Getting around in S. Thomas has kept me up at night... I need a reality check please!

[MiaS13]

We are going to be in St. Thomas on the Solstice in March with 5 other ships in town, with a total pax capacity of up to 17,000. Us and Eurodam are the only ships that are not coming from foreign soil - and will not have to go through customs. We are also the earliest ships in at 8:00am.

 

My DH has put me on a budget, so every dollar counts...and with all your super practical advice I have narrowed down two possible itineraries for the day ... but have a few assumptions I need cleared up before I can book the one I like best... Help me!

 

What I'd really like to do - Be the first ones off the ship at 8 .... walk to the K mart and take the dollar taxi to Saphire beach.... be there by 8:45 .... stay a couple of hours.... get the dollar taxi or a private taxi back to port at 11:00 ... make it back to the ship in time to join a "champagne sail" excursion to Honeymoon beach leaving at 12:15.

 

The question marks in my head are: - How early are you really allowed to leave the ship? (first time cruiser). Am I wrong to think that there should be no traffic going to the east end at 8am? How early will the beach get crowded? Am I wrong to think that traffic should be in the direction of from CB/WICO to the East end, and that I should have no problem coming back to WICO around 11? :confused:

 

The alternative would be to take an early Sea Safari excursion right from the dock to Christmas cove and another beach ... get back by 12:45 and lounge by the pool since I'm assuming that by this point the whole Island will be overrun with traffic and crowds.

 

Both of these excursions I'm interested in look really popular based on what I've read here... so I'd like decide and book one, like, yesterday!

[Betsy's Mom]

Book the excursion that leaves from the ship's pier. You will probably not be able to get off the ship at 8 as I believe the ship itself has to clear regardless of where it comes in from. The 8 is an arbitrary number in my experience. First off are those who booked ship excursions, then other folks. THe $$ safaris are full of school children and working folks at early hours. I very much doubt you would get on the beach at Sapphire much before 9:30. You would be cutting it short leaving the beach at 11 unless you took a regular taxi back. Traffic can back up at all times of day on the island. There are only 2 main roads that you can take to the docks and accidents do happen. You would be really pushing yourself, relax, enjoy your vacation. Sapphire is an okay beach, but not the end of the world if you miss it.:)

B.

[MiaS13]

Thanks so much B. You know when you really love an idea and don't want to come to terms with the truth of it? hehe...

 

I guess I wanted to do it all... a St. Thomas Beach AND St. John snorkeling...

 

Are there any peaceful activities in St. Thomas in the afternoon? Or should I really plan on just going back to the ship at 1pm?

[Got2Cruise]

I agree with this. When we had STT as a port, the US Immigrations decided to "go by the book" and it took forever to get off the ship. Every once in awhile they will do this, at various U.S. ports. It happened to us in STT, San Juan, and NYC. Hopefully everything will go smoothly for you. I would relax at the pool, or go shopping for a couple of hours if there was time before the excursion.

 

Book the excursion that leaves from the ship's pier. You will probably not be able to get off the ship at 8 as I believe the ship itself has to clear regardless of where it comes in from. The 8 is an arbitrary number in my experience. First off are those who booked ship excursions' date=' then other folks. THe $$ safaris are full of school children and working folks at early hours. I very much doubt you would get on the beach at Sapphire much before 9:30. You would be cutting it short leaving the beach at 11 unless you took a regular taxi back. Traffic can back up at all times of day on the island. There are only 2 main roads that you can take to the docks and accidents do happen. You would be really pushing yourself, relax, enjoy your vacation. Sapphire is an okay beach, but not the end of the world if you miss it.:)

B.[/quote']

[kendon]

If it were me, I'd just book the FULL day catamaran sail, with lunch, to St. John. Less "getting here to there" to think about and it's a great excursion anyway.

[WarmWaters]

Last month when we were there on the Eurodam, the Solstice docked with us at Crown Bay, I dont think there is a K mart near the dock in Crown Bay. You might want to check where your ship will be docking, I think it will be Crown Bay.

 

The day we were there, we had 6 ships in port and I was worried about the traffic and the crowds ( after reading on here ) but I was pleasantly surprised. The roads were not that busy and Sapphire Beach was not busy at all. We used the $2 safari taxi to stop at the flea market and go to Sapphire Beach and we had a fabulous day in St Thomas.

 

Somewhere here on the board I gave info on how to find the $2 taxi at Crown Bay and some useful info. Just do a search under my name if you need info on where to find the taxi from Crown Bay ( if in fact you will dock at Crown)

[MiaS13]

Last month when we were there on the Eurodam, the Solstice docked with us at Crown Bay, I dont think there is a K mart near the dock in Crown Bay. You might want to check where your ship will be docking, I think it will be Crown Bay.

