Coral World

[findingnemofan]

Has anyone gone on the Coral World excursion? I just got a glowing recommendation from a friend--who said it was fabulous--and there is a beach right next to it---called Cokee(sp) beach---she said you didn't even need to snorkel--the fish were right there visible!!! We have young children--and want to totally avoid beaches with the possibility of nudity---this seems like a great option....anyone else???

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I would suggest just grabbing a cab to Coki Beach/Coral World. There are lockers to stow your stuff and the beach is great, especially with kids. This way, you can go at your own pace and not be constrained by the excursion's schedule. Coki is one of my favorite beaches on St. Thomas.

Nudity is not a problem at any of the USVI beaches.

 

[findingnemofan]

thanks for the info!! Are there bathrooms close to the beach as well? Is Coki Beach adjoined with Coral World? What else do you recommend--as far as shopping on the island---or taking a ferry over to st john--where my friend said the beaches are all national parks---and Gorgeous.....how do you decide? Can you do both--and be back on the ship in time to re-embark?

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

Yes, there are restrooms at Coral World (Coki Beach is adjacent).

As far as going to St. John, the beaches are great. I prefer Cinnamon Bay. Trunk Bay is very nice, too, but usually more crowded if there are several ships in port (this tends to be the case in the winter). If you're going to St. John, it's going to take the better part of your day if you want to spend any amount of time at the beach. The cab ride to the ferry is about 25 minutes, then the ferry ride is another half-hour or so. Best case, you make the 9:00am ferry and are on St. John by 9:30. Another 15-20 minutes to the beach. To get back to the ship in time, you probably want to catch the 2:30pm ferry. The 3:30 is cutting it a bit too close. That gives you four hours on the beach, which is fine, but doesn't leave much time to hit downtown Charlotte Amalie and go shopping. There is a small mall near the cruise ship pier which you can hit. Whenever we decide to go to St. John, we just figure that's it for the day.

If you stay on St. Thomas, you can be on the beach by 9ish and spend half the day there, head back to the ship to shower, and still have a couple of hours to explore downtown. We tend to alternate. Sometimes we'll hit St. John, sometimes we'll stay on St. Thomas. I think both are good choices, it all depends on what you want to get out of the port.

For shopping, I like wandering downtown, about a 5-10 minute cab ride from the ship, but allow about twice that as it gets toward 4:00pm, just in case, as traffic tends to slow the ride back to the ship a bit. Many of the downtown shops have outlets near the ship, but you lose the seedy Carribean port character of downtown if you stay there. Also, Fort Christian is a cool thing to see downtown, as well as the open-air market near Emancipation Park (right next to the fort).

 

[findingnemofan]

thanks for such a thorough reply!! i appreciate all the tips!! I have a cruise folder put together---and am compiling posts such as yours....can't wait!!! we might just stay on St. Thomas--and enjoy Coki and Coral World---and maybe shop a little if we put the kids back on ship in the clubs.....

 

[4nana]

If you get the opportunity 'Coral World' is really a wonderful adventure. Our family did this excursion on our own w/o any problems and it was definitely one of the highlights of our crusie!
Afterwards, we went nx door to Coki Beach for swimming in the cool crystal clear aqua blue water. Later we enjoyed a picnic we'd brought from the ship. It was a wonderful day!!

Coral World entrance fee, appx $10-15 adm.
The ticket gives you restroom priviliges for the day.

There are many hands on, that our grands really enjoyed.
Some of the attractions include:
*Underwater Observatory tank where the divers do hand feeding
and you watch the fish come and go.
*Predator Tank- where divers handfeed the sharks.
*Shark Shallows- with help you can pet baby sharks.
*Carribbean Reef Encounter- an 80,000 gal. tank of beautiful diversity coral,
*Touch Pool- handle starfish, sea cumumbers and other touchable sea creatures,
*Marine Gardens- a magical World of 21 jewel tanks of sea creatures,
*Stingray Pool - feed and touch the silky stingrays
*Turtle Pool- where sea turtles swim by the sea
*Iguana Valley- they congregate here naturally
*Tropical Nature Trail- wander thru this enchanting landscape.
*Also incl: Grill, Bar, Gift Shop.

**Sea Trekkin' -
for an xtra $75 you can rent their special underwater helmet and w/a group go underwater exploring and feed fish.

Also on this property is a dive shop, power rafting, snorkeling, parasailing facility. The men in our grp enjoyed parasailing for $50 pp.

Hope you enjoy!!

 

[findingnemofan]

Boy--that was so nice of you to highlight the activities there at Coral World!!! It does sound great for two boys that love sharks and hands-on activities!!!
One question---how and where did you get the picnic lunch from the ship? Did it cost extra for it?

 

[musicgirl]

Lloyd, how much was the taxi to Coki Beach? Is it like Nassau where the taxis are right there and you decide on the amount?

Thanks, Lorie

 

[Favorite Auntie]

To pack a picnic lunch to leave the ship just order room service in the morning and pack the cooler with all those goodies! A little soft sided cooler helps with this....

 

[findingnemofan]

OOOOHHHHH--i forgot about room service!!!! How fun!!!!!!

 

[4nana]

Ditto on the room service...there was no charge, but a nice tip!!

I had read on these wonderful boards about the picnic thing.
We ordered the night before - but, I guess morn would work fine. The ham, turkey, PBJ sndwich comes with chips/pickle. Then there are those yummy CC cookies! You can also order the cheese/fruit tray. At breakfast there are all types of yogurt, fruits, muffins, lil boxes of cereals for kiddo to much on, etc. Dis'ners know to bring a cooler and baggies.

As we would not be on ship for lunch, we did not feel the least bit quilty about doing this - however, were honest and told them we were doing a picnic on St. T. It was definitely a wonderful picnic to be remembered!

 

[4nana]

This is an excellent virtual tour link of Coral World.

http://www.coralworldvi.com/9exhibits.htm

Prices:
Adults: $18.00
Children 3-12 : $9.00
Family of 6: $52.00

Be sure to check out their $3.00 discount coupon!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

Originally posted by musicgirl
Lloyd, how much was the taxi to Coki Beach?

Lorie,

There will be plenty of taxis on the pier when you get off the ship.

The taxis on St. Thomas are regulated, so the fares are fixed. They usually give out a handout on the ship with the expected fares from the Havensight pier to different places. I haven't actually gone to Coki Beach in about a year and a half, but I think we paid maybe $6/person each way. You can often arrange with the driver to come back and pick you up at a specified time. If not, it's easy to find a cab just about anywhere on the island. I've never had a problem.

Sometimes, a taxi driver will fill his cab (usually a van or large truck) with several groups who are going to the same destination. That way everyone will get a bit better deal.

 

[Jo-Anne]

Do folks find Coral World crowded? Wondering if a lot of different cruise ship are in port at same time and lots of folks head to Coral World? Or, if we're doing this on our own, what would be a better time to go versus the ship tours? Thanks, Jo

 

[musicgirl]

Thanks Lloyd!! This sounds like a lot of fun. I'm a little nervous about doing this on our own and every bit of info I can get helps!!

findingnemofan-I just posted a little while back, but I think we're on the same cruise 6-12-04.

 

[4nana]

Can't answer about ship or personal excursion being less crowded. We did excursion on our own and it was not crowded at all. However, Coki Beach was hoppin'!

 

[findingnemofan]

musicgirl----we are on the same cruise---do you have kids ---boys ---ages 5, 8, or 15?? We--after the great recommendations--are going to coral world/coki beach for the day---and without this board---we never would have known all this great stuff!!! isn't it awesome???