Crown Bay - St Thomas

[TMull]

We were just there and I really didn't see a problem. I don't care where the ship docks as long as I can get a cab. Best bet is to cab into town and go from there.

 

Definitely not a nice pier, but certainly not reason to skip St Thomas.

[brady19]

I have been to ST many, many times, always stopped at Havensight. Just how far away is Crown Bay. Can you walk from Crown Bay to Havensight or downtown?

[alphakitty]

We were in St. Thomas a week ago. There was a HAL ship in Crown bay. I chatted with a couple on the ship while heading over to St. John on the ferry. They didn't like the CB dock as much because of the distance away.

Here's a map of St. Thomas to give you and idea of Crown Bay and Havensight docks. :)

 

http://tourism.virginislandsdailynews.com/stthomasmapbig.html

[cruzfiend]

Thanks Kitty - that helped alot.;)

[rjack22]

Crown Bay will hold two ships. We were there on 2/8/07 and there was another ship there with us.

 

There are 3 or 4 stores open now. Mostly fine jewelry.

[cjmayes51]

My wife and I have always waked from the docks @ Havensite to downtown, 15+ minute, shopped and taken a taxi back to the ship. From the map posted it looks like Crown Bay would be a closer walk to downtown. Has anyone tried that?

[chrysalis]

My wife and I have always waked from the docks @ Havensite to downtown, 15+ minute, shopped and taken a taxi back to the ship. From the map posted it looks like Crown Bay would be a closer walk to downtown. Has anyone tried that?

 

it is not closer....check it out using google earth

[rjack22]

Crown Bay is further from town than Havensight. I think 3 miles. The walk would take you through an industrial area. Not the best. Take a taxi.

 

Crown Bay is not ugly. You will still get a view. When we were there we overlooked Water Island and the boats moored along there. We were on the Starboard side and were backed in.

 

The shops are attractive, although only a few open. When they do all open you will have a nice place to shop right at the ship.

[AliceS]

We were in St. Thomas in October and February. There were NO shops open in October and just a few in February. Crown Bay is not as convenient as Havensight, nor as pretty. We like to go to the beach and they shop. We were charged $11 pp to go to Megan's Bay, drop off in town was $8 pp, getting back to the ship from town $4. That is expensive. If you just want to shop, adding $8 pp to the bill makes a stop at Havensight a bargain. We didn't tip one cent to any driver with charges like that. Maybe a ship's tour would end up attractive when you factor in the costs?

 

Don't like Crown Bay at all. It's a shame, because that's the way it's going to be. Hubby says to get over it and add the cost to the bottom line.

[djandnic]

We were just there and I really didn't see a problem. I don't care where the ship docks as long as I can get a cab. Best bet is to cab into town and go from there.

 

Definitely not a nice pier, but certainly not reason to skip St Thomas.

 

We won't skid St. Thomas, we just won;t go on Princess for the eastern or southern routes so we can stop at Havnesight on another cruise line.

[djandnic]

We were just there and I really didn't see a problem. I don't care where the ship docks as long as I can get a cab. Best bet is to cab into town and go from there.

 

Definitely not a nice pier, but certainly not reason to skip St Thomas.

 

We won't skip St. Thomas, we just won't go on Princess for the eastern or southern routes so we can stop at Havnesight on another cruise line.

[cruzfiend]

Is this the pier where you would get the ferry to St Johns???????

[Cruisin Sal]

How long is the walk from the gangway to the taxis or tour buses?

[TMull]

My wife and I have always waked from the docks @ Havensite to downtown, 15+ minute, shopped and taken a taxi back to the ship. From the map posted it looks like Crown Bay would be a closer walk to downtown. Has anyone tried that?

 

I mentioned in one of the shops downtown that we might walk back to the ship at Crown Bay and all the sales ladies laughed. It is not reasonably walkable.

[fpat]

Could someone please tell me how long of a ride it is to Megans Bay from this dock

 

Thanks

[crusdiva]

Here's a thread from December about Crown Point which might answer some questions:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=456213

[Leafpeeper]

We were not as happy with the Princess dock at Crown Bay as the one NCL and RCCL use because they are right at downtown and within walking distance of the tram with the bar on top of the mountain.

 

Megan's Bay Beach is about a 30-40 minute ride. It depends on how many stops the driver makes. It is very scenic ride up and over the mountain with some goregous views of the ships looking back. Sapphire Beach is absolutely gorgeous. Last Fall we went to Coki Beach--beautiful views looking out but not much beach space compared to Megan's Bay. It was not crowded that day, and we enjoyed it but it definetely was not as large or scenic as Sapphire or Megan's Bay.

