St. Thomas or St. Maarten/St. Martin to do most of my shopping?

[Nice Boat]

I'm taking the Caribbean Princess's 8/28/04 Eastern Caribbean cruise. I looked at posts on these two ports under the Ports of Call section on CruiseCritic as well as searching the internet in general and books at the bookstore. I've read that both are duty-free.

 

Now, I would like input from past Princess passengers who have visited these ports. Which of the two should I do most of my shopping? Which has the better pricing on items or are they about the same or does that depend on the type(s) of merchandise one is looking for?

 

I plan on getting gifts for family, friends and their children such as spices, rum, crafts, jams, etc. Of course, I want to shop for my husband and myself - possibly a watch (Movado), handbag(s), clothing, t-shirts, shirts, lighter household items, etc. I'm not looking to buy jewelry but I intend to still window shop unless a petite set of platinum or 18k white gold earrings catches my eye.

 

Any feedback and suggestions would be most appreciated. Thank you in advance!

[Salty Dawg]

Nice Boat,

 

Having been to the islands several times, we found that St. Martin has the best prices. Especially on liquor, cigarettes, t-shirts, & souvenirs.

 

Ken & Nancy

[impulzz]

I totally agree! St Thomas has good prices for everything you're looking for, but St Maarten has GREAT prices!! I felt like a kid in a candy store when I went jewelrey shopping there! I don't buy any jewelry now at home. I just save my pennies for my next visit, and then it's SHOP SHOP SHOP!! LOL!!

 

Have fun!!!

Lizz

[sprinkles]

Another vote for St. Maarten. It's hands down our favorite port to shop in. Have fun.

 

Tammy

[minnjudy]

and they take credit cards at all the stores? and it is safe to use them, right? May sound like a dumb question....but just wondering...

 

RC Nordic Empress 1/92 Bahamas

RC Enchantment W Carib 1/01 Legend to Hawaii 3/03

Next:

Carib Princess E Carib 6/04

[cruisingfreak]

I also vote for St Maarten. The best prices on jewelry.I've bought a few expensive pieces & the price was great.

 

It's safe to use credit cards.

 

Minette

[tinatark]

I agree, St. Maarten has better prices. BUT... the shops seemed a little nicer in St. Thomas, thanks tp those higher prices, I guess! St. Maarten felt more like a market-type atmosphere, to me.

 

The problem we had was, we stopped, shopped at St Thomas.... then saw better prices at St. Maarten!

 

Tina

 

Big Red Boat 6/86

Golden Princess 3/02

[KruzPrincess]

St. Maarten.

[Salty Dawg]

Never had a problem using our credit cards for purchases - Master Card, Visa, or Discover. (Be aware that not all the shops accept AmEx.)

 

However, we had much better success "bargaining" with the vendors when we used cash!

 

Ken & Nancy

[sue d. miller]

St. Martin and I always take cash. Much better deals.

 

Sue

7 days on Star Princess 10/24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zebra]

Nice Boat,

 

You must go to the Guavaberry Store on St. Maarten (on the main street) - they sell rum, liquers, spices, hot sauce and jam. This is totally our favorite store there!!!

 

Until Alaska 5/8/2004 Diamond Princess

 

 

Until Millenium 9/6/2004 to Europe!

 

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[Cactus]

Hands down St. Maarten! Rum - as stated go to Guavaberry Emporium on Front Street. It will probably be crowded so I have attached a link so you have an idea what is available. BTW samples are readily handed out - which "inspired" me to purchase additional bottles! Jewelry - Carribean Gems on Front Street - ask for "Barry" excellent, professional, high quality and extremely fair pricing.

 

www.guavberry.com

 

Booked:

Island Princess 06/26/04

Alaska

Grand Princess 03/19/05 Western Caribbean

 

Completed:

Golden Princess 03/20/04

Eastern Caribbean

Star Princess 10/11/03

Mexican Riviera

[Cactus]

Sorry had a GUAVABERRY Colada and spelled the link wrong -

 

Try

 

www.guavaberry.com

 

Booked:

Island Princess 06/26/04

Alaska

Grand Princess 03/19/05 Western Caribbean

 

Completed:

Golden Princess 03/20/04

Eastern Caribbean

Star Princess 10/11/03

Mexican Riviera

[lcsiki]

I have to put my two cents in on this one. I have been on 16 cruises and I would vote St. Thomas hands down the best port to shop for Jewelry and Perfume over St. Maarten. I can especially vouch for Ballerina Jewelers! They will beat any price on any island. I will say however that St. Maarten has the best price for cigarettes. Hope this helps!

