what to do close to the ship?

[Snowbuddy]

I am looking for advice/suggestions/recommendations for things to do close to the ship...we will be there in early October. In the past we have always gone to St John, so I am not even sure what is near the ship in St Thomas. We are travelling w/ our 18-month-old DD, and I do not plan on bringing a car seat for her, so I need to find something to do that is either w/i walking distance of the ship, or if anyone knows of any tours that would provide a car seat for the transportation...thanks so much!

[wwinfl91]

If your ship is docked at the main port in St Thomas, the Paradise Point skyride is within relatively easy walking distance and you will get a great view of the port, your ship and the town from it. There is a restaurant and bar as well as souvenir places up there as well as a nature trail. Here is a link to it.

 

http://paradisepointtramway.com/index.php

 

We have been there on a couple of our visits to the USVI.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Cruisesquatch]

I was thinking the same thing as the previous poster, but I dont know how long it will hold your DD's attention.

But if you do go up tp the bar/restaraunt, make sure you order a "Bushwhacker". Its like a chocolate shake with a "kick". I did not eat there, so I dont know about the food. And theres a decent charge for the tram up to the top, but you obviously would not be able to take the steps up. But its a nice relaxing stop.

[Ms411]

An 18 month old is gonna wanna go to the beach. When you get off the ship, tell the taxi dispatcher that you want a car seat, and I'm sure one of the drivers will have one. Morningstar or Emerald Beach would be good choices, because they're the closest to the dock and have bars/restaurants/bathrooms.

[138east]

For a toddler I would recommend Secret Harbor - absolutely no waves and no dropoff and a sandy beach plus a beach bar and rest rooms. From Havensight it's east towards Red Hook. If you're not bringing a car seat, what are you going to do on Dominica, Aruba, and Curacao? It seems a shame to go to all those lovely islands and be limited to the port areas. I'd bring the car seat and make do with an umbrella stroller for the week.

[kendon]

She will be fine in the port area in Aruba. There are reasonable sidewalks, and won't have a problem with a stroller.

[138east]

I don't think the stroller is the issue. She may be bringing a serious stroller. However, she is not bringing a car seat, which means she has to find cabs or tours with car seats or stay in the port areas on St. Thomas, Aruba, Curacao, and Dominica. My point was to bring the car seat and cut back on the stroller, if necessary.

 

So far the OP has posted on all the forums for these ports without any responses about the car seat. Snowbuddy - I think you need to take your question to the Family forum. I've been to all these ports, but without an 18 month old. In Curacao and Aruba you could probably rent a car with a car seat. They drive on the right - I drove all over both islands with my mother and had no problem. Dominica is another issue. The bad news is that the roads are really curvy and steep - the good news is that the smaller tour vans have seat belts. Also the road up the coast to Mero Beach is not bad, so that could be a destination for you. As I mentioned before Secret Harbor might be a good fit for you on St. Thomas. All these islands are different and beautiful in their own ways - it would be a shame to limit your stay to the port area.

[Snowbuddy]

I have posted on the family forum, with very little response as far as what I could possibly do on these stops (plenty of opinions on the safety of travelling w/ a seat, etc). I am only bringing a very basic umbrella stroller, so not any room to "cut back" there on packing. 138east, thanks for the info, I will take it into consideration.

[138east]

Are you flying into San Juan the day before or the day of the cruise? Perhaps you could buy an inexpensive car seat there before you leave? Also, what you are going to do on the plane? Wouldn't you want a car seat there?

[138east]

Snowbuddy - I just asked my daughter about traveling on planes with an 18 month old and she said the reason you were probably not taking a car seat was that you are going to hold the baby and not pay for a seat. However, she did say that if there were an extra seat you would not be able to take advantage of it without having a car seat. Apparently the airlines will permit you to hold the baby, but will not permit you to put her in an extra seat without a car seat. I'm sure you're aware of all this, but I just wanted to mention it in case you weren't.

[Snowbuddy]

Snowbuddy - I just asked my daughter about traveling on planes with an 18 month old and she said the reason you were probably not taking a car seat was that you are going to hold the baby and not pay for a seat. However, she did say that if there were an extra seat you would not be able to take advantage of it without having a car seat. Apparently the airlines will permit you to hold the baby, but will not permit you to put her in an extra seat without a car seat. I'm sure you're aware of all this, but I just wanted to mention it in case you weren't.

Has she been able to do that, take advantage of the extra seat? I called American, and they told me that they would not allow me to do that (we fly down on United, and our return flight is American)...also, as for your other question, we are flying down & returning the same days of embarkation and disembarkation, due to work schedules we can not go early and take an extra day on the tail end.