Where does CB dock in St Thomas???

[comfortcove]

Thanks for any insight, I have read conflicting information. I realize this question has probably been answered before, but I can't find it. Happy cruising to all, comfortcove

[Colo Cruiser]

Here is the link:

 

http://www.*****/general_usvi/cruiseship/cruise_2006/STT-Oct.php

 

 

Remember they are using 2 different docks now in St Thomas the alternative is Crown Bay.

I think Princess will be using this Crown Bay Pier sight more often then not. It is a litle distance from town. :)

[Toto2Kansas]

Last week we docked at the Havensite Pier. Of coarse, that doesn't mean it will next time though.

[comfortcove]

Thank you for the help. Darn, we will be docking at the CB on October3. I wanted to do the ferry to St. John this time, it will be less convenient. Anyone know anything about getting from this pier to downtown and the ferry to st. John? Maybe we should be lazy and just got to Magen's Bay. Maybe we should book the princess tour to St. John. I assume they provide a bus to the ferry, although the tour booklet doesn't spell that out. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks, and happy cruising to all, comfortcove

[Mapu]

Thank you for the help. Darn, we will be docking at the CB on October3. I wanted to do the ferry to St. John this time, it will be less convenient. Anyone know anything about getting from this pier to downtown and the ferry to st. John? Maybe we should be lazy and just got to Magen's Bay. Maybe we should book the princess tour to St. John. I assume they provide a bus to the ferry, although the tour booklet doesn't spell that out. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks, and happy cruising to all, comfortcove

You are best off taking a cab to Red Hook and catching the ferry to St. John from there as early as you can get off the ship. Once on St. John there are "Safari" busses that you can hop on and off to get to different beaches. Skip Trunk Bay unless you can get there before the ship's tour. Go to Hawksnest and or Gibney. Catch a 3:00 pm PM ferry back and you'll get back to the ship in plenty of time. We have done this many times. It is a fraction of the cost of the ship's excursion. If you are going to snorkel and don't have your own stuff there is a dive shop jut to the right of the pier where you can rent or buy. We have our own masks and snorkels so we are always ready to go. Gail

[comfortcove]

Thanks for the advice, we will do that. Which of the two alternative beaches you mentioned is less commercial? Do they both have food and chairs? We have never been to St. John. I also want to go to Little Switzerland before returning to the ship. Thanks for the help. I booked an independent tour for St. Maartin. Last year we were beseiged by peddlers at the beach, and felt really hassled on our own. They would not take a polite no for an answer, on a small tour we will be more free to just relax, I hope. Happy cruising, comfortcove

[Mapu]

Thanks for the advice, we will do that. Which of the two alternative beaches you mentioned is less commercial? Do they both have food and chairs? We have never been to St. John. I also want to go to Little Switzerland before returning to the ship. Thanks for the help. I booked an independent tour for St. Maartin. Last year we were beseiged by peddlers at the beach, and felt really hassled on our own. They would not take a polite no for an answer, on a small tour we will be more free to just relax, I hope. Happy cruising, comfortcove

Neither of these beaches has food. You can pick up food in Cruz Bay before you get on the safari bus. Cinnamon Bay has food and "facilities". Hawksnest has "facilities" and Gibney (sometimes called Oppenheimer) just has a very private beach. Another choice is Caneel Bay. They serve an incredible buffet lunch and you can use the beach in front of the restaurant or upon entering the grounds if you walk to the left of the hotel there is a road that leads down to Honeymoon Beach. Gail

[comfortcove]

Read some online reviews, and looks like Honeymoon Beach or Turtle Beach would be really nice for us.

