jlandz09 Posted July 15 #1 Share Posted July 15 Wife and I are traveling with my parents and my two sisters (80ish, 70ish, 40ish, and 16ish, respectively) and I'm trying to come up with ideas for what we can all do that have built-in flexibility. For context, my mom is in the beginning stages of dementia and so she is quite unpredictable on what she will be interested in doing. This pretty much rules out pre-booked shore excursions (although RCI's St. Thomas offerings weren't particularly inspiring). My thought was that if we get a rental car, we have the freedom to go anywhere we want on the island and if anyone gets bored/tired and wants to go back to the comfort of the ship, we would be able to take them back and whoever wants to stay out can continue exploring. I think my wife is on board with planning for these considerations, but she is not convinced we need the car because she doesn't know what we'll be doing with it. Part of me understands what she is saying because neither of us are "sit on the beach all day" people; we like to get out and see the area and do things. But some people in our traveling party are perfectly happy to just sit on the beach. My question is, my wife needs to know what else we would be taking the rental car to go and see/do that makes it worth getting? What is Christiansted like? We're not huge shoppers either, but we don't mind walking through markets if they are part of a larger authentic cultural experience. We're fine with short stretches of walking to get to interesting places, but we are not looking to do "hikes." Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms411 Posted July 15 #2 Share Posted July 15 You mentioned Christiansted. That's in St Croix. This is the St Thomas forum, and Charlotte Amalie is the major town area. If you are indeed going to St Croix, you should post in that forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlandz09 Posted July 15 Author #3 Share Posted July 15 Yes, so sorry. We are going to both St. Croix and St. Thomas. Got a bit mixed up. Same question for St. Thomas. What are the various towns like? Are any of them interesting to just walk around in and explore? Are any of the observation points drivable, or do you have to take the gondola/cable car to reach them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms411 Posted July 15 #4 Share Posted July 15 What ship are you on? There are 2 docks. If you rent a vehicle on St Thomas, parking in town is limited, and the popular walking route has hills and steps. And, the Historical Trust Museum and Fort Christian are not always open. There are 2 new artsy shops in town now, Zora's and Creative Native, but they might not interest everybody on your group. I'll make more comments when you post your ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlandz09 Posted July 15 Author #5 Share Posted July 15 Adventure of the Seas. Shopping/market-type area is fine, but that’s probably near the bottom of the list for most in our party. Think more points of interest or sights. For instance, when we go to San Juan, we like to take a taxi up to the fort, walk around the fort, and then walk back through the heart of the city. We pass by shops, interesting churches, local eateries, cute little parks, just places where you can take in the culture. Not necessarily looking for trendy spots. Tourist-y type places are fine to a point, but we’re not looking for kitschy gift shops either. Hope that makes sense. Of course San Juan and St. Thomas are going to be wildly different, but just looking for what there is to do besides beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms411 Posted July 15 #6 Share Posted July 15 The forts in San Juan are part of National Park so they're open daily and there are sometimes ranger led tours. The St Thomas fort is local government so not open weekends or holidays. There's also an admission fee. You still didn't say which ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlandz09 Posted July 15 Author #7 Share Posted July 15 Adventure of the Seas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms411 Posted July 16 #8 Share Posted July 16 Royal Caribbean ships, like the Adventure of the Seas, docks at Crown Bay which is west of the town of Charlotte Amalie. The advantage of that dock is that Emerald Beach is very close to that dock, and has nice amenities so your older person(s) can be comfortable, and there is a floating water type park a short walk down the beach. I think the cab fare is approximately $6 per person each way, and there are always taxis waiting to take people back to the ship. It is a very short ride. I'm going to post the link to the water park. None of the other beaches have a similar activity. Christiansted in St Croix is more historical and is easier to walk around. The fort is part of the National Park so not operated by local government. There are also beaches very close to the cruise dock, and many cruisers will be taking taxis to get to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms411 Posted July 16 #9 Share Posted July 16 Splash Zone Aqua Park on Emerald Beach on St Thomas. https://www.facebook.com/ctccharters340 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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