Basseterre, St Kitts or Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas?

[piscescruiser62]

We are planning a Celebrity cruise for winter 2014 and was wondering which one of these ports most prefer. We are looking at the Reflection or the Silhouette and their itineraries are pretty much the same for the exception of these two ports. We have never been to either and was wondering about the two, please post any good or bad experiences you have had. Thank you.

[Floridiana]

I like St.Kitts better. Basseterre is a pretty Caribbean town. We took a great tour with this company:

http://www.gregsafaris.com/tours.asp

 

St. Thomas is more crowded. It is all about shopping and/or a few beaches or going over to St.John.

[BeagleOne]

Basseterre, hands down. Charlotte Amalie is overcrowded, overpriced, and overrated IMHO. Tourists are shoulder to shoulder on the main street, with merchants out on the street shouting to come into their shops. Not enjoyable at all, and "bargains" often aren't.

 

If you DO end up there, and you're interested in a particular item, be sure to research it in advance so you can compare prices. I was looking at cameras and the deals back home were much better than the "deals" in Charlotte Amalie.

 

St. Thomas does have some nice beaches, and St. John is beautiful, so if you choose the St. Thomas itinerary, I'd go with one of those options.

 

Basseterre, OTOH, is a fun town IMHO. A nice shopping area and little museum near the port, and walking around the city is fun. If you like glass, there's a great little business called Glass Island Designz that has some really nice things. They were located on the north side of Independence Square, about five minutes' walk from the pier, but may have moved. I felt perfectly safe walking around alone during the day.

 

There's also Brimstone Hill, if you're interested in history/archaeology; Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor, which has some beautiful gardens and a shop full of wonderful batik; and the sugar train, which is a great way to see the island.

 

So...I'd take the St. Kitts itinerary!

[Lard Greystoke]

Was at both last week. St Thomas had only one ship in so was hardly crowded. Magen's Beach had about a hundred people, maybe less. Plenty of room - very attractive beach.

 

St Kitt's is not likely to be overcrowded at any time. I would check to see how many ships are in port that day in St Thomas - if it's going to be crowded, choose St Kitt's. If not, St Thomas is also a pleasant destination.

[txaggiemom]

We were on the Reflection last February and it was absolutely awesome. Can't wait to go again.

 

We went to St. Thomas, which was our second visit there. Our first trip we went to Magen's beach by taxi on our own. Magen's Beach was very nice. Got there around 9:30 am and it was so nice and quiet. Good places to have lunch on the beach. Around noon, the excursion tours arrived and it was a little more crowded, but doable. We left around 1 PM to do a little shopping in town.

 

Our second visit to St. Thomas, we decided to take an excursion to St. John's. We were hesitant because we enjoyed St. Thomas so much first time. We were very disappointed in St. John's. Just wasn't what we expected. Trip over to St. John's was interesting, but we would have just as soon been on beach in St. Thomas.

 

We have not been to St. Kitts, but our 30 something daughter thinks it is great.

 

You will not be disappointed in the Reflection/Celebrity. The food was fabulous and the ship is very nice. We had a sky suite and loved the accommodations.

[mlrack101]

Love St Kitts! Been there twice and we're hoping to go again in 2015.

 

St Thomas was beautiful but very touristy...our second trip there we went to St John which is amazing! Its very private and natural so if you're into the tourist trap don't go to St John. Amazing beaches.

 

Both St Kitts and St Thomas (which I'll go to St John again) are on the itinerary Im looking at for 2015

[DSXM]

St. Thomas is better by far. Good shopping and picturesque views. St. Kitts has aggressive locals with stolen monkeys throwing them on you and demanding money for pictures. One of the employees on the ship we were just on pretty much told us not to do anything in St. Kitts unless you have a tour planned. St. Thomas you can enjoy however you like.

[Lard Greystoke]

St. Thomas is better by far. Good shopping and picturesque views. St. Kitts has aggressive locals with stolen monkeys throwing them on you and demanding money for pictures. One of the employees on the ship we were just on pretty much told us not to do anything in St. Kitts unless you have a tour planned. St. Thomas you can enjoy however you like.

 

Everyone's experience is different. I walked to Timothy's Hill, and then across the island to the landfill, and did not experience aggressive locals or hurled monkeys. The views on both St Thomas and Kitts are picturesque.