St John: Why so few options for little kids?

[tigerfan2012]

Going on the Fantasy with family. Will have a 2.5 year old and a couple of 4 year olds on the cruise with us. I love St John and would like to return but every excursion Disney offers that goes to a beach involves snorkeling and is ages 5+? What if you just want to go to Trunk Bay and let them play on the beach? My only option seems to be to take a taxi to Red Hook and take the ferry and do it on our own. Are there any companies that offer excursions just to the beaches of St John without the age limitation? Maagen's bay is nice and all but some of the adults do want to snorkel which MB is a horrible spot for.

 

[Silverfox97]

Going on the Fantasy with family. Will have a 2.5 year old and a couple of 4 year olds on the cruise with us. I love St John and would like to return but every excursion Disney offers that goes to a beach involves snorkeling and is ages 5+? What if you just want to go to Trunk Bay and let them play on the beach? My only option seems to be to take a taxi to Red Hook and take the ferry and do it on our own. Are there any companies that offer excursions just to the beaches of St John without the age limitation? Maagen's bay is nice and all but some of the adults do want to snorkel which MB is a horrible spot for.

If it makes you feel better, you can contact Islander Taxi. Alvin had a guy meet us at the ship, took 23 of us to Red Hook, we took the ferry, and there was a guy waiting for us at the dock and took us to Cinnamon Bay (you could do trunk instead of course). They were there at 1:30, we took the 2pm ferry and the guy was there with our taxi to take us to the ship and we got back before 3pm. It was pre-arranged and easy. There were lots of babies and we got lots of beach & snorkel time!

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[Silverfox97]

Here are more details:

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/2014/03/trip-log-day-5-disney-fantasy-st-thomas-st-john/

Cinnamon Bay has a little plane wreck you can see when you snorkel. Certainly they'll take you to Trunk or whichever beach you prefer.

Here's who we used to pre-arrange:

http://www.islandertaxiservice.com

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[tigerfan2012]

Thanks I will look into that.

Was hoping that Disney had an option since some of those have ferry service from CA to SJ. The taxi drive to Red Hooks feels like it takes forever for some reason. Wish Disney had the snorkel excursions set separately for those that want to snorkel and those that don't and set the ages for each.

My backup plan is Coki Beach if we cannot make it to St John.

 

[tigerfan2012]

Cinnamon Bay looks nice. I did really enjoy the snorkeling better than Trunk at Hawksnest Bay. The coral there had some amazing staghorn formations and color. Plus we swam with a sea turtle there which added to it.

The view from Trunk Bay is just better though and I'm going with a bunch of first time visitors.

 

[jel0511]

We are frequent visitors to St. John away from the cruise ship circuit. We prefer Cinnamon to Trunk Bay any day! It will be far less crowded and the reef there had far less damage than Cinnamon. I have to disagree with you about the views from the beach too, Cinnamon is far superior IMO.

 

[Silverfox97]

We are frequent visitors to St. John away from the cruise ship circuit. We prefer Cinnamon to Trunk Bay any day! It will be far less crowded and the reef there had far less damage than Cinnamon. I have to disagree with you about the views from the beach too, Cinnamon is far superior IMO.

Yup. This ^^^

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[1Winston]

I completely agree! We also would like to do trunk bay but it really worries me to do something not disney because I would be so scared to miss the boat!!!
I've never been how long does it take to taxi to red hook and ferry to St. Johns? Is it bus or taxi? lack of car seats are a concern.

 

[Silverfox97]

I completely agree! We also would like to do trunk bay but it really worries me to do something not disney because I would be so scared to miss the boat!!! I've never been how long does it take to taxi to red hook and ferry to St. Johns? Is it bus or taxi? lack of car seats are a concern.

That fear is something that comes with frequent cruising and time built in. I cannot ease that. The taxis are benches. There are no car seats. No seat belts. They drive windy roads and in the left lane. Again, something you have to adjust your fears on.

We allow about an hour for travel. Taxis are about 15 min to Red Hook, 20 min ferry that leaves on the hour, and another 10-15 min to beach. We take 2pm ferry back but you could take 1pm ferry and have lots of time to spare. Disclaimer: we've been to St John on cruises 3 times and just spent 9 days there in June (no cruise), so we are familiar & comfortable.

Bottom line is plan, be prepared & you'll be fine.

