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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members
Cruise ships
by Dabs
St. Thomas is one of the major cruise ports in the Caribbean as it's part of both Eastern and Southern Caribbean routes so there can be 6 or more ships docked at one time. The Caribbean Princess was one of 4 ships docked on the day we visited , we used a different dock than the other 3 ships who were closer to the shopping area. Princess docks at Crown Bay and most other ships dock in Havensight. If you are docked in Crown Bay, I suppose you could walk between the two but it's a far enough distance where you'd probably want to take a taxi.
Renting a car
by Dabs
We didn't rent a car but if you do, be aware that even though it's a US territory, they drive on the left. Even more confusing is that most of their cars are imported from the US so the steering wheel is on the left unlike cars in the UK or Australia where the steering wheel is on the right which probably takes a bit of getting used to. There is a lot of traffic in and around the cruise ports and traffic jams seem to be fairly common, even the taxi drivers don't seem to be able to get around the jam between the two cruise ship docks.
Taxis
by Dabs
We had scheduled a snorkeling excursion independent of the cruise line with VI Ecotours, they told us to get a taxi to "the snorkeling place". Once we got off the ship, they pointed us to where the taxi are queued up, there's a man who organizes multiple passengers into a taxi as the taxi prices here are per person and not a set price for a destination so they try to get as many people as possible into one taxi which are mostly vans.The price per person to the snorkeling place was $10, from the snorkeling place we hitched a ride with a couple on our tour to Sapphire Beach. When we were ready to go back, there was a taxi waiting at the beach and it was $11 per person to get back to the ship. To get to Red Hook for the ferry to St. John it was $11 per person. Ask before you get underway, the prices seem to be set for each destination. Unlike other islands, St. Thomas taxi drivers don't...
Caribbean Princess
by cjg1
My wife Liz and I hopped aboard the The Caribbean Princess for a nine day Caribbean Cruise out of Brooklyn along with my Mother and her fiancee Hal. The Cruise Ports includes stops at: Bermuda, San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. I was a nice nine day cruise with beautiful weather except for San Juan and a great ship.Princess likes to give the big ship feeling without it being overwhelming which is hard to do when the ship can accommodate 3,070 passengers. Princess managed to give us a relaxing cruise where we didn't feel rushed. The ship was very nice with 4 pools, several restaurants, a spa, various lounges and clubs, shopping and more. The Piazza area was their version of a centrum through the middle of the ship with retail , dining rooms, clubs and bars surrounding the area. The staff aboard were very nice and attentive. I enjoyed that this line attracts an "older crowd", less...
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Emerald Princess
by cjg1
Liz and I hopped aboard the Emerald Princess for a Caribbean Cruise out of Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades). The Cruise Ports includes stops at: Princes Cays, St. Maarten/St. Martin, Grand Turk and St. Thomas. I was a nice seven day cruise with beautiful weather and a great ship.Princess likes to give the big ship feeling without it being overwhelming which is hard to do when the ship can accommodate 3,070 passengers. Princess managed to give us a relaxing cruise where we didn't feel rushed. The ship was very nice with 4 pools, several restaurants, a spa, various lounges and clubs, shopping and more. The Piazza area was their version of a centrum through the middle of the ship with retail , dining rooms, clubs and bars surrounding the area. The staff aboard were very nice and attentive. I enjoyed that this line attracts an "older crowd", less children and less of the party puking...
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Walking
by cjg1
I always find that when exploring walking is the best way to see everything. As long as the weather isn't sweltering hot it is quite enjoyable to walk around Charlotte Amelie. We enjoyed walking along the water and in and out of side street shops. With the construction issues on the roads its actually quicker to walk than take a taxi.
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Take a Taxi
by cjg1
For just $4 a person you can have a taxi from the Main Street of Charlotte Amalie shopping to the pier. Most taxi's carry multiple people and look like a mini van or bus. It's an easy and cheap way to get around if you decide not to walk.
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bring a Garmin AND avoid avis rent-a-car
by billvau
I found our Garmin GPS was a life-saver. St. Thomas is difficult to drive, with very few roadsigns and windy and hill roads. I was surprised that it worked in St. Thomas with the factorypre-installed maps. Even several residents of St. Thomas were surprised to find that we hada GPS that would actually work there. Apparently they didn't know of any that would operateon their island.Avis- ---- where do I begin ;)We had a confirmed car and when we arrived at the desk the lady there told usthey didn't have our car. Her whole attitude was one of complete indifference. She didn't offer us any explanation but said she would have another car, which wastoo small, for us in 10 minutes. After one hour they produced a car. There were fourparties waiting at her desk for cars, and she never gave a word of explanation about our status. When our car arrived, I inspected it and found it had scrapes down...
West Indian Ship Dock(Havensight)
by cjg1
Many cruise ships dock at the West Indian Ship Dock such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, etc. When we were docked here (Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas)here there were three cruise ships at this dock and three others at Crown Bay. It's a bust port of call. This dock is right by shopping and food and is a short 15 minute walk to the heart of town.**They have free shuttle buses that take you to the mall if you don't feel like walking. It's a short 5 minute ride.**
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Crown Bay Marina
by cjg1
The Crown Bay Marina is where Princess Cruise Ships usually dock. It is one of the further docks from the heart of town but there are plenty of taxis available to get you to the beaches and shops. Most taxi's are $4 a person into Charlotte Amalie from the marina.
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