Crown Point -- Docking in St. Thomas??

[sail7seas]

Seeing as no HAL ships have been in the Caribbean for so many months now, we have not heart any news on this board about the progress of the building at Crown Point.

Has anyone heard on other boards (or someplace else) whether they are progressing with building/opening the shops and facilities there? Or is there still nothing up there and a lousy place to dock?

We're never happy if we hear we have to dock there vs. Havensight but it should be better once they get the area built up some.

[gizmo]

As I always posted, I like Crown Bay and never had a problem with a ship docking there. Much, much better than tendering but that is only my opinion.

Yes, there is progress and news. Princess contracted to dock 2 of their ships there starting in Oct. There is lots of information about this on CC.

[FLACRUISER99]

The info I have read says that Princess is going to start docking at Crown Point starting 10/1/06 but the mall will not open until 11/1/06.

[RustaRoo]

ARe you referring to Crown Bay Dock? Four months ago there were no shops, everything still under construction.

[bruce-r]

If you have an upcoming cruise visiting St. Thomas, www.********** has the schedules up thru December published. Some HAL ships will dock at Havensight and some will be at Crown Bay. For our cruise, the Zuiderdam will be docked at Havensight, which pleases me. I plan on renting a car and both Avis and Budget have an office there.

[FLACRUISER99]

You can check this website for St Thomas docking Info http://www.**********/general_usvi/cruiseship/

[sail7seas]

[B]Yes........I've gone to ********** for ages to determine where our ship will be.

Thank you. I was interested in learning the status of Crown Bay......not whether we'd be going to Crown Bay. :)

I wouldn't have any idea what is written on the Princess Board. I never go there. I never go to Celebrity Board either. Just the HAL board for me.

I'm not interested in Princess or Celebrity or Carnival or or or......just HAL.

That's why I asked. I was sure someone here would have read other boards and would generously share what they have learned there about Crown Bay.

Thanks.[B]

[Krazy Kruizers]

Boy there was a time when VINOW would only give the ship schedule for a month at a time.

I will certainly pass this on to others that the schedule is listed through December 2006.

[FLACRUISER99]

[b]Yes........I've gone to ********** for ages to determine where our ship will be.

Thank you. I was interested in learning the status of Crown Bay......not whether we'd be going to Crown Bay. :)

I wouldn't have any idea what is written on the Princess Board. I never go there. I never go to Celebrity Board either. Just the HAL board for me.

I'm not interested in Princess or Celebrity or Carnival or or or......just HAL.

That's why I asked. I was sure someone here would have read other boards and would generously share what they have learned there about Crown Bay.

Thanks.[b] If you read my post it states the mall will not open until 11/1/06.
sorry I mentioned Princess

[sail7seas]

Thank you, Jtutak.

Why would you be sorry you mentioned Princess?
Just because I don't care for Princess, so what. There are millions who love it. :)\

Actually, I think it great if the Mall really will open 11/1/06. That date is coming quickly. Hope they open on schedule.

[Betsy's Mom]

As a semi local I can tell you that nothing will open on Nov. 1st. Leases are not even signed yet! Some day, some day all on Island time.
B.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I can give one reason why we do not like Crown Bay --- it takes forever for the cabs to get to and return from Coki Point.

AHHH - make that 2 - the only we were there a couple of years ago we had a hard time convincing a cab driver that we wanted to go back to Crown Bay. All they wanted to do was to go to Havensight!!

[ESLO]

We are also concerned as we will on the Noordam in October.

We will be sailing on her first cruise to the Caribbean on October 14th after returning from her European assignment all summer.

We have not been informed of our docking location within our documents.

Anchoring and launching to Front Street is easy. I personally am familiar with Havensight. But, Crown Bay will be new to me and I think to many others.

Would like a heads up on this so we would familiar with our movements upon landing and the transportation needs we would need.

Any information would be appreciated.

Regards,
:) ESLO
(Ed & Bev)

[peaches from georgia]

We are also concerned as we will on the Noordam in October.

We will be sailing on her first cruise to the Caribbean on October 14th after returning from her European assignment all summer.

We have not been informed of our docking location within our documents.

:) ESLO
(Ed & Bev)
As stated on several posts the info is on www.**********. The Noordam will be at Havensight on your October cruise. Docking locations are all listed on the vinow site through December.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I was excited about the Vinow site and glad to see we'll be at Havensight. So I clicked to make it a Favorite Place for our next cruise and found out I already had it there.

How pathetic is that? Mind like a sieve. Anyway, thanks for posting, jtutak and bruce-r!!!:)

[elmorejj]

One good thing about Crown Bay, is the taxis can take you right to your ships gangway, whereas at Havensight they can only drop you off near the shops. This can make for a very long walk to your ship, especially if it`s the last one at the pier.....jean:cool:

[skywalkervadar]

Wow! I've heard of island time but Crown Bay is becoming a joke. When we docked there on our Zuiderdam cruise in December 2004 the buildings were up and all it looked like they needed was some finishing (ie. stucco, etc) on the outside plus landscaping and tenants. A year later in December 2005 when we arrived on the Spirit, we noticed that the stucco-ing ,etc was mostly finished and they'd begun landscaping. I'm amazed that by October 2006 they still won't be open.

