unionville3

We are going to do a day pass for use of the beach amenities and the pool at this resort. Could you please share your thoughts about the facilities.

Beach is large and beautiful with great permanent sun shelters. This is the Atlantic side so there are some waves but water is clear. They are currently experiencing the seaweed but of course that will depend on when you visit. There is a guy set up on the beach giving massages. My family members used him a few times during our stay and were impressed by the aloe massage and the great price. The actual resort is beautiful with a large pool and swim up bar. Lots of chairs and they all have sun shades. There is a "pizza shack" located near the pool with really yummy pizza that is reasonably priced. There is also a casino and a couple gift shops where you could also purchase snacks. Also nice restrooms/showers located at the pool. Taxis are always located outside the lobby. The doorman will assist. We were impressed with the beauty of the island AND the beauty of the people of St Kitts.

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Off season in St Kitts - we just returned from 10 day stay at Marriott. The beach is beautiful to look at but not sure kid friendly. It's the Atlantic side and they are currently experiencing the seaweed. The resort is not busy at all right now - because it is off season. Pools are great and resort is beautiful. If you want a beach day I would choose Carambola or Shipwreck. Close to each other but different atmospheres.

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Just returned from a 10 night stay in St Kitts with a group of 9. Never had any issues - most drivers have nice roomy vans.

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We are currently here for 10 nights. Shipwreck has been the only place we had success at snorkeling - and it wasn't great.... We did night kayaking with glass bottom boats last night and actually spotted sea turtles in front of Carambola. Not sure if that's a frequent thing or not.

We are staying at the Marriott on St Kitts for 10 nights. We used Mr Grey for the Grand Tour this past Saturday. He is wonderful - very well spoken and knowledgeable. His bus is very nice and has AC that keeps it quite cool. We really had a great day and I would not hesitate to use Mr Grey for future tours! He loves this island and has so much to share.

We ended our day at Shipwreck Bar which had great food and cheap buckets of beer. We even did a little snorkeling. Not sure when you are planning to go, but Cockleshell Beach (Reggae Beach Bar) currently has lots of seaweed so not sure if that's included on the stop.

I'm not sure if this is the bar hop tour that is referred to, but I found this Rum Runner Tour during my research: https://www.anniescaribbeantours.com/adventure-tours-.html

Mitsugirly - I too am appreciative of your reviews and research with great pictures. We have shifted from cruising to renting a villa over the past few years. We will actually be arriving on St. Kitts on July 5 for a 10 night stay at the Marriott Beach Club. If we stumble upon any great beaches I will be sure to update!

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

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Flying into St. Pete-Clearwater Airport (PIE) in January for a cruise out of Tampa, FL. What is the best transportation option? Is it too far for a taxi or which shuttle do you recommend? First time cruising from Tampa....

My husband is pretty easy going and let's me do all of our vacation planning - he really can be happy doing whatever. Until the mini boats..... He now makes a point to verify that there is some type of ladder or steps if a boat is involved! So for him, a deal breaker.

And the sad part is those mini boats are a lot of fun! And we sure did make some memories. We giggle the most about my husband heaving me in and then helping another lady (someone we did not know before the excursion). She was a bit smaller than me and my crazy husband almost threw her over the other side - he didn't adjust for weight change! The look on her face was priceless. [emoji15][emoji15]

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Water Island

Ferry operates between St. Thomas (Crown Bay) and Water Island (Phillips Landing).

Water Island Ferry(340) 690-4159

AdultsKids (2-11)Luggage/Boxes

$5.00$3.00$1.00 piece

$10.00$5.00

25 Min Travel Time

Crown Bay → Water Island

Monday-Saturday

6:30 am

7:15 am

8:00 am

10:00 am

11:00 am

Noon

1:15 pm

2:15 pm

3:15 pm

4:15 pm

5:15 pm

6:00 pm

9:00 pm

Sundays and Holidays

8:00 am

10:00 am

Noon

1:15 pm

3:15 pm

4:15 pm

5:15 pm

6:00 pm

Water Island → Crown Bay

Monday-Saturday

6:45 am

7:30 am

8:15 am

10:15 am

11:15 am

12:15 pm

1:30 pm

2:30 pm

3:30 pm

4:30 pm

5:30 pm

6:15 pm

9:15 pm

Sundays and Holidays

8:15 am

10:15 am

12:15 pm

1:30 pm

3:30 pm

5:30 pm

6:15 pm

* Holidays (Thanksgiving & Christmas)

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We cruised Princess and docked in Crown Bay. If you are the only ship it would be easy to grab a cab to the ferry. Especially since their won't be anyone over at that cruise dock. I'm going to try to post ferry info

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We did the mini boat adventure through Island Marketing several years ago (when I was still in my 30's). Our excursion did not have ladders to enter the small boats. Maybe the Carnival excursion is different??

