Is Magens Bay a good option? Are the St Johns beaches that much better?? It seems like it would be easiest to just do the beach in St. Thomas but I have heard so much about St John that I am not sure what to do. Thank you!
You'll get different opinions on this, but here's my 2 cents. The big upside to St. John is that it has postcard beautiful beaches in a gorgeous, natural setting that tend to be less crowded than the popular beaches on St. Thomas. The downside is that they take more time and effort to reach.
DCL excursions that go there often include a relatively short amount of time on the beach since there is more travel time involved. If you go on your own, you need to allow more time, have a plan, and make sure you stick to your schedule.
I've been to Magen's Bay twice. The first time was before our daughter was born. DH and I were with another sun-loving couple, and we walked all the way down to the crescent part of the beach. The beach is wider there, the sand is softer, and the water is an absolutely stunning shade of turquoise. We left the beach that day saying that it was the most beautiful beach we'd ever seen. Fast forward 12 years... We had DD with us and were with two other families with kids. We set up camp near the restrooms and restaurants, where there were picnic tables and trees for shade, but which also happens to be near the parking lot. The beach was somewhat narrow and got very crowded while we were there. There was a lot of activity since we were near the restaurant (which is also where you get beach chairs if you're not doing a ship excursion). In short, while we had an enjoyable day, it was
not the perfect beach day that we remembered from our previous cruise.
So, long story short: If you want a nice beach day and want to minimize travel time/effort, Magen's Bay is a great option -- especially if you get away from all the hub bub near the restaurant. If you want to spend the day on a gorgeous beach that is less populated and in and unspoiled, natural setting and don't mind spending more time and effort to get there, I'd go with St. John. If you do choose Magen's Bay, don't bother with the DCL excursion. You can get there very easily via cab on your own, and the lounge chairs are packed like sardines in the area designated for the excursions guests.
ETA: I should have mentioned that we've been to St. John twice as well -- once on our own and once on a DCL excursion.
Cinnamon is larger & also picturesque. There's a plane wreck you can see if you snorkel & it's close to shore. Both have bathrooms. Google pics and decide. Honestly, St John is so amazing that you can't go wrong with any beach.
