St. Thomas excursion help!!!!

[charminnie]

I would love some reviews/ recommendations of excursions you have taken in St. Thomas. I want something that gives us a full day enjoying the beautiful water and beaches. Looks like St. John is the place to be but the beach excursion to Trunk bay is only 4 hours. Has anyone done a private excursion that allows for more time? We are a family of four and our children will be 11 and 9 at that time. Thanks

 

[squirk]

We always go to St. John when DCL stops in St. Thomas, but you're right - it's hard to get more than 2-3 hours at a beach before you have to head back with a comfortable safety cushion to make it back to the ship on time. It's kind of a haul to Red Hook, and traffic from Red Hook back to the ship in the afternoon can be slow at times.

You need to get off the ship ASAFP and if you are very lucky, you can grab the 8:00 Red Hook ferry to Cruz Bay. Easier said than done. If the DCL ship is at all delayed in getting you off the ship, you will have to settle for the 9:00 ferry.

Still, even with the 9:00, you will probably get to the beaches a good hour before the official port adventure does. The beach at Trunk Bay will be very sparsely populated, and you can really enjoy yourself before the groups show up. And even then, it's not very crowded.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I don't know of a specific excursion for St. Thomas but I've been there many, many times (but many years ago). My Dad used to do some work there and I'd usually get to go. I can say that Megan's Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. We go on our Disney cruise early next year, one of our stops is St. Thomas. I'm looking forward to it, see if it changed much.

 

[MUN]

I would love some reviews/ recommendations of excursions you have taken in St. Thomas. I want something that gives us a full day enjoying the beautiful water and beaches. Looks like St. John is the place to be but the beach excursion to Trunk bay is only 4 hours. Has anyone done a private excursion that allows for more time? We are a family of four and our children will be 11 and 9 at that time. Thanks

We took a cab to Magens Bay. It's a beautiful beach, and we had a great time. I would love to visit St. John's but on a cruise it seems like a hassle to get there and back.

MUN

 

[Iamaplanner]

We did Magen's Bay as well and had a great day! It was simple to grab a cab there and back. We were able to grab lunch at the little cantina and it was good (just pizza/burgers etc).
It got busy by early afternoon so we headed back to the ship - the timing was actually fine for us because we had been there for a good chunk of time and were ready to get out of the sun.
Water was warm, beautiful view, and sand felt so good on the toes!!!!!

 

[thepops]

We did the Champagne and snorkel catamaran tour and it was great. I think it was longer than 4 hours, but a good amount of time to snorkel or hang out on the beach. The ride over and back was very nice as well.

 

[surfer_ed]

Wondering how easy and Safe it is to get back to the Port and do Magnes bay on our own? We have 9 people so the costs really adds up if we want to do the Disney Excursion.

Should b lots of cabs at the port, but what about getting back?
Ed

 

[Doodledogs]

We did Meagan's Bay on our own 3 weeks ago with 6 adults and 9 kids. We just hopped in a taxi and went over. The taxi driver actually came back for us and told us where to look for him. He was there waiting and it was such an enjoyable day!

 

[DISNEYGATOR]

We did Meagan's Bay on our own 3 weeks ago with 6 adults and 9 kids. We just hopped in a taxi and went over. The taxi driver actually came back for us and told us where to look for him. He was there waiting and it was such an enjoyable day!

Zip lining is awesome in St. Thomas!

Also and snorkel sailing to turtle cove.

 

[sambycat]

we did the full day sail and snorkel to turtle cove and honeymoon beach. it was with, at the time, Doubloon Pirate Ships (i'm pretty sure, just googling now). we went through disney for ease. it was the best excursion we have ever done, still talk about it. snorkeling with turtles at turtle cove, sailing about on the catamaran (had wanted the pirate ship but we loved our day on the catamaran), off to lunch and swimming at honeymoon beach and then a sail home. music on the boat, rum drinks if you want them, a fun crew and great day. all ages on the boat, everyone seeming to have a great time - i was challenged to a dance off on the way home by an 8 year old boy - he was a hoot! excellent time and excellent people and we felt good doing the disney excursion since we hadn't been there before. this was in ~ 2012/13

 

[Ariel484]

We did the Champagne and snorkel catamaran tour and it was great. I think it was longer than 4 hours, but a good amount of time to snorkel or hang out on the beach. The ride over and back was very nice as well.

We did this one as well in October and we loved it! Would definitely do it again.

