Crown Bay cruise port guide
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands · from StThomasThings, the offline iPhone guide
Where ships dock
Crown Bay cruise dock
Crown Bay is the second pier, 3 km west of downtown by the old submarine base. Take a safari taxi into town; Frenchtown and the Water Island ferry are a short walk. The road out of Crown Bay jams when several ships leave at once.
Typically 8 AM – 5 PM · island clocks are Atlantic Standard Time all year — check whether your ship keeps a different time
All-aboard is in ship time. Check the daily programme and be back at the gangway 30 minutes early.
Top places near the pier
Walking times come from the app: straight-line distance plus 30% for streets, at an easy 4.5 km/h. Places further than an hour on foot show the distance instead.
Crown Bay Marina
The marina beside the Crown Bay cruise pier, with a few bars and restaurants on the docks and the Water Island ferry landing.
User:Mattes · CC BY 2.0 de · Wikimedia Commons Lindbergh Bay Beach
A calm, sandy beach right beside the airport runway, with hotels and a beach bar — the easy swim for Crown Bay passengers.
Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Frenchtown
A tiny fishing village on the harbour west of downtown, settled by families from St. Barthélemy in the 1800s — the fishing boats still come in here, and the lanes have some of the island's best restaurants.
Water Island
The fourth US Virgin Island — about 500 acres, a few hundred residents, no big hotels — just across the harbour from Crown Bay, with a sleepy beach day on the other side.
Honeymoon Beach (Water Island)
A calm, sandy beach on Water Island, a 10-minute ferry ride and a short walk from Crown Bay — a beach bar, rentals and water that's usually flat.
Petite Pump Room
A long-running local restaurant above the ferry terminal on the waterfront, serving West Indian breakfast and lunch — johnnycakes, fish, stewed conch — with a harbour view.
Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul
The Roman Catholic cathedral of Charlotte Amalie, built in the 1840s, with murals inside painted by Belgian artists in the 1890s.
Smallbones · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons Hassel Island
The island that guards Charlotte Amalie harbour, part of Virgin Islands National Park, with 19th-century forts, a ruined marine railway and short trails.
Market Square
Rothschild Francis Market Square at the west end of Main Street, the old Danish marketplace under a cast-iron roof — fruit, vegetables and local produce on Saturday mornings.
Charlotte Amalie Waterfront
Veterans Drive and the harbour promenade from Fort Christian to the ferry terminal: seaplanes, ferries, day-sail boats and the pastel town climbing the hills behind.
Palm Passage
A shaded arcade of duty-free shops in the old warehouses between Main Street and the waterfront.
Royal Dane Mall
The best of the old warehouse alleys between Main Street and the waterfront: brick arches, shade, small shops and cafés — and Gladys' Cafe.
Gladys' Cafe
A Charlotte Amalie institution in the Royal Dane Mall: West Indian breakfast and lunch — saltfish, conch in butter sauce, callaloo — and a wall of her own hot sauces for sale.
Main Street
Dronningens Gade, the old Danish high street, lined with 18th-century stone warehouses now full of duty-free jewellery, watches, liquor and perfume, with narrow alleys to the waterfront between them.
Brewers Bay Beach
A long, quiet beach beside the University of the Virgin Islands, locals' favourite, with shallow sea grass where turtles feed.
Ready-made port days in StThomasThings
Each is a timed plan in the app, starting and ending at the ship.
- The Crown Bay Day: Water Island
A ten-minute ferry from beside the pier to Honeymoon Beach, then lunch in Frenchtown - Frenchtown from Crown Bay
The fishing village settled from St. Barths: its little museum, lanes and lunch by the water - Planes & Turtles: Lindbergh and Brewers Bay
Two calm beaches minutes from the Crown Bay pier — back by 1 PM
Getting around: what the app tells you
- Ask the fare, and count heads
- Taxi fares are per person and per destination, set by the VI Taxicab Commission, and every taxi should carry the rate sheet. Say the destination, ask 'how much per person?', and agree before you sit down. Share a safari with other passengers going the same way and it's the cheapest ride on the island.
- St. John: go early, come back early
- The best day on St. John starts on the first ferry you can reach from Red Hook. Coming back, allow the 20-minute crossing, a wait for the next boat, and 30–40 minutes of taxi to the pier — so catch a ferry at least two hours before all-aboard.
- Set an alarm on ship time
- Island clocks are Atlantic Standard Time, all year. Ships often keep a different time. Before you go ashore, check the time on the ship's app or a clock on board and set your phone alarm by that — the ship will not wait.
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