St. Kitts - Disappointing

[BostonBud]

We just visited St. Kitts last week and I must say that I was very disappointed. We didn't opt for an excursion but instead walked around the town. The poverty is terrible.

 

Coming out of the terminal we were nagged by numerous "tour operators" to take their tours. Some of them would follow us around the town stopping us from looking around.

 

There were some men with monkies (wearing diapers) charging people to take their picture with them, it was so sad. These monkies appeared to be very fragile and were forced to performer by the men.

 

Friends of ours on the cruise went to the beach (don't know the name of it but it's where the monkies are). The first sight they encountered was a huge pig taking a dump in the water (that they presumable were going to swim it) Needless to say, they didn't swim. They also took some pictures of the monkies in the woods and the locals there wanted them to pay them money for the pictures they took of the wild monkies.

 

In the future, if a ship I am on stops here, I will most likely not get off. I did not feel safe.

[crisp1]

If your ship stopped in Brooklyn NY ( Red Hook) and you just walked around there, you'd never go back there again either. St Kitts is a beautiful island with very nice beaches. Our first time there we did an island tour. The views from the fort were outstanding, the gardens at the batik factory beautiful, the ride along the coastline amazing. Our guide Ilva was pleasant and full of island history.

Our second time back we just wanted a leisurely day at some beaches. I did some research here on this board an opted not to go to Turtle Bay ( monkey beach) for exactly the reason your friends hated it, instead we went to Cockleshell ( right next door so to speak) and had the beach all to ourselves for several hours with great views of Nevis, plenty of palm trees for shade and good snorkeling. After that we stopped at South Friars bay for lunch and more swimming and snorkeling. This beach was a little more crowded, but not terrible. There were students there with their dogs and they didn't 'dump' in the water and their owners cleaned up after them.

It's too bad you didn't venture out of the port, you really 'missed the boat' :)

[Liz Pereira]

We just visited St. Kitts last week and I must say that I was very disappointed. We didn't opt for an excursion but instead walked around the town. The poverty is terrible.

 

Coming out of the terminal we were nagged by numerous "tour operators" to take their tours. Some of them would follow us around the town stopping us from looking around.

 

There were some men with monkies (wearing diapers) charging people to take their picture with them, it was so sad. These monkies appeared to be very fragile and were forced to performer by the men.

 

Friends of ours on the cruise went to the beach (don't know the name of it but it's where the monkies are). The first sight they encountered was a huge pig taking a dump in the water (that they presumable were going to swim it) Needless to say, they didn't swim. They also took some pictures of the monkies in the woods and the locals there wanted them to pay them money for the pictures they took of the wild monkies.

 

In the future, if a ship I am on stops here, I will most likely not get off. I did not feel safe.

 

Sorry you didn't enjoy your visit to St. Kitts. Curious to hear why you didn't feel safe.

 

You should have gone on one of the following excursions. I'm sure you would have had a better experience

 

http://www.bluewatersafaris.com

http://www.brimstonehillfortress.org

http://www.stkittsscenicrailway.com

http://www.gregssafaris.com

http://www.caribellebatikstkitts.com

or relaxed at Lion's Beach bar on beautiful, unspoilt Cockleshell Beach.

 

Was there a reason you did do a shore excursion?

[Psee]

Sorry you missed St. Kitts. It's one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean and unspoiled by tourism (unlike most of the cruise ports). :cool:

[BostonBud]

Thanks for the suggestions. I had wanted to take the Fan-ta-sea trip but it was 7 hours and we didn't want to be out that long. I would give St. Kitts another chance in the future if we tend to sail there. I did find a vendor who sold hand made dolls that were the most unique of all the islands.

[outgate08]

Sorry to hear you were disappointed with St. Kitts. We enjoyed a tour called Jungle Bykes. It was an ATV tour through the rain forests and sugar cane fields. Our stop in St. Kitts was truly one of the highlights of the cruise. :D Austin, the owner and tour operator of Jungle Bykes, met us at the cruise terminal and off we went for our ATV excursion. When we arrived at the starting point, Austin thoroughly explained how to operate the ATV bikes and in no time we were riding the back roads of St. Kitts. We stopped several times during the ride through the sugar cane fields, a sugar cane plantation and the rain forest and Austin told us about the various plants/trees and we got to sample sugar cane and a nut from a tree. Austin was most knowledgeable about St. Kitts and we enjoyed visiting with him and his sidekick (can't remember his name) immensely throughout the tour. The ATVs were easy to drive and LOTS of fun. A nice refreshment of lemonade and biscuit awaited us when we returned to the starting point of the tour. Austin drove us back to the port for a little shopping time before we headed back on the ship. The ATV tour was a great way to see this beautiful island and was fun for our 20's something kids and for us 50-something parents. I highly recommend it. We made arrangements through amicia@discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com

[Zeno]

We just visited St. Kitts last week and I must say that I was very disappointed. We didn't opt for an excursion but instead walked around the town. The poverty is terrible.

