TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums US VI and Puerto Rico Charter Provisions & 1st Night Dining in St Thomas

We (3 couples) are chartering in April and will be meeting our boat in Compass Point. Looking for recommendations for provisioning. Would prefer a place(s) that deliver groceries and liquor. Would also appreciate suggestions for nearby dinner as we'll be "sleeping aboard" before heading out the next day. Thanks!

Carigas in the Independent Boatyard for dinner.

CostUless is a good shopping place for 6 people/ 1 week - no delivery.
Food Center is the closest - delivery??

We've used http://www.finefoodafloat.com/ for delivered/stowed provisions when chartering out of CYOA. We give them a shopping list. Good service. We keep our boat at Independent Boat Yard next door and use Food Center for our provisioning. Good steaks, but chicken is hit/miss. Food Center is walkable along an unpaved shoulder. Keep in mind the length of the walk when shopping; carrying cases of beverages is not fun. No shopping carts leave the store.

We hit Carigas routinely. Lots of local color. We also like Buddha Sushi nearby, but not comfortably walkable given the road. Red Hook is nearby with many dining options.

Check with your charter for recommendations.

Cheers, RickG

when we kept our boat at Compass Pt. we would dinghy over to Food Center, it's a long walk up the road. There is a little dock across the street and the guys helped us take our stuff to the dinghy.

Moe's Market in Red Hook does provisioning. They have a full liquor store, as well, with some good craft beers and tons of wines. It's a little more high end, but worth it, in my opinion.

Thanks for the suggestions. One more question: If we elect to do some of our own provisioning (i.e.go to the store ourselves), I've heard taxis may charge "per bag or box" to bring us with provisions back to the marina. What should we expect in this regard?

I have never heard of charging for bags, unless it's luggage.

Expect to pay extra, obviously not $2/bag but maybe an extra $10 total. I've seen drivers charge more but that was for most of the rear of the van full with full provisioning for a week for eight persons! It's better that you ask the actual driver before anyone or anything is put in the taxi so that there aren't any surprises later... Enjoy your trip.

We always give a nice tip for his help.