St. Thomas— what beach?

I did ask this on the St. Thomas forum but so far no replies so I thought I would try here, too!

We will be going to St. Thomas on November 26th on Adventure of the Seas.

Our plan was to go to Emerald Beach Resort. I asked on Facebook and they will not be open for business by then.

I believe Royal docks at Crown Bay. What would be some other options for beaches that aren’t too long of a taxi ride.

We would prefer someplace with restrooms, bar and food.

Also just curious how far it is from the cruise port to paradise point.

I don't recall the length of the ride, but we enjoyed Sapphire Beach a couple of years ago. This was a ship excursion.

We're a fan of Magen's Bay. It's a national park, clean, beautiful, and has all the amenities you're interested in

As for where you'd dock, my understanding is that only the Oasis class ships dock at Crown Bay and that everything else was at Havensight, unless that's changed since the last time we were there a couple years ago. Either way if you choose to go to Magen's Bay, from Havensight it's about 15 minutes and from Crown Bay it's about 25 minutes.

We're a fan of Magen's Bay. It's a national park, clean, beautiful, and has all the amenities you're interested in

 

 

 

 

As for where you'd dock, my understanding is that only the Oasis class ships dock at Crown Bay and that everything else was at Havensight, unless that's changed since the last time we were there a couple years ago. Either way if you choose to go to Magen's Bay, from Havensight it's about 15 minutes and from Crown Bay it's about 25 minutes.

I believe I read Megan's Bay is still being rebuilt. We like Coki Beach but not sure of it's status either. Maybe by end of November things will be better.

If you have time, and the desire for the BEST beach anywhere....look up St. John....it's part of St. Thomas...but you need a ferry to get there..then transportation to the beach. I've lived at beaches my entire life, and have NEVER experienced what they have in St. John...GORGEOUS! The water is crystal clear..and almost body temperature...so you can't see or feel it...but you feel the buoyancy ....it's surreal. Gorgeous. Worth the trip there.

If you just want to plop down somewhere...Magen's bay or Sapphire will suffice.

Magen's Bay is our favorite. Conde Nast Travel mag. voted it one of the10 most beautiful beaches. Not sure how it fared after the hurricane. Anyone know?

Magen's Bay is our favorite. Conde Nast Travel mag. voted it one of the10 most beautiful beaches. Not sure how it fared after the hurricane. Anyone know?

I don't think there is a beach in the Caribbean that hasn't been voted top 10 sometime. Basically they take turns

St John is still 100% without power and the National Park beaches are officially closed. I think November is too soon for a beach experience with amenities. You've got a better chance of that on St Thomas.

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It's going to take a while for the St. Thomas/St. John beaches to get back to what they were before the hurricanes.

Guess which are currently the best Post Hurricanes is the question.... :confused:

I believe I read Megan's Bay is still being rebuilt. We like Coki Beach but not sure of it's status either. Maybe by end of November things will be better.

We will be at the Grand re-opening of Megan's Bay on 11/10. Will report back on the state of the island. There are films on you tube that show before and after films of Megan's Bay you may want to check out. Its quite sobering:(

Re where you will dock in St. Thomas, all Royal ships now dock at crown bay. Contract ran out at Havensite and Royal chose to dock all at the same place.

I did ask this on the St. Thomas forum but so far no replies so I thought I would try here, too!

 

We will be going to St. Thomas on November 26th on Adventure of the Seas.

 

Our plan was to go to Emerald Beach Resort. I asked on Facebook and they will not be open for business by then.

 

I believe Royal docks at Crown Bay. What would be some other options for beaches that aren’t too long of a taxi ride.

 

We would prefer someplace with restrooms, bar and food.

 

Also just curious how far it is from the cruise port to paradise point.

Coki beach is very nice and the facilities there were not very complicated so they could be rebuilt with out to much effort. The 5 or 6 food shops all worked out of coolers and on propane so they don't need much in the way of utilities. They may have lost their snorkel equipment and chairs but I bet they have replaced much of that.

And crowded and expensive

I don't think there is a beach in the Caribbean that hasn't been voted top 10 sometime. Basically they take turns

Sounds like somebody has an axe to grind against Magen's Bay for some reason. Admission is like $5.00/person and we've never found it particularly crowded. I can't remember how expensive concessions were but I don't think we thought they were particularly expensive.

Re where you will dock in St. Thomas, all Royal ships now dock at crown bay. Contract ran out at Havensite and Royal chose to dock all at the same place.

I did not know that. Two years ago, Freedom docked at Havensight, didn’t know there had been a change.

Been to Magens Bay, Emerald Beach, Sapphire Beach and Coki Beach.

Magens Bay was nice, no different from any other beach. Don't see why it was voted top 10.

Go on youtube and look at videos. You'll get a feel of the various beaches.

We prefer Coki Beach the best because it's what we're looking for in a beach day. That doesn't mean the other beaches are bad.

What I like, the next person may not like. It certainly won't stop me from going to Coki.:)

Check TripAdvisor also.

The locals will know but I read somewhere that Emerald beach was open You do dockage Crown Bay

Ontario Cruiser

Sounds like somebody has an axe to grind against Magen's Bay for some reason. Admission is like $5.00/person and we've never found it particularly crowded. I can't remember how expensive concessions were but I don't think we thought they were particularly expensive.

Not at all. Other beaches are free, just as beautiful, and not tourist traps.

When we were there last November, there were something like 6 ships in port (including Oasis) and St Thomas was really crowded. We did a shore excursion to Sapphire Beach. It wasn't crowded at all. It is a small beach near some condos, but there was a band playing (they were really good), a bar and restaurant (things like burgers and sandwiches), snorkel rentals, and facilities. It was nice and relaxing. I believe we had to pay about $10/pp to rent a lounge chair, but I may be mixing that up with another island.

Not at all. Other beaches are free, just as beautiful, and not tourist traps.

I agree. I think Megan's Bay is nicer to see from up on Mountain Top than actually being on the beach.

We went to Emerald Beach last Feb. and it was nice. It's small but wasn't crowded and they had a nice beach bar and restaurant. It's very close to Crown Bay.

My experience with Megan's Bay has been that if you get there early ( 9 or 10) the beach with not start to get crowded until after lunch.

Let's face it: NO BEACH is as crowded as the pool.

Not sure what beach it was but the beach we were taken to on the Kon Tiki trip was stunning.

The trip was also very good

We werent impressed by Magen's Bay