ST. THOMAS review

[satxdiver]

The beach is just as good as it ever has been you say???? In doing research on ST Thomas and the recovery from the hurricane Magen’s Bay has been listed recently as unsafe for swimming due to high levels of E. Coli in the water. Following this on the St Thomas site ********** under Recovery blog and the beach conditions. Last time a majority of the beaches showed unsafe was Dec 8. Latest update says none of the St Thomas beaches were tested fir the period Dec8-15. No further updates since Dec 15 as of yesterday. Princess or any other cruise line should not be offering excursions to Magen’s Bay at this time.

 

We will be in St Thomas on the Royal in a couple weeks and will not go to any beaches. We will get off and contribute to the economy though.

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I had not thought about what happened to their raw sewage disposal plant(s). They most likely were hard hit if not destroyed allowing raw sewage to escape into the waters around the island causing contamination. It may be continuing as well if they have not been able to stop the leaks and get the sewage plant back online. The plant needs electricity to operate and from what I have seen their power grid is not totally operational further hampering the containment issue. I wonder why Princess and other ships do not warn their pax to stay out of the water. Anyone received this warning on a cruise to St Thomas?

[azbirdmom]

The beach is just as good as it ever has been you say???? In doing research on ST Thomas and the recovery from the hurricane Magen’s Bay has been listed recently as unsafe for swimming due to high levels of E. Coli in the water. Following this on the St Thomas site ********** under Recovery blog and the beach conditions. Last time a majority of the beaches showed unsafe was Dec 8. Latest update says none of the St Thomas beaches were tested fir the period Dec8-15. No further updates since Dec 15 as of yesterday. Princess or any other cruise line should not be offering excursions to Magen’s Bay at this time.

 

We will be in St Thomas on the Royal in a couple weeks and will not go to any beaches. We will get off and contribute to the economy though.

 

 

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Just reporting what we experienced. The water was clear, beautiful, and packed with swimmers when we were there on December 13th. No foul odors. The recovery info that you cited didn't have a report for St. Thomas and in the beach section it indicated that Magen's Bay was open. I was actually on alert for murky water as I had a reaction after swimming at Las Caletas near Puerto Vallarta a few days after a tropical storm hit there a couple of months ago.

 

By the way, I chatted with a woman who went to St. John's. She said the beach wasn't as good as she remembered and she hardly saw any fish when snorkeling. There were also porta potties as the bathroom facilities had been destroyed. Princess advised them about that before they left and gave them an option to cancel.

 

It is a work in progress but I don't regret going to St. Thomas and definitely do not regret our visit to Magen's Bay.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. We were on the Royal's Dec. 10-20 cruise also. They did have water available for purchase as we left the ship. It was a small table set up for it. We had to bring the striped towels with us when we took a snorkeling excursion in Bonaire. They did not have them available as we left the ship.

[SteelMagnolia9]

I appreciate your update on St. Thomas. It is on the itinerary for my May cruise. Looking forward to more reviews on the impacted islands as progress is being made.

 

@all - I always buy the Princess water package. 12 bottles for $6.90 - required to be paid and reserved online in advance - waiting in my cabin when I arrive. Easy to grab a bottle from the frig to take on shore.

 

If buying water from a street vendor, make sure the bottle is properly sealed and is not ‘reused’ and filled with tap water.

 

And yes, as the final hours of this Christmas Day are winding down, and as I am trying to unwind, I wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[RedHeadArmyWife]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I have never cared for those open air vehicles, which the drivers try to Pack as full as they can, except for going back and forth between the ship and downtown. And when the ship is docked at Havensight, we walk to town.

 

 

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I have never cared for those open air vehicles but went ahead and booked an excursion through Princess that included the open air vehicles for St Thomas. This excursion was last year before the storms and booking it was a big mistake. The companies simple try to squeeze to many people on the vehicles. The bench seats that are built for 5 can reasonably hold 4 people. My husband and I and another couple were the last ones in line to board the vehicle. We couldn't find a seat. The operators asked people to squish together but there still was not enough room and I was not going to squeeze into a tiny spot next to a very large sweaty man. It was obvious that my husband and I would not have been seated next to each other, and the the other couple from the ship were to be separated also.

 

I told the operators I had purchased a ticket and there was not enough room and I wanted to sit with my husband. I was told very rudely that "I purchased a seat and nothing more". There was not a Princess Cruise rep to be found anywhere near the excursion boarding area. I stood my ground and so did the other couple. The company finally sent a 17 pack van with driver to pick us up. The driver was a nice man but poor tour guide. We felt we were scammed.

 

I wrote to princess and never received a reply to my complaint. I did not ask for my money back, all I stated was that Princess should get a better handle on these tours that they endorse.

[zahav1]

Thank you, RedHeadArmyWife, we'll be there in March and for sure we'll stay away from the open air tram. We've been to St. Thomas a few times and usually just walk around and/ or take a taxi. I'm thinking about taking a taxi to just show us around the island since we've never seen the island, hopefully by then more repairs will be done.

[Ms411]

Most of the beaches are checked regularly, and if the contaminants reach a certain high level the beach is closed. The advisory is usually aimed at people with compromised immune systems. The contaminants usually flush out from the beach after a few days so it's not an ongoing issue at most of the beaches. The one that usually tests positive is Water Bay and I've never heard of any cruisers visiting that beach in all my years of reading this forum.

[boca7]

We were in St. Thomas a week and a half ago and took the Princess excursion to Magen's Bay. It was far different than we remembered on our past visits but they have done a great job in making it usable in such a short time after the devastating hurricanes. They have already planted a lot of new palm trees and the temporary "shop" and bar / restaurant are the best they can do at this point since the prior facilities were destroyed. We had been advised about using cash for purchases there and were able to find a nice shady spot to park our rented chairs. The beach was just as good as it had ever been.

 

In the downtown area the craft market was in full swing and we chatted with several vendors, all happy to see us. Many residents still do not have electricity and I would hope those who cruise there would realize that it's going to be a good long while before things get back to normal.

Sad to hear anyone that is critical of St Thomas, we all knew what happened, you can not expect the Island to be back to normal. I for one am very respectful of the residents of not complaining like the mayor of Puerto Rico & are taking it what help they get with gratitude & working to get what they need in their own hands. I know from first hand living in South Fla., the gvt. can only do so much, its up to you to manage.