We didn't think about asking how to get in and out of the boat in advance... Neither did the other ladies on the tour. The teens and men had no trouble using their arm strength to climb in the boat. Most of the ladies needed some help from the men - I decided to not even get out on the last stop. Only so much my pride would take as my husband pulled and the captain/guide pushed from the water!:eek:

It was really a fun tour other than the boat entry - we made one stop near a beach where I could touch ground so easy to climb in the boat from there. A great way to see the island from the water and the snorkeling was fun.

If you think you are like me and would have trouble lifting yourself into the boat from the water, might want to ask. I'm sure having on the life jackets really made it that much more challenging.

The Water Island Ferry leaves from Crown Bay Marina - so a quick walk if your ship docks here. You buy your tickets at the end of the dock - there's a restaurant/bar and a small grocery where you could pick up snacks and drinks for the island.

The ferry is small but a quick ride to Water Island - maybe a 20 minutes. It seems like the cost is around $10 round trip. Both trips, we enjoyed chatting with the locals.

We rented from Kelly's Karts on our last visit just so we could explore and not just hang out at beach all day. She will meet you at the ferry with the cart. There is some history on the island that relates to WWII and we really wanted to check out the homes to see if we would like to rent and stay on the island. A golf cart is not required , in 2007 when it was like a deserted island, we just walked to Honeymoon Beach. Not far at all!

There is a restaurant/beach bar located at each end of the beach and restrooms. Remember that we experienced 2 party boats (cruise excursions) pulling up to the beach during lunch time and dropping off passengers to eat. They really weren't there much more than an hour and a half.

When we first visited in 2007, we walked to this beach and there was only one other family there - they owned a home on Water Island and were visiting from our home state of NC. No bars and just a couple of picnic tables spread on beach. We fell in love and that sweet family drove us to the ferry on their golf cart when we were ready to go back to the ship. It is a beautiful beach and we still LOVED our visit in June 2014 when we had to share with others! After renting the villa on St Thomas for the week, this was a little escape from the hustle and bustle.

The swim area is roped off so you won't venture out into the open water and boat traffic. Lots of grass so that usually means turtles! No excursion, just snorkeling around and found three of them to follow out near the rope. Of course no guarantee on the turtles, but if you go to trip advisor and read reviews for Water Island there have been recent reports too.

I probably wouldn't do water island unless I was docked at Crown Bay. Not sure it's worth a cab ride too.

If you are cruising this summer, not as many ships in port so the crowds will probably be fine.

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What cruise line? Water Island is an easy "on your own" adventure from Crown Bay. We visited in 2007 and were there with only one other family and went again in 2014 and noticed that cruise ship excursions have become a popular thing. We rented golf cart from Kelly and swam with sea turtles for over an hour. Not much snorkeling here. There is facilities, shade, and food for purchase.

Magens Bay is our happy place. We love it so much that we rented a villa for a week that overlooked our favorite beach. No snorkeling here but wonderful shade from palm trees and food/drink available for purchase.

When our son was young - maybe 6 or 7, we did a mini boat excursion through Island Marketing. Fun day and a beautiful way to see the island and great snorkeling. Word of warning - not so easy to get in and out of the boat! But our son had a blast!

Don't give up on the St John idea. Truly a gorgeous island. I was always afraid to visit by cruise too so we added on a 2 night stay on St John when we decided to rent the villa at Magens Bay. Fell in love with the beautiful beaches and laid back island life of the island and we will be spending 10 nights on St John next month. Snorkeling from shore is amazing! Maybe look at a cruise excursion if the budget will allow - that way you won't worry about the logistics of taking the ferry. Truly is a special place.

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What a wonderful review of one of my favorite places. After several cruise stop visits to Magens Bay, my family rented a villa for a week overlooking this beautiful place. We visited almost every day and enjoyed the left hand side away from the bar and rentals. Never crowded and lots of locals.

We did the mini boats probably 7 years ago. A fun day on the water BUT you will need to be able to pull yourself back into the boat at your snorkeling stops. My husband not only had to heave me back in the boat but helped some other ladies too.