[cruzzers]

We totally loved docking at the new pier in Crown Bay. There is a very upscale marina just across the from the ship and you can take a short ferry ride to one of the most beautiful beaches in St Thomas. Shhhh, don't tell anyone about the beach because it is still an unknown and very pleasant place to go to beat the usual crowds.

[Ontario Traveller]

We were on the Crown Princess in February, stopped at Crown Bay in St.Thomas. The biggest loss to all of us Princess cruisers, in my opinion, is the loss of one of the most beautiful views in the Caribbean. Approaching Charlotte Amalie, sailing away from this beautiful harbour, and being able to gaze out at it during the day -- all gone.

 

As for walking from Crown Bay into downtown, it took us about 35 minutes, but we are pretty fast walkers. I think 45-50 minutes of steady walking (not strolling) would be more typical. The walk is along a fairly busy paved road (there is a sidewalk), so you feel safe enough. People have said the route is through an "industrial area" -- not really, more like commercial. But it certainly isn't a "pretty" walk, as the walk from Havensight into town is.

 

Overall, our preference will be to take other cruise lines into St.Thomas, because I hate to miss that view!

[ucsbgirl]

It has been our experience that taxi's on most islands wait to fill up to make the trip. On our first cruise, where we stopped in St. Thomas (not Crown bay, but the pier by Havensight) the taxi we took waited until it was full.

On our most recent cruise, the ship sponsered shore excursion offered to drop people off in town before returning to the boat.

I was dissappointed about the lack of shops near crown bay, but we ended up saving $$ by not shopping!

[CCSSDRC]

We totally loved docking at the new pier in Crown Bay. There is a very upscale marina just across the from the ship and you can take a short ferry ride to one of the most beautiful beaches in St Thomas. Shhhh, don't tell anyone about the beach because it is still an unknown and very pleasant place to go to beat the usual crowds.

 

OK, what are the details on where to catch this ferry? what is the name of the beach/island? how is the snorkeling if you know?

 

It is not the cost of the taxis so much that is the problem IMO it is having your time wasted waiting for the taxi to fill. How do you get to the taxi stand at Kmart?

[LEtue]

The biggest loss to all of us Princess cruisers, in my opinion, is the loss of one of the most beautiful views in the Caribbean. Approaching Charlotte Amalie, sailing away from this beautiful harbour, and being able to gaze out at it during the day -- all gone.

 

Your post really hit home.....I have always loved this port and the sail in a sailaway are a big part of that. :(

[PhoneGoddess]

Is this the pier where you would get the ferry to St Johns???????

No, you would have to take a cab from the Crown Pier to Red Hook or Charlotte Amalie to take the ferry to St. John.

[woollys]

Quite frankly "in town" is becoming way too pushy. i was actually knocked into the street by someone mad that i went by him while he was trying to DRAG people into a jewelry store! The new port was just fine in Nov/Dec 2006 when we were there and we were told that Princess was TOLD they had to go there, they had no choice. Carnival in January went to Havenspoint. And yes- 2 ships can go to the new pier, we were in port on Crown with some very lovely people on P & O, another Carnival cruise line holding.

[caribbean2000]

The beach the previous poster is talking about is on Water Island. Beautiful beach, small walk-on ferry nearby but no snorkeling and no facilites on the beach. The biggest hassle for those wanting to go to St. John on their own and docking at Crown Bay is you must either take the ferry from CA (doesn't run as often as the one from Red Hook, longer ride to get to St. John), or take a long taxi ride to Cruz Bay (at least 45 minutes, maybe longer depending on traffic). This means you will almost surely miss the 9 a.m. ferry at Red Hook because of the immigration procedure before you can disembark at Crown Bay. From Havensight it was about a half hour or less to Red Hook. I guess you could take the 9 a.m. ferry from CA, then take the Red Hook ferry back - no later than the 3 p.m. though because of the traffic. Also, when we were docked at Crown Bay in December off the CB, it was total chaos at the taxi area and yes, they will wait until a taxi is filled before they leave. In fact, our taxi was OVERFILLED, and the driver got a ticket for that before we even left the gates, delaying the whole thing even more. We HATED Crown Bay, but it looks like Princess has signed a 10-year contract to be there so get used to it. ugh.