 

The day we were there, we had 6 ships in port and I was worried about the traffic and the crowds ( after reading on here ) but I was pleasantly surprised. The roads were not that busy and Sapphire Beach was not busy at all. We used the $2 safari taxi to stop at the flea market and go to Sapphire Beach and we had a fabulous day in St Thomas.

 

Somewhere here on the board I gave info on how to find the $2 taxi at Crown Bay and some useful info. Just do a search under my name if you need info on where to find the taxi from Crown Bay ( if in fact you will dock at Crown)

I have been wondering about Crown Bay too. Specially since the ferry to Water Island isright there and also Emerald beach - the morning excursion would no longer leave from the ship's dock... it would throw my plans out of whack! I'm trying to avoid crowds and traffic, while still seeing as much as I can, on a budget. Not too much to ask for, right? ;-)

[m steve]

why would you walk to KMart?

[MiaS13]

why would you walk to KMart?

Because if you're docked at Havensight/WICO, that's where the Bus stop is... I'm sure it's not as simple as it sounds though :-)

[Hlitner]

I want to address the OPs comment about being one of two US ships in port. When it comes to Immigration and Customs it in not relevant. All the ships are coming from international waters and all are treated the same. Each ship will need to be cleared by the authorities and how fast this happens is almost like rolling the dice. It could be 20 min, or 2 hours!

 

Hank

[MiaS13]

I want to address the OPs comment about being one of two US ships in port. When it comes to Immigration and Customs it in not relevant. All the ships are coming from international waters and all are treated the same. Each ship will need to be cleared by the authorities and how fast this happens is almost like rolling the dice. It could be 20 min, or 2 hours!

 

Hank

That may be true, but based on other CC members who have been on the same itinerary, they were not required to show up for a passport check in the dining hall or anywhere else in the ship before debarking, unlike a lot of other ships. I've searched the forums here for immigration in St. John, and the info. I found was the same - If your ship has come from a US territory, theoretically you don't have to go through the customs muster. It is possible that the ship still had to clear customs with a manifest check behind the scenes or something. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any official sources that confirmed or denied any of this, besides members' personal experiences...

[lhbsurf]

Mia - I am going to be sure to show your itinerary to my husband - he accuses me of trying to kill him by dragging him everywhere lol. I, like you, enjoy seeing everything I possibly can - I hate to think I am missing anything!!!

 

However, I am afraid you will be a nervous wreck with the itinerary you outline... as others have said - you never really know how long it is going to take you to get off the ship...plus those with ship excursions are given priority. We went to Sapphire Beach with my 16 year old daughter and two friends in October 2009 (after much research on my part). And while we enjoyed it - I think the catamaran sail/snorkel/beaches on St. John are much nicer.

 

I would poke around the shops for a while if they are close by and save Sapphire for a different trip - just my 2 cents :)

[topspot]

When I wanted to avoid the traffic in St. Thomas, I did a half day sail with Sail Island Girl. They picked us up at the dock, just DH,DD and I on sailboat, but there could have been three others. Light snacks (and I do mean very light ritz crackers and cheese) plenty of soft drinks before snorkel and open bar after. No island traffic;)

[lotro]

MiaS...since this is your first cruise, I understand why you would want to pack as much in as possible...I'm still doing that and I'm on cruise #16 at the end of this month. My guess is that this probably won't be your only cruise...and St Thomas is a popular port...you will probably go there many times. In my exerpience, what sounds doable in theory isn't so once you factor in all of the unknowns. I would pick one of your choices and then save another one for the "next time." Enjoy your first cruise!!

[MiaS13]

message posted twice!

[MiaS13]

Mia - I am going to be sure to show your itinerary to my husband - he accuses me of trying to kill him by dragging him everywhere lol. I, like you, enjoy seeing everything I possibly can - I hate to think I am missing anything!!!

 

However, I am afraid you will be a nervous wreck with the itinerary you outline... as others have said - you never really know how long it is going to take you to get off the ship...plus those with ship excursions are given priority. We went to Sapphire Beach with my 16 year old daughter and two friends in October 2009 (after much research on my part). And while we enjoyed it - I think the catamaran sail/snorkel/beaches on St. John are much nicer.

 

I would poke around the shops for a while if they are close by and save Sapphire for a different trip - just my 2 cents :)

 

I think our husbands would be best friends! LOL.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice. Now I'm secretly hoping we'll dock in CB so that we can walk to Emeral beach if time allows.... just in case ;)

[dvan68]

If you still want to do a beach in the afternoon - you can hit the Marriott - Morningstar Beach - very close to the port, and free access to the beach.