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St Thomas or St Maarten ...shopping ?

Junebug08

By Junebug08,
in St. Thomas/St. John

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Mr. Bungle

Mr. Bungle

Posted
Posted
We are planning on doing only one excursion and I am trying to decide which island to do it on ...St Thomas or St Maarten ?

 

Which island has the better shopping?

 

When you get off the ship can you walk to the shopping on both islands?

 

Both have shopping directly off of the pier. No need for a taxi or bus if you don't want to go 'into town'...

 

St.Thomas has a lot of shoppes and buildings to walk through.

 

St.Martin has some shoppes and kiosks to browse.

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Sunny AZ Girl

Sunny AZ Girl

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it depends on where you dock in St. Thomas. Havensight has a ton of shops, while Crown Bay only has a few. However, downtown is not a far taxi ride from Crown Bay.

 

We are planning on a beach day in St. Thomas and a tour in St. Martin. We have been to St. Thomas several times, but only once quite a while ago to St. Martin. We will probably do a little shopping at each port, but a little goes a long way with me.

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buffi001

buffi001

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We feel like we've gotten better deals on liquor,jewelry and clothes

on St Maarten. Plus you can take the fantastic water taxi from the pier.

It's not only cheap ($6 for all day pp), the view is great, it leaves you

in the center of town, where beers are $1 and there is a beach right

there........No need for an excursion at all

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hopacruz

hopacruz

Posted
Posted
We feel like we've gotten better deals on liquor,jewelry and clothes

on St Maarten. Plus you can take the fantastic water taxi from the pier.

It's not only cheap ($6 for all day pp), the view is great, it leaves you

in the center of town, where beers are $1 and there is a beach right

there........No need for an excursion at all

 

 

Agree. St Maarten is better for shopping. Although, we still managed to spend plenty of money in St Thomas! :D

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buffi001

buffi001

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When you exit the water taxi, you are basically in the center

of town. Along the water, there is a boardwalk with restaurants,

bars, souvenir shops etc. I'm not sure of the name , but adjacent

to the boardwalk is a sandy beach. You can rent chairs/ umbrellas, enjoy

drinks from the shops on the boardwalk, all within ten steps of the water

taxi dock and in full view of the docked ship. It's the only port that I

can think of that has this amenity. You can do all of this with virtually

no walking , no effort , and no excursion expense. If you google

Phillipsburg, St Maartens or look at some photos from previous cruises

I'm sure you can see photos of the beach/boardwalk.

 

Front street ,which is where all of the shopping is located, is only a

short block away from the water taxi dock. It is a port where you can

go ashore, and enjoy an awful lot with very little effort and walking

 

 

I googled it myself...the name of the beach is Great Bay

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traveling1969

traveling1969

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Another vote for St Maarten. The beach is great and the water and sand are sparkling clean. There are several discount liquor stores with better prices than St Thomas. Turn left when you reach Front street as those shops offer better value. Be sure to walk all the way to the end and compare prices along the way. Some shops offer significantly lower prices than others. Cheaper cigs too if that's a concern. Plenty of jewelry stores as well and prices are as good if not better than St Thomas. One thing though; St Thomas has a bigger and better Mr. Tabelcloth:D.

 

You can walk to town in St Maaten if you so desire but it's not scenic. It is however a shorter distance than from either St Thomas port into town. As others have mentioned, the water taxi costs $6 per person for all day; a better option in my opinion. Enjoy!

 

Harry

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macruisefan

macruisefan

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You are sailing Oasis. The shopping is NOT right off the dock at St. Thomas. You will need to take a taxi.

 

Both islands have all the same shops. Most of which are all owned by the same companies. Shopping in the islands isn't really what it once was. Pick one island and you should be good. I would suggest St. Maarten.

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FLHugh

FLHugh

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Duty Free allowances on Liquor and Cigarettes are much more liberal on goods bought in St. Thomas since it is a US Possession. I agree the water taxi in really nice in St Martin. The dollar beers are right at the town landing and the Barefoot Terrace restaurant right at the town landing is good also. Nice to sit on the terrace and watch beach and walkway. I guess it also depends on what you are shopping for. Have a great cruise!!

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Mr. Bungle

Mr. Bungle

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You are sailing Oasis. The shopping is NOT right off the dock at St. Thomas. You will need to take a taxi.

 

Both islands have all the same shops. Most of which are all owned by the same companies. Shopping in the islands isn't really what it once was. Pick one island and you should be good. I would suggest St. Maarten.

 

Oasis doesn't dock at the main pier in Havensight(sp)???

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Familygoboston Great Review Rare

Familygoboston

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Another vote for SMX...again Oasis and Allure dock at Crown Bay, so the real shopping is a cab ride away ( there are a few shops at Crown Bay, but not much) whereas in SMX you can walk, or take the water taxi or a regular taxi. We've also found better deals on jewelry, though if you are spending real money and expect to go over your customs limits (800 pp) then you might prefer ST T as it US, and not subject to th limits. I also like SMX for more inexpensive islands stuff, ST T is a lot of International jewelry shops and duty free, SMX seems to have more interesting and varied shops.

Have fun!

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