Confused about St. Maarten & St. Thomas

[SuzPasq]

We're doing the Eastern Cruise on 12/13 and I'm a little confused about what we will do in St. Maarten and St. Thomas. We prefer to do our own thing, rather than excursions.

First, which island has a water taxi that would take us to a beach?

Also, can we walk to a beach from either of the ports? In my St. Maarten notes I have "Great Bay nearby", but I'm not sure how near it really is. For St. Thomas I have "2miles from Frenchman's Reef". A friend from St. John suggested this hotel/beach. Does anyone have any thoughts about it?

Do we tender in St. Thomas?

We'll have our 6yo and 8month old and I won't put the baby in a car without a carseat. Many people have said that it's difficult to find any transportation with seatbelts, so as a backup I'd like to know that we have the option of walking somewhere.

TIA!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by SuzPasq

Which island has a water taxi that would take us to a beach?... In my St. Maarten notes I have "Great Bay nearby", but I'm not sure how near it really is.

There is a water taxi at St. Maarten. You <b><i>could</i></b> walk to Great Bay Beach, but the water taxi is more convenient and it's a good value. I have details on how this is laid out at my web site...

www.dcltribute.com/faq/philipsburg.htm

Can we walk to a beach... For St. Thomas I have "2miles from Frenchman's Reef". A friend from St. John suggested this hotel/beach.

There are no beaches within walking distance of the ship at St. Thomas. And since you'll need to take a taxi anyway, you might as well go to Coki Beach (great snorkeling... and it's adjacent to Coral World) or to Magen's Bay (not very interesting for snorkeling, but an otherwise beautiful gem of a beach).

Do we tender in St. Thomas?

Not usually. The pier at St. Thomas can accommodate up to three cruise ships. The Magic <b><i>sometimes</i></b> gets the short end of the stick when there are more than three ships in port.

Note... the dock is at Havensight, on the eastern edge of Charlotte Amalie Harbor. But if you anchor and tender, the tender will drop you off at the downtown Charlotte Amalie waterfront... a couple miles from where you'll come ashore if you dock.

 

[AnnMorin]

As Dave said it is St. Maarten that has the water taxi.
When we were in St. Thomas last time they did have seat belts in the taxi's but I did not see any car seats. You could walk to the cable car and see the island from there, we may do that this time.
Maybe cable car is not the right word. It is like a ski lift that goes up a mountain. I don't think there is a beach within walking distance in St. Thomas but there is in St. Marten.

 

[ThreeCircles]

Ann--

We were intrigued by that cable car too! Unfortunately, we didn't make it over there to experience it. Guess we'll be doing that in May!

I think I read somewhere that they have the best Banana Margaritas up at the summit!

 

[abitjaded]

Yipes Dave,

I have a sneaking suspicion we will end up tendering in St Thomas in January (last years schedule suggests). I was planning on just blitzing my mom in wheelchair to Havensite mall for some easy shopping. Dave or anyone remember what the pathyway BACK to Havensite is like???? Is there a taxi stand right there?

Suzpasq, have you considered one of those car-seat-stroller combos? Plus there were so many taxis at the dock, you may get lucky finding "the one" with belts.

Carla

 

[jel0511]

I just returned from a trip to St. John, so by defualt I was also on St. Thomas. A word of caution, a LOT of taxis on St. Thomas are open air, which means that there are NO SEATBELTS. They are elonged pick-up trucks with bench seats placed in the rear, with a canopy covering them. So, there is no guarantee you'll get a taxi with airconditioning or even seat belts. Also, there isn't a requirement in the USVI that children need to be in car seats, so they really aren't all too accomdating in that department. If you're so concerned, as I would be, you should look into renting a car at the port. That way, you could use your own car seat, buckle it in, and drive to any of the beaches you want. Even though 2 miles might not seem like a far walk, there are no flat roads out or into Charlotte Amalie. All of them are VERY steep, with many twists and turns, and of course no sidewalks once out of Charlotte Amalie proper. Definately not safe, actually the open air taxi would be safer, believe it or not!!!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

The walk between Havensight and downtown CA is a long hot walk, and passes through a kind of tough neighborhood. I would not suggest walking it. There is a taxi stand downtown right along the harbor. I've never really had a problem finding a taxi anywhere on St. Thomas.

