Great stop in St Croix

[MLJS]

St Croix -there was very little info out there on Saint Croix. We decided to take a tour of the island. Outside the port gate were lots of taxi drivers. We found Jacob’s taxi service. He offered us a tour for $40 each of the island. He asked us to wait a little bit to see if he could find any other passengers. After about 15 minutes, he had not, so off we went.  He was fantastic!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND HIM. He is a navy veteran, born on the island. He runs the taxi service, fixes up houses on the island and does a radio show 2-5pm during the week when Cruise Ships are not in port. You can email him to set up tours in advance. He had a 15passenger van, but 9 would fit comfortably 

[MLJS]

We walked around town while waiting. There were wild chickens all over the island. Lots of shops, vendors & restaurants. Franklins (off the pier to the right) had a lot of very unique items in the shop. The area around the port was quite nice. 

[MLJS]

There is a beach close to the pier. Frederiksted Beach. Our driver said the locals did not like this beach because of the sewage canal right next to it. 

[MLJS]

 

We drove past some sugar cane fields. He stopped and got some for us to try. Don’t eat too much of the raw sugar cane, it will give you a tummy ache. Then drove through the rainforest. Beautiful trees along the way but the road had lots of pot holes. He pointed out the different trees including the silk cotton tree that the Indians made canoes out of and the tablet wood, also called moth-in-law tongue.  Mahogany also grows on the island and they even save trimmings to carve small spoons. At Mt Pellier Hut, you can stop and see a beer drinking pig. I think he said it was $2 a can to feed to the pig. We did not stop. Later he told us that it used to be beer, now it’s a non -alcoholic beer they feed the pigs after animal rights people got into them. 

Edited February 6 by MLJS

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[MLJS]

Next stop was Cane Beach. Nice beach area but you had to bring your own chairs…so not so great for cruisers looking for sun but a great place to snorkel or dive from the beach 

[MLJS]

There was also a bar and restaurant across the street. My husband got a drink made of the Mutiny Vodka (more about this later) which was very good

[MLJS]

 

The drive along the ocean to Christiansted was beautiful. Along the way we saw old sugar mills or the remnants of ones from many years ago. They are not allowed to tear the sugar mills down. hurricane Hugo in 1989 and more recently Hurricane Maria in 2017 both did major damage to the island and some spots you could see were still waiting for repair 

 

[MLJS]

He then took us to Christiansted for an hour stop. We walked around the pier, shops & the park. There is a resort -Hotel on the Cay- on an island in the cove. 

[MLJS]

We could see Buck Island. Buck Island is part of the National Park Service. The Buck Island Reef National monument is there. The only natural, under water monument in the United States & territories. The island is uninhabited and has a gorgeous beach. The snorkeling and diving is supposed to be spectacular 

[MLJS]

I took pictures of some of the different tour operators. Have no idea if they are good or not, but at least a place to start if you are looking for a trip. These were all in Christiansted.  I’m sure if you emailed Clifton Jacobs, our driver, he could help too. 

[MLJS]

 

Around the boardwalk there were lots of fish and sea weed. We were told they are currently experiencing a lot of sea weed right now. 

 

[MLJS]

There is a lot of history here. Many of the buildings are quite old. At the end of the boardwalk is a park. There is an old fort, gazebo and then different signs with the history. It is part of the US park service. 

[MLJS]

Cruzan Rum and Captain Morgan’s are both produced in St Croix. Part of the normal tour is Captain Morgan’s for a tour of their facility.  My husband really liked the Mutiny Vodka that is also produced on the island and wanted to take some home. We looked in a shop along the boardwalk, it was $28 a bottle. Our driver stopped a local store owned by a friend-he only had one bottle for $25. Then our driver got the idea to take us to the Mutiny distillery. He had never been inside. There is not a tour but there is a restaurant and small gift store. We bought bottles here for $20 each and they packaged them in a nice carry box.  My husband had the Ginger Lime that he really liked. He bought several other flavors that I will let you know what he thinks about them when we get home and try them. Outside the distillery, there were horses just walking around 

[MLJS]

Any questions, I’ll try and answer. 
 

contact Clifford Jacobs for a great tour around the island. He can help set you up with the best trip. 

[ymncruise]

Very nice! Thanks for the info. 

[DingoMom]

Wonderful! Thank you, and the pictures are great! How long was the tour?

[MLJS]

6 hours ago, DingoMom said:

Wonderful! Thank you, and the pictures are great! How long was the tour?

The tour was around 3.5 hrs

[Rhea98]

Wow! Thanks for all the info and the PICTURES! It looks like DH will be able to take his little mobility scooter into parts of the town. 

[Daycare Provider]

Thank you for sharing.  We will be on St. Croix in April.

[lovestx]

 

This is an incredibly helpful report for cruise visitors.  We spend our winters on St. Croix and can confirm that this was a great overview of the middle and western ends of the island.  If you can find a tour that will also take you out to the East End and Point Udall, you will enjoy that too.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[QuattroRomeo]

Thanks for the information and beautiful photos!

[torpeedo]

What an informative review, thank you!  My husband has to use a mobility scooter so wondering if the shops and town are within walking distance (walking me, scooter him) from the ship?  We can't take tours really because of the mobility issue though, We're good just walking/scooting/ around town.

[lovestx]

Sorry for the delayed response torpeedo.  The cruise ship pier drops you right into the small town of Fredericksted (maybe take a look at Google Satellite photos).  At least a block of Strand St. is closed to cars on cruise ship days so you should be fine with the scooter.  You might try taking a look at the Caribbean Museum for Creative Arts on Strand St. as they do have a few galleries right on the street level.

[ValerieJo]

On 2/14/2023 at 2:17 AM, MLJS said:

Any questions, I’ll try and answer. 
 

contact Clifford Jacobs for a great tour around the island. He can help set you up with the best trip. 

 

This is exactly what we were looking for.  I contacted Mr. Jacob about booking him in January.  Unfortunately, he already has a different tour that day.   Any suggestions on someone else that could provide the same experience?  Thank you.

[rskater59]

Tried contacting the email but it bounces