Lisa

[Nice Boat]

To all - Thank you for the great feedback and suggestions so far! I look forward in viewing more postings on this topic. The feedback is adding to my anticipation and excitement for my upcoming cruise.

 

I definitely will note on a pad of paper all the specific stores mentioned in this thread and give each a visit while at the ports. I'm sure all the information that will be in this thread will be handy to others traveling a similar itinerary.

 

Sincerely,

Teri

[Salty Dawg]

Nice Boat,

 

Be sure to visit the great little beach bar called "Everyt'ing Cool" on Front Street in St. Maarten. ( http://www.philipsburg-info.com/everytingcool/ ) It is right in town amongst all the stores.

 

Great place to park the hubby while you power shop!

 

Ken & Nancy

[twodudes]

Hi All,

 

Niceboat and twodudes are on the same cruise so we also are eager to hear your advice. Can anyone compare to maybe Georgetown in Grand Cayman?

 

Rgds

Ash

 

 

4/03 RCI Splendour of the Seas

10/99 Carnival Destiny

[dickmac]

Both ports are great for shopping - you may want to consider the extra duty-free allowance for purchases made in St Thomas. For jewelry, my wife likes DK Gems(especially Deepti), Ballerina II(Tony), and Kay's(Sam) in St Maarten, and Cardow in St Thomas.

 

Have a great trip!

 

dickmac in lockport ny(near Toronto)

 

Dawn Princess 3/04

Maasdam 12/03

Adventure of the Seas 3/02

Galaxy 4/01Dawn Princess

[woodofpine]

St. Maarten gets the price nod. The wife really likes the main linen store on Front St. As others said, Phillipsburg is neat because you've got the nice harbor beach (and beach bars) sharing the same street block as much of the Front St. shopping - plus its little smaller, less overpowering, and more charming than St. Thomas. Also the market in Marigot-St. Martin offers some nice crafts and spices if you really want to shop 'till 'ya drop!

 

St. Thomas (Megans and St. John) offer better beaches than St. Martin... which isn't to say Mt. Martins aren't very good. I think the Harbor Beach is underrated vis-a-vis Orient.

[zebra]

Twodudes,

 

There's no comparison (in my opinion) between St. Thomas/St. Maarten and Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman is way more expensive - have been to all the above numerous times. You're gonna have a ball!!!

 

Until Alaska 5/8/2004 Diamond Princess

 

 

Until Millenium 9/6/2004 to Europe!

 

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<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

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[dbrady]

going on the caribbean princess may 15 and want to ship back my liquer purchases. which island can i do this on? or who has the best prices to do this with.

[lhbsurf]

Just to re-emphasize what dickmac already mentioned, there are big duty free advantages for shopping in the US Virgin Islands - I'm sorry, I cannot remember specifics, but especially on Alcohol, you could only buy a bottle or two duty free in other islands, but you can bring back (or ship back) more if it's purchased in St. Thomas. It's definitely worth checking out if you're buying liquor or expensive jewelry!!

 

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until Star Princess 11/04

 

Constellation 11/03

Enchantment of the Seas 11/99

Fantasy 03/93

 

 

 

 

[AmyinGA]

We did better in St Martin. We did know that if we bought something in St Thomas we could exchange or upgrade it in St Martin the next day at the same store. The people working in the shops also knew that this was our last port and tried to make deals with us. Most of the deals were great. I spent time in St Thomas getting some quotes on jewelry and then I had a good reference point for St Martin.

[Nice Boat]

dbrady,

 

To add to lhbsurf's post, based on my research (websites and travel books on the Caribbean), if you purchase the alcohol on St. Thomas, you can bring back up to 4 liters of alcohol per person or up to 5 liters if one bottle was produced in the Virgin islands. I assume a liter is a bottle.