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Frenchman's cove and cruise question

potchak

potchak

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Location
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DH and I are stopping in St Thomas on our cruise in May and was wondering if they allow marriott owners to take advantage of the facilities (beach mainly) there? Or if we decided to take a tour what we could get in return. We figured we could take a taxi from the port and check it out. We figured that someday we might decide to buy there and would be great if we could see it before we buy.

Appreciate the help!
 
All the beaches in STT are public. There is a special walk and steps on the south end of the pool that was put in to allow the public down to the beach. I wouldn't bother though there are better beaches than the one at MFC. A taxi to and from the Marriott will be $6 a head each way. I don't think they would allow you to use the pool lounges only because the resort is small. If you try it leave your cruise ship towels in your beachbag. As soon as you pull them out they know your not from the resort. Actually MFC doesn't have much of an issue with non guests at the resort as it's small and Morningstar beach is right next door.

As for taking the tour I would pass, unless that is your purpose to come to STT. You only have about 6-8 hours off the ship. Why waste a couple of them in an office?
 
Like Jim said, do not bother if your focus is the beach. The Frenchman Cove beach is average at best. It is small and rocky. There are so so many better choices. It would only make the list if they allow you to use the pool complex. They can be a little protective though. I was there Friday on my check-out day, and had the beach attendant dump my stuff on the sand, since I only had a white towel (from the fitness center) on the chair.

If you want a quiet unique beach, go over to Honeymoon Beach on Water Island. It is where the beach from Benjamin Button was filmed. Take the taxi to the Crown Bay Marina, and take the Water Island Ferry ($5) over to the island. Then it is just a short walk (1/4 mile) to the beach. There is a good little food stand on the beach (Heidi's Honeymoon). Small town feel, and it was not crowded on Thursday, even though two ships were in port.

Brewers Bay right next to the airport is another nice beach. Just a beach though, no facilities or rentals. Easy to get to though - just a quick cab ride out toward the airport.

Magens Bay is a real nice beach, but can be crowded if on the weekend or more than one ship is port. Full facilities though - rental shop, bar/restaurant.

My choice would be to go to Secret Harbor. There is a great restaurant/bar (Blue Moon) right on the beach, and rental shop you can rent beach chairs for $5, and great snorkeling.

I think the current incentive for the t/s tour is $100.
 
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Any idea what the cost of a taxi is to Secret Harbor?
 
We checked out both Megan's Bay and Coki Beach on STT and were not that impressed. I agree that the beach at the Cove is not worth the trip either....Morningstar was better but still not that "wow" factor. Are there excursions to St. John, Tortola or Virgin Gorda (Baths)? If not honestly I would probably spend the day shopping in STT...lots of good stores. What other ports of call will you be stopping at?
 
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potchak said:
Any idea what the cost of a taxi is to Secret Harbor?
Click to expand...

We had a car last February but I believe the taxi's were charging $12 each way. The lounge chairs rent for $5 as opposed to Morningstar at $10 but the taxi fare makes up the difference. I wouldn't discount Morningstar in favor of Secret Harbor. We spend a lot of time at both beaches. If you have to get back to the ship ontime I'd pick Morningstar as there were a lot of panicking people at Secret Harbor in the afternoons when they found out they had to call a taxi to come get them. There are no taxi's there just waiting for you as there are at Morningstar. You can't rely on the taxi driver's promise to come get you at a specified time, it just doesn't work that way on the island.
 
First, I do not disagree with Jim - there are rarely taxi's waiting at Secret Harbour - but that translates into a less crowded beach.

So playing point/counterpoint - taxi's are not generally a problem unless you want to wait until the last minute. Just budget your time properly - hit the beach early then head back to the ship for shopping in the port area before the "panic" time. I would do this regardless of the where I wanted to go to avoid the stress.

Morningstar is a nice beach, however the wave action is heavier vs smooth water at Secret Harbour. It also is going to be a lot more crowded than Secret Harbour or Water Island. And everything - drinks, food, equipment rentals, etc. - is going to be 20-30% higher. Also the snorkeling is sub-par.

Also, definitely think about Water Island if you dock at Crown Bay.

Here are two websites with good info

http://www.vinow.com
http://sts.onepaper.com
http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com
 
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We took a cab from our cruise ship to the Marriott Frenchman's Reef. We sat at the pool and read and walked down to the beach. After going there we decided we had to own that property and we now have two, resale, weeks there at MFC. As someone posted do not use your cruise ship towels. Instead use one of Marriott's towels. In that way you have access to their pools and their beach. We ate at the restaurant directly on the beach and another time we ate at the restaurant at the hotel, the Marriott Frenchman's Reef. Both times the food was excellent.

We found Maegan's Bay overrated. The chairs were $10 a piece and food was outrageously expensive. The beach was packed with cruise ship passengers and the whole day, I feel, was a waste.

I too wouldn't waste my time taking the tour. The rooms at MFC look like all the other Marriotts we've stayed in. It is the view and the ambiance that made us buy there. If you like the hotel you will like the timeshare. We fell in love with the hotel and when we got to the timeshare a year later we fell in love all over again.
 
icydog said:
Instead use one of Marriott's towels. In that way you have access to their pools and their beach.
Click to expand...

How do you get a Marriott towel? From another resort or previous stay?
 
I just looked at the posted rates in the Feb 2009 "This Week" and it says the taxi rate is $10/pp each way to Secret Harbor from town. Confirm the rate before getting into a cab, there are posted rates all over. You can also negotiate before getting in :D .



potchak said:
Any idea what the cost of a taxi is to Secret Harbor?
Click to expand...
 
gores95 said:
We checked out both Megan's Bay and Coki Beach on STT and were not that impressed. I agree that the beach at the Cove is not worth the trip either....Morningstar was better but still not that "wow" factor. Are there excursions to St. John, Tortola or Virgin Gorda (Baths)? If not honestly I would probably spend the day shopping in STT...lots of good stores. What other ports of call will you be stopping at?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, DH lost his job a couple of months ago, so we cannot afford the excursions to St Johns, although we would love to. We will probably just do the catamaran snorkeling trip that the ship offers.

As for other ports, we are stopping in Grand Turk where we have a snorkeling excursion planned, San Juan where we will visit the Distillery, and West End Bermuda where we will visit the Royal Naval Yard on our own.

We were just trying to figure out if we wanted to do a beach in St Thomas on our own or do the snorkeling excursion the ship offers.
 
We have always loved the day sails, New Horizons esp.
 
New Horizons is a great trip and there are coupons floating around that allow you to get a 2 for 1 deal ($60 each / $120 total). Marc's link is for the New Horizons II - which is their powerboat trip to the BVI. They also offer a day sail to St Johns which is what I am referring to. Two snorkeling stops, great lunch and Premium open bar.

Their location in Red Hook and time schedule may make it stressful for some cruise ships - depending on the departure time and docking space of your boat.
 
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yeah, not sure we would be able to do theirs. Our ship gets in at 7 and leaves at 3. I would love to be able to do something special that day as it is our 10th anniversary the day we are in St Thomas.
 
ecwinch said:
How do you get a Marriott towel? From another resort or previous stay?
Click to expand...

We used one Marriott towel that we got from the bar to throw over our chairs and then we used our own towels to dry ourselves. But we did not use the pool towels from the cruise ship. That would've been a gigantic mistake. Pool towels are your entry to any Marriott resort.
 
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