Talk about taking your time. A complex like that anywhere in Canada or the U.S. would have been built in 2 months. Ahh well. We certainly live very differently though that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[Sea King]

If it takes as long to complete the mall as it has to bring a casino into St. Thomas, we're in for a very very very long wait!

Crown Bay IMO is horrible; the only place it's near is itself

Havensight is much better in terms of stores at the dock and near the facility + you can walk to the downtown area (a must if the port is toward the end of your cruise:))

my favorite is tendering: no cabs or other transports; no waiting for cabs (a wonderful experience especially at Havensight where you don't leave until the bus is full) and no long lines outside the gates, depending on when you get back ..

the only downsides to the tenders are weather and time

just think Crown Bay is "the pits"

[Krazy Kruizers]

IF you can get a taxi to take you to Crown Bay!!

[gizmo]

KK, We have never had a problem getting a taxi to take us to Crown Bay.:confused:
I never thought it was the pits. I actually preferred over Havensight. Less crowds and as Elmorejj mentioned the taxis dropped you off at the ship.

Tendering. :eek: Ok, if you have nothing planned other wise it can turn into a horror story. On the cruise that we tendered, people were sitting in lounges waiting from 8:00 in the morning and never got on shore untill 11:30- 12:00 . There were many angry people since it was a
Sunday and the stores close around noon - 1:00. Many pax's day was shot because of this, not only for shopping but other things they planned on doing .

If you tender from the outer harbor that is another story. It is a very looooooooong ride.

[Sea King]

The reason Crown Bay is less crowded is simple: there's nothing there.

You get off the ship and leave

The 3-4 times I was @Crown Bay, I didn't really have a "major problem" getting a taxi back from down town

Really have trouble understanding why it is more difficult to tender in St. Thomas than it is in Half Moon Cay, Cozumel or any of the other Carribean Islands ..

the single biggest problem getting off a ship in St. Thomas is US Customs

if they don't show up early enough "for whatever reason", it's a nightmare for everyone, tender or no tender

I did forget about 1 advantage Crown Bay has over Havensight: there's a heli-port outside the gate:rolleyes:

[sail7seas]

The few times we docked at Crown Bay we didn't like it at all. Maybe once they get their act together and open the shops it might be a more pleasant area. As it is now, it isn't very pleasant. We've been to St. Thomas so many times that it is likely if we dock there, we won't bother getting off the ship.

We much prefer docking at Havensight and enjoy being able to walk downtown. We always get off the ship here (unless it is pouring rain) as we really like that walk.

[HeatherInFlorida]

...................Crown Bay IMO is horrible; the only place it's near is itself

.................

This just cracked me up:D :D :D ...

But I'm huffing and puffing just thinking about the walk from Havensight into town!!! Sail, I am impressed. I know you're a great walker, but I'll never forget the year DH and I did this is the burning summer heat. By the time I got into Charlotte Amalie all we could think about was an air conditioned bar. Never in my life have I been that hot and I'll never take that walk again:( .

[Mollynme]

Havensight is much better in terms of stores at the dock and near the facility + you can walk to the downtown area (a must if the port is toward the end of your cruise:))
How far is it to walk from the docks to Charlotte Amalie? I'll be there in November and was hoping to avoid taxis if possible.

[sail7seas]

It takes us about 30-35 minutes to walk from the downtown back to the ship. We usually only walk one way. If we walk downtown in the morning, some of the time we will taxi back. If we took a taxi in the morning, we almost always walk back.

Lots of people walk it but Heather is right that it can be hot. DH and I are used to walking so it isn't a struggle for us.

[HeatherInFlorida]

That really isn't that long a walk, but from the ship it looks much shorter. The problem was we tried it on a sweltering day in July. I'm sure it would be a nice walk if the weather was a bit cooler.

[Sea King]

Give or take, the walk is about 30-40 minutes .. it can take 10 minutes though just to get out of Havensight depending on where your ship is located at the dock .. if you're on HAL, you can just bet you'll be last -

Heather and Sails make valid points .. the heat can definitely be a factor

Total distance is about 1 mile from middle of dock to downtown (the flea market)

if you're not a walker, suggest you think twice .. hot or not so hot (it never gets cool), a mile can really be tough if you're not used to it ..

the good parts of the walk are no hills and beautiful scenery (provided they're not ripping up the streets)

also keep in mind "packages" can add up and can slow you down on the way back

of course if you don't shop, no problem:rolleyes:

then again, if you have shopped and paid cash:eek:, you'll definitely be lighter in the wallet:D

try this if you've never been: take the tax to town; then decide if you want to walk back

[Djptcp]

Thanks so much for posting the Virgin Islands Now website with the cruise ship docking schedule. We were disappointed when we thought we were going to have to dock at Crown Bay. We like docking at Havensight because of the shopping in close proximity and I see the Zuiderdam will be there on Dec. 20th.

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