[Mapu]

Honeymoon Beach is definitely easier to get to then Turtle Beach. Gibney Beach is extremely private (most people don't "notice it". You can snorkel from Hawksnest over to it. It is what St. John is all about! No matter which beach you go to you'll want to make a trip back to stay on St. John for a week. We have done this several times after "discovering it" on a cruise. gail

[CruisinChris]

It's probably easier and faster to take the ferry to St. John from downtown Charlotte Amalie rather than going all the way out to Red Hook now that the ships are docking in Crown Bay. The ferry ride's a little longer and a little more expensive but I think you'll end up ahead versus trying to take a taxi all the way through town and then out to Red Hook. Anybody who's seen the traffic in Charlotte Amalie knows what I'm talking about...

[Mapu]

It's probably easier and faster to take the ferry to St. John from downtown Charlotte Amalie rather than going all the way out to Red Hook now that the ships are docking in Crown Bay. The ferry ride's a little longer and a little more expensive but I think you'll end up ahead versus trying to take a taxi all the way through town and then out to Red Hook. Anybody who's seen the traffic in Charlotte Amalie knows what I'm talking about...

It really depends on where you dock If you are docked in Crown Bay AND can walk to the ship from the downtown ferry it is definitely an option. The traffic in Charlotte Amalie can be at a stand still. If you are docked at Havensight Red Hook is definitely the option. The cabs that go to Coki also go to Red hook. The route they take avoids traffic. Also, the down town ferries are less frequent. Gail

[FLACRUISER99]

After 10/1/06 Princess will dock all ships at Crown Bay.Schedules are here http://www.*****/general_usvi/cruiseship/

[Colo Cruiser]

Here is the link:

 

http://www.*****/general_usvi/cruiseship/cruise_2006/STT-Oct.php

 

Jtutak,

 

I already posted this above????:confused:

[FLACRUISER99]

Jtutak,

 

I already posted this above????:confused:

Your link was October. My link was for Folks that may want to verify other months thru Dec 31 06:eek:

I Also posted this Info After 10/1/06 Princess will dock all ships at Crown Bay.

[TheHappyWanderer]

multiple answers........when a customer calls Princess to ask where the ship will dock, you are told that it will dock in the usual sight at Haven.....I asked multiple times, since I did not like the idea of docking at a now-deserted dock site with unfinished services and shops. And always they tell me that my cruise on the Crown will NOT be docking at Crown Bay since the facilities are not yet finished.

 

I wonder what is the real story?

[FLACRUISER99]

You will probably find out when you get there.:eek::eek::eek::eek:But looking at the VINOW web site I see several dates that have 3 ships at the WICO Docks and Princess at Crown. Draw your own conclusions. Also I have read somewhere that Princess signed an agreement to dock 3 ships calling at Crown after 10/1/06

[comfortcove]

It appears to me that our CB cruise September 30 will be the first to be docking there. I am so glad I read this board, Princess never told us this. I think some HAL ships have been docking there for awhile, if there are more than four or five ships in port. We have to get our kids grown up so we can take longer cruises to more out of the way ports! Thank all for the advice, and smooth sailing. Nancy

[enymarsh]

With all of this discussion about where this dock is and traffic through town... what about the location of Coki beach? I had planned on taking a cab from the dock to coki beach... will this mean that we'll have to sit in traffic through town to get there? or is this beach reached by heading off in the other direction? I've never been to this beach so I don't know which way we'd be heading.

 

I would opt to take a ferry over to St. John (even though we've done this many times before) rather than to sit in traffic. Since we never shop anyway, we'd have no reason to go anywhere near town unless it was in the way of the beach we're visiting.:rolleyes:

[Host CJSKIDS]

I emailed one of the writer's of an online newspaper for the US Virgin Islands and the answer that I received was that Carnival has signed a contract to dock all Carnival and Princess ships at Crown Bay starting October. This will be the only dock they use after that time. The new mall should be opened sometime in November, she just wasn't sure of the exact dates.

[maryr65]

the motivation and reasoning behind this was what exactly. I think they should have waited until the services/shops are open before starting this. I hate to think that the motivating factor was that it costs less to dock there than it does at Havensight.