 

[Joel0917]

we did the full day sail and snorkel to turtle cove and honeymoon beach. it was with, at the time, Doubloon Pirate Ships (i'm pretty sure, just googling now). we went through disney for ease. it was the best excursion we have ever done, still talk about it. snorkeling with turtles at turtle cove, sailing about on the catamaran (had wanted the pirate ship but we loved our day on the catamaran), off to lunch and swimming at honeymoon beach and then a sail home. music on the boat, rum drinks if you want them, a fun crew and great day. all ages on the boat, everyone seeming to have a great time - i was challenged to a dance off on the way home by an 8 year old boy - he was a hoot! excellent time and excellent people and we felt good doing the disney excursion since we hadn't been there before. this was in ~ 2012/13

i second this. we did it and it was fun. You can only book them through Disney. We had a blast. Snorkeling was fun and then the swimming at honeymoon beach..they let the kids jump off the ship non stop. Lots of PainKiller Rum Punch. Bring money for tips though!

 

[kimberwee]

Bump

 

[Joel0917]

if you have any questions on the doubloon..ask!

 

[2prettygirl]

Highly recommend Meagens Bay!!

 

[Spart02]

Okay...you all are making me re-think my St. Thomas day! The majority of my group is going ziplining, but my 8 year old is too little. So...her and I have the Screamin' Eagle jet boat booked. However, I just recently snorkeled in Cozumel and fell in love with snorkeling. For those of you that did the
Doubloon Turtle Cove Sail and Snorkel
what are your thoughts on doing this with a kid that doesn't really know how to snorkel? We have been trying to teach her, including doing it in the bath tub at home! She can do it in the tub for over a full minute, but I'm not sure about in the ocean. Is it doable to have her floating alone in a life vest with me while I snorkel? Or is that an insane thought? Think of her more as a 5 year old with her size and developmental level. And for those of you that did it...did you see turtles?! OMG....that would be so cool!

 

[jcarter29]

Okay...you all are making me re-think my St. Thomas day! The majority of my group is going ziplining, but my 8 year old is too little. So...her and I have the Screamin' Eagle jet boat booked. However, I just recently snorkeled in Cozumel and fell in love with snorkeling. For those of you that did the
Doubloon Turtle Cove Sail and Snorkel
what are your thoughts on doing this with a kid that doesn't really know how to snorkel? We have been trying to teach her, including doing it in the bath tub at home! She can do it in the tub for over a full minute, but I'm not sure about in the ocean. Is it doable to have her floating alone in a life vest with me while I snorkel? Or is that an insane thought? Think of her more as a 5 year old with her size and developmental level. And for those of you that did it...did you see turtles?! OMG....that would be so cool!

We have this booked for next week so I will report back. I've never snorkeled at all and I'm doing it. My kids have only snorkeled in a pool. My husband has never even been in the ocean other than at a beach. We are all doing it. The girls are 12 and 9. My daughters loved the look of the "pirate ship" when we looked at options so we are giving it a try. I don't think there's really much to learning to snorkel so I'm not worried. I might feel differently if being in the water bothered me. We sail Jan 16-23rd so I will let you know. It is our first cruise so everything is new to us!
Kim

 

[princessmommyx3]

And for those of you that did it...did you see turtles?! OMG....that would be so cool!

I have never done this exact excursion but I went to the same spot (Turtle Cove) on a private excursion and we saw the pirate ship leaving just as we arrived. We saw lots of turtles (and also a HUGE barracuda, but it kept its distance!)! If you would like to see pictures and a video:

http://www.disneycruisemomblog.com/what-we-did-in-st-thomas/

 

[MUN]

Wondering how easy and Safe it is to get back to the Port and do Magnes bay on our own? We have 9 people so the costs really adds up if we want to do the Disney Excursion.

Should b lots of cabs at the port, but what about getting back?
Ed

It is very easy and very safe. There are many taxis headed there and there will be several in their parking lot waiting to take you back to the port. Magen's Bay beach is a public park with an admission charge. You will not be hassled by vendors on the beach trying to sell you stuff. Plus, there are many palm trees for shade and picnic tables to hang out at. We didn't feel the need to rent lounge chairs. The washrooms were clean and in good repair.

MUN

 

[jtba]

We have this booked for next week so I will report back. I've never snorkeled at all and I'm doing it. My kids have only snorkeled in a pool. My husband has never even been in the ocean other than at a beach. We are all doing it. The girls are 12 and 9. My daughters loved the look of the "pirate ship" when we looked at options so we are giving it a try. I don't think there's really much to learning to snorkel so I'm not worried. I might feel differently if being in the water bothered me. We sail Jan 16-23rd so I will let you know. It is our first cruise so everything is new to us!
Kim

how did it go? hope you had a great trip!