I believe it's called an "aerial tramway" as opposed to a cable car. If I remember correctly, it's called Paradise Point, or something like that. The banana daiquiris aren't up there, they're at Mountain Top, which is over toward the east side of the island. Supposedly, they were invented there (at Mountain Top) by some pirate or other. You can get a cab up there and grab an overpriced daiquiri. The view of Magens bay and the outer islands is really something. Mountain Top is the highest point in the Virgin Islands. On a clear day, you can see Jost Van **** of the BVI, with Tortola in the distance.

That's not to say they don't have banana daiqiris on Paradise Point, they may, but the "birthplace" is on Mountain Top.

 

[dianedisney]

Whatever you decided to do in St Thomas be sure to head back to the ship about a hour to a hour and ahalf before it sails. Between everyone from other cruise ships trying to get back you also have people getting off work in CA and the traffic can be pretty hectic. I have seen many families miss the ship due to cutting it too close.

Happy Cruising

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

If you <b><i>do</i></b> tender, you'll be in walking distance of downtown Charlotte Amalie. That's the main shopping district. There's no reason to go shopping at Havensight if you're within walking distance of the downtown shopping district. Everything that's at Havensight can also be found downtown... only Havensight has less charm.

If you tender, you will <b><i>not</i></b> be within walking distance of the Paradise Point Tramway. The tramway is located just a couple blocks from Havensight.

ThreeCircles, Lloyd Dobler correctly informed you that the "famous" banana margaritas are at Mountain Top rather than at the top of the Paradise Point Tramway. There is a bar at the top of the tramway, and I'm sure they'd be happy to serve you a banana margarita, but it wouldn't be the "original" for whatever that's worth.

BTW, here's a link to the tramway.

www.paradisepointtramway.com

And here are some photos I took of the ships and the harbor from the top of the tramway...

www.dcltribute.com/gallery/p231.htm
www.dcltribute.com/gallery/p232.htm
www.dcltribute.com/gallery/p233.htm

 

[S. C.]

These links should help to answer your questions. Just scroll down till you get to the forums.

St Martin/St Maarten
http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=frm&s=927093444&f=429097554

St Thomas
http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=frm&s=927093444&f=429097554

Virgin Islands
http://www.vinow.com/

 

[ThreeCircles]

Originally posted by Lloyd Dobler
I believe it's called an "aerial tramway" as opposed to a cable car. If I remember correctly, it's called Paradise Point, or something like that. The banana daiquiris aren't up there, they're at Mountain Top, which is over toward the east side of the island. Supposedly, they were invented there (at Mountain Top) by some pirate or other. You can get a cab up there and grab an overpriced daiquiri. The view of Magens bay and the outer islands is really something. Mountain Top is the highest point in the Virgin Islands. On a clear day, you can see Jost Van **** of the BVI, with Tortola in the distance.

That's not to say they don't have banana daiqiris on Paradise Point, they may, but the "birthplace" is on Mountain Top.

Originally posted by Dave_from_Marietta
ThreeCircles, Lloyd Dobler correctly informed you that the "famous" banana margaritas are at Mountain Top rather than at the top of the Paradise Point Tramway. There is a bar at the top of the tramway, and I'm sure they'd be happy to serve you a banana margarita, but it wouldn't be the "original" for whatever that's worth.

BTW, here's a link to the tramway.

www.paradisepointtramway.com

Thank you for the info! I will have to decide between Mountain Top and Paraise Point.

Has anyone had one of these overpriced banana margaritas? Original or otherwise?

 

[tennisany1]

we are also looking to do our own thing. we have a 6 year old--departure day, December 13th will be her sixth b-day!! we also have a 3 year old and an 8 month old.

we stayed at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef 2 years ago for a wedding and the beach was okay but not great.

we are hoping to rent cars in both St. Maarten and St. John to have to freedom to move around and give the kids to have an air conditioned nap at some point. While someone posted that the taxis are open air, my experience has been that many are full sized vans. a van ride from havensight to red hook is pretty easy. from there it s a short ferry ride to st. john.

Has anyone done this before. Thanks for the heads up about allowing enough time.

