Just off Dream 5/7-5/14..... St Thomas Rant!!!

[Roscopicotrane]

Is it just me or is this island falling apart!! On our walk to take the $2 local taxi I have never been so hassled to take a "over priced taxi". People would stop in the middle of the road and block traffic just to yell at us...."NEED TAXI". NO I DON'T.... also noticed everywhere you look there is literally trash everywhere! I came to St. Thomas 6 years ago and thought it was the greatest ever! Makes me very sad to see it like this. Now we visited St. Maarten on this trip and it was like night and day cleaner and much more organised in the port.

What are your toughs.....Am I the only one?

[kujobie]

Sadly, trash is an issue at many ports. Many don't have the money or means to dispose of it properly. Aggressive taxi drivers/vendors is also common. A polite "no thanks" will usually suffice, but it does get old after saying it 50 times. If you think they're pushy in St Thomas, stay away from Jamaica. We had a group of cabbies there have a heated argument over who was gonna take us back to the ship. It almost became physical. Not to mention the 20 or so people who tried to sell us weed. As you noted, St Maarten is one of the cleaner, friendlier ports, but we have experienced pushiness there as well.

[balcony bound]

I mentioned to DH during our recent Victory cruise that I thought St. Thomas was dirtier than any other island we visited:( I love St. Thomas and I don't think we'd ever seen it quite like that.

 

What struck me too was another post before we left where someone said they would never cruise out of Puerto Rico because of the "trash" in port - Puerto Rico was quite clean. Interesting that these are both US ports.

[English Tim]

It's amazing how many people are prepared to pay $10 pp in the port, when just outside, the same journey costs $2!

 

The taxi drivers and the touts can be very aggressive and someone is making a lot of money!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

thay should clean it up

[Frank12]

St. Maarten has always blown St. Thomas away in my book!

 

BTW, our taxi driver in St. Thomas (it was late in the day and we were the only ones on it) tried to sell us weed! I thought I was in Jamaica or Nassau! :mad:

[Perfect Stranger]

St. Thomas is also very dangerous.

[tef43]

Is it just me or is this island falling apart!! On our walk to take the $2 local taxi I have never been so hassled to take a "over priced taxi". People would stop in the middle of the road and block traffic just to yell at us...."NEED TAXI". NO I DON'T.... also noticed everywhere you look there is literally trash everywhere! I came to St. Thomas 6 years ago and thought it was the greatest ever! Makes me very sad to see it like this. Now we visited St. Maarten on this trip and it was like night and day cleaner and much more organised in the port.

What are your toughs.....Am I the only one?

Nothing new here, it has been this way for many, many years, much longer than just 6 years.

 

What *is* new is the criminality that used to be isolated to St Croix has found it's way to St Thomas.

[Bunkie103]

This summer I visited St. Thomas after seven years and felt the island was very unsettled. This time traveling with my DD and her two girls I was actually glad when the day was over. Even the locals who were friendly as I remember now just keep their heads down and go about their business. One particular local asked me if I could "feel" the difference.

[lulu78]

Sadly, it's not just you OP....I was just there myself last month and I was indeed a bit disappointed....after having visited 4 years earlier I was very excited about going to St.Thomas (more than anything Koki Beach), and was so very disappointed when we arrived. The water was still as beautiful as ever, but the place looked so run down ! it looked like they might have been remodeling the entrance or something, but it was so dirty and sad looking....when we finally made it to the beach area, we settled on a couple of loungers and umbrellas we rented...after a few minutes we smelled something ''funny''....well it turned out that our waiter was just a few feet behind us smoking up some weed with his girl buddies :eek:, I mean right there in front of us and in fron of our 7 kids in our group !!! I mean really, I have nothing against people who occasionally smoke it...whatever you know !....but come one, in such a public area and in front of families and tourists...that just doesn't leave a nice taste of the island to future returning visitors.....now the stop after that was St. Marteen, and I actually wasn't so thrilled about that stop...and wouldn't you know it !! it was the best time I had the entire cruise !!! we went to Maho Beach, OMG !!! what an experience that was, I recommend it to everyone who's visiting St. Marteen....the feeling you get when those jets are just feel above your head is thrilling !!! :D absolutely the best time I've ever had there.

[NJsharon]

We went to St Thomas a couple of times & personally found it dirty & didn't enjoy it. Just seemed run down & needed cleaning up. Quite sad really. :(

[Roscopicotrane]

Well said LULU. Same thing here. Went to koki and people were smoking weed right next to me. Very sad! Had a blast in St. Marten!

