Caribbean Cruise Port: St. Thomas

St. Thomas is a popular port that you will find on a lot of Eastern Caribbean itineraries and cruises leaving from the Florida ports (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, some from Orlando). The port has two docking areas: Havensight and Crown Bay which are both located on the south side of the island close to Charlotte Amalie.

View from Paradise Point

The island of St. Thomas is part of the chain of U.S. Virgin Islands that is intertwined with the British Virgin Islands. The capital, Charlotte Amalie offers bountiful shopping, dining and sightseeing.
When you leave the port at Havensight there is a bar immediately upon exit to the left with decent prices. If you turn to the right you can walk a little ways and you will find Senor Frogs – a non stop party.

Bar outside the exit of the ship port

You will notice as you exit there are signs on the ground pointing you to where to head for shopping and free standing signs for taxis. As you exit the port there will be a lot of shopping options.

Follow the signs outside the exit of the port

taxis are right past the shopping strip

Some of the available shopping in St. Thomas

Some of the top tours to do on the island include:

• Ride the View – The Skyride to Paradise Point is 800 feet above sea level giving you views of the harbor, cruise ships in port and Charlotte Amalie. There are about 35 steps in total to get up to the gondola.
• Ice Bar
• Magen’s Bay Beach – white sand and hues of blue water.
• Castaway Shipwreck snorkel and sailing
• The best of St. Thomas Tour – this tour will take you to Mountain Top for unparalleled views of Magen’s Bay and the best banana daiquiri on the island

Skyride

View from Mountain Top

A must drink

Views of the islands

Magen’s Bay Beach

St. Thomas

Private boats in the harbor

Sunset while leaving port

If you do not want to stay in St. Thomas, you can take a ferry over to neighboring island, St. Johns. This island is also part of the U.S. Virgin Islands and is about 45 minutes by ferry each way. If you decide to visit, some of the options for sightseeing include: sailing, hiking, shopping at Cruz Bay, snorkeling, and spending your day at the beach.
 
Tips for visiting St. Thomas:

• The island is part of the United States as a territory
• English is spoken here
• You can rent a car to explore, but they do drive on the left side of the road
• If you have a U.S cellphone provider, your phone should work here (Sprint is available on the island)
• There is plenty of duty free shopping on the island
• No food or dairy products are allowed to be taken off or back on to the cruise ship
• DEET should be worn to fend off mosquitos
• The sun is a bit hotter closer to the equator, using sunscreen is advised
• Weather – average during the day is 88 degrees Fahrenheit

Virgin Port Services:
9003 Havensight Mall, Suite 303 St. Thomas 00802 United States Virgin Islands
Phone: 340-775-1151
Fax: 340-775-1152