We rented a villa for a week in June 2014 that overlooked Magen's Bay and stayed 3 nights in a hotel on St. John. No way we could have survived without a jeep, but I'm not sure about your exact location. We rented a jeep from Amalie - awesome service and she meets you at the airport when you arrive. Couldn't be any easier. The jeep enabled us to explore multiple beaches and to pick up groceries for our villa. You drive on the left, but we didn't have too much trouble adapting. Everything moves slower in the islands, you know.

We have always been cruisers until we discovered just how much fun it is to spend multiple days on the islands. Last summer we rented in St. Croix and this summer we will be returning to St. John for 10 nights.

Trip Advisor has lots of suggestions of things to do in St. Thomas - we aren't much into touring but LOVE exploring the different beaches. The jeep gave us the flexibility to do our own thing. You can even choose to take the car ferry to St. John for the day (if your rental company allows) or the car would allow you to access the people ferry a lot easier than depending on an organized tour. There are lots of open air taxis you could use once you arrive in St. John.

Magen's Bay is my families happy place. When my son was younger, it was great beach for him to play in the water and sand without worrying about the waves or current. Of course his parents love the beauty. Chairs to rent and plenty of natural shade. If you plan on snorkeling, probably not the best choice. Clean restrooms and showers to remove the salt water at the end of the day. If you are coming from a cruise on your own, there are always taxis waiting.

We visited Water Island for the first time in 2007 while on a Princess cruise. The ship docked within walking distance of the Water Island Ferry. Not sure where your cruise docks (Crown Bay Marina)? In those days, not very much on Water Island. We walked to Honeymoon Beach and pretty much had the place to ourselves. There was some picnic benches and maybe restrooms. We met a nice family with a home on Water Island that offered to take us back to the ferry at the end of the day - we took them up on the offer to avoid the long walk up the hill! It was a fun beach day - quiet and peaceful escape from the cruise crowds.

Fast forward to the Summer of 2014... We rented a villa on St Thomas for a week that overlooked Magen's Bay. Our son had such fond memories of Water Island that we decided to visit for the day. We packed a cooler for a picnic lunch and arranged to rent a golf cart to explore from Kelly's Karts. We actually rode the ferry over with Kelly and she warned us how much the island had changed. Honeymoon Beach is still beautiful but quite busy! There's a bar/restaurant on each end and cruise ship excursions pull in for a few hours at a time. We LOVED exploring the island on the golf cart. It truly is a beautiful island and a nice change from the hustle and bustle of St. Thomas. We had also spent 3 nights on St. John before our week villa stay and were determined to swim with the turtles! It finally happened on Water Island. Not the best snorkeling, but we swam with three turtles!

If your cruise ship docks at Crown Bay and you like to do things on your own, Water Island is an easy excursion. You catch the ferry near the marina grocery store. You will even see locals stop in for snacks and drinks before boarding the ferry for a fun beach day. There are restrooms on the beach and the island is a short ferry ride away. A golf cart is not required, there was an open air taxi truck that met the ferry when we arrived (maybe from the bar). I'm not sure of the cost?? You can also easily walk to the beach. We were able to explore the entire island with the golf cart. There is a fort that was being built for World War II that you can drive to.

Deck 11 on Sunshine was a great location for us and balcony was covered.

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We were also on the Thanksgiving sailing of the Sunshine. We were pleasantly surprised that the upgrades do make this feel like a new ship. A great week with family and friends, but not sure that it will be a repeat for us either. I agree no smells or buckets.

We had FTTF and would do it again. We too did not receive our luggage until later in the afternoon but it did not appear anyone had luggage very early. Loved being first in the debarkment and loved having our own line in guest services.

Best advice to avoid the crowds - use the Havana Bar area at the back of the ship to eat. Loved the atmosphere. We also had the Continental breakfast on Deck 5 at the Taste Bar location every morning and basically had the place to ourselves.

Just off the Sunshine - no actual "shell" in our Spa Balcony cabin

We did have a sample of breathe strips and some type of sunburn relief - we left both in the cabin when we left.

I would want my child in a real life vest at that age - not a snorkel vest. When my son was that age, we purchased a life vest and just packed it for our cruises. Not very expensive and we never had to worry if the vest would fit properly. We snorkeled at Trunk Bay this past June. It is a decent swim and easy get separated while following fish.

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Spent 10 days on St Thomas this summer with Verizon Iphones. No additional charges showed up for texting and we never made actual phone calls. We used WiFi for emails and internet. AT&T has a tower on St Thomas so my husband had a different experience with his work IPhone.

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