[RSV Angel]

In St. Thomas my DW and I went up to Paridise Point-did some shopping and were going to go to Koki beach just to check it out. But when we were quoted $10.00 pp each way just to go look at the beach we just decided to head back to the ship. We had an excursion on the Catamaran sail and snorkle already booked in St. Martin,but next time we go we will do an excursion in St Thomas and just ride the water taxi to the beach in St.Martin. We had fun on the Catamaran but the snorkling wasn't great--no fish to speak of. We were told that it wasn't a good day for seeing because of the weather and were offered a refund if we decided not to go. We went and the crew was great-very attentive-and we had a wonderful party on the return trip. Bottom line I agree that St. Thomas is in the same class as Jamaica, that is low!

[Colorado Kat]

A lot of the times the amount of deterioration is in direct proportion to the number of tourists they get. More people = more trash. We've spent a lot of time in the Caribbean, and we've always enjoyed the smaller, less visited islands more.

[hubofhockey]

We use St Thomas as a day to get to St John, which is beautiful and totally different than St Thomas. While it is a taxi ride to the ferry to get there, it is worth it and we can't wait to get back in 2013.

[golfadj]

I have not seen smoking but it has sure become overcrowded.

[okwriter]

My sister and her husband own a home in St. Thomas.

While he travels back and forth to/from Haiti helping to rebuild the country, she chooses to live in Oklahoma or Maine.

She has no desire to ever go back to St. Thomas, which speaks volumes IMO.

[halos]

We use St Thomas as a day to get to St John, which is beautiful and totally different than St Thomas. While it is a taxi ride to the ferry to get there, it is worth it and we can't wait to get back in 2013.

+1

That's what we did last time.

[Nezmo]

This is sad to hear.

 

It's been 16 years since I visited St. Thomas. I recall it being very nice back then. I do remember St. Maarten/St. Martin and enjoyed it and St. John was beautiful.

 

I want to go back to the Eastern Carib. but perhaps I should consider southern instead.

[halos]

This is sad to hear.

 

It's been 16 years since I visited St. Thomas. I recall it being very nice back then. I do remember St. Maarten/St. Martin and enjoyed it and St. John was beautiful.

 

I want to go back to the Eastern Carib. but perhaps I should consider southern instead.

 

 

Southern route is amazing :)

[Haylersmom]

In St. Thomas my DW and I went up to Paridise Point-did some shopping and were going to go to Koki beach just to check it out. But when we were quoted $10.00 pp each way just to go look at the beach we just decided to head back to the ship. We had an excursion on the Catamaran sail and snorkle already booked in St. Martin,but next time we go we will do an excursion in St Thomas and just ride the water taxi to the beach in St.Martin. We had fun on the Catamaran but the snorkling wasn't great--no fish to speak of. We were told that it wasn't a good day for seeing because of the weather and were offered a refund if we decided not to go. We went and the crew was great-very attentive-and we had a wonderful party on the return trip. Bottom line I agree that St. Thomas is in the same class as Jamaica, that is low!

 

Where does the water taxi go? I thought the beach right there is polluted? I would love to do that and stay close to the pier! We were thinking of Maho, but still not sure.

[rae.holmes]

i am very shocked to hear all of this! i've planned a walking tour in st thomas.. is it safe?

[Name Of The Game]

I wouldn't veer away from the main shopping areas. Avoid Back Street.

[oceanxbreeze89]

My family owns a house on the east end of the island and I have been visiting there for 23 years (and counting). We always go down in the summer from anywhere from 2-4 weeks and my next trip is in July. I won't deny that there has been trouble recently with Coki beach but I have to say that since last summer, it has been cleaned up, the venders now need permits to be on or near the beach, and there is more security then there was in the past (especially since I last visited in January 2011). That area that the beach is located is known as a tough area...but normally at night. The beach is a lovely beach to snorkel at.

 

There is plenty more then just Coki Beach on the island of St. Thomas. Whenever we go down, we never step foot on Coki Beach or Magen's Bay when there are multiple cruise ships in port. We always go when there is 1 or less. I would visit Sapphire Beach, Cowpet Bay, Secret Harbor, and since Magen's Bay is such a long, beautiful beach I will put it as a contender but when you get there, head down the beach because a lot of people tend to settle by the taxi stand.

 

For those who are looking at this thread, I would give St. Thomas a chance. At every island that you visit, there is going to be poor areas (mostly inland on STT), some crime and you just need to use common sense. I will walk by myself no problem in Red Hook, the main shopping area in Havensight and even in Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas and I will even walk by myself on St. John. But I will use common sense while doing so such as never walk in a area that is unmarked or poorly lit (when I am walking at night).

 

I hope this helps and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. Also, don't flame me for posting this because this island is truly beautiful and great and it is my home away from home.

 

For the poster who asked if they should cancel their walking tour, I will tell you not to. You will have a tour guide and you will be walking in the areas that are touristy and historic so you shouldn't have any problems.

 

Helen

[Frank12]

I don't think St. Thomas is terrible, it just doesn't seem to be what it used to be. As far as security, I did notice a lot more police this time.