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[ScrappinGran]

You CAN go to a Trunk Bay and just enjoy the beach! We (DH and I) did the DCL St. John Snorkel Trunk Bay excursion. We had no interest in the snorkeling, just wanted Trunk Bay. We walked past where all the snorkelers were gathering, and went to the beach. Dropped our stuff and went in the water, walked along the beach, got some GREAT camera shots of varied species of pelicans and had a blast! There were chair rentals if desired, but we didn't rent any. * Should you want to, be aware that it's a reasonable cost, which we knew...but there is a deposit too. Take the kids to Trunk Bay and have fun. It's heaven on earth!

 

[schmass]

Going on the Fantasy with family. Will have a 2.5 year old and a couple of 4 year olds on the cruise with us. I love St John and would like to return but every excursion Disney offers that goes to a beach involves snorkeling and is ages 5+? What if you just want to go to Trunk Bay and let them play on the beach? My only option seems to be to take a taxi to Red Hook and take the ferry and do it on our own. Are there any companies that offer excursions just to the beaches of St John without the age limitation? Maagen's bay is nice and all but some of the adults do want to snorkel which MB is a horrible spot for.

I was wondering the same thing. We'll have a 16 month old with us, and the only option for St. John seems to be the tour (no beach).

 

[mevans0000]

There is a ferry from CA to SJ but it is less frequent and takes longer. I also understand from reading posts that it tends to be a rougher ferry ride than Red Hook to SJ. We did the taxi - Red Hook ferry - SJ - taxi to cinnamon. Loved it. But, yes, the "taxi" rides with small kids in those 20 year old pickups with benches can be nerve rattling.

We have older kids than you and had done Megans before, so Cinnamon was our choice this year. It was the highlight of the trip but the transit was certainly way more taxing than Megans.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[1Winston]

Thank you so much for your help! Which is the best beach. We won't be snorkelling just swimming.
Cheers

 

[jel0511]

Thank you so much for your help! Which is the best beach. We won't be snorkelling just swimming.
Cheers

Without a doubt Cinnamon. Less people to fight for space on the sand and less people in the water. It's a MUCH quieter as well!

 

[tigerfan2012]

We are frequent visitors to St. John away from the cruise ship circuit. We prefer Cinnamon to Trunk Bay any day! It will be far less crowded and the reef there had far less damage than Cinnamon. I have to disagree with you about the views from the beach too, Cinnamon is far superior IMO.

I was stating that the view from the beach at Trunk Bay was better than Hawksnest. I have never been to Cinnamon.

 

[tigerfan2012]

You CAN go to a Trunk Bay and just enjoy the beach! We (DH and I) did the DCL St. John Snorkel Trunk Bay excursion. We had no interest in the snorkeling, just wanted Trunk Bay. We walked past where all the snorkelers were gathering, and went to the beach. Dropped our stuff and went in the water, walked along the beach, got some GREAT camera shots of varied species of pelicans and had a blast! There were chair rentals if desired, but we didn't rent any. * Should you want to, be aware that it's a reasonable cost, which we knew...but there is a deposit too. Take the kids to Trunk Bay and have fun. It's heaven on earth!

But will Disney book a 2 year old and a 4 year old on that excursion? Does the DCL excursion leave from CA or RH? For me the nerve racking taxi ride would be to RH. From what I recall the drive in SJ wasn't as rough a ride while ST taxi service was all over the place.

 

[Silverfox97]

But will Disney book a 2 year old and a 4 year old on that excursion? Does the DCL excursion leave from CA or RH? For me the nerve racking taxi ride would be to RH. From what I recall the drive in SJ wasn't as rough a ride while ST taxi service was all over the place.

No DCL won't book kids under 5. The DCL excursion ferry leaves from Havensight, not CA or RH. To is, the taxis are the same on St Thomas & St John; drive on left, hilly & curvy. I guess I'm in the minority because it's not nerve wracking to us. My DH had a ball driving on the left for 9 days

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[pearlunzel]

Not to hijack a thread, but with the discussion on Cinnamon Bay I need to know if it has restroom facilities. This is important with kids. The draw to Trunk Bay for me was access to restrooms during the day.

 

[Silverfox97]

Not to hijack a thread, but with the discussion on Cinnamon Bay I need to know if it has restroom facilities. This is important with kids. The draw to Trunk Bay for me was access to restrooms during the day.

Cinnamon Bay does have bathrooms, as it's also a campground. However, Trunk Bay does too, and freshwater showers.

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[pearlunzel]

Cinnamon Bay does have bathrooms, as it's also a campground. However, Trunk Bay does too, and freshwater showers.

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Thanks for this! We may choose Cinnamon over Trunk now.