 

Coming out of the terminal we were nagged by numerous "tour operators" to take their tours. Some of them would follow us around the town stopping us from looking around.

 

There were some men with monkies (wearing diapers) charging people to take their picture with them, it was so sad. These monkies appeared to be very fragile and were forced to performer by the men.

 

Friends of ours on the cruise went to the beach (don't know the name of it but it's where the monkies are). The first sight they encountered was a huge pig taking a dump in the water (that they presumable were going to swim it) Needless to say, they didn't swim. They also took some pictures of the monkies in the woods and the locals there wanted them to pay them money for the pictures they took of the wild monkies.

 

In the future, if a ship I am on stops here, I will most likely not get off. I did not feel safe.

 

 

Too bad that you did not venture out of the port area. St Kitt's is one of the prettiest islands in the Caribbean and there are a number of interesting things to see. Brimstone Hill fortress is a World Heritage site and definitely worth seeing. The beach where the monkeys live has some of the most beautiful views of Nevis and is a very pleasant place. The drive to that beach has some spectacular views. While seeing a pig poo in the water might be a little off putting - unless a herd of them are doing it regularly, it really does not have much effect on the water (think about it -where do you think fish poo?) However personally I would not think of entering the water very near the pig poop.

[teltrainer]

Actually, we learned on one of our cruises that most beach sand is actually created by Parrot Fish "poo". They bang their hard "beak" against coral, eat it and then later.....sand! LOL

[pigfarmer]

it is amazing how we can all visit one place and have such different opinions. we were on a 10 day southern caribbean 2 weeks ago and st kitts was one of our stops, we took three kids to the Brimstone fortress and found the island beautiful. i even remarked to my husband that for such a poor island it is clean and safe. however barbados left me a little creeped out and remarking on the poverty. i have to admit though that we did not leave the city, and went to boatyard beach, i am sure out of the city it was great. st kitts was the one island i would love to return to. its a good thing we are all entitled to our opinion. :)

[plexi1]

Wow! I cannot believe that you felt unsafe in St. Kitts. My family did pretty much everything that the previous posters did from ATV with Austin to Batik factory to Turtle Beach with Wilbur the pig. We all loved St. Kitts- so much so that we bought a time share at the Marriott, something we thought we would never do. We can't wait to go back to this beautiful, safe heaven.

[Bunkie103]

We made the mistake of taking the $10 water taxi to the beach by Mr. Shiggyshack's. The beach was nasty, the water not like we expected with a rocky bottom with lots of seaweed. Won't do that again. Stayed only 10 minutes and found a driver who gave us a nice little tour of the island and showed us the really nice beaches. Unfortunately Turtle Beach was reserved by the Parrothead group on our cruise or we would have gone there. Wound up back on the ship drowning our sorrows in foo-foo drinks. We did walk a few blocks into town and got some really nice souvenirs. Would definitely go back and give it another try.

[Kellyann]

We live near Frankford/Torresdale Hospital and my daughter lives in Richboro...we're practically neighbors.

Do you recall the names of the beautiful beaches? Sorry your cruise is over but appreciate you trying to give those still going some insight.

[Liz Pereira]

Do you recall the names of the beautiful beaches? Sorry your cruise is over but appreciate you trying to give those still going some insight.

 

Some of the nicer beaches in St. Kitts are South Friars and Cockleshell. For more information visit http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com

[tomstur]

We were in St Kitts a week ago. I agree that St Kitts is a very pretty island with lots of history. Brimstone was really cool. But our tour guide gave us the impression that the people of St Kitts are really down on their government. We toured the entire island, and let me tell you, their is much poverty on that island. There are hundreds of valuable acres of prime farm land that nothing can be done with. We were told that crime and drug use is a real problem also. From what I saw, there is no way I would invest in this island. There is only a few really good sides to it, and they are really nice. But once you venture out of that area, it's all downhill from there. This was our least favorite stop on our cruise. And not because of our tour guide. She was great. It was just depressing what we saw. I wish the best for the people of St Kitts because it looks like the rich keep getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

[Bunkie103]

We live near Frankford/Torresdale Hospital and my daughter lives in Richboro...we're practically neighbors.

Do you recall the names of the beautiful beaches? Sorry your cruise is over but appreciate you trying to give those still going some insight.

 

Yup, it was South Friars that was breathtaking! NEXT TIME we know where to go.

 

Kelly, I work at Warminster Hospital and live in Chalfont. Small world!

