How do you decide....

[Betsyp]

between two tours when they are essentially complete opposites?

Is it which you‘d regret more if you didn’t do it? Is it whether either is unique (ie: you’ve been or are going to spend time on other beaches, but you wouldn’t be able to do the other things elsewhere)?

Are there other factors ? I don’t really wish to spend the next month before my booking window opens going back and forth, lol

Thank you!

 

[cvjw]

Book which ever one is available when your booking window opens. Or have a vote among traveling party if both are available. That is what we just did between the Baths and Virgin Gorda.

 

[Betsyp]

Book which ever one is available when your booking window opens. Or have a vote among traveling party if both are available. That is what we just did between the Baths and Virgin Gorda.

Right, I may be lucky to have either one available by the time I book. I already know I want to do the Jost Van Dyke excursion on Tortola...if that’s not open, I will be

 

[Calantha]

between two tours when they are essentially complete opposites?

Is it which you‘d regret more if you didn’t do it? Is it whether either is unique (ie: you’ve been or are going to spend time on other beaches, but you wouldn’t be able to do the other things elsewhere)?

Are there other factors ? I don’t really wish to spend the next month before my booking window opens going back and forth, lol

Thank you!

I take into consideration:

• Where we are (e.g., are we on St. Thomas (likely be back) or Bonaire (probably won't be back any time soon))
• What else are we doing on the cruise (e.g., we already have a snorkeling boat trip, so let's do a land activity)
• Who's on the cruise (e.g., DH and DS vs. my mom and DS)
• Is this a specialty activity (e.g., water rafting on Dominica which you can't really do on the other islands) or just a more regular excursion such as snorkeling on a boat?
• How much money am I spending elsewhere (did I already splurge on a high-end tour or is this the special tour of the trip)?

Hope that helps.

 

[Betsyp]

I take into consideration:

• Where we are (e.g., are we on St. Thomas (likely be back) or Bonaire (probably won't be back any time soon))
• What else are we doing on the cruise (e.g., we already have a snorkeling boat trip, so let's do a land activity)
• Who's on the cruise (e.g., DH and DS vs. my mom and DS)
• Is this a specialty activity (e.g., water rafting on Dominica which you can't really do on the other islands) or just a more regular excursion such as snorkeling on a boat?
• How much money am I spending elsewhere (did I already splurge on a high-end tour or is this the special tour of the trip)?

Hope that helps.

It really does! I think I have a FOMO, lol….but no matter what I decide, it will be wonderful.

I just bought a couple of guide books (getting Unofficial Disney Cruise Guide tomorrow), so now I can immerse myself in the Virgin Islands.

Thank you!

 

[cvjw]

Right, I may be lucky to have either one available by the time I book. I already know I want to do the Jost Van Dyke excursion on Tortola...if that’s not open, I will be

We are platinum, so both were available for our January cruise!

 

[auntlynne]

Unique would be a great quantifier: be it the activity, the location, something you might not physically do later in life. Or only offered at certain times (including weather restrictions) - definitely if not likely to be offered again.

If there is a UNESCO World Heritage Site available (history / cultural significance), that goes to the top of the list.

If there is a lot of transport time, there needs to be a good payoff (I consider Trunk Bay on St John to meet this). I would not want to spend the same time to get to Magen’s Bay. I’m

If the activity involves a bunch of shopping or visiting distilleries or other production facilities - or a meal, that goes lower on the list.

I don’t do great getting on/off small, rocking boats.

Water, beaches: how warm, rough, clear. Can I stand up or will I do a lot of treading water.

It definitely helps if you have travelled or expect to do more of it.

 

[Betsyp]

We are platinum, so both were available for our January cruise!

That’s awesome!

I’m just one person, so hopefully there won’t be any issues ...!

 

[Betsyp]

Unique would be a great quantifier: be it the activity, the location, something you might not physically do later in life. Or only offered at certain times (including weather restrictions) - definitely if not likely to be offered again.

If there is a UNESCO World Heritage Site available (history / cultural significance), that goes to the top of the list.

If there is a lot of transport time, there needs to be a good payoff (I consider Trunk Bay on St John to meet this). I would not want to spend the same time to get to Magen’s Bay. I’m

If the activity involves a bunch of shopping or visiting distilleries or other production facilities - or a meal, that goes lower on the list.

I don’t do great getting on/off small, rocking boats.

Water, beaches: how warm, rough, clear. Can I stand up or will I do a lot of treading water.

It definitely helps if you have travelled or expect to do more of it.

Love it! This is all very helpful!

I ended up booking a half day Jeep tour with Explore STJ - the owner is a woman from CT who apparently used to run a blog about STJ - the reviews are fantastic.

https://explorestj.com/

I’ll meet her in Cruz Bay...I believe it runs from around 9am to 12pm, thereabouts. I’m pretty much going to stick to Anneberg Sugar Mill and Trunk Bay, but we’ll see what Jen recommends. I‘ll have time to explore Cruz Bay, too, which is nice...I think this is as much as I can reasonably expect in a short stay. The Jeep ride should be fun - I hadn’t even considered that until today !

