Are there beaches and shopping near the ship?

[wenabre]

We are doing the eastern cruise and do not really want to do any excursions but we are wondering if there are beaches and shopping near the ship that we can just walk to, or does everything entail taking taxis and doing excursions?
Thanks
Wenabre

 

[pal2pluto]

On St. Maarten, yes, you could walk to the shopping and Great Bay Beach area, but I'd recommend taking the water taxi. It's only $5 pp for all day use....it's quick and will save steps. On St. Thomas, Havensight Mall is a shopping area (cleaned up and for the tourist) within walking but you'll need a taxi to get to any beach that I know of.