St. Thomas Questions

[TwinMamainMN]

Is the Skyride to Paradise Point wheelchair accessible? I've been to the Paradise Point website and searched but found no information about accessibility (not even in the FAQ). Would love to go with our kids, but our daughter needs her manual wheelchair. Otherwise, I guess we need to find an accessible vehicle to hire for part of the day, so we can make the trip up there, enjoy the views, eat/drink, and return to the port area.

 

Which beach - if any - has accessible bathrooms, restaurant, and beach wheelchair? We want to show our kids the amazing beaches, but not if we can't get her around. An accessible beach is not "make or break" as our cruise also stops in Labadee and Coco Cay, and I know those will be just fine.

 

All suggestions appreciated!

[1025cruise]

From what I remember, a wheelchair on the Skyride might be difficult. I'm not sure if they allow a private taxi to go up the mountain.

[kokopelli-az]

The Skyride is not accessible but you can drive to the top and skip the Skyride (which gets a lot of mediocre reviews).   

 

Here is John Sage's take on accessibility of St Thomas, including the lack of accessible taxis:

https://www.accessiblecaribbeanvacations.com/st-thomas-usvi-disabled-access

 

If you decide to hire an accessible vehicle, this transport company (ICBW) has 5* on Trip Advisor.   ICBW = It Could Be Worse.   

https://usviicbw.com/

 

Is your cruise ship offering any accessible tours in St Thomas?   

[TwinMamainMN]

19 hours ago, kokopelli-az said:

The Skyride is not accessible but you can drive to the top and skip the Skyride (which gets a lot of mediocre reviews).   

 

Here is John Sage's take on accessibility of St Thomas, including the lack of accessible taxis:

https://www.accessiblecaribbeanvacations.com/st-thomas-usvi-disabled-access

 

If you decide to hire an accessible vehicle, this transport company (ICBW) has 5* on Trip Advisor.   ICBW = It Could Be Worse.   

https://usviicbw.com/

 

Is your cruise ship offering any accessible tours in St Thomas?   

Thank you for sharing those links. Haven't looked into tours. We are traveling with our 3 kids ages 14, 14, and 11 and prefer to DIY our excursions. Although if we have to rent something to get to Paradise point, it might be the same cost-wise. I will look into it. Thanks!

[TwinMamainMN]

Just in case anyone else is wondering and/or looking for an exact answer, I emailed Paradise Point to ask if the skyride was accessible. Got a lovely response in just under 24 hours.

 

"Unfortunately, the Skyride is not wheelchair/motorized scooter accessible because of safety issues for those who are reliant on them. The Skyride goes up over 700 ft above sea level and passes over a lot of wooded and different terrain. In the event of an emergency and guests needed to be evacuated, all persons would need to be able to move out of the way and walk out of the terrain on their own. It would be putting their life and safety at risk. There are 36 steps to reach the loading area. Once you are at the top of Paradise Point, there is a ramp, along with stairs, that make the entire property accessible.

 

There is the option to take a taxi up to the top, unfortunately we do not have Uber or Lyft in St. Thomas." 

 

[VirginiaIsForCruisers]

I recommend Larry with It Could Be Worse. He will take you anywhere you need to go on St. Thomas. He has an accessible vehicle. Terrific man and very accommodating.

[NinnerN]

On 12/30/2022 at 1:26 PM, VirginiaIsForCruisers said:

I recommend Larry with It Could Be Worse. He will take you anywhere you need to go on St. Thomas. He has an accessible vehicle. Terrific man and very accommodating.

Thank you for this.  We are going to St. Thomas on Symphony next month and looking for help in getting to places with a scooter.  

[RN_Prof]

Has anyone done NCL's Discover St. Thomas & Magens Bay excursions? NCL lists it as a activity level 2 and cannot accommodate wheelchairs or walkers. Is it because of the open air-buses or is it walking downtown? I normally use a quad-walker on long walks, but I can go with a cane as long as there is no standing for 15 minutes or more.

[kokopelli-az]

14 hours ago, RN_Prof said:

Has anyone done NCL's Discover St. Thomas & Magens Bay excursions? NCL lists it as a activity level 2 and cannot accommodate wheelchairs or walkers. Is it because of the open air-buses or is it walking downtown? I normally use a quad-walker on long walks, but I can go with a cane as long as there is no standing for 15 minutes or more.

I would guess it would be because of downtown, which is not very mobility friendly.   But to be sure, contact their shore excursion desk to verify.   NCL has accessible (Level 1) excursions in St Thomas.   Have you considered one of these?