Excursion recommendations for Eastern Caribbean itinerary

[Momof4DisneyLuvrs]

We are considering booking a cruise next fall on the Fantasy Eastern Caribbean itinerary. It stops in Tortola, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay. We have done the Western Caribbean and loved it. Our kids would be 14, 10, 9 and 6 when we travel. I'd love recommendations from BTDT folks on excursions you loved (or did not love).

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We didn't do excursions in St. Thomas, but rather did self exploration. We caught a cab at Havensight pier which took us to Coral World (pre-purchased tix online). Arranged for the taxi to come back at 2 (which he was right on time). After a few hours at Coral World, we walked across the street to Coki Beach (chaise lounges cost $5 each!) to finish the afternoon. Headed back early so there was no nerves about returning in time for all aboard. There's no excursion like this in DCL and I figure we saved a ton of money.

This Dec, we're doing a similar self guided excursion over to St. John.

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

[KashasMom]

After 3 trips to Tortola we finally did the Baths. Really enjoyed it. Beaches were nice. In St. Thomas we went to Trunk Bay Beach on St. John and snorkeled the reef (great time). On Castaway Cay we did the stingray excursion - not so good.

 

[havaneselover]

We did this itinerary August 2016. My kids were 12 and 11. We loved zip lining in St. Thomas--probably our all time favorite excursion. The views are unreal and the staff is very friendly. In Tortola we did the half day excursion to the Baths. I liked it but my 11 year old was miserable. It was extremely hot and he apparently is clausterphobic.

 

[linznjody]

The Baths are absolutely amazing for Tortola, but we did that before kids. For St. Thomas, Coral World and Coki Beach are nice, but nothing beats taking a ferry over to St. John and snorkeling at Trunk Bay. Gorgeous and an easy swim for the little ones. Better snorkeling at both Coki and Trunk Bay than the trail at Castaway Cay. Coki is more rough than Trunk Bay, but it's not too bad. I'd do Coki on my own and save money, but for a cruise, I'd do the Disney Trunk Bay excursion for ease of mind with leaving the island.

 

[Momof4DisneyLuvrs]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

 

[2boysmommy]

I highly recommend private excursions at these ports. At St Thomas we have done 2 different sailboat charters. One has a max of 6 people (Simplicity) and the other a max of 15 (Yacht Nightwind). Both were amazing. Nightwind was one of the best days we have EVER had at a cruise port - we had 10 people ranging from 8 to 68 (chartered the entire boat so it was just us) and the crew was everything we could have dreamed of.
We have also done the ferry to St John and a car rental to tour the island (fun but we did this pre-kids so way less stress!) and taken a taxi to Magen's Bay and then Coki Beach in St Thomas for the day. Definitely a good outing.

In Tortola we did the Baths through Aristocat. It was good. Nothing to rave about but no complaints either.

 

[NJShoreDad]

The Baths are absolutely amazing for Tortola, but we did that before kids. For St. Thomas, Coral World and Coki Beach are nice, but nothing beats taking a ferry over to St. John and snorkeling at Trunk Bay. Gorgeous and an easy swim for the little ones. Better snorkeling at both Coki and Trunk Bay than the trail at Castaway Cay. Coki is more rough than Trunk Bay, but it's not too bad. I'd do Coki on my own and save money, but for a cruise, I'd do the Disney Trunk Bay excursion for ease of mind with leaving the island.

We did the Baths through DCL (TT23) but wouldn't do it again. If anything we'd do it on our own. The Disney tours have too many people and this causes a huge traffic jam on the trail and in the caves. You might save $$ by doing it on your own. We relied on DCL this time because my wife was worried about missing the ship (even though we did a morning tour), but the price you pay is high in terms of the crowd and $$. I'd do some additional research to see if other tours limit the size, and better yet, try and work around the DCL tours. I felt bad as there was a small group of like 20 that got clogged up behind our group of 100+ from the DCL tour.

 

[hanscarlet]

We didn't do excursions in St. Thomas, but rather did self exploration. We caught a cab at Havensight pier which took us to Coral World (pre-purchased tix online). Arranged for the taxi to come back at 2 (which he was right on time). After a few hours at Coral World, we walked across the street to Coki Beach (chaise lounges cost $5 each!) to finish the afternoon. Headed back early so there was no nerves about returning in time for all aboard. There's no excursion like this in DCL and I figure we saved a ton of money.

This Dec, we're doing a similar self guided excursion over to St. John.

Enjoy your cruise!!

Please report back on your self guided tour of St John, we're booked for the Eastern again in May and we really want to go to St. John