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Havensight or Crown Bay

floridalover5623

By floridalover5623,
in Princess Cruises

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yoyosma

yoyosma

Posted
Posted

I believe the op is correct.

 

I recently read that Royal Caribbean has entered into an agreement with VI port authority whereby Crown Bay will be their preferred dock. Pretty sure they need it for their mega ships anyway.

 

Also, if you take a look at the upcoming docking schedule on VINOW for St. Thomas you will see that the Princess ships are currently scheduled for Havensight.

 

Here's a link to an article http://viconsortium.com/business/vi-port-authority-signs-ten-year-agreement-with-royal-caribbean/

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satxdiver

satxdiver

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Posted

I just looked at the article and the agreement is for 10 years. All of the Princess ships scheduled for November are scheduled for the WICO dock. It appears the OP is very correct in what they posted. We have always been to the WICO (Havensight) pier and like it.

 

http://www.**********/cruise/ship-schedule/11-2016/

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OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
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We had rather dock at Crown Bay, but many other Princess cruisers love docking at Havensight and are often upset when docking at Crown Bay.

May not be the place to ask :o ... but wonder how this will affect HAL because very frequently HAL ships have docked at Crown Bay. ????

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floridalover5623

floridalover5623

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That's too bad! We always go to the closest beach to Crown Bay...Emerald Beach. Much nicer than the one close to Havensight...the beach near The Marriott!

 

Yea. Kind of sucks. Nothing but the lousy shops to go to close by with their overprices junk for sale.

I'll be missing Crown Bay with the close by Emerald beach. :(

For those that don't believe it just check out satxdiver post.

Were scheduled to stop there a few more times in the coming weeks. :mad:

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Clampram

Clampram

Posted
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We spent part of our honeymoon in St Thomas in 1970. It was exotic and the shopping was incredible ( I'm not a shopper),

Now, it is really just a shadow of its' former self. I guess all the ships are great for the local economy.

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seafish

seafish

Posted
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Docking at Crown Bay -vs - WICO is a certainly a personal preference but - IMO Havensight (WICO) has the advantage with many & better dockside shopping/restaurants venues, walkable to downtown - excursion availability. Crown Bay looks nice but really not that much there - although it is close to Water Island but for most passengers getting to downtown Charlotte Amaile requires a Safari Van which more recently has been dropping passengers a distance from center city in order to make the loop back for more fares. Not a big deal but was way better when the primary drop & pickup was near center city Post Office/Gardens. Oasis will be at Crown Bay when we are next at ST - so looks like Regal will be Havensight - hopefully that will continue for future Princess ST dockings.

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pablo222

pablo222

Posted
Posted

For those that don't believe it just check out satxdiver post.

 

Why?

 

Havensite vs. Crown Bay is pretty much a personal preference.

That you have another poster who agrees with you is not

convincing.

 

I'm good either way.

 

I like Emerald Beach.

I like having the stores just off the ship in Havensite.

 

For my super-old mom, Havensite is nice, as she can shop

a little bit without having to go too far. She probably hasn't

been to a beach in 40 years.

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floridalover5623

floridalover5623

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Why?

 

Havensite vs. Crown Bay is pretty much a personal preference.

That you have another poster who agrees with you is not

convincing.

 

I'm good either way.

 

I like Emerald Beach.

I like having the stores just off the ship in Havensite.

 

For my super-old mom, Havensite is nice, as she can shop

a little bit without having to go too far. She probably hasn't

been to a beach in 40 years.

 

I am not a shopper & couldn't care less to purchase anything in St Thomas especially when practically everything they carry can be bought in the US at the same or lower price.

Whould you buy a 1 TB HD for $79 ? I doubt it.

Liquor - Take a photo of it & they match it on the ship on the ship with a 10 % discount.

I'll be missing Crown Bay & Emerald beach. :(

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snowbird1

snowbird1

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I just heard that this season all Princess ships will be only docking at the Havensight area. Crown bay will only be used as a backup if there's not sufficient room.

 

 

Thank goodness Princess is going there, RCCL is now sending most of their ships to Crown.

 

 

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floridalover5623

floridalover5623

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If this rumor is true, you are in for some sticker shock.

 

Docking fees for Havensight are significantly higher than the fees at Crown Bay.

Your cruise fares will be going up for the privilege to dock at Havensight.

 

Talking to the shop owners at Havensight they were very happy.

Maybe they consider Princess cruisers to be bigger spenders. :D

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jode

jode

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I was recently on the Celebrity Summit. We were the only ship in port that day and they stuck us at Crown Bay. I was not happy.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We too just got off the Summit - did a b2b with St. Thomas as a port on each week. We were surprised to see we would not be at Havensight (which we just assumed due to always docking there in past cruises). I guess doing my port research it slipped right by me that this would be the case.

