suggestions lunch and afternoon activity for group

[monlyba]

we'll be in St. Thomas in early December as part of a Carnival cruise. my fiance and i will be married that morning (the itinerary says we'll be there 7am to 5pm... and i'm not sure how it all works just yet, but i'm guessing we'll be married around 10am or so...?). i figure since we'll be on somewhat of a time crunch that day, our group should only hang out on the beach we are married on (not sure which one yet) for a little while and then probably get some lunch in the area. i'd love to find a quaint, fun, yet not TOO casual restaurant that has a nice view. we don't want to spend a ton on the meal (since there is free food on the ship, after all! ;) ) but it is our wedding day so something too simple wouldn't feel right while i'm in a wedding dress. :P any suggestions? i'm sorry i can't say which beach we'll be on yet to make it easier to suggest one nearby... i think the ones i'm considering are Lindquist and Bolongo Bay, but that may change.

 

also, we will still probably have a couple hours left to spend even after the wedding and lunch, and i want to have something fun planned if possible so we can maximize our time in St Thomas and not waste it wandering aimlessly looking for something to see/do. i saw the website for Paradise Point and am considering that as an option... not sure if we'll have the time (or money... it's like $19 pp!) to do that though. is there any must-see spot, must-do activity, or must-visit shop/area that we should plan to check out before leaving? i hate that we're on the island such a limited time but i guess that's normal!

 

oh, and if it matters, our group will most likely be quite small... 6 people at least, possibly up to 10 or so.

[spice31girl]

We just did a private tour with V.I. Scenic Tours a couple weeks ago. Burlie did a fantastic job showing us the island. Her private tour package is very reasonable and she makes herself available to you the entire day. This was my first cruise and island tour. She made it so special and was very accommodating. We would highly recommend her. http://www.viscenictours.com

[richtersl]

I would not recommend Lindquist beach because there are no facilities at that particular beach at the present time. It's accessed by a dirt road which, I believe, has been fenced off. Just as well (for the time being) because the area surrounding the dirt road had some local vagrants living there.

 

Your best bet would be to make arrangements with one of the hotels for the wedding. This way, you'll have your beach and a place for folks to go and grab a bite to eat after the ceremony. You have several fine ones to choose from on St. Thomas.

 

In addition to Bolongo Bay, take a look at Secret Harbour, Cowpet Bay, Wyndam Sugar Bay, Morningstar Beach.

 

A little while ago someone had also posted a note about having gotten married at Magen's Beach. Not sure exactly what facilities are there for weddings, but I suppose you could contact a local catering company for some hors d'ouerves.

 

Your biggest problem is going to be narrowing things down. ;) St. Thomas is a beautiful location for a wedding.

 

I'm sure some of the locals will be chiming in on this post with some more ideas for you.

[The Islander]

Lindquist doesn't have any amenities at this time, it is close to Red Hook where there are several restaurants that vary from funky bar/restaurant in a parking lot to marina view steak house, irish pub... Bolongo has two restaurants on site so check them out, one more causal than the other. Limetree is a beach sometimes used for weddings, they have a restaurant on site but its not usually open for lunch, they do serve lunch by the pool though. Emerald is another beach that sometimes has weddings and the Best Western Emerald Resort which is beachfront has a restaurant on site that you could check out. Magens Bay is one of the most popular beach wedding sites, weddings are usually performed at the left side - away from the groups that tend to gather around where the food/drink concession is located. There is a restaurant at the Magens Point Resort which is just a couple minutes drive from Magens called Indigo, check it out.

 

If you set up transportation for your group you can inquire about pick up at ship, transportation to beach site, lunch site and then a short tour after lunch including going up to Paradise Point (there is a road, so you'd skip the actual tram ride)... or there are other look outs that are typical on island tours.

 

If you want to shop you can do so downtown or there is shopping at the cruise ship docks (full shopping area at Havensight and some shops at Crown Bay).

 

--Islander

[monlyba]

thanks, everyone... this is all very helpful info!! :D

[monlyba]

what about Brewer's Bay? i understand it's near the university and can get crowded, but our ceremony will be a Tues morning, i would think it'd be ok in that respect. nice area, any good restaurants nearby?

[The Islander]

Brewer's is nice, the background includes the airport runway but you can position yourself so its not in your photos. Usually not a lot of people there on weekdays. No restaurants really closeby. There are a couple restaurants at the Best Western resorts by the airport, which would be a short drive; also a couple Caribbean food restaurants in that area, closer to town you have Frenchtown and could try a restaurant there.

 

--Islander

[monlyba]

great, thanks. my wedding planner suggested that as the best bet for what i'm looking for and said we could just get a taxi to the downtown area for lunch, shopping, etc then back to the cruise dock later. sounds good to me! thanks for your advice! :D