Any advice on planning our day welcome!!

Ok, we are a group of 4 adults on November Oasis cruise stopping at St. Thomas from 10-7 on a Tuesday. From what I have found there will only be 2 other ships in port with us that day. Would like some input from those who have been there, done that before on what we planned so far.

We definitely want to go to a beach and plan on leaving ship right at 10. Believe we have it narrowed down to either Magens Bay (because its our first trip and everyone says its a must) or Emerald Beach (because its supposed to be less crowded and less touristy). Because we dock at Crown Bay is Magens too far and time consuming to get to? Both beaches seem to offer what we want-food,drink,bathrooms,chairs,water floats and nice calm relaxing water.

Also, we are not big shoppers, not much for jewelry, after first 5 shops they all look the same!! But we would like to walk through Charlotte Amalie. What time about should we leave the beach to do this? Is traffic really bad from Charlotte Amalie? If we leave there at 6 is that enough time to get back to ship by 7 or cutting it too close? Is there another place for shopping or is town about it?

Thanks again for any input from those in the know!!

Magens Bay is not all that far from Crown Bay. It is a beautiful beach and you should consider visiting it. Time-wise there is plenty of time with a 10-7 port of call but if you wish to look around Charlotte Amalie you would need to leave the beach earlier than 6 pm. And one additional thing you might wish to consider is that by early November the sun sets around 5:45 pm in this part of the world; there is no long lingering twilight like there is in the northern latitudes. It gets dark very quickly after sunset. IMHO if you wish to 'see' any of Charlotte Amalie you will have to leave the beach earlier. :)

Ok, we are a group of 4 adults on November Oasis cruise stopping at St. Thomas from 10-7 on a Tuesday. From what I have found there will only be 2 other ships in port with us that day. Would like some input from those who have been there, done that before on what we planned so far.

 

We definitely want to go to a beach and plan on leaving ship right at 10. Believe we have it narrowed down to either Magens Bay (because its our first trip and everyone says its a must) or Emerald Beach (because its supposed to be less crowded and less touristy). Because we dock at Crown Bay is Magens too far and time consuming to get to? Both beaches seem to offer what we want-food,drink,bathrooms,chairs,water floats and nice calm relaxing water.

 

Also, we are not big shoppers, not much for jewelry, after first 5 shops they all look the same!! But we would like to walk through Charlotte Amalie. What time about should we leave the beach to do this? Is traffic really bad from Charlotte Amalie? If we leave there at 6 is that enough time to get back to ship by 7 or cutting it too close? Is there another place for shopping or is town about it?

 

Thanks again for any input from those in the know!!

I lived on St Thomas for several years & will also be there on a Tuesday this November. Our ship docks at 8 am. I really think Magens Bay will be crowded since you get there so late. It is farther than Emerald as well. Sapphire & Lindquivst/Smith Bay are tops on St Thomas IMHO, but Lindqvist has few amenities. The best beaches are on St John, but Magens is lovely.

Crown Point is just a very short distance, 1-2 miles, to the shopping area, so a quick trip back to the ship. Think about shopping first & then a taxi to Emerald when you've reached your limit. It's about 5 mi from town to Emerald & a 3 mile trip back, so this would maximize your time available.

Magens is about a 15-20 minute drive from Crown point. Again if you go shopping first, by early afternoon it may be less crowded as early arriving passengers leave to do other things. If you want a couple hours to shop after the beach, leave Magens about 3:30.

Crown Bay, HarpHarp....

Yes of course Crown Bay. With a Crown point center

& a Southeast school very near us, those words pop up at times when I 'm discussing Crown bay or Southwest airlines

For a nice beach close to port we'd recommend Lindbergh Bay (AKA Emerald Beach). The Best Western has everything you'd want including nice restrooms and it's a nice beach to relax on. Island Beachcomber has more of a casual, local flavor just down the beach.

For the nicest beaches with less crowds you'll want to taxi a bit further to the East End, Sapphire would be our choice. If you want to pack a lunch and hit the nicest beach with just portapotties that is Lindqvist as harp harp noted. Gorgeous beach seen on commercials and not yet spoiled. But Sapphire has lots of character and nice island views which Lindbergh and Magens do not offer.

http://www.sapphireinthesun.com

We'd avoid Magens even on a slow day.

Have a great cruise!

And again, I must stand up for Magens...It is the longest stretch of sand on St Thomas. The water is clear and shallow out a long way, perfect for bobbing. It is a favorite of locals for swimming, picnicking and general relaxation. It is part of the territorial park system. Not really known for snorkeling, but a great overall beach.

I'm sorry, blue. Someone has to give the other side of the story.;)

And again, I must stand up for Magens...It is the longest stretch of sand on St Thomas. The water is clear and shallow out a long way, perfect for bobbing. It is a favorite of locals for swimming, picnicking and general relaxation. It is part of the territorial park system. Not really known for snorkeling, but a great overall beach.

 

I'm sorry, blue. Someone has to give the other side of the story.;)

Don't be sorry! Magens is a long beach and dead calm (the water that is) and is a good choice for families with toddlers. We just prefer beaches with more character and island views but you're right to recommend Magens. Beautiful bay and we love seeing it from Drake's Seat.

Ok, we are a group of 4 adults on November Oasis cruise stopping at St. Thomas from 10-7 on a Tuesday. From what I have found there will only be 2 other ships in port with us that day. Would like some input from those who have been there, done that before on what we planned so far.

 

We definitely want to go to a beach and plan on leaving ship right at 10. Believe we have it narrowed down to either Magens Bay (because its our first trip and everyone says its a must) or Emerald Beach (because its supposed to be less crowded and less touristy). Because we dock at Crown Bay is Magens too far and time consuming to get to? Both beaches seem to offer what we want-food,drink,bathrooms,chairs,water floats and nice calm relaxing water.

 

Also, we are not big shoppers, not much for jewelry, after first 5 shops they all look the same!! But we would like to walk through Charlotte Amalie. What time about should we leave the beach to do this? Is traffic really bad from Charlotte Amalie? If we leave there at 6 is that enough time to get back to ship by 7 or cutting it too close? Is there another place for shopping or is town about it?

 

Thanks again for any input from those in the know!!

Also, keep in mind if your itinerary states 10:00-7:00 then that means you must be back onboard no later than 6:30. (The itinerary always lists "departure time" and "all aboard time" is always 30 minutes prior.)

we would like to walk through Charlotte Amalie. What time about should we leave the beach to do this? Is traffic really bad from Charlotte Amalie? If we leave there at 6 is that enough time to get back to ship by 7 or cutting it too close? Is there another place for shopping or is town about it?

If you decide to go to Lindbergh for your beach time you will go past Crown Bay to get to CA from the beach. You'd hop a taxi in CA to return to the ship, and we'd grab that taxi no later than 6PM. You'll see drivers picking up others who are returning to the ship so no worries there.

There is limited shopping at Crown if you want to avoid talking the time to hit CA, but if you haven't been there before you should go to explore the alleys and historic aspect.

If you go to the East End for a beach CA would be on your way back to port.

Yes it can take some time to get through town with traffic but not bad as long as you allow for that.

Here's a map showing these locations-

http://www.virginislandsthisweek.com/st-thomas/maps/st-thomas-island-road-map.html -