Come along with me for a walk around St. John’s, Antigua on Christmas Eve. We’ll start at the little shops right by the ships, work our way through the main port shopping area, then head out past the gates into town and the neighborhoods around the port, including a stop inside a local department store.
St. John’s, Antigua Cruise Port and Town Walk Around
St. John's, Antigua walk around from the cruise port shopping area into town, with street vendors, a church, the museum and a local department store.
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Key Takeaways
- There were four ships in St. John’s the day I filmed: Enchanted Princess, Majestic Princess, Explora I and Oceania Insignia, so it was busy, busy, busy.
- Right by the ships at Redcliffe Quay you’ll find little shops, huts and places to grab a bite, including Belgian waffles and gift shops. There’s a casino near the port too, and I believe there are a few of them.
- The boardwalk walkway you’d normally take straight over to the duty free shopping area was gated off, so I had to loop around through town to get there. With two Princess ships on a holiday cruise, that’s probably 7,000 to 8,000 people plus crew, so they may have closed it to control the crowds.
- Heritage Quay is the nice shopping area inside the controlled bubble of the cruise port, with duty free stores, Levi’s and a Casa del Habano, which I didn’t know they had here.
- Once you pass through the gates you’re right in town, and it gets gritty fast. The further in you go, the sidewalks disappear and you end up walking in the street.
- There’s an old church up the hill that was charging five bucks to get in, and I also passed the Antigua and Barbuda Museum.
- Because it was Christmas Eve, there were a lot more vendors than usual selling toys, fruit, clothes and barbecue, plus a table of perfume that looked 100% fake.
- I walked into a local department store all decorated for Christmas. The prices there are in local Caribbean dollars, not US dollars, and the checkout lines were huge.
Good to Know
This is definitely a shore excursion type day. If you stay within about one or two blocks of the port you’re good, even if it looks a little scary. I normally don’t go too deep here because it’s one of those spots where I don’t always feel safe.
If you have mobility issues, this is not going to be a place for you to wander on your own. Everything is uphill, there are open drains and big drop offs, sidewalks come and go, and cars aren’t slowing down for you. Don’t text and walk around here.
I will say the town looked a little cleaner than the last time I was here. If you just want to shop, stick to Heritage Quay, where you’ll find the duty free stores and the Cuban cigar shop.