggage was packed under the plane and we were allowed only to bring on our cameras (and a small handbag).

One of the pilots gave our safety briefing and then slid up in the cockpit and we were off!

Besides being a bit loud, I was amazed at how smoothly the plane zipped along the water during takeoff.

Once in the air, it was a beautiful sight looking back on St. Croix and the different hues in the water around it.

After about 10 minutes, we saw Water Island and St. Thomas in the distance.

As we approached St. Thomas it seemed we were going to fly right into the hillside around Charlotte Amalie – a little concerning, but then suddenly we took a sharp turn and a pretty steep dive right down into the harbor. We could see the cruise ships and mega yachts in port and the tram in the distance.

It was an odd feeling to set down in the water, but smooth once again. Nice ride, nice experience!

As I looked over towards the tram, I couldn’t help but wonder if someone was sitting up on Paradise Point drinking their first Bushwhacker and adding a seaplane ride to their list!

To see more posts on St. Croix and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC
All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

February 22, 2011August 12, 2020

Bones Rum

As we prepared for a recent USVI adventure, we read about the Bones Rum shops in St. Thomas and St. John and had to add it to the list of places to visit. Little did we know, we would actually end up visiting both Bones Rum locations the same day!
(Note: the Bones Rum Shop closed in St. John in 2013, so be sure to visit Bones at their store in St. Thomas)

We weren’t able to find an address for the Bones Rum Shop in St. Thomas but read that it was located across from Charlotte Amalie, so we started walking. After searching a bit, we ran right into it. It’s located on Waterfront Drive just a little west of where you catch the ferry (from Charlotte Amalie) to St. John. (Find Bones Rum on our St. Thomas Map)

Bones Rum, St. Thomas

The store carries a variety of branded merchandise and features a bar with free rum tasting and “self pour drinks” – excellent concept! We eagerly agreed to the free rum tasting and must agree with the Bones Rum slogan “Smooth Rum for the Rough Seas”…

For $8.00 you can get a glass of one of the featured varieties of frozen drinks (including Painkillers) and then add the rum yourself! For an extra $3.00 you can get it in a Bones Rum glass that you can take home.

We sampled some of their tasty BBQ sauces along with our rum drinks.

At the time of writing, Bones Rum is only available in their store on St. Thomas, so be sure to bring a bottle (or two) home if you like it.

Here’s one of the recipe’s from the Bones Recipe Card

Pirates Grog
(makes one)

2. oz. Bones Rum
2 oz. water
3/4 oz. Lime Juice
1 tsp Brown Sugar
2 cloves
1 Cinnamon Stick

Heat in a saucepan and serve in a mug.

Find the Bones Rum Store on our St. Thomas Map

To see more posts on these and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory