Shopping shore excursions St. Thomas/St.Maarten

[JerseyGirlJen]

Hi Gang,

First of all, I LOVE these boards. I've found so much great information.

 

I'm doing my first cruise in November on the Triumph :D and have been looking at the shore excursions. They offer a shore excursion that includes shopping. My question is, can't we do this on our own without an excursion and walk to the shopping district, or is the shopping area quite a distance from the port and therefore it's better to do the excursion?

 

These excursions are in both St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

[SojChindo]

Yes, you can shop at both ports without going on an excursion. Both shopping districts are within walking distance from the pier if you are active -- will take about 20 minutes each way. Or you can hop in a taxi for $3-5 per person.

 

I recommend that you check out the BEst Deals thread for a good discussion on which port has the best deals. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=287253

[Gregg20]

If you go to the main message boards page here and scroll down to "destinations" you'll find tons of info. Good Luck!

[JerseyGirl97]

You should look on the port boards. When you get to the message board main page, instead of clicking on Carnival you can skroll down to the ports. I found those very helpful! You will find the answer to your question and tons of other threads just about that port! I have looked on those boards for the ports I am going to and have found so much information. Happy reading!!

[bonniemari]

In St Marteen you can take the water taxi over to the shopping district-more shops and casinos than you can imagine. Think the water taxi was a couple of $$ for round trip.

 

Our last visit to St Thomas in Jan we just shopped right at the pier. We had been to St Thomas a couple times before so we just kind of walked around the shops at the pier. Didn't go into town to shop-according to my appraisal I got a great deal on the jewerly I bought there.

 

One of the casino dealers on the ship told me-buy jewerly in St Thomas and liquor in St Marteen. Seemed like he was right from what I saw.

 

Oh and on the jewerly never take the first, second or even third price. keep bartering until you get the price you want.

[elaineb]

As for shopping in St. Thomas, there is Havensight Mall right near the pier with most of the same shops that are in town. That being said, I still love to go into town. Don't walk this - the shuttle will only cost you $3 each way. It's about a 2 mile walk into town if I had to guess.

[Gregg20]

If you go to the main message boards page here and scroll down to "destinations" you'll find tons of info. Good Luck!

 

I meant to say "ports of call" not destinations. I've been to many sites and got confused.

[mongie]

Hi Jersey Girl Jen,

 

I'm right off Exit 117, the beginning of the Jersey Shore. We're sailing on the Miracle on March 12. First time on Carnival. 11 of us are going.

 

Anyway, St. Thomas has the best shopping. We found St. Maarten to be a bit more expensive and didn't offer as much variety.

 

Havensight mall is literally minutes from the dock, but the buys in Charlotte Amalie (downtown) are much better. It's also very quaint with the small, congested-with-traffic streets.

 

Both ports have the usual tents with T-shirts, handbags, and all kinds of stuff, but if you're interested in jewelry, St. Thomas is the place to go. We have a favorite place there called Grand Jewelers and I bought my wife some nice stuff there. A friend of mine works in the NYC Jewelry district and said we got some really good buys there. She did get some good perfume buys downtown also. And they're ALWAYS willing to haggle.

 

One more note - on the main drag in Charlotte Amalie, there's a tiny upstairs burger/sandwich joint called Bumpas. You place your order inside, then go to the outdoor seating area which overlooks the harbor. It's basic food, but the atmosphere is what makes it neat. Awesome sight!

 

Supposedly Bumpas porch is where Grisham wrote the last chapter of Pelican Brief.

 

Anyway, hope you have a great trip! Stay in touch.

 

Mongie

[StacyandTim]

In St. Maarten, you can get off the ship, walk a very short distance and be in the main shopping district.

 

No need to do a "shopping excursion," as it is all right there within walking distance and it's BEAUTIFUL!!!

[popcorngal]

St. Maarten has built up their dock area to include a small shopping village, similar to Havensight at St. Thomas. But to get to the main shopping area in Philipsburg, you will still need to take the water taxi or a cab.