[Liz Pereira]

We were in St Kitts a week ago. I agree that St Kitts is a very pretty island with lots of history. Brimstone was really cool. But our tour guide gave us the impression that the people of St Kitts are really down on their government. We toured the entire island, and let me tell you, their is much poverty on that island. There are hundreds of valuable acres of prime farm land that nothing can be done with. We were told that crime and drug use is a real problem also. From what I saw, there is no way I would invest in this island. There is only a few really good sides to it, and they are really nice. But once you venture out of that area, it's all downhill from there. This was our least favorite stop on our cruise. And not because of our tour guide. She was great. It was just depressing what we saw. I wish the best for the people of St Kitts because it looks like the rich keep getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

 

Thanks for your insight. What other islands did you visit?

 

There has been an increase in crime lately in St. Kitts. Most of this has been directed towards locals and not tourists. There has also been some break ins at various villas.

 

Like many Caribbean islands, you will see some poverty. Kittians are hardworking, friendly people. Many depend on the tourism industry for a living.

 

Many tourists are buying land at Turtle Beach & Frigate Bay and building spectacular homes. Others are buying timeshares at The St. Kitts Marriott.

 

I know many people that enjoy spending retirement in St. Kitts.

[tomstur]

We also went to St. Thomas, Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba.

[nfleming2002]

Actually, we were in St. Kitts last week and we just walked around the town and enjoyed it. I was fascinated by the "masqueraders" since their music and dancing was so much like the routines performed by the Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans. I guess those customs are very ancient. The people in the town were nice and there were no vendors on the street; if you wanted to buy something you visited the shops. We had a beer on the balcony of a picturesque little hotel and the bartender recommended lunch at a restaurant down the street. The food was very good local fare and the atmosphere was great. There was a bakery next door that we just had to stop at because of the delicious aroma coming out of it. The pastries we bought were awesome! We didn't do a tour since we really wanted a "down day" but next time we're in St. Kitts we will definitely explore the island. Yes you see poverty but it is what it is. I have a habit of focusing on the positives but I think I too would have a problem swimming with the pig!

[Liz Pereira]

There is lots of poverty in the US as well.

[SqueakyDust]

We've visited St Kitts twice via a Cruise. The first time we weren't too enamoured with it because we didn't do a tour. We just walked around and as it was a Sunday there weren't many shops open (this is pre the new pier). It was quite quaint with big chickens running around the middle of town and we loved the shop off the Circus.

Our most recent visit was much better. We took a tour and saw the fort, which was spectacular and the kids loved this too, then had a rather long tour of the isalnd to Black Rock - again beautiful but just scenery and the Batik Factory - which is a must.

Our driver wasn't the cheeriest of people and tried to steer us to what he wanted, but we stuck to our desires. He did explain that due to the loss of farming the Sugar Cane that there was mass unemployment and many were disheartened with the government.... sounds much like home!

 

St Kitts IS beautiful and nto commercial at all, the Circus is very quaint and the shops there have great souveniers. We're glad we've been the twice as we managed to alter our opinion.

It's not really an island you can just get off the ship and wander around - it's best seen via a local tour.

[msolberg]

And staying on the ship will help these people how? I don't understand your reasoning here.

 

We booked a catamaran tour directly through bluewatersafaris.com and it was fantastic. I recommend it highly - the people on the tour treated us like family.

 

I am so glad I didn't "stay on the ship."

 

Diane

[Hedocple]

We first visited St. Kitts for the day on our Celebrity cruise Feb. 2006. Enjoyed it so much we returned this past Feb. for one week. Check out our Webshot photos and see all that you missed.

[AliceJ]

We were on St. Kitts 2 weeks ago with Princess, and really enjoyed the island!! We got a taxi with several other people and had wanted to go to Turtle Beach. Our driver took us there and let us take a look around. The facilities were really nice, but the surf was really rough (just happened to be that way the day we were there) and there was lots of seaweed. We elected to try a different beach, and he took us to South Friar's beach, which we loved. We had chairs near one of the small bar/restaurants, and that was just fine. There was good snorkeling right off the beach, and fabulous views!!

 

We'd love to go back again, just to spend a week there, not just a quick day through a cruise.

[bboyack]

We were in St. Kitts a year ago on an NCL cruise. What a beautiful island. We did the scenic railway and go to go around the entire island. Then we walked around the town a little bit. We saw the men with the monkeys, we thought they were cute and had our pics taken with one of them. This little fellas name was "Bruce Willis". My friend and I still think about Bruce. We were disappointed we did not get to the plantation where all the Batik fabrics are. My friend makes handmade handbags, just beautiful, and we would love to have found some fabric there.

 

St. Kitts is just starting to become a cruise ship stop, their past contribution to the world was sugar cane so there are cane fields all over. Reminded me of Maui.

 

I would love to go back there, if we can get the hubbys to go back with us! They are afraid we will spend too much money on fabric!

[les127]

i visited lastyear,and afterr reading up on this site and others,i got the opinion it is not a very good island to stop off.we visited 12 island including barbados,antigua,tortola,st lucia,st maarten etc......and personally i thought st kitts was my fav.we got a taxi tour with another couple and the island is wonderfull,you missed so much by walking around the town,:(