Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

St Thomas-Nice beach day close to ship?

Gatordad815
 Share

Recommended Posts

Gatordad815

Gatordad815

Posted
Posted

Hi all! We will be sailing the Oasis with a large group early November and I’m looking for good beach options reasonably close to our port. From my research, Lindbergh Bay Beach/Emerald Beach Resort appear close.

 

This appeals to me because we can get out of the sun at the bar/restaurant while still being very close to the beach. I also don’t love the idea of traveling too far from the port without car seats for 3 car seat-aged children, so the proximity is also appealing.

 

Can anyone comment on this idea, or suggest other ideas which may suit a large family group with both small kids who will play for hours in the sand and older folks who will want to be able to get out of the sun? Brewers bay looks like a great beach, but it doesn’t seem to have shade, food and drinks, does it? Any other reasonably close options I should be considering?

[i did post a very similar question in the St. Thomas forum last month, but there is so little traffic there, so I’m coming to the real experts here for hopefully more input].

 

All input appreciated!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
robtulipe

robtulipe

Posted
Posted (edited)

Lindbergh Bay beach is on the south coast just over one mile west of Crown Bay where RCCL ship typically dock and is a nice beach with resorts for food and drink. We've even walked to it and back.

There is decent snorkeling by the rocky shoreline to the left.

Brewer beach is further away on the other side of the airport but I can't comment on it as we've only been to Lindbergh. The latter is a deeper, more protected bay.

 

CrBay.thumb.jpg.e1dec61462fcee99842498371fcbbc83.jpg

Edited by robtulipe
Link to comment
Share on other sites
cole'snana

cole'snana

Posted
Posted

We also walked to Lindbergh Bay Beach/Emerald Beach Resort. It was a safe walk, mostly on sidewalks and took about 25 minutes at a leisurely pace.( two 70 year olds) There was some shade available and there was a beach bar at the resort with shaded tables and a bathroom. Take beach shoes as it was rocky getting in. The snorkeling was good without having to go too far out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cube1982

cube1982

Posted
Posted

Honeymoon beach on water island is fantastic and close to the pier! Great beach with a fantastic bar. The water is real calm for children too.......its only a short ferry ride across the bay and you can catch the ferry right there on crown pier. After getting off the ferry its a 15 minute walk to the beach. They also have free lounge chairs and things at the bar/grill....check it out, it was great with my wife, 10 year old and 6 year old

Link to comment
Share on other sites
emdia43

emdia43

Posted
Posted

We went over to the Emerald Beach resort. As long as we used the bar/restaurant we could use their pool. While we were there we watched a wedding on the beach.:) Our Maitre d' told us about it and when we got there she was there with several crew members.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lola2013

lola2013

Posted
Posted

We visited Sapphire Beach in March. Inexpensive cab ride from the port; lots of cabs waiting to take us back at the end of the day. There are chairs and umbrellas to rent...or they will set you up in the shade under a tree. I'm more of a "walk along the shore" girl than a swimmer; the walk was nice and the water refreshing!

Enjoy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

Posted
Posted
We visited Sapphire Beach in March. Inexpensive cab ride from the port; lots of cabs waiting to take us back at the end of the day. There are chairs and umbrellas to rent...or they will set you up in the shade under a tree. I'm more of a "walk along the shore" girl than a swimmer; the walk was nice and the water refreshing!

Enjoy!

Was the snack bar open? And the bar?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

Posted
Posted
Coki beach is not to far. On islands I never worried to much about car seats when my daughter was younger. Of course I am of the age that grew up riding in the back of a pick up truck or with out even seat belts.

 

We visited Sapphire Beach in March. Inexpensive cab ride from the port; lots of cabs waiting to take us back at the end of the day. There are chairs and umbrellas to rent...or they will set you up in the shade under a tree. I'm more of a "walk along the shore" girl than a swimmer; the walk was nice and the water refreshing!

Enjoy!

Coki and Sapphire are nowhere near Crown Bay where the OP wants to be

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karena1

karena1

Posted
Posted
We enjoyed Emerald beach last time we were there3e47494b1d6fbf548ce63fd8a9967148.jpg

 

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

 

When was the last time you were there? We were there in December after the hurricane, and Emerald Beach was pretty rough. Only a tiny little bar with a few food choices were available. Hotel was not open. First time my sister went there she loved it. When we went in December, not so much. Not sure how it looks now, hopefully they have been able to get more back to normal than they were in December.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karena1

karena1

Posted
Posted
We visited Sapphire Beach in March. Inexpensive cab ride from the port; lots of cabs waiting to take us back at the end of the day. There are chairs and umbrellas to rent...or they will set you up in the shade under a tree. I'm more of a "walk along the shore" girl than a swimmer; the walk was nice and the water refreshing!

Enjoy!

 

If you just went in March, how were the bathrooms? I love Sapphire, but the bathrooms were pretty rough the last time we were there and there was almost nothing as far as food/drink

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NSnewcruiser

NSnewcruiser

Posted
Posted
When was the last time you were there? We were there in December after the hurricane, and Emerald Beach was pretty rough. Only a tiny little bar with a few food choices were available. Hotel was not open. First time my sister went there she loved it. When we went in December, not so much. Not sure how it looks now, hopefully they have been able to get more back to normal than they were in December.
Was last August a week before the first hurricane went through.

 

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gatordad815

Gatordad815

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thank for all the input! Definitely more info than the St Thomas forum!

 

I had never heard of Honeymoon beach before posting this-it looks very nice. Anybody been to both Lindbergh Beach and Honeymoon beach? Which would you recommend between the two?

 

If it makes a difference there are 4 ships in port that day (19,000+ passenger load) and we are one of the later arrivals (10:30) so we won’t be the early birds anywhere we go. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gatordad815

Gatordad815

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Divi Little Bay

 

So I have the same question for St. Maarten as we will be there the following day. Would this be a good choice close to port there? The only beach I’ve seen very close is Great Bay which looks great to my untrained eye, though the reports of potential pollution scare me....

 

Appreciate the input!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tourismtessy

tourismtessy

Posted
Posted (edited)

Honeymoon Beach on Water Island is a great place for the whole family. You take a small ferry over and walk up a slight hill and then down to get to the beach. I love it so much we have gone there on every cruise with St Thomas on the itinerary. Not sure where your ship docks but if it is at the Crown Marina, you are a short 5 minute walk to the ferry and a quick 10 minute ride to Water Island. We bring our own blow up rafts and have a great time! Highly recommend. Here is my blog post with lots of pictures:

 

http://www.joyfuljourneyist.com/blog/10-to-paradise

Edited by tourismtessy
Forgot a sentence
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gatordad815

Gatordad815

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Honeymoon Beach on Water Island is a great place for the whole family. You take a small ferry over and walk up a slight hill and then down to get to the beach. I love it so much we have gone there on every cruise with St Thomas on the itinerary. Not sure where your ship docks but if it is at the Crown Marina, you are a short 5 minute walk to the ferry and a quick 10 minute ride to Water Island. We bring our own blow up rafts and have a great time! Highly recommend. Here is my blog post with lots of pictures:

 

http://www.joyfuljourneyist.com/blog/10-to-paradise

 

Great info & beautiful pictures-thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

Posted
Posted
So I have the same question for St. Maarten as we will be there the following day. Would this be a good choice close to port there? The only beach I’ve seen very close is Great Bay which looks great to my untrained eye, though the reports of potential pollution scare me....

 

Appreciate the input!

This guy talks about Divi Little Bay:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2658609

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...