 

[4nana]

Our family did the Eastern last Dec 14. We decided to make the most of our short stay on St Thomas and do our own thing. We did much research before venturing out on our own. Luckily, there are many web-sites to help you plan a fun day.

We decided to use 'Godfrey Tours' and spoke w/him several times before our trip. Our family (of 16) hired him for the whole day...I believe it was a flat fee of $300 + tip. He also offers 3 hr. tours to individuals for appx $20 - 25pp.

It worked out GREAT! He met us at the dock 8:30am with his A/C van (sorry, no seatbelts). We toured the town and historical sites, went to Mt Top for a breathtaking view and a taste of their famous drink, then took us to Coki Beach which is adjacent to Coral World and Caribbean Water Sports.

The guys went parasailing, while the ladies took the kids to Coral World. Our grands, ages 1 - 9 loved it! Some of the many activities incl., Undersea Observatory, Preadator Tank, Marine Gardens, Iguana Alley, Tropical Nature Trail, and a Touch Pool of starfish, etc. They also have Sea Trekkin, adults can rent special equip. to venture underwater into the coral beds and feed the fish.

Later we all met at Coki Beach for a picnic we'd bought from the ship. We had a wonderful time swimming, snorkeling, playing, and made many special memories. On the way back to the ship we had a 1 hr shopping spree in town. He had us back to the boat by 4pm. It was a most enjoyable and fun filled day!

Please PM me if I can be of any help.

~ Sandie

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

Originally posted by ThreeCircles
Thank you for the info! I will have to decide between Mountain Top and Paraise Point.

Has anyone had one of these overpriced banana margaritas? Original or otherwise?

We went to Mountain Top as part of the St. Thomas Island Tour excursion on our first Magic cruise, back in the fall of 2000. At that point, the "original" banana daiquiris (they were rum drinks, not tequila) were $6.50 at the bar at Mountain Top. They were good, not great. I actually thought the daiquiris on the ship were better, but I'm not much of a daiquiri drinker. For a little history on the drink, check out:

http://www.greathouse-mountaintop.com/mtp/index4.htm

Unless you just really like doing cheesy tourist stuff (like I do), I'd say go up the Paradise Point tram rather than making a trip all the way to Mountain Top. The island tour excursion is a good way to get a feel for the island, but I wouldn't go just to Mountian Top by itself. The Paradise Point view is great, too, and you can do it in less time than Mountain Top.

 

[IrishCowboy]

If you like to do your own thing, I suggest renting a car in ST Thomas and then going to St John. We rented a Jeep from Budget for about $60.

Take the ferry to St John and explore the island. We found a beautiful beach at the end of the island and had it all to ourselves...it was paradise. We packed a soft-sided cooler with a few drinks, bottled water and snacks and had a picnic.

Have a great cruise!

 

[SuzPasq]

When we were in St. Thomas last time they did have seat belts in the taxi's but I did not see any car seats.>>>>


We are bringing ours, specifically so we have the option of taking a taxi if we can find one with seatbelts.

 

[SuzPasq]

For some reason I can't quote from the right post, what's up with that?

ANyway, to the person whose dd is turning 6 on 12/13--my son just turned 6 11/13, and the baby will be 9months the day we return, 12/20. My name is Suzanne, we should try and connect at some point since we have kids the same age!

 

[Crazy Momma]

4nana,

Did Cokie Beach have chairs to rent?

How did you get Disney to pack a picnic lunch?

Thanks

Susan

 

[4nana]

Crazy Momma,

We had read on this wonderful board to bring sheets to sit on, so sorry can't answer about renting chairs. I'm sure you can tho.
You can also take towels off the ship.

For the picnic, we called room service the night before and explained what we'd like to do and they said fine. We ordered turkey, ham, BBJ sandwiches, some yummy CC cookies, fruit plate and put in room cooler. At breakfast they have yogurt, fruits, juices, milk, etc., available. Our stateroom hostess brought ice so we could pack our soft sided cooler. We had brought assorted size baggies from home! Worked out great!!

 

[Crazy Momma]

Thanks 4nana,

I'm going to do that when we go to the beach. I'm going to have to make a trip to Walmart today.

Susan


I'm doing the Disney Happy Dance, I'm sailing the 7-night eastern on 11/29.