 

[auntlynne]

I have hiked to the Sugar Mill and, of course, love Trunk Bay. I would love to hear what you think of Cruz Bay. It just served as a place for restaurants for us, along with the ferry dock. But my visit in September did not match my old memories, so it could be an interesting place to visit.

Cinnamon Bay was a lovely place pre-Irma; the campground has been rebuilt. The beach probably got a clean-up, too. If you want to see something while snorkeling, you might have a better opportunity at Hawksnest Bay, just down the road from Trunk Bay. The beach where Caneel Bay Resort was is lovely. You can’t miss with most of these.

Let her know what you’d like in your water time and she should be able to take you to the right place on the right day.

St John is about 2/3 National Park. Bordeaux Mtn gives good views.

Sounds like a fun excursion. Especially if this is your first visit for exploring.

 

[Betsyp]

I have hiked to the Sugar Mill and, of course, love Trunk Bay. I would love to hear what you think of Cruz Bay. It just served as a place for restaurants for us, along with the ferry dock. But my visit in September did not match my old memories, so it could be an interesting place to visit.

Cinnamon Bay was a lovely place pre-Irma; the campground has been rebuilt. The beach probably got a clean-up, too. If you want to see something while snorkeling, you might have a better opportunity at Hawksnest Bay, just down the road from Trunk Bay. The beach where Caneel Bay Resort was is lovely. You can’t miss with most of these.

Let her know what you’d like in your water time and she should be able to take you to the right place on the right day.

St John is about 2/3 National Park. Bordeaux Mtn gives good views.

Sounds like a fun excursion. Especially if this is your first visit for exploring.

I will! I guess it’s not very big, but it’s supposed to be charming - I’ll post about it and hopefully also some photos…

Just the mane cinnamon makes me smile! Jen said at most a tour of the sugar mill would be 30 minutes, so I think we’d have time to pop in there for a peek. I’d love the view from Bordeaux Mt - and getting there in a jeep will be fun!

I’m not going to snorkel. The one time I tried it, I couldn’t see anything because I didn’t have my glasses on, and the mouthpiece kept coming out of my mouth. Just swimming for me!

I’m SO excited ! I know already that I want to return !

 

[auntlynne]

I will! I guess it’s not very big, but it’s supposed to be charming - I’ll post about it and hopefully also some photos…

Just the mane cinnamon makes me smile! Jen said at most a tour of the sugar mill would be 30 minutes, so I think we’d have time to pop in there for a peek. I’d love the view from Bordeaux Mt - and getting there in a jeep will be fun!

I’m not going to snorkel. The one time I tried it, I couldn’t see anything because I didn’t have my glasses on, and the mouthpiece kept coming out of my mouth. Just swimming for me!

I’m SO excited ! I know already that I want to return !

I didn’t snorkel or swim - I took an inflatable float and luxuriated in the ocean.

 

[Betsyp]

I didn’t snorkel or swim - I took an inflatable float and luxuriated in the ocean.

Sounds wonderful ! There’s something for everyone!

 

[Flossbolna]

One of my main deciders when booking DCL excursions is whether it’s something I can’t do on my own for about the same money. I find the herding of big groups the biggest issue on cruise line excursions.

Some excursions work fine: I loved the Fury catamaran in Cozumel as you walk off the ship and onto the catameran and the go snorkel and to a beach. We would t book a private snorkeling trip anyway, so this was convenient.

In Norway we booked a full day bus tour to Trollstigen from Ålesund. We would have had to rent a car to do that and weren’t comfortable to deal with this.

Otherwise I try to do things on our own (like take the train into Rome for 10€ return instead of paying 100€ for the cheapest DCL excursion) or book a private tour (whale watching in Juneau on a boat for just 6 passengers for less than DCL whale watching excursion).

I see that you already booked something private for St John, I think that tour sounds lovely!

 

[Betsyp]

One of my main deciders when booking DCL excursions is whether it’s something I can’t do on my own for about the same money. I find the herding of big groups the biggest issue on cruise line excursions.

Some excursions work fine: I loved the Fury catamaran in Cozumel as you walk off the ship and onto the catameran and the go snorkel and to a beach. We would t book a private snorkeling trip anyway, so this was convenient.

In Norway we booked a full day bus tour to Trollstigen from Ålesund. We would have had to rent a car to do that and weren’t comfortable to deal with this.

Otherwise I try to do things on our own (like take the train into Rome for 10€ return instead of paying 100€ for the cheapest DCL excursion) or book a private tour (whale watching in Juneau on a boat for just 6 passengers for less than DCL whale watching excursion).

I see that you already booked something private for St John, I think that tour sounds lovely!

What you describe is exactly why I no longer do big bus tours unless it can’t be helped; I much prefer private or small group tours.

Yeah, I’m so happy with that. I won’t have hours at Trunk Bay, but I’ll have as much as I can - and get to see some of the island, to boot. The fact that I’ll have plenty of other beach time on this trip helps.