Do Either of the Eastern Ports Require tender

[katmigordon]

St Thomas and Tortola, does either require tender?

 

[SeanSD]

St Thomas and Tortola, does either require tender?

No both at docks

 

[auntlynne]

You may want to do some investigation into St Thomas and accessibility (especially in transportation.). The typical excursion is going to a beach - which relies on “safari taxis,”. Those are pickup trucks with (covered) bench seating in the bed. Otherwise, taxis are often 15-person vans.

Have you taken your ECVs to Castaway? We’re you able yo get around?

Any idea what you are planning for excursions in these ports?

 

[RedHead0186]

Neither are tender ports.

 

[tvguy]

Neither are tender ports.

Neither are normally tender ports. Doesn't mean that it can't change though.

 

[katmigordon]

No both at docks

Anything worth doing around the ship?

You may want to do some investigation into St Thomas and accessibility (especially in transportation.). The typical excursion is going to a beach - which relies on “safari taxis,”. Those are pickup trucks with (covered) bench seating in the bed. Otherwise, taxis are often 15-person vans.

Have you taken your ECVs to Castaway? We’re you able yo get around?

Any idea what you are planning for excursions in these ports?

We wont need them at castaway cay - we can move far enough to take the tram to the adult beach where we'll spend the day. Unless something major has changed the adult beach is all easy walking.

As far as the other ports we're hoping to just meander off the ship on our ecvs stay in the same area right around the ship and catch some local food.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Depending on how many ships are in port at St Thomas, you may have to tender. I've done it once.

 

[auntlynne]

St Thomas - you should be at the West Indies Company (WICO) docks, at a shopping area called Havensight.
The distance from Havensight Cruise Pier to the harborfront of Charlotte Amalie is 2 miles; a long stretch of it is very new after Hurricane Irma repairs.

I’ve seen people walking the sidewalk outside the port, but am not sure how the corners on curbs are. There are several curb corners as you pass a McD’s, Wendy’s, K-Mart, and public housing.

Adjacent to the ship’s pier are tourist shops, a coffee/pastry shop, and a burger place (Tap & Still - very essentially 5 Guys , with alcohol). We have plans for the food stops pre- and post-excursion.

I have knowledge of St Thomas from one cruise stop and several week-long land vacations. Haven’t touched foot in Tortola. Will stop in Tortola this Fall on an Eastern.

If you can get around a bit by foot, you could grab a van taxi to Charlotte Amalie to see the old stone warehouses, now shops. The alleys between them have a few steps, but not tall. There are several places to sit and rest if needed.

We had a tasty afternoon meal at Greengos Caribbean Cantina on Dronningens Gade (an alley) in town.

Sapphire Beach does not require a lot of walking. The distance from drop off to sand and water may not be farther than you would encounter getting to Serenity Bay on CC. The beach is open to the public; the property itself is a moderate? Resort. Not seedy, but not the Ritz Carlton. Again, a van taxi would be so much nicer than a safari one with high steps.

 

[katmigordon]

Sapphire Beach does not require a lot of walking. The distance from drop off to sand and water may not be farther than you would encounter getting to Serenity Bay on CC. The beach is open to the public; the property itself is a moderate? Resort. Not seedy, but not the Ritz Carlton. Again, a van taxi would be so much nicer than a safari one with high steps.

Does the Sapphire Beach resort have a resturant?
It's kind of rough right now because I don't know what shape either of us will be in by then.
I'm working on losing weight and over the last 3 weeks I've lost 11lbs but who knows how far I'll be by then. Or where my wife will be physically by then.

 

[auntlynne]

Does the Sapphire Beach resort have a resturant?
It's kind of rough right now because I don't know what shape either of us will be in by then.
I'm working on losing weight and over the last 3 weeks I've lost 11lbs but who knows how far I'll be by then. Or where my wife will be physically by then.

They had some type of dining/food. I was there between breakfast and lunch.

I overheard talk of plans for it’s being sold - so new management - one day. Or maybe not.

This page has a layout of the property and a partial view of the beach. The view out Is of St John and other islands. I note there is a restaurant on the upper left of the drawing. I could have walked from the bar to it in under a minute (I am not fast).

I see it’s actually condos, not a hotel resort; that might be why they can offer it for excursions.

I think we paid $5 for parking one trip. The next time, late 2022, I was on a shore excursion from MSC.

https://www.sapphirebeach-resort.com/about/

I have heard there are car rentals at the port. The cars are American side drive, but the roads use British side. There are no high-speed roads; a bunch of hills and curves. But if you are a competent driver, it could be an option.

We like to drive to Magen’s Bay for the ease of use. It’s a bay set farther from the ocean; very little wave action - I don’t get knocked over or pulled around. A little sloping for a few steps, then access to a mike-wide beach that is about chest deep.

We park down to the left, near a bath house and a small set of beach goers. Most of the action happens about 1/2 mile away, including a concession area with sandwiches, fries, and a full service bar (I always mention these things, as a lot of people partake. And it is a central focus there - but it’s not rowdy).

Admission is currently $5 pp and $2 for the car parking.

(We are going to St John for beach time - 90 minutes - at Trunk Bay, USVI National Park.). Ferry, taxi and then beach. Come back; 4.5 hour excursion through DCL. I don’t know it was still available for gold CC booking, though).

Throwing this stuff out, as you sound more mobile than I expected! I pick my excursions carefully, to minimize climbing and steps without handrails. The safari taxis were a scary thought - but, just like the trams at CC, a fellow guest would give me that extra support up the step. Then I just go down them backwards.

 

[auntlynne]

And definitely go on activities, even if weight loss is not making the progress you want. The positive thoughts you get from taking steps forward really help.

The first time I stepped onto a small water taxi in St Thomas gave me such a burst of “I can do this!” And sometimes I realize an activity is beyond my abilities and I just modify my plans.

 

[katmigordon]

Throwing this stuff out, as you sound more mobile than I expected! I pick my excursions carefully, to minimize climbing and steps without handrails. The safari taxis were a scary thought - but, just like the trams at CC, a fellow guest would give me that extra support up the step. Then I just go down them backwards.

I'm not that mobile - yet, but a little over a year from now I should be much better.
I got so big it started really keeping me from being able to live my life - I've always been a bit impaired - but not like this. Something really humilating happened to me about a month ago and that was rock bottom - so now for the first time in my life I'm watching what I eat and losing weight which should make me more moible.