shopping on the islands
 

Hi, <BR>Will be sailing on cruise ship in November and will be stopping in St Thomas,St Croix, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbados..Sailing out of San Juan. Any suggestions on which place has the best shopping and best water excursions? <BR> <BR>Thank You, <BR>Kathy

The "mecca" for shopping of the spots you name is St. Thomas. There is a huge selection of stores and shopping on STT. You might go to www.st-thomas.com/week/ and check the shopping and gather information about the area. A word of warning if you plan "major" purchases - make sure you know stateside prices! The duty free limits from the USVI are double other ports. St. Croix has some shopping but not as extensive as STT's Charolette Amalie or Havensight (at the cruise ship dock) where you will find some smaller "branches" of the stores in Town. Maybe a half day excursion there combined with some shopping - ? Antigua's St. John's has fewer shops and I found the shopping there far less rewarding than many other islands! Lots of t-shirt stalls, etc but a few nice stores in either of the two quays by the cruise ship docks. From STT there are loads of excursions available either thru the cruise ship or on your own. Best is the smaller ones that will take you to some unaccessable-by-land beaches (especially around St. John). Everyone seems to do the Buck Island tour on St. Croix.

<BR>St. Croix shopping in Christiansted is very interesting. There are the usual upscale jewelry places & Little Switzerland, but also quite a nice selection of shops carrying nicer "crafts" in many media --- wood, glass, etc. Great clothing shop called "The White House" (everything is white & lovely). A few interesting antique shops & import shops as well (like Pier One, only better). <BR> <BR>Barbados doesn't have particularly great shopping, especially Bridgetown. The chattel house villages in the Gap & at Holetown are have more interesting things, but not as much "unique". Still, well worth a visit. <BR> <BR>On St. Croix, choose either Buck Island or rent a car & drive along the coast all the way around the island. Lovely scenery, beautiful overlooks. On Barbados, I'd head for the Crane or one of the south shore beaches. If you have an entire day in port, maybe squeeze in a visit to Cattlewash/Bathsheba - amazing. Skip the snorkeling or sailing on Barbados, inc. Folkestone. Highly overated. <BR> <BR>Have fun!

STT probably has the most stores and you can buy about anything right at Havensight Mall by the dock. STX has some interesting shops in their downtown. Fun to browse. <BR> <BR>In ST. Lucia if the ship docks at Soufriere, stay on the ship or take a tour! If it docks in Castries, they have a nice shopping area close to the docks. <BR> <BR>Antigua has a lovely shopping area (Heritage Quay)with duty free shops right at the dock as well. They were just adding on another section to the right as you face the island. It should be open now. There are also a lot of people on the street with stands and it's kind of fun to browse. I think the new section they were adding is for these vendors. <BR> <BR>Barbados has a really nice new section by their dock as well. There are all kinds of stores in there. <BR> <BR>If you get a chance, it's fun to browse the shops in Old San Juan as well. They are within walking distance of some of the ships berths. <BR> <BR>Barbados seemed to have a popular trip...the Jolly Roger party till you puke boat trip. In STX I would try to get to Buck Island. It's fantastic for snorkeling. In St.L there is some decent snorkeling from the beach of Anse Chastanet. You can get there by water taxi. If you have never been to Antigua before, the trip to English HArbor, Nelson's Dockyard and Shirley Heights is nice. <BR> <BR>Have a great time.

Thank you for all of the information. It has been very helpful.. <BR> <BR>Kathy