 

Crown Bay is very limited with shops, etc. compared to Havensight. This cruise we could not do excusions etc to my hubby's back issues and were pretty much only able to shop or walk close by the port. This port was not a good choice for us as there was very limited shopping or places to sit and have a drink and people watch, etc. Havensight is our preferred dock as you can walk into town on your own and there is a lot more to see and do just at the pier. They did have open side vans going to town ($4pp per trip) but I don't think they brought you right to the very center of town as a regular cab would.

 

I am sure cost is a factor in chosing Crown Bay over Havensight. And we can sadly see that the "cost factor" is affecting everything to do with cruising. It has become more of a "big business" rather than providing a nice and exciting "experience" - just my opinion.

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dmwnc1959

dmwnc1959

Posted
Posted
If this rumor is true, you are in for some sticker shock.

 

Docking fees for Havensight are significantly higher than the fees at Crown Bay.

Your cruise fares will be going up for the privilege to dock at Havensight.

 

Ships docking there for years no real difference in fees that I have seen on ships I have sailed to both places on. Remember HS use to be the only game in town, now there is competition.

 

 

I did a B2B on Royal Princess in 2013 - the first week docking at Crown Bay and the second week docking at Havensight - and I too don't recall the reported "significantly higher" fees at the latter. Maybe BruceMuzz can back it up with some data?

 

 

Crown bay sucks!

 

 

Pretty much...lol :D

 

Other than the proximity to Emerald Beach I don't think I've heard any other real benefits to docking at Crown Bay? Anyone?

 

The view from Paradise Point of Havensight, Charlotte Amalie, and Crown Bay...

 

11543193604_92dccf33a3_b_d.jpg

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yoyosma

yoyosma

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

Other than the proximity to Emerald Beach I don't think I've heard any other real benefits to docking at Crown Bay? Anyone?

 

The view from Paradise Point of Havensight, Charlotte Amalie, and Crown Bay...

x

 

 

Another possible benefit of Crown Bay might be the proximity to the ferry to Water Island for Homeymoon Beach. We have always thought one day we would give it a try but haven't yet. Now it may be too late, not sure I would want to take a cab to Crown Bay just to do that.

 

And we too like Emerald Beach but there are other beaches to be explored out of Havensight.

Edited by yoyosma
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twin123185

twin123185

Posted
Posted
Totally agree, have mobility issue and whenever docked at Crown Bay we never get off the ship:(

 

 

I wanted to walk across to the skyway. When I saw where we were I was pissed off. Plus the only store selling cigarettes didn't have enough of the brand I wanted and the scotch selection was limited. My wife was not happy as she wanted to go to H. STERN. There was no reason for her to get off the ship. She could have at Havensight..

 

 

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twin123185

twin123185

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We too just got off the Summit - did a b2b with St. Thomas as a port on each week. We were surprised to see we would not be at Havensight (which we just assumed due to always docking there in past cruises). I guess doing my port research it slipped right by me that this would be the case.

 

 

 

Crown Bay is very limited with shops, etc. compared to Havensight. This cruise we could not do excusions etc to my hubby's back issues and were pretty much only able to shop or walk close by the port. This port was not a good choice for us as there was very limited shopping or places to sit and have a drink and people watch, etc. Havensight is our preferred dock as you can walk into town on your own and there is a lot more to see and do just at the pier. They did have open side vans going to town ($4pp per trip) but I don't think they brought you right to the very center of town as a regular cab would.

 

 

 

I am sure cost is a factor in chosing Crown Bay over Havensight. And we can sadly see that the "cost factor" is affecting everything to do with cruising. It has become more of a "big business" rather than providing a nice and exciting "experience" - just my opinion.

 

 

See my previous post! I never ever though we would dock here being the only ship that day. Terrible place to dock if you want to go to the skyway and shop.

 

 

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seafish

seafish

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Another possible benefit of Crown Bay might be the proximity to the ferry to Water Island for Homeymoon Beach. We have always thought one day we would give it a try but haven't yet. Now it may be too late, not sure I would want to take a cab to Crown Bay just to do that.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not too late - as an option you can take the Princess Kon Tiki Harbor & Beach excursion to Water Island Honeymoon Beach - R/T Havensight - no taxi needed, easy to do plus some sightseeing, coral reef viewing, etc. Or - direct to world famous Megan (Beach) Bay excursion with optional return drop time on